Mikel John Obi

[The only place to be 11,313]

Starting against Everton.

You want to bet on that?

[hjperdeath 2,226]

You want to bet on that?

I'm riling up people. Seems successful so far...

[The only place to be 11,313]

I'm riling up people. Seems successful so far...

It says something when you can get a rise out of people by suggesting Mikel might play. Personally I think he'll be lucky to be on the bench against Everton unless we rest players for the Galatasaray game. He might start in that one but only if we go defensive which I think is unnecessary. For me he's fifth choice in midfield when everyone is fit (Matic, Lampard, Ramires, Luiz, Mikel).

[hjperdeath 2,226]

It says something when you can get a rise out of people by suggesting Mikel might play. Personally I think he'll be lucky to be on the bench against Everton unless we rest players for the Galatasaray game. He might start in that one but only if we go defensive which I think is unnecessary. For me he's fifth choice in midfield when everyone is fit (Matic, Lampard, Ramires, Luiz, Mikel).

Indeed does !

[CHOULO19 24,332]

You want to bet on that?

Well he was our MOTM in the game at Gudison this season, so I wouldn't bet against him starting if I were you.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Well he was our MOTM in the game at Gudison this season, so I wouldn't bet against him starting if I were you.

A game we lost. Personally I can't see why he would play, beyond resting players for Galatasaray.

In fact I can't complete this sentence - John Obi Mikel should start against Everton because....

[CHOULO19 24,332]

A game we lost. Personally I can't see why he would play, beyond resting players for Galatasaray.

In fact I can't complete this sentence - John Obi Mikel should start against Everton because....

I just gave you the most obvious reason: He was our best player when we last played against them.

You're welcome

[The only place to be 11,313]

I just gave you the most obvious reason: He was our best player when we last played against them.

You're welcome

I do wonder if you are genuinely trolling us in this thread. He actually did have a good game and I complimented him for it, but I said he needed to do it consistently and he simply hasn't.

Tactically you would expect Everton to either try and retain possession (in which case we need to put constant pressure on them) or it'll be another game where we create plenty of chances without any breakthrough. In neither case would I choose Mikel to start. For me it's Matic and one other (preferably Lamps).

[Henrique 9,133]

And in the majority of those matches, his contribution was more than that of Ramires or MIkel; I know you like to go against the grain, but it's hard to argue otherwise. It's the fact that he's come in mid-season, meaning he is still adapting to the team and PL but manages to still be head and shoulders above our current CMs - that's what makes him special. He's only going to get better with time.

It doesnt matter. Not enough matches to evaluate player consistence. If you take 4 Torres matches in a row you might think he has been superb, but as soon as you see the bigger picture you will realize that the real story is really different.

[Drogba4ever15 47]

What? Malouda had his best season in 2010 under Ancelotti. Also, Kalou wasn't exactly Garrincha, but the kid had some talent and all in all was certainly worth the little sum we paid for him.

No you're forgetting something, Malouda was here last year some just don't know about it. Because he decided to stay with us only to keep his wages instead of agreeing to transfer to other clubs. So he was placed in reserves and he never played a single game with any of us.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I do wonder if you are genuinely trolling us in this thread. He actually did have a good game and I complimented him for it, but I said he needed to do it consistently and he simply hasn't.

Tactically you would expect Everton to either try and retain possession (in which case we need to put constant pressure on them) or it'll be another game where we create plenty of chances without any breakthrough. In neither case would I choose Mikel to start. For me it's Matic and one other (preferably Lamps).

Well Matic has played poorly in the past two game so Mikel might start in his place. On the other hand, Matic is not available for the midweek game in the CL, so it could go either way, but I think we'll definitely need the physicality of either Mikel or Matic against Everton. I personally think that Nemanja will start, but I wouldn't bet against Obi.

[Henrique 9,133]

Good point. If you completely ignore our best performance of the season then he's only looked great against Newcastle. That's 2 of his 3 Premier League starts but yeah, he looked a little off against West Brom.

Look, Matic has looked a class above in limited appearances. He hasn't been perfect but he's shown some nice touches and also a willingness to do things like press the ball and also show a bit of adventure going forward. That already makes him better than Mikel in my book.

As for Ramires, EVERYONE on this forum knows exactly who he is. No-one will question his work ethic, his engine, his pace or his determination. But there's that bit of the game where the ball either by design or by error rolls to his feet and he's asked to do something with it. That's where he's massively inconsistent, literally from touch to touch.

Matic is better than Mikel as player, and I dont think anyone in the world will question that.

As you said, Ramires weaknesses are well known, but its strange that months ago people were happy with his game, but now people want a better player because of Matic. This is what I find really odd.

[Drogba4ever15 47]

Well Matic has played poorly in the past two game so Mikel might start in his place. On the other hand, Matic is not available for the midweek game in the CL, so it could go either way, but I think we'll definitely need the physicality of either Mikel or Matic against Everton. I personally think that Nemanja will start, but I wouldn't bet against Obi.

Matic played awful in those past two games I completely agree with you and that's why we shouldn't play him.

