Mikel John Obi

[The only place to be 11,313]

What Chelsea fans should ask themselves is, if Mikel is as poor as many say he is, how come when he is fit, he gets into the first team of EVERY coach Chelsea has had? And we are talking about top managers - Mourinho, Scolari, DiMatteo, Benitez, etc I think only Cech has managed this feat.

Two of those managers were sacked, one left by 'mutual consent' and one was an interim, was roundly hated and also dropped Mikel.

But if you want to hang your argument about Mikel being a great player on 'Big Phil chose him' then it's as good as any other argument put forward.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Two of those managers were sacked, one left by 'mutual consent' and one was an interim, was roundly hated and also dropped Mikel.

But if you want to hang your argument about Mikel being a great player on 'Big Phil chose him' then it's as good as any other argument put forward.

What does sacking of managers got to to with them picking Mikel over and over again? It isn't like because of choosing Mikel for the starting XI they got fired.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Why was backstreet banned?

[OneMoSalah 8,785]

Why was backstreet banned?

Didn't he not call Choulo Bin Laden up there? I'd imagine thats why.

[Joe Cool 388]

Didn't he not call Choulo Bin Laden up there? I'd imagine thats why.

Silly boy, I'm willing to bet that he was pissed out of his mind

[Kostas 1,468]

Two of those managers were sacked, one left by 'mutual consent' and one was an interim, was roundly hated and also dropped Mikel.

Is that supposed to be a counterargument? Shocking.

[Strike 7,254]

Mikel is definitely not poor, but he is not exactly a fit for what is required at Chelsea moving forward.

Mikel's Situation IMO is the same as with Berbatov at United, Good players, but their playing style just is not intensive enough for their respective clubs,

Both have skills, but intensity is lacking and for the top top clubs, intensity is THE most important aspect of the game.

Berbatov and Mikel both look lazy. I say "look", not "are".

Their playing styles are more suited to Italy than England.

When you play a Midfield Duo tasked with containing the opposition midfield, there will be a lot of high-energy pressing required to cut-off the angles and close down the passes. Our CAM - Mata is no help, so it's down to the two in midfield. Mikel dropping so far back unbalances the midfield. Seen it happen far too many times.

[Joe Cool 388]

When you play a Midfield Duo tasked with containing the opposition midfield, there will be a lot of high-energy pressing required to cut-off the angles and close down the passes. Our CAM - Mata is no help, so it's down to the two in midfield. Mikel dropping so far back unbalances the midfield. Seen it happen far too many times.

Another thing, when he isn't too far back, he goes too far forward, which gives so much space to the opponent to work with in the zone between midfield and defence. Man City in the FA Cup semi final and Southampton away (where he was pressing their centre backs for whatever reason) are prime examples of this.

[The only place to be 11,313]

What does sacking of managers got to to with them picking Mikel over and over again? It isn't like because of choosing Mikel for the starting XI they got fired.

I'm suggesting that their judgment may not have been something we should place much faith in.

By the way, Charlie Adam was the player who 'starred' for Blackpool in the Premier League when the team was built around him. When he moved to Liverpool and was asked to play a role in the team rather than be the main man, he looked far less effective. The same appears to be true of Mikel.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

I'm suggesting that their judgment may not have been something we should place much faith in.

By the way, Charlie Adam was the player who 'starred' for Blackpool in the Premier League when the team was built around him. When he moved to Liverpool and was asked to play a role in the team rather than be the main man, he looked far less effective. The same appears to be true of Mikel.

Them being sacked doesn't make them less of a manager. We are talking about one of the most renowned managers in the sport. Plus you've got to admit that many sackings have been knee jerk anyway - it is very easy to lose your job overnight as a manager of Chelsea even by looking at the camera wrong or not massaging players' egos.

Mikel hasn't been as bad as it is made out to be, he just doesn't get the attention because he is not a forward player nor a playmaker. He has been played as a DM who go on quietly doing their job.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Them being sacked doesn't make them less of a manager. We are talking about one of the most renowned managers in the sport. Plus you've got to admit that many sackings have been knee jerk anyway - it is very easy to lose your job overnight as a manager of Chelsea even by looking at the camera wrong or not massaging players' egos.

