Mikel John Obi

[CHOULO19 24,332]

If you can't make that 10ft pass on a consistent basis, you shouldn't be playing for a top club.

That's not true. Real life is not a video game, it is extremely difficult to get it right every time. Most of our midfielders often misplace short passes in a game and they don't even attempt one fifth of the short passes Mikel does. For example, Ramire is a terrible short passer, Lampard is pretty bad as well.

I'm not sure if "no one" else is capable of making 10ft passes on a consistent basis...its more like the other midfielders in the EPL try to keep the game flowing.

The distance of the pass has nothing to do with "flowing" of the game. Arsenal, who arguably play the most "flowing" football in the league, play the least long balls. The flowing of the game, if you mean by it the quick transition from defense to offense, is a complex system that takes A LOT of training and which is based mainly on player movement off the ball. Something we've been desperately lacking since Carlo's second season here.

In Mikel's case, there have been many occasions where he slows down play and kills the flow of the team..which allows the opposition more time to react and reposition themselves to deal with our attacking threat..

Mikel's job on the attack is to keep possession. It's not his job to make defense-splitting passes. If the pass is risky, I would much rather my DM slow down play than possibly lose possession because when you're DM loses possession then the other team has the ball with 6-7 of your players out of position. At this level, you're going to pay for that.

[Reddish-Blue 2,495]

That last point reminds me of Joe Cole towards the end of his career here - undoubtably a good player but just killed momentum whenever he picked up the ball and was ultimately let go.

In terms of passing though, Mikel has a very cosseted role in the team. He's surrounded by options, including the keeper, so of course he should be maintaining a high pass completion ratio as well as a hugh number of passes in general. No-one is saying he's such a bad player that he can't do that. His role is as a conduit, a facilitator and an important cog in the machine. But could he be better? Could he shave a few milliseconds off the time between receiving a pass and moving it one? Could he play with more urgency? I think that's what people want to see from him.

Maybe he's constrained by the lack of ambition that the role demands, which is why I'd actually like to see him be given a go as the playmaker in the team's midfield. He'd have less responsibility on the defensive side of the ball and more freedom to use his passing ability which is under-utilised according to his supporters. We could play a DM like Romeu or someone else (naming no names) who could do the water-carrying and let him express himself more creatively.

That's the point people who criticise his performances keep making - he has the technical skills and physical gifts to be better than he is right now. If he was a limited footballer then he wouldn't be nearly so frustrating.

I reckon we'd have to switch to a 3 man midfield to see Mikel show his more creative side at Chelsea.

We could potentially have a midfield containing: KdB - Mikel - Ramires/ someone else

[Styles 9,790]

Ok fair point but you really feel Mikel does this well? I don't, players breeze past him like he is a statue far too often. His passing game is not even that good either. Maybe you can't make full blooded tackles anymore but just look at the goal we conceded against Juve when Mikel gave the ball away and then just half heartedly strolled towards the player with the ball. This kind of feable marking and attempt to win the ball back is seen in Mikels game far too often for my liking. Plus you can tackle without having to slide or go to ground, you jockey then use the x button.

I agree with you that Mikel is easily side-stepped by players. His lateral movement is not good, he struggles to turn quickly and has poor acceleration. He is more likely to intercept than to win the ball off an opponent. But tackling seems to be going out of the game and the interception is king now, teams place more emphasis on pressing and forcing their opponents into mistakes.

Disagree with you about his passing, he is perhaps not as adventurous as we would all like but he brings a calm presence to the team and recycles the ball better than anybody else in midfield.

It would be funny though if Mourinho came back and Mikel was first choice under him. A lot of people here wouldn't know what to think.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

If Mourinho comes back, Mikel WILL be first-choice. Despite being 18 when we signed him, he played in literally every big game under Mourinho's management and justifiably so. I think Mikel had matured so much as a player. He might not bring you the same drive as Luiz or the goals of Ramires in that position, but we are such a better team defensively when he starts, and there is a balance to the team that is always absent when he is sat on the bench. There is a reason that Mikel has been in the plans of Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, Hiddink, Ancelotti, Villas-Boas, di Matteo AND Benitez - because he's absolutely brilliant at what he does.

