Mikel John Obi

[Amblève. 4,995]

I was wrong about Marin. I apologise. I made a mistake.

Torres had a good game I thought. Ake was impressive and did more than Mikel in trying to defend the Rubin second goal when Mikel couldn't be bothered to mark his man. Benayoun and Azpi were okay.

Mikel's performance was disgraceful though and one of the laziest, most pathetic I've seen in many years of supporting this club.

No problem.

Torre was okay in the 1st half, was a complete fuck-up in the second, though. Ake was okay, but definitely not better better than Mikel. We tend to overrate performances by our youngsters, but overall, he didn't do anything better than Mikel. Was as good/bad as the latter.

Benayoun was nowhere to be seen on offense, was defensively "okay". However, that's nothing that gets you excited.

Cesar was out of position several times, especially in the second half and lost key tackles, from what I can remember.

I have seen much worse performances than Mikel's, even this season. Can't agree with you at all here. Gonna need to agree to disagree, I guess.

[nono 791]

Long time since I've posted here. I remember the day Mikel signed for us as if it were yesterday. There was so much controversy and hype around him. It's been disappointing to see that he hasn't really developed as we would have hoped. I used to tell everyone that his only skill is to pass the ball back to whomever he gets it from, but would be told that I don't understand what Mikel brings. Same criticism of him still stands. He is an extremely unimaginative player. Him and Ramires are both so bad at passing that they can't play together. Either one or the other, and I'd rather have Ramires because he can score goals.

[Stats 7,142]

Long time since I've posted here. I remember the day Mikel signed for us as if it were yesterday. There was so much controversy and hype around him. It's been disappointing to see that he hasn't really developed as we would have hoped. I used to tell everyone that his only skill is to pass the ball back to whomever he gets it from, but would be told that I don't understand what Mikel brings. Same criticism of him still stands. He is an extremely unimaginative player. Him and Ramires are both so bad at passing that they can't play together. Either one or the other, and I'd rather have Ramires because he can score goals.

But I am sure if he would choose to he would like to show more of his attacking style but he is being asked to play a more restrictive role which he does. I also think some of his passing is underrated. Some of his long range passing is brilliant IMO.

[Spike 12,049]

He'd better find form next season.

[bleed_blue 136]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/apr/25/basel-chelsea-five-talking-points

"To pick Mikel John Obi in central midfield rather than David Luiz is to strive for mediocrity. It is never admirable but is sometimes understandable, as the Brazilian has a skittish side that sporadically unhinges his team. Still, he brings so much more positivity and enterprise to Chelsea's midfield that Benítez deserves acclaim for coming up with the plan a few months ago and should be encouraged to use it more often. Performances such as this one in which he scored the injury-time winner should help that cause, as David Luiz provided a sturdy platform for he and his team to thrive on. He showcased a range of passing that the one-dimensional Mikel seldom even alludes to and more defensive fortitude than Ramires, who, nonetheless, did a far superior job shoring up the right flank than either Mata, Oscar or Eden Hazard would have done."

[nachikethas 1,154]

It is amazing to think isn't it.

One is a man, a leader in our team and someone we can be proud of.

The other is Mikel.

i am a Chelsea fan and am proud of these two.

[Joe Cool 388]

Even effort aside, people don't seem to realize that Mikel just isn't good enough for the club in terms of talent. Just compare him to Makelele, who not only was a shade more skillful and composed with the ball, but was also many notches above Mikel when it came to positioning and discipline. This obvious lack of ability, combined with the fact that Mikel has shown a disgraceful lack of effort time and time again, should make it quite apparent that if we want to become serious title challengers, there is no way he should be anywhere near our starting XI next season.

[bleed_blue 136]

Since 2nd February, we have won all our PL games that Mikel did not start (Wigan, west brom, west ham, fulham and Swansea) while with him we have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 2 in the same period.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Since 2nd February, we have won all our PL games that Mikel did not start (Wigan, west brom, west ham, fulham and Swansea) while with him we have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 2 in the same period.

And we haven't lost a single game Ross Turnbull have played in this season. Let's get rid of Cech

[Muzchap 8,966]

And we haven't lost a single game Ross Turnbull have played in this season. Let's get rid of Cech

Lol - yeah true...

Still doesn't mean Mikel isn't shit

Luiz >> Mikel - said it months ago - Luiz best position right now is DM... Got slated but hey, everybody else can now see it.

I also had high hopes for Mikel for a period of 3-4 games he was bursting forward and passing so well... Then he just slipped back into lazy mode... He reminds me of Adabeyour (sp?) - when he wants to play = amazing, but rest of time = frustratingly average....