I mean Mikels performance against Man City was excellent, had it not been for him we might of actually gotten the draw, thank god we lost 2-0 when we did.

[remains of the day 564]

It doesnt matter. Not enough matches to evaluate player consistence. If you take 4 Torres matches in a row you might think he has been superb, but as soon as you see the bigger picture you will realize that the real story is really different.

I think you're completely way off the mark. Like wayyyyy off and to be perfectly honest, it sounds like you're being skeptical of Matic just for the heck of it and not because of any substantiated reason. It's not like this is some unproven youngster who suddenly came out of nowhere, played 4 matches and is now being overrated by the supporters. This guy was the best player in the primeira liga last season and is highly regarded by Portuguese pundits as one of the best DM in Europe. Way before the news even broke that we had made a bid for him, a few on here (myself included) actually said that the club should look into bringing him back. So it's not like we're all praising him based on 4 matches. Even in those 4 matches he played, it's obvious to any objective viewer with two functioning eyes that he's an upgrade from Mikel. Of course there are some flaws in his game that Matic needs to iron out but looking at the match stats from these last couple of games, he's been among our highest rated performers. So I really don't know what you're beating on about. Seems an awful lot like "moaning for the sake of moaning" thing.

[The Mak 4,459]

It doesnt matter. Not enough matches to evaluate player consistence. If you take 4 Torres matches in a row you might think he has been superb, but as soon as you see the bigger picture you will realize that the real story is really different.

I'm not really sure what you're trying to get at. You act as if Matic is no better than Mikel but then you say this:

Matic is better than Mikel as player, and I dont think anyone in the world will question that.

I don't get it. That is my main point, but yet it seems like you want to disagree with me at the same time for the sake of it.

I think you're completely way off the mark. Like wayyyyy off and to be perfectly honest, it sounds like you're being skeptical of Matic just for the heck of it and not because of any substantiated reason. It's not like this is some unproven youngster who suddenly came out of nowhere, played 4 matches and is now being overrated by the supporters. This guy was the best player in the primeira liga last season and is highly regarded by Portuguese pundits as one of the best DM in Europe. Way before the news even broke that we had made a bid for him, a few on here (myself included) actually said that the club should look into bringing him back. So it's not like we're all praising him based on 4 matches. Even in those 4 matches he played, it's obvious to any objective viewer with two functioning eyes that he's an upgrade from Mikel. Of course there are some flaws in his game that Matic needs to iron out but looking at the match stats from these last couple of games, he's been among our highest rated performers. So I really don't know what you're beating on about. Seems an awful lot like "moaning for the sake of moaning" thing.

Thank you!

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

I've always wondered about people using this game to cite Mikel's 'quality' (I'm not sure what you're suggesting he excelled at - controlling the game, being a defensive giant, um....).

Bayern created 34 chances in that game, 21 of which were on target. What exactly are you praising the 'best DM/only DM since Maka'?

Was he equally amazing in the Europa League Final? No, because he didn't play.

Sure since when has one MF player managed to stop players like Ribery, Robben and Muller who constantly interchanged and popped up wherever they wanted to? Would like to know, even Sergio Busquets the best holder in the world struggled against them in the next year when they played a much more disciplined style before they reached the final. They created 34 chances that night against us, a team Robbie set up which we were happy to let them come and shoot from 30 yards out and try to create a lot of 'clear cut chances' when it was obvious they would struggle against a very low block. I'll say it again, Mikel gave his best performance for us that night and I stand by that hes our best holding player since Maka. Sure he didn't play in the Europa League final but we were abysmal in the Europa League final, MF was all over the place, had no real control on the game at all so to say that him not playing in that game is justified or even trying to hint at it is a stupid move given how bad our MF was.

[123-blue 19]

What exactly did Mikel do in that CL final that Lampard did not?

Lampard had 71 passes with an 85% accuracy to Mikel's 65 with an 88% accuracy.

Mikel had 4 tackles and 3 interceptions. Lampard had 4 tackles and 5 interceptions.

86 touches to Frank's 96.

Mikel got dispossessed once and had 1 turnover.

Lampard was dispossessed once and had 0 turnovers.

I thought Ash was the motm. So what did Mikel do that was so stellar in the CL?

He is the ONLY holding midfield player at the club.Why do people get so riled up if fans want to see a better player at Chelsea instead of Mikel?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

What exactly did Mikel do in that CL final that Lampard did not?

Lampard had 71 passes with an 85% accuracy to Mikel's 65 with an 88% accuracy.

Mikel had 4 tackles and 3 interceptions. Lampard had 4 tackles and 5 interceptions.

86 touches to Frank's 96.

Mikel got dispossessed once and had 1 turnover.

Lampard was dispossessed once and had 0 turnovers.

I thought Ash was the motm. So what did Mikel do that was so stellar in the CL?

He is the ONLY holding midfield player at the club.Why do people get so riled up if fans want to see a better player at Chelsea instead of Mikel?

He provided an outlet when we were under incredible pressure. He got the ball under pressure and had the physical strength and composure to keep it and find the right pass. He played a huge role in relieving the pressure we were under. That is why everyone was praising him on May 20th and saying how good he had performed.