Let's not fall into this trap of thinking we sack managers for no reason. We sack them because they under-perform....players, not so much.

Mikel hasn't been as bad as it is made out to be, he just doesn't get the attention because he is not a forward player nor a playmaker. He has been played as a DM who go on quietly doing their job.

Again with this 'people just don't understand/notice Mikel' argument?

One word - Makelele. Got so much love, attention and respect from the supporters.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Let's not fall into this trap of thinking we sack managers for no reason. We sack them because they under-perform....players, not so much.

Again with this 'people just don't understand/notice Mikel' argument?

One word - Makelele. Got so much love, attention and respect from the supporters.

So you think players don't under-perform? What kind of an argument is that?

Jedem das Seine - everyone can think of Mikel as they please. Though solid reasons could be brought up to justify such belief.

[bleed_blue 136]

Let us address this frequent "appeal to authority" and 'belief' that Mikel has been the first choice under so many managers.

Mikel was bought when Jose Mourinho was our manager and let us 'assume' that he was a Mourinho signing. Bear in mind, Mourinho was buying a player who had shone in a youth tournament and Mourinho was ultimately betting on that talent to realize its potential.

Lets start with the 2006-07 season.

Makelele was Mourinho's first choice DM.

Mikel made only 10 starts in PL that season and 24 starts overall.

Contrast that to Makelele's 26 starts in PL and 42 starts overall

or Lampard's 36 starts in PL and 57 starts overall (mostly in CM).

or Essien's 33 starts in PL and 53 starts overall

or Geremi's 15 starts in PL and 22 starts overall

Even Lassana Diarra got 7 starts in PL btw.

Overall, 18 players in the Chelsea squad started more PL games than Mikel in the entire season.

13 players in the Chelsea squad started more games across all competitions than Mikel in the entire season. That definitely does not sound like Mikel was the first choice that season. Fair enough, because he was a 18-19 year old kid competing with legends of the game like Makelele, Lampard, Essien who had all been bought in for big money and were proven performers.

Let us move on to the 2007-08 season.

Mourinho left in mid september after we drew against Rosenberg and Avram Grant took temporary charge.

Mikel started 21 games in PL, 1 game in CL and 27 games across all competitions.

Makelele started 15 games in PL and 29 games across all competitions.

Yes Mikel made more starts than Makelele in PL but the 34 year old Makelele was being rested for PL games to conserve his energy for Champions League matches. He started 12 games in Champions League where we lost the final to ManU on penalties.

As far as other midfielders are concerned,

Essien started 23 games in PL, 11 in CL and 38 games across all competitions.

Lampard started 23 games in PL, 10 in CL and 37 games across all competitions.

Ballack started 16 games in PL, 7 in CL and 25 games across all competitions.

Clearly Avram Grant's first choice midfield (as evident from starts in CL) was Makelele, Essien, Lampard and Ballack.

Overall, 9 players in the Chelsea squad started more PL games than Mikel in the entire season.

14 players in the Chelsea squad started more games across all competitions than Mikel in the entire season.

Again it does not seem like Mikel was the first choice.

In the 2008-09 season, Scolari became our coach, makelele left after the expiry of his contract (at the age of 35 years) and the only new signing in midfield was Deco, who was more confortable higher up the field. Mikel's only competition was an out of position Essien. Essien got injured and was out for 6 months (sept-feb). Mikel was the only choice left and he started 34 games in PL and 48 games overall (most he has at Chelsea so far).

Essien came back from injury in March and he was immediately restored to starting lineup by Hiddink.

Essien started 11 PL games and 18 across all competitions.

Lamaprd made 37 PL starts and 56 across all competitions

Ballack made 22 PL starts and 37 across all compeitions at the age of 32.

In many big games after Essien's return, Hiddink's first choice for MF was Ballack, Essien and Lampard.

Hiddink came on after Scolari was fired and after Essien returned, Hiddink's first choice midfield was Ballack, essien and Lampard in many big games.

ONly 4 Chelsea players made more starts than Mikel in PL and across all competitions that season.

This is the season when Mikel made more stats but you have to admit he was helped by lack of competition because of departures/injuries/lack of reinforcements.