Good squad player tho!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Since 2nd February, we have won all our PL games that Mikel did not start (Wigan, west brom, west ham, fulham and Swansea) while with him we have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 2 in the same period.

And our win ratio with Cech in the team is worse than it is with Turnbull this season, shall we drop him too?

And we haven't lost a single game Ross Turnbull have played in this season. Let's get rid of Cech

Haha, I just said the same thing!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Lol - yeah true...

Still doesn't mean Mikel isn't shit

Luiz >> Mikel - said it months ago - Luiz best position right now is DM... Got slated but hey, everybody else can now see it.

I also had high hopes for Mikel for a period of 3-4 games he was bursting forward and passing so well... Then he just slipped back into lazy mode... He reminds me of Adabeyour (sp?) - when he wants to play = amazing, but rest of time = frustratingly average....

Good squad player tho!

My point is that it doesn't make him shit, because Mikel, being a key player in our team, is usually rested against weaker teams so it is only natural that we have a higher win percentage when he does not start.

I could not disagree more about Luiz. Here is why: http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/13527-04-david-luiz/?p=658954

[Muzchap 8,966]

My point is that it doesn't make him shit, because Mikel, being a key player in our team, is usually rested against weaker teams so it is only natural that we have a higher win percentage when he does not start.

I could not disagree more about Luiz. Here is why: http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/13527-04-david-luiz/?p=658954

Ok on Luiz in midfield - he's the best option we have at the moment - either:

Luiz + Mikel or Luiz + Ramires

Are to me the best DM pairing.

If in the summer we sign a World Class DM I would be happy for Luiz to play CB as a ball playing defender - he would give so much more options - as others have said hard to press and he could be the transition from Defence to Attack that we lack.

I get Mikel is rested in some games, also injured - but he really does need to sharpen up! Against City he just let Toure walk past him, he's (for whatever reason) lost his desire, hunger... Under RDM he looked a much better player, under RB he's returned to the player he was... No energy or desire. Please go back and check my posts on him under RdM - I was amazed it was like we had signed a new player! Now, he's back to under-performing and annoying me every minute of every game

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Ok on Luiz in midfield - he's the best option we have at the moment - either:

Luiz + Mikel or Luiz + Ramires

Are to me the best DM pairing.

If in the summer we sign a World Class DM I would be happy for Luiz to play CB as a ball playing defender - he would give so much more options - as others have said hard to press and he could be the transition from Defence to Attack that we lack.

I get Mikel is rested in some games, also injured - but he really does need to sharpen up! Against City he just let Toure walk past him, he's (for whatever reason) lost his desire, hunger... Under RDM he looked a much better player, under RB he's returned to the player he was... No energy or desire. Please go back and check my posts on him under RdM - I was amazed it was like we had signed a new player! Now, he's back to under-performing and annoying me every minute of every game

Again, disagree about Luiz. He should be nowhere near midfield for the reasons I stated in that post (I do hope you read it). He's too sloppy, too aggressive and too adventurous to play at DM. Anyway, I don't want to discuss Luiz here as this is not his thread. If you want a discussion about Luiz in midfield, read the post who's link I put above and we can discuss him there

As for Mikel, he had a few very good games after the AFCON (the replay against united comes to mind) but then he had a few bad ones last month especially that game in the EL but the City game was not one of the those bad games. He was very good in that game, and you can't judge the whole performance of player based on a single incident, especially a DM. He was back to himself against Liverpool and had an excellent game but then picked up that knock which saw him miss the last two games. So hopefully against united he continues with the good form he showed against Liverpool.

As for the goal you mentioned, I can't understand how people put the blame on Mikel. He did the right thing in showing Toure down the outside and not putting in a challenge because he would have given away an easy penalty. Yes, he was slow to react (which has always been his biggest weakness) afterwards to chase Toure and block the shot, but Azpi who let in the easy cross to Toure in the first place, and Cahill who should have double on him and closed down the shot but instead stood looking at Toure from 3 meters away from him, share the blame. You can't single out Mikel.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Again, disagree about Luiz. He should be nowhere near midfield for the reasons I stated in that post (I do hope you read it). He's too sloppy, too aggressive and too adventurous to play at DM. Anyway, I don't want to discuss Luiz here as this is not his thread. If you want a discussion about Luiz in midfield, read the post who's link I put above and we can discuss him there

As for Mikel, he had a few very good games after the AFCON (the replay against united comes to mind) but then he had a few bad ones last month especially that game in the EL but the City game was not one of the those bad games. He was very good in that game, and you can't judge the whole performance of player based on a single incident, especially a DM. He was back to himself against Liverpool and had an excellent game but then picked up that knock which saw him miss the last two games. So hopefully against united he continues with the good form he showed against Liverpool.

