Mikel John Obi

[zolayes 14,489]

He must be heart-broken, but that is good for us. Salah's Egypt did not qualify either so our squad won't be weakened in Jan.

It would have been strengthed if Nigeria had qualified

[Muzchap 8,966]

Considering we have plenty of games in January, especially if we qualify for the Carling Cup semi final, news like that is much welcome. Squad depth will be vital in the upcoming months.

Gotta like how people always seem to blame Mikel whenever we concede goal(s) just because he's on the pitch.

Yeah - watching players ghost past him as he's just come on definitely doesn't contribute to the other teams attacking chances.... Plus I admire how he runs his heart out for the last 10 minutes... Oh wait...

[Muzchap 8,966]

Mikel is very calm and confident and his passing accuracy is outstanding. Ramires works like an animal but he is more likely to make a stupid mistake or get a red card in a big match.

Ramires is the man if we have to take the lead but we need Mikel at the end of the matches.

Yeah my pass accuracy would be 100% if I played sideways and backwards passes for 10 minutes.

He is our Adebayour - fucking giant waste of space and salary...

[Jase 43,479]

Yeah - watching players ghost past him as he's just come on definitely doesn't contribute to the other teams attacking chances.... Plus I admire how he runs his heart out for the last 10 minutes... Oh wait...

Well done on the exaggeration...

[robsblubot 3,595]

Yeah my pass accuracy would be 100% if I played sideways and backwards passes for 10 minutes.

He is our Adebayour - fucking giant waste of space and salary...

Adebayor is incapable of passing the football - sideways or not.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

we have rambo for that. infact he is a wonderful replacement.

Ramires is a substitute for Cesc's role, not a direct one but if he comes on its usually for Oscar/Willian and plays in Cesc's position while Cesc goes #10 and Oscar/Willian/whoever didn't go off goes right.

Matic's replacement if he gets injured surely has to be Mikel. Hes the only other holder in our squad other than Ake who is still young and inexperienced.

[didierforever 7,349]

Ramires is a substitute for Cesc's role, not a direct one but if he comes on its usually for Oscar/Willian and plays in Cesc's position while Cesc goes #10 and Oscar/Willian/whoever didn't go off goes right.

Matic's replacement if he gets injured surely has to be Mikel. Hes the only other holder in our squad other than Ake who is still young and inexperienced.

i dont think. if matic gets injured, we will play a cesc-rambo pivot for sure. mikel has time and again shown that he is there only for a certain role.

cesc-rambo pivot will be very close to the lamps-rambo pivot, but a pivot of cesc-mikel will be an absolute disaster. there is absolutely no legs and workrate in that pivot. they will be over-run very easily (pretty much like the mikel-lamps pivot).

[didierforever 7,349]

Mikel is very calm and confident and his passing accuracy is outstanding. Ramires works like an animal but he is more likely to make a stupid mistake or get a red card in a big match.

Ramires is the man if we have to take the lead but we need Mikel at the end of the matches.

rambo is a sure shot starter for any big match that we play in. be it city away or pool away, i dont see him getting any reds there.

mikel-cesc pivot will be same as lamps-mikel pivot. there is simply no legs and workrate in that pivot. mikel's calmness is needed in the last 20 mins, not when we are trying to force the issue in the earlier stages of the natch.

[nyikolajevics 2,697]

Yeah my pass accuracy would be 100% if I played sideways and backwards passes for 10 minutes.

He is our Adebayour - fucking giant waste of space and salary...

He's been at Chelsea for 9 years, played more than 320 matches for the club, all 8 managers liked him... Waste of space and salary, sure...

[Muzchap 8,966]

He's been at Chelsea for 9 years, played more than 320 matches for the club, all 8 managers liked him... Waste of space and salary, sure...

Yeah 9 years 8 managers - eventually they figure out he's shit and then he gets benched - then they get sacked and the circus continues.

He's had a handful of decent games, the rest have been very average - he's our past, not our future!

[nyikolajevics 2,697]

Yeah 9 years 8 managers - eventually they figure out he's shit and then he gets benched - then they get sacked and the circus continues.