In the 2009-10 season, Ancelotti took over the managerial responsibilities at Chelsea and he tried to sign Andrea Pirlo for CM at Chelsea but could not succeed.

Mikel started 21 games in PL and 30 games across all competitions.

Essien was again injured while on international duty and missed the last 4-5 months of the season.

He made 13 PL starts and 18 across all competitions for Chelsea.

Lampard made 36 starts in PL and 48 across all competitions

Ballack made 26 starts in PL and 36 across all competitions

Zhirkov and Deco also started some games as deep CMs

Essien-Lampard-Ballack was the preferred midfield in CL.

Overall 10 players started more games in PL for Chelsea than Mikel and 9 players across all compeitions.

In the 2010-11 season, Ancelotti bought Ramires to address the midfield problem. Ramires took some time to adjust to PL.

Mikel started 29 games in PL and 34 games across all competitions while Ramires started 22 in PL and 33 across all competitions.

Lampard started 23 in PL and 30 across all competitions.

A fit again Essien started 33 games in PL and 41 across all compeitions.

Zhirkov also started a few games at CM.

Overall 7 chelsea players started more PL games than Mikel and 8 Chelsea players started more games overall than Mikel.

For the 2011-12 season, AVB came in and we bought an untested Romeu from the Barca academy.

AVB's first choie was Romeu who started 11 games in PL and 17 overall.

Mikel got regular game time only after AVB was replaced by RDM and he started playing with '10 men behind the ball' tactics.

Mikel made 15 starts in PL this season and 27 across all competitions.

Ramires made 28 starts in PL and 44 overall while Lampard made 26 starts in PL and 38 overall.

Meireles made 23 starts in PL and 37 across all competitions.

12 players started more games than Mikel in PL and 12 players started more games than Mikel across all competitions for Chelsea.

Clearly not the first choice again (except for the RDM reign)

In the 2012-13 season, Emenalo/whoever decides transfers/loans had a brainfart and sold Meireles and loaned out Essien.

Mikel was the first choice under RDM (beating off competition from Romeu) and he started all 12 PL games that RDM managed.

Overall Mikel started 19 games in PL this season and 32 across all compeitions.

Benitez, clearly did not rate him, tried Romeu who got injured, and then experimented with Luiz at CM.

Ramires made 28 starts in Pl and 54 overall

Lampard made 21 starts in PL and 39 overall.

Again, Mikel was the first choice under RDM only.

I have tried to keep the above as objective as possible but my bias might come across at some points. Apologies for that.

But clearly it is a stretch to say that Mikel has been the first choice MF at chelsea under so many accomplished managers.

[Stingray 9,441]

and it's a position where you're a bit of an unsung hero

Indeed. It is a position where you are an unsung hero. I think he does ok in that role, but I expected more.

He's not bad at all, but I always feel he lags the tempo just a tad too much, just like he is out of sync and misses the beat while being the drummer of the band...

[The only place to be 11,313]

So you think players don't under-perform? What kind of an argument is that?

No, I was saying that we don't sack players for under-performing.

Chelsea supporters are able to recognise a player's contribution to the team, and also the effort their putting into their performance. It's not a coincidence that Mikel has never really been taken to heart by a large part of the support.

[GhanaBoy 104]

still no comp of his performances in the CC ?

[Leif 6,006]

Can't really argue with that long post above. Mikel has never been an undisputed first choice aside from under RDM for around 12 games.

[GodZola 630]

Mikel will always divide opinions on here, why I rarely post on this thread, from where I'm from & when I chat to fellow supporters at the Bridge rarely any of those fans rate him as what I would perceive as a top level performer. This is the problem with many members in here who offer excuses for his below par performances, like he needs a quality player around him or he is played in the wrong position or now its Chelsea's fault! Ffs get real people, top quality players don't need excuses they shine through consistent performances week in/week out, something Makelele & Essien (pre injury) had in abundance..........

Now I stated before last season started that if Mikel plays regularly we won't win the league & I still feel the same way, however I have also stated that I will trust Jose judgement & if he selects him as first choice I am happy to be proved wrong, my gut feeling is that Mikel will be sold. I think he is prob better than what I have described in the past but unfortunately he is no where near the player we need to dominate again, hence my feeling that he will leave.