Mikel John Obi

[Blue Gino 377]

Chalobah, Romeu, Ake, players with an eye for quick passing. Makes Mikel look slow. The positioning has been evolving and requiring more than what Mikel brings.

[OneMoSalah 8,885]

Mikel was brilliant today, million times better than what Lamps was.

[Stats 7,142]

Chalobah, Romeu, Ake, players with an eye for quick passing. Makes Mikel look slow. The positioning has been evolving and requiring more than what Mikel brings.

Well maybe it is good that Mikel has a limited role. He offers the freedom for the fluidity of the other CM and players like Luiz playing at CB can play with more freedom like we saw in the game against United today because he knows Mikel is there to sweep up the damage. It is important to have players like him. One of the most important roles IMO. Look at Busquets at Barca, has a limited role, maybe gets the odd goal a season but rarely goes forward. Executed perfectly.

His role today highlighted the ability to help the fluidity of the team. An important unsung hero at the club if you ask me.

[The Mak 4,459]

Some here are really getting too excited.

Honestly, he had an absolutely fantastic second half, changed the game and allowed Ramires to take up a more natural CM position so he could roam up and down the pitch. However, once in a blue moon performances are not going to convince me. Not by a long shot.

For me, saying "I told you so" about Mikel is quite similar to saying "I told you so" about Torres if he scored a brace or something. Obviously Mikel is not as bad as Torres in his respective position, but my point is consistency. I can't remember a game where Mikel performed as well as he did today, and that says a lot.

Mikel just looks laboured a lot of the time in his passing, reactions and movement, key attributes of a DM. Look at what Peace posted about Busquets a while ago. Busquets has reactions and a brilliant, quick, passing range; while Makélélé had quick movement with fantastic positional sense and decision making.

Take nothing away from him, he had a fantastic game today and is our best DM at the moment, but I think some people should really wait until he shows such performances consistently before spouting "I told you so".

[Blue Armour 4,436]

Mikel the "super-sub"....( so used to seeing him being taken off when we go in search of a goal)

[Backstreet09 499]

Good 45 minutes, doesn't change my opinion. Average player.

TOTALLY .

[Rambo 1,729]

don't care what people think of him as long as he can produce performances like he did today.

[Kojo 4,676]

I expect this thread to be very quite for a while

You mean like when you said we would all miss mikel at ACON and we didn't?

He almost cost us twice with two stupid passes today which where simple, even with the passing he is supposedly good at, he still shows how incredibly weak he is to fit in with the attacking flow. Your earlier statement about how he is not been able to get the game forward because there is no movement, well against United it was some of the best movement we've made all season, 2nd half of course, and Mikel was still giving it away.

Honestly Mikel could do nothing all game and you would give him all the credit, if Mikel killed someone you would try to find some way to justfiy it.

Am i harsh? yes i am, but you're also too quick to over credit.

[Backstreet09 499]

You mean like when you said we would all miss mikel at ACON and we didn't?

He almost cost us twice with two stupid passes today which where simple, even with the passing he is supposedly good at, he still shows how incredibly weak he is to fit in with the attacking flow. Your earlier statement about how he is not been able to get the game forward because there is no movement, well against United it was some of the best movement we've made all season, 2nd half of course, and Mikel was still giving it away.

Honestly Mikel could do nothing all game and you would give him all the credit, if Mikel killed someone you would try to find some way to justfiy it.

Ermehgerd mate , you should be the president of America :wub:

P.S I'm out of likes

[Kojo 4,676]

Ermehgerd mate , you should be the president of America :wub:

P.S I'm out of likes

I just love how the fact that when the game changes, Mikel gets all the credit.

I remember last season, Lampard was taken off and i think it was Meireles or Anelka who was or even where put on in the midfield, and they hardly got any credit for changing the game, when that happened we dominated united and should of came back with 4 goals. That was when Torres missed the open goal, and a lot of other chances, but he still played very well that game, more lively than he has ever looked infact.

I actually liked Mikel last season, in AVB system the first set of games he was looking really good. But then once again he dissapointed, even though it was his time to flourish he still couldn't. Untill he starts putting in good games on a consistent basis then i will say i was wrong, but untill then i never see that happening. Infact if anything I've proven just everyone wrong at the end of last season. Everyone said i was an idiot, everyone said how stupid i was, i was the only one who was actually against Mikel being our starter, and now a lot of people agree with what i said, i bet some of them where the ones who even called me an idiot then.