He's had a handful of decent games, the rest have been very average - he's our past, not our future!

I'm not saying he should be a starter or we should build the team around him but he is a good squad member, never complains about his situation and in case of injury he is a good replacement of Matic.

[didierforever 7,349]

mikel is NOT matic's replacement.

he was not the starter last season when his only competition was a 36 year old lamps and rambo, so why would he suddenly go ahead of rambo in the pecking order.

but i agree that mikel is a decent squad player who has some value to the team especially in closing out the game.

[stroey 2,525]

He plays but Mikel could [also play if he was fit]. They’re players from the same profile. We are not a team with 11 replicas.We don’t have that squad of two right backs, two left backs etc. We don’t have this replica but Matic and Mikel are very similar. He’s the same profile of player. We are very stable. (Mourinho on Matic and Mikel)

Keeping players on the bench happy at their prime years is one of the most difficult things as a manager+club but Mikel has not created any problems in the media despite always being a squad player. He should be appreciated for what he does but some people tend to remember to worst , e.g blaming him for the 2 goals we conceded against the Manchester teams while it was not his fault at all. Against Everton (3-6) he came on and we were much more balanced, same with Arsenal (2-0). Last season he also showed his quality against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

He is the only experienced defensive midfielder we have as Matic's back up, I'd happy to keep him as I don't think we can rely on the youngsters yet, especially in big games.

[Special Juan 28,141]

We've moved on as a club despite Mikel still being here, right now he is a decent back up to Matic and no more. Been a great servant and deserves credit for that, we now have an absolute monster occupying that position who happens to be, in my eyes, the best holding midfielder in Europe.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

He plays but Mikel could [also play if he was fit]. They’re players from the same profile. We are not a team with 11 replicas.We don’t have that squad of two right backs, two left backs etc. We don’t have this replica but Matic and Mikel are very similar. He’s the same profile of player. We are very stable. (Mourinho on Matic and Mikel)

Keeping players on the bench happy at their prime years is one of the most difficult things as a manager+club but Mikel has not created any problems in the media despite always being a squad player. He should be appreciated for what he does but some people tend to remember to worst , e.g blaming him for the 2 goals we conceded against the Manchester teams while it was not his fault at all. Against Everton (3-6) he came on and we were much more balanced, same with Arsenal (2-0). Last season he also showed his quality against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

He is the only experienced defensive midfielder we have as Matic's back up, I'd happy to keep him as I don't think we can rely on the youngsters yet, especially in big games.

Was just about to post that exact same quote. Jose clearly sees Mikel as Matic's replacement.

[robsblubot 3,595]

He plays but Mikel could [also play if he was fit]. They’re players from the same profile. We are not a team with 11 replicas.We don’t have that squad of two right backs, two left backs etc. We don’t have this replica but Matic and Mikel are very similar. He’s the same profile of player. We are very stable. (Mourinho on Matic and Mikel)

Keeping players on the bench happy at their prime years is one of the most difficult things as a manager+club but Mikel has not created any problems in the media despite always being a squad player. He should be appreciated for what he does but some people tend to remember to worst , e.g blaming him for the 2 goals we conceded against the Manchester teams while it was not his fault at all. Against Everton (3-6) he came on and we were much more balanced, same with Arsenal (2-0). Last season he also showed his quality against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

He is the only experienced defensive midfielder we have as Matic's back up, I'd happy to keep him as I don't think we can rely on the youngsters yet, especially in big games.

only slight problem with this idea is that Mikel hardly ever actually replaces Matic!

Mikel hardly actually plays. It appears that playing more minutes wouldn't make him happier, which showcases his lack of ambition.

My personal take is that that's just not good enough for a club like Chelsea. You gotta have guys who are hungry to come on the pitch and fight for their chance. Mikel is certainly not that player, not a player who is trying to impress the manager - become a regular in the starting XI.