He's under-rated by most Chelsea supporters, who measure impact on a team in terms of goals and assists. I measure Mikel's worth by his composure on the ball, defensive and positional discipline, his range of passing, and his overall contribution by eight different managers who all get paid a hell of a lot more money than I do, yet still shower him with the same praise.

[The only place to be 11,313]

If Mourinho comes back, Mikel WILL be first-choice. Despite being 18 when we signed him, he played in literally every big game under Mourinho's management and justifiably so. I think Mikel had matured so much as a player. He might not bring you the same drive as Luiz or the goals of Ramires in that position, but we are such a better team defensively when he starts, and there is a balance to the team that is always absent when he is sat on the bench. There is a reason that Mikel has been in the plans of Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, Hiddink, Ancelotti, Villas-Boas, di Matteo AND Benitez - because he's absolutely brilliant at what he does.

He's under-rated by most Chelsea supporters, who measure impact on a team in terms of goals and assists. I measure Mikel's worth by his composure on the ball, defensive and positional discipline, his range of passing, and his overall contribution by eight different managers who all get paid a hell of a lot more money than I do, yet still shower him with the same praise.

I hate this bollocks that only sophisticated connoisseurs can appreciate what Mikel does in the team. I'm not sure if you were around the Bridge much when Makelele was at the club but the fans respected and adored him - and it wasn't just because he scored a penalty against Charlton. It's because our fans understand football and respect good players even if they don't score goals or create assists. The same went for players like Spackers and Deschamps who both played a role in the team and were respected (although not at the same level as Makelele obviously).

People in this thread, in the stands and around the world who criticise Mikel know exactly what he's supposed to do in that role but they simply don't rate him or think he's consistent enough.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Makelele was world-class. I was fortunate to see him many times at the Bridge and at other grounds around the country. But he's now retired, and Mikel is the best option we have for the system we want to play; better than Ramires (who is a better all-round box-to-box player, but not a holding midfielder), better than Lampard (I'm not quite sure what Lampard's job in the team is any more to be honest, he seems to play where we wants and not really give a fuck) and better than Luiz (who is really only a part-time midfielder at best, he is a centre-back by trade at the end of the day). Based on the view he is the best option that fits our system (with a double-pivot you need one who stays at home and another that goes walkabouts), he should be starting over Ramires and Lampard at the very least.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Makelele was world-class. I was fortunate to see him many times at the Bridge and at other grounds around the country. But he's now retired, and Mikel is the best option we have for the system we want to play; better than Ramires (who is a better all-round box-to-box player, but not a holding midfielder), better than Lampard (I'm not quite sure what Lampard's job in the team is any more to be honest, he seems to play where we wants and not really give a fuck) and better than Luiz (who is really only a part-time midfielder at best, he is a centre-back by trade at the end of the day). Based on the view he is the best option that fits our system (with a double-pivot you need one who stays at home and another that goes walkabouts), he should be starting over Ramires and Lampard at the very least.

And I don't disagree with any of that. But you started your post by saying that he's nailed-on to start next season and I don't agree. We have two young players who will hopefully get some time in pre-season and that shirt is very much up for grabs. Plus during Mikel's first season he played next to Makelele and Lampard who could protect him. By now he should be one of the guys that protects the younger players and forms that solid spine of the team and I'm yet to be convinced he can do that.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

All we fans want to see from mikel, is desire to get the ball from opponents (he didn't do that against juventus and against yaya toure) and have a nice passing range like luiz to torres in europa league (instead of just passing to the back four).

His style of play is exactly like xabi alonso except he lacks any kind of long pass range with chelsea and lacks any desire to put in tackles to stop opponents.