[English Freak 456]

Regardless of Mikel's performance today, he's still an average player.

We need to solve our CM/DM problem for next season whilst Romeu gets match fit and Chalobah/Ake keep learning and improving on loan...

[Clevemayer 764]

You mean like when you said we would all miss mikel at ACON and we didn't?

you mean that period we lost most of our areal battles and seemed in need of a DM don't you?

that awkward moment when you realize the person you're talking with has an biased an opinion and don't realises when he fails...

[The Skipper 20,609]

I just love how the fact that when the game changes, Mikel gets all the credit.

He isn't getting all the credit though, if you look at the MOTM votes in the match day thread you'll see that easily. That's just something you've fixated in your mind out of your pure hatred for Mikel. What Mikel is getting praised for is the fact that when he came on he allowed Ramires to play on the counter and gave Oscar, Mata and Hazard a bigger platform to play on. In that sense he was pretty essential in our comeback. Give credit where credit's due.

For example, the two moments he lost the ball - why was there so much space for United to counter attack on? Because we were pushing for a goal, and our forward line pushed for a goal because Mikel allowed them to not worry too much about defending. The other players trust Mikel in that sense.

It's quite funny how you always highlight the bad with Mikel, and never the good. For example when he made that crucial interception from Valencia on the left whilst covering for A. Cole, or when he showed great composure and ball control and ghosted past 2 United players that were pressing him. Apart from that he also kept the ball ticking for us nicely, always offering a safehaven for our forward line when we were shifting the ball about.

He wasn't even my MOTM but he had a good game. I don't see why people aren't allowed to praise him because of that.

[Clevemayer 764]

I only hold Mikel in regret for ONE thing and thats like others have said consistency... whom says he has never seen Mikel play such games must be here AFTER we've won the CL...

he had many great games but more then one AVARAGE Game...

I really like Mikel I do, because its wonderfull to see him play with his cool nonchallance way and his tremendous touch... he really is unbeliveabale for his sice... his shielding, his accurate passes, his interception are all top top class... and he has shown it against Barca, Inter, quite often against Arsenal and ManUre, against a physical side like Sunderland, there are so many games you can watch him just tick in that midfield...

but I really expect ore of him... I don't want him to score to shoot to do the unbeliveable things and stuff but I just KNOW what he is capable of and its clearly to see this is not a one out of thousand games, I've seen better from hin then this 45 Min... it's just fun to reacit like other ppl. when he has had TWO errors all the season against Juve and City where he was REALLY to be held in regret for conceeding a goal, but nobody talks about the ctinioues failure of our attackers to move ain and around (despite Mata) and that errors of Cahill, Luiz, Chech, Lamps, FlOPPES and so on, they're all much worse and the worst thing out of all is that you whom just start telling others not to get carried away with ONE HALF of football probably rate Ramires in such a high regret who still dont has any ball stopping ability and any passing quality...

I expect more from Mikel, IF the guys infront of him do well, I expect more CONSISTENCY from Mikel, not in putting very good solid performances but to put a WORLDCLASS performance in nearly every game... he is no tranquerista and he is no Makelele, he isn't as quick as Maka (there fore he is much bigger) and he lacks one thing for an tranqueristar thats the deadly low ball between the lines, any other passing he is second to none and I will stand with this thing I've said there...

BUT... BUT peeps he has mor TEchnique then the great and beloved Maka, he is (yeah this so0unds unbeliveable) more composed, has more shielding quality and an wider range of passes and I really LOVE maka, I even try to immitate some of his moves but you have to give credit where it belongs...

Mikel lacks consistency in putting in WORLDCLASS Performances not very good solid and great performances... he does this pretty consistently... so stopp moaning about him being a very god midfielder... I just hold my head when I read comments from many of you... some have valid points some just get on my nerves.

Mikel needs a propper partner get KPB or Modric ASAP and put pressure on him with Romeu if he can't do so, get Capouet... he is top too...

[SinineUltra 1,170]

A great sub and he did change the game, very good with the ball. Only downside with Mikel is that he is absolutely no threat to the goal, he rarely tries and that takes one dimension out of his game - noone marks him in the edge of the box leaving more opponents in the box to mark the likes of Mata, Hazard etc.