We are one injury away from losing the PL title in certain positions. Yes, Matic is one one them. BTW, whenever Matic can't play, Ramires will play in his place - just think that despite the official talk, that's how Jose will go.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Yeah 9 years 8 managers - eventually they figure out he's shit and then he gets benched - then they get sacked and the circus continues.

He's had a handful of decent games, the rest have been very average - he's our past, not our future!

'They figure out he's shit and then he gets benched -then they sacked?' So are you now indicating in the slightest that Mikel has gotten managers sacked? I mean cmon, talk about ridiculous posts. I mean sure people can complain about things like his lack of ambition while passing and that but to say something like that is daft.

Also 8 managers of different philosophies and playing styles had constantly been picking Mikel up until 2013 on a regular basis since he joined the club so I can't exactly see how we are still debating whether he's ever been good enough or not. His appearances under a variation of coaches, who collectively have won near enough every trophy in club football prove he is good enough at one of the biggest clubs in the world. Ex-players like Michael Ballack, said on Sky Sports in a game we played in Europe at some point last season we should have been playing Mikel in the game because hes a good and very important player.

only slight problem with this idea is that Mikel hardly ever actually replaces Matic!

Mikel hardly actually plays. It appears that playing more minutes wouldn't make him happier, which showcases his lack of ambition.

My personal take is that that's just not good enough for a club like Chelsea. You gotta have guys who are hungry to come on the pitch and fight for their chance. Mikel is certainly not that player, not a player who is trying to impress him manager to become a regular in the starting XI.

We are one injury away from losing the PL title in certain positions. Yes, Matic is one one them. BTW, whenever Matic can't play, Ramires will play in his place - just think that despite the official talk, that's how Jose will go.

I can't see Jose setting up with a Ramires-Cesc midfield duo. It would be too easy for teams like Man City or even Man United to come in and use bigger powerful athletic players and overrun us in there. Matic gives our pivot that physicality part against the bigger players like Toure, Fernando, Fellaini etc.

He's said in an interview Mikel and Matic are similar players and I believe that if Matic gets injured Mikel will come in.

Also the bit in bold, why would he replace Matic if he doesn't need to? You want your better players playing so if he can keep Matic playing every game theres no need to sub him off. Also if you're protecting a lead why sub one holding midfield on for another ahead of subbing on a holding player for an attacking midfield player? Subbing Mikel on for Matic, instead of Oscar/Willian/Cesc or whoever to protect a lead would one of the stupidest things you could do, imagine Jose did that 'to protect a lead' honestly what would you think? I'd certainly be wondering what was going on in his head.

Questioning his ambition, I kind of agree but he's someone who owes this club a lot. Managers have constantly played him and helped him develop and grow into a better player than what we got when he first arrived despite people constantly criticizing him. Maybe he feels he owes Chelsea or maybe he doesn't mind not being a regular at a huge club but he doesn't kick up a fuss about it either way which I think is worth a bit of respect given the power modern day footballers have over their clubs these days.

[robsblubot 3,595]

'They figure out he's shit and then he gets benched -then they sacked?' So are you now indicating in the slightest that Mikel has gotten managers sacked? I mean cmon, talk about ridiculous posts. I mean sure people can complain about things like his lack of ambition while passing and that but to say something like that is daft.

Also 8 managers of different philosophies and playing styles had constantly been picking Mikel up until 2013 on a regular basis since he joined the club so I can't exactly see how we are still debating whether he's ever been good enough or not. His appearances under a variation of coaches, who collectively have won near enough every trophy in club football prove he is good enough at one of the biggest clubs in the world. Ex-players like Michael Ballack, said on Sky Sports in a game we played in Europe at some point last season we should have been playing Mikel in the game because hes a good and very important player.

I can't see Jose setting up with a Ramires-Cesc midfield duo. It would be too easy for teams like Man City or even Man United to come in and use bigger powerful athletic players and overrun us in there. Matic gives our pivot that physicality part against the bigger players like Toure, Fernando, Fellaini etc.

He's said in an interview Mikel and Matic are similar players and I believe that if Matic gets injured Mikel will come in.

