Mikel John Obi

[Ossie the King 634]

Saw him get some stick for coming on but he's usually a very solid presence. Did what he was asked to and added a bit of steel to the side. Fact is Guus doesn't have a vat amount of options at the moment.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

So, for the same of argument let's say he did play well - though i still find difficult to see it (different discussion).

Now, the big question, concerning this match (Watford), is why did we play freaking Watford @ the bridge with both Mikel and Matic in the second half? Just check their attacking stats. Having them both on the pitch makes us LESS likely to score. Yes, we should have more of the ball and be able to defend better but we were losing the match at the time...

See the thing is, I do agree. I don't know why Hiddink did that, because if Mikel was coming on I thought for Matic would've made more sense. But this brings me back to Cesc being too poor right now, for Hiddink to sacrifice him like that must be something attributed to Cesc himself. But that being said, Mikel hadn't done much wrong when he was playing. He did the job. Didn't play overly well or overly poor.

It's a flaw of playing Cesc in that role. Everyone know, this is just a very wild example, on Fifa when you play 2 proper DMs then it's almost impossible to get past such a defence at times. Maybe Hiddink wanted the back 6 to be solid as possible to give a free license to Pedro (Hazard), Oscar, Willian & Costa.

[robsblubot 3,595]

See the thing is, I do agree. I don't know why Hiddink did that, because if Mikel was coming on I thought for Matic would've made more sense. But this brings me back to Cesc being too poor right now, for Hiddink to sacrifice him like that must be something attributed to Cesc himself. But that being said, Mikel hadn't done much wrong when he was playing. He did the job. Didn't play overly well or overly poor.

It's a flaw of playing Cesc in that role. Everyone know, this is just a very wild example, on Fifa when you play 2 proper DMs then it's almost impossible to get past such a defence at times. Maybe Hiddink wanted the back 6 to be solid as possible to give a free license to Pedro (Hazard), Oscar, Willian & Costa.

He may have done the job, but was it a job in need of doing?

I see Fabregas and Mikel in a very similar way. Mikel is too much of a short passer (and nothing else); long balls are far more important for the role. He's also calm, composed and slow, which is also not what the role requires - DMs need to be dynamic and decisive. They need pace to recover because the very defensive ones are essentially defenders playing in the middle.

Fabregas is the polar opposite. He's dynamic, but has no strength or power (Mikel has plenty of strength). He cannot tackle to save his life, but he adds a lot of creativity if you can afford having him there. I personally think you can't (have Fabregas in a CM), but I also think you cannot have Mikel there either.

At least top top teams should aim for having better than both... but can't really say we are a top team at the moment...

[lionking 10]

He can't even make a 2 yard pass to save his life. He's as useless as Oscar

[Sideshow Luiz 2,310]

It seems that Mikel is on everyone's list of players that should be shipped out ASAP. I just can't agree with this.

He doesn't play that much, he has a job to do and last year he did it well (shut up shop). He doesn't moan about his playing time or that he isn't used in certain ways. He's a great player to have in the squad and on the bench.

He's been a very loyal player to the club, I don't see the point in shipping him out.

[robsblubot 3,595]

It seems that Mikel is on everyone's list of players that should be shipped out ASAP. I just can't agree with this.

He doesn't play that much, he has a job to do and last year he did it well (shut up shop). He doesn't moan about his playing time or that he isn't used in certain ways. He's a great player to have in the squad and on the bench.

He's been a very loyal player to the club, I don't see the point in shipping him out.

The point is to get someone better and/or younger - perhaps RLC to play more.

If that's not possible - financially or RLC turns not that great or too green - then yes keep him.

He's on a 75k a week though which makes it a lot of money per minute play.

[Reddish-Blue 2,495]

The point is to get someone better and/or younger - perhaps RLC to play more.

If that's not possible - financially or RLC turns not that great or too green - then yes keep him.

He's on a 75k a week though which makes it a lot of money per minute play.

Loftus-Cheek isn't ready for the first team...otherwise he would have broken through this season (where Matic, Fabregas, Ramires have all been awful at some point)

He might need a loan spell to 'mature' as a player, like Moyes did with Ross Barkley

[CHOULO19 24,332]

If you look at this team and this season and think that the first player that we should get rid of is Mikel then that is quite clearly not a rational opinion but one based on personal bias.

For me, he's an experienced player who's been a loyal servant to the club and who can come in at any time despite lack of minutes and provide adequate cover in central midfield and even CB as we saw a couple of seasons ago against Atletico. A good squad player and literally our least expensive player outside of the youth. That's not at all to say that he is irreplaceable or even very important.

For me, if he decides to leave, then god bless, and I thank him and wish him all the best in the world, and if he wants to stay and help the team more, then all the merrier.

[11Drogba 2,000]

We can sell Fabregas and Matic and sign better players but Ramires and Mikel would drag them down to their level as well in time. We need better players in bench to keep the first 11 players motivated and competitive.

[marketing media pet 27]

Lool at bunch of comment that says he's loyal.. he's just here to collect the money aint nothing to do with loyalty...

bunch of hick

[lucio 5,418]

Loftus-Cheek isn't ready for the first team...otherwise he would have broken through this season (where Matic, Fabregas, Ramires have all been awful at some point)

He might need a loan spell to 'mature' as a player, like Moyes did with Ross Barkley

being "ready" won't get you shit at chelsea. the manager even said he's ready. the performance vs liverpool did not suggest otherwise either

[DYC. 7,542]

I disagree with the loyalty remark that's always made in Mikel's case. So many squad-players left not because of a lack of loyalty but because they wanted to play. And they were willing to earn less if it meant they could play. It's different when you start 15-25 games and show quality, but Mikel's happy to sit on the bench and come on for a few minutes here and there. That's his decision but I don't understand why Chelsea would have such a player on the roster. Matic and Fabregas would play game after game after game... Tired, exhausted, out of form, terribly out of form. They play. No competition. The alternative options are so bad they can't come in and do better. Forced to continue with Matic-Fabregas because what else is there? That's unbelievable for a club like Chelsea.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I would have thought Ramires signing a contract extension would seemingly be the end of Mikel. Stood up for him loads and do genuinely like the guy, but we're past sentiment now and he is just taking up a space that should be occupied by either a youth player or someone better.. Guus is going to give him third third/fourth lease on life at Chelsea - this much is evident. I hope it's more of a case of him going on a high as opposed to prolonging the inevitable.

[MefiX19 1,092]

Loftus-Cheek isn't ready for the first team...otherwise he would have broken through this season (where Matic, Fabregas, Ramires have all been awful at some point)

He might need a loan spell to 'mature' as a player, like Moyes did with Ross Barkley

How we will know if he is ready when he never plays?

[OhForAGreavsie 6,065]

How we will know if he is ready when he never plays?

I never play either. Do you know if I'm ready?

Managers and coaches have to form an opinion about players from the evidence they see and they see much more evidence than we do. None of our coaches have picked RLC very often so it's clear that, collectively, they don't believe Ruben is ready. Why would they pick him if they don't think he's set? Many in this thread, and elsewhere, announce that Ruben can't be worse than the players he might replace in the line up but they do so without any evidence at all.

Those with the evidence and the decision making power say no, those without either say those others don't know what they're talking about. Football.