Till he does those two things, he is not good enough for our team in my opinion.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Double post... Delete

[Leif 6,006]

Y WASNT HE PART OF THE ADIDAS VIDEO? U KNO I THINK IT IS BECAUSE HE HATES THIS CLUB

[xPetrCechx 13,570]

Y WASNT HE PART OF THE ADIDAS VIDEO? U KNO I THINK IT IS BECAUSE HE HATES THIS CLUB

BECAUSE HE IS POOR.

[Amblève. 4,995]

Y WASNT HE PART OF THE ADIDAS VIDEO? U KNO I THINK IT IS BECAUSE HE HATES THIS CLUB

BECAUSE HE IS POOR.

And people complain about spamming ...

[BlueLion. 21,491]

BECAUSE HE IS POOR.

And I don't disagree with any of that. But you started your post by saying that he's nailed-on to start next season and I don't agree. We have two young players who will hopefully get some time in pre-season and that shirt is very much up for grabs. Plus during Mikel's first season he played next to Makelele and Lampard who could protect him. By now he should be one of the guys that protects the younger players and forms that solid spine of the team and I'm yet to be convinced he can do that.

Fair point, but IF Mourinho does come back, realistically I can see Mikel becoming a fixture in the team and starting 75% of matches, as opposed to being one of Benitez' favourite players to rotate in and out of the team, though that does obviously refer to the squad as it stands now. If we switch systems or we bring in personnel that outshine Mikel, then fair enough. But if we return to the system we employed under Mourinho's first stay, it looks like Mikel will have a big-ish say in events.

[DDA 9,928]

He's a bit slow to react at times, and his mobility off the ball is not the best, I'll be the first to admit that. But I do think he defends well enough because he makes up for that with his physical abilities, tactical awareness and more importantly discipline. He's not a ball winning DM (this was an absurd concept back in the 90s) but what he does is close passing angles, stays on his feet to force the error. Take the last game vs United for instance, there were three incidents in the first half when Cole was out of position and Nani had the ball running down the right flank on the counter. Mikel just stayed with him and closed all passing angles. Nani ended giving it back to our defense twice and running it out of play in the other. There were plenty of other incidents, but those just stuck out.

He makes mistakes? Of course he makes mistakes. But I don't think they're as often as you make them out to be. The problem is, fans, all football fans, even pundits, judge players on individual incidents: goals, assists, dribbles..etc or on the other hand OGs, mistakes that lead to goals, bad passes..etc and Mikel doesn't do any of those. His biggest assets are his incredible consistency in his passing, his ball retention skills, and his discipline to sit deep and protect that back four all game long. Those don't show in individual incidents or in individual matches for that matter but are invaluable for the team because the name of the modern game, especially for a top team like Chelsea is "keep possession".

As for his passing game being "not even that good", I know that the people who don't like Mikel tend to hate stats, but you just don't have the most passes in the league with the highest accuracy over the past four seasons by accident, you have to be an incredible passer. And again, in Mikel's case, it's not the 50ft pass, but the ability to make that 10-20ft pass 9 times out of ten in every single game. No one else currently in the league is capable of that.

I only judge Mikel by the mistakes he makes in the most important games and to be fair I have always said that whenever I have seen him play at the Bridge he has always performed below average. I don't have a personal vendetta against Mikel I just can't stand his lack lusture efforts to win the ball back for our team. When it comes to passing, I strongly believe that every single player in our team should be able to complete 9/10 ..10 yard passes. I would much rather see a Modric than a Mikel in our team alongside a good ball winning central midfielder. David Luiz and John Terry have a better long range passing game than Mikel.

[lucio 5,418]

he has played well recently but for me is inconsistent. he most certainly cannot play with lampard that is just suicide. i would play him as the holder in a midfield 3 with ramires as b2b and a dlp like benat or moutinho but if there is a chance to get another holding midfielder such as capoue or bender we should.