Also the bit in bold, why would he replace Matic if he doesn't need to? You want your better players playing so if he can keep Matic playing every game theres no need to sub him off. Also if you're protecting a lead why sub one holding midfield on for another ahead of subbing on a holding player for an attacking midfield player? Subbing Mikel on for Matic, instead of Oscar/Willian/Cesc or whoever to protect a lead would one of the stupidest things you could do, imagine Jose did that 'to protect a lead' honestly what would you think? I'd certainly be wondering what was going on in his head.

Questioning his ambition, I kind of agree but he's someone who owes this club a lot. Managers have constantly played him and helped him develop and grow into a better player than what we got when he first arrived despite people constantly criticizing him. Maybe he feels he owes Chelsea or maybe he doesn't mind not being a regular at a huge club but he doesn't kick up a fuss about it either way which I think is worth a bit of respect given the power modern day footballers have over their clubs these days.

Fair enough, I just can't see Mikel replacing Matic against, like you say, strong teams like City anyway. It hasn't worked before and it won't work now if we lose Matic. We needed either or both Matic and Luiz in midfield to beat them. Without at least one, Yaya was just too much to handle. In those tough matches, Luiz played, not Mikel.

Again, Mikel hardly ever plays with Jose. He plays less with Jose than with previous managers. I honestly thought that with Luiz gone Mikel was going to play more, which hasn’t happened.

Let me make my point clear here: Mikel cannot possibly substitute Matic because he is not in the same ballpark as quality goes; and when I say quality I’m referring to strength, work rate, mental, and skill. That Jose does not rotate players we know very well, which actually worries me. Why not replace Matic in easy games esp at home after we build a solid lead? That’s also not done.

Say Matic breaks a leg… Now we are talking about starting Mikel in every match and that was not enough in the past – the reason why Matic was acquired.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Fair enough, I just can't see Mikel replacing Matic against, like you say, strong teams like City anyway. It hasn't worked before and it won't work now if we lose Matic. We needed either or both Matic and Luiz in midfield to beat them. Without at least one, Yaya was just too much to handle. In those tough matches, Luiz played, not Mikel.

Again, Mikel hardly ever plays with Jose. He plays less with Jose than with previous managers. I honestly thought that with Luiz gone Mikel was going to play more, which hasn’t happened.

Let me make my point clear here: Mikel cannot possibly substitute Matic because he is not in the same ballpark as quality goes; and when I say quality I’m referring to strength, work rate, mental, and skill. That Jose does not rotate players we know very well, which actually worries me. Why not replace Matic in easy games esp at home after we build a solid lead? That’s also not done.

Say Matic breaks a leg… Now we are talking about starting Mikel in every match and that was not enough in the past – the reason why Matic was acquired.

They are in the same ball park, both are holding midfield players. Sure Matic might be a better player than Mikel but they are both similar players.

The point is teams that want to win league championships and compete in 2 or 3 other competitions as well need a strong squad with players who play in similar positions but of varied quality (example: Salah, Schurrle, Ake, Mikel, Zouma, Remy in comparison to Willian, Hazard, Cesc, Matic, Cahill, Costa). You can't have a squad of 23 world class players or 23 great players where everyone would walk into every team and keep everyone happy. It doesn't work. I mean we couldn't even keep De Bruyne, Mata, Hazard, Willian, Schurrle and Oscar all happy, seeing as they would of all gotten regular games in most teams in the Champions League except for Real, Barca and Bayern. You need reliable players who can step in for others if they get injured/need a rest and can do a job. Maybe Schurrle isn't Hazard or Salah isn't Willian but you'd imagine if they were needed they could do a decent enough job. Having a man like Mikel who has won everything at Chelsea and has played in various big games is worth keeping around if he's content to be a squad player, because who says we won't get injuries???

[illmatic 901]

¿What some people want? 2 TOP players in the same position?. This is impossible, we have the best in this position, who plays the 90% of the games, so we need a player that play the remaining 10% , help for close the games, and assume his role, and Obi does this.

He is very good squad player, doesn't complain about his role... where is the problem with him?.

If in the future we sign someone better? Good, but now, I don't find a problem with him.