As for the goal you mentioned, I can't understand how people put the blame on Mikel. He did the right thing in showing Toure down the outside and not putting in a challenge because he would have given away an easy penalty. Yes, he was slow to react (which has always been his biggest weakness) afterwards to chase Toure and block the shot, but Azpi who let in the easy cross to Toure in the first place, and Cahill who should have double on him and closed down the shot but instead stood looking at Toure from 3 meters away from him, share the blame. You can't single out Mikel.

Hmm think it will be hard for us to find common ground here

Ok on Luiz

On Mikel - it's not just 1 incident, that's the one that rankles most. He is definitely playing below the standard required. Maybe it was AFCON, as Moses has looked poor since returning too!

Guess we will find out tomorrow

[bleed_blue 136]

And we haven't lost a single game Ross Turnbull have played in this season. Let's get rid of Cech

Turnbull started vs QPR on 2nd Jan and vs Reading on 30th Jan. We lost the QPR game and drew the Reading game. At least check the facts before you start mocking other people.

And our win ratio with Cech in the team is worse than it is with Turnbull this season, shall we drop him too?

Haha, I just said the same thing!

same as my reply to choulo19, also

Pathetic really.

[Joe Cool 388]

Again, disagree about Luiz. He should be nowhere near midfield for the reasons I stated in that post (I do hope you read it). He's too sloppy, too aggressive and too adventurous to play at DM. Anyway, I don't want to discuss Iuiz here ais not his thread. If you want a discussion about Luiz in midfield, read the post who's link I put above and we can discuss him there

As for Mikel, he had a few very good games after the AFCON (the replay against united comes to mind) but then he had a few bad ones last month especially that game in the EL but the City game was not one of the those bad games. He was very good in that game, and you can't judge the whole performance of player based on a single incident, especially a DM. He was back to himself against Liverpool and had an excellent game but then picked up that knock which saw him miss the last two games. So hopefully against united he continues with the good form he showed against Liverpool.

As for the goal you mentioned, I can't understand how people put the blame on Mikel. He did the right thing in showing Toure down the outside and not putting in a challenge because he would have given away an easy penalty. Yes, he was slow to react (which has always been his biggest weakness) afterwards to chase Toure and block the shot, but Azpi who let in the easy cross to Toure in the first place, and Cahill who should have double on him and closed down the shot but instead stood looking at Toure from 3 meters away from him, share the blame. You can't single out Mikel.

Were you and I watching the same game? Nearly every long ball from City's half somehow made it straight to Tevez/Aguero/whomever with loads of space because Mikel was caught out of position repeatedly and staying way too high up the pitch (something we also saw in the Southampton game). Then not to mention the fact that he never seemed arsed to get back once they did have the ball in such a dangerous position. As I posted earlier, you compare his positional sense and discipline (or lack thereof) to Makelele, who was also quicker and quite a bit better on the ball, and you'll realize that Mikel simply is not good enough. Add his shitty fucking attitude to all this, which makes him definitely not good enough.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Were you and I watching the same game?

The trick is to not actually watch games involving Mikel. That's just madness.

What you want to do is wait for the match to be over and then look at his stats for the game. Marvel at his pass completion stats and ignore things like heart, performance and effort.

I could maybe forgive his poor performances if he didn't show such disdain and lack of effort whilst wearing our shirt. People pay hard-earned money every week to see the team play and to have cunts like him put in the bare minimum really does irritate supporters.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Were you and I watching the same game? Nearly every long ball from City's half somehow made it straight to Tevez/Aguero/whomever with loads of space because Mikel was caught out of position repeatedly and staying way too high up the pitch (something we also saw in the Southampton game). Then not to mention the fact that he never seemed arsed to get back once they did have the ball in such a dangerous position. As I posted earlier, you compare his positional sense and discipline (or lack thereof) to Makelele, who was also quicker and quite a bit better on the ball, and you'll realize that Mikel simply is not good enough. Add his shitty fucking attitude to all this, which makes him definitely not good enough.

Of course Mikel is no where near Makalele, who is? Carrcik aside, name one better DM in the league (and do NOT say Toure, he is not a DM).

[Phil Driver 503]

Tiote,Sandro,Lucas,Arteta off the top of my head ,probably more .