Mikel John Obi

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Great performance today, his passing was sublime. He was, imo, our best player till he came off. Though, it did help, I think, that Stoke did not attack us at all, so his defending was not put to test.

[francozola 2,040]

He was played much higher up than usual, right?

[Clevemayer 764]

yes and this exactly the role mikel should always play... DM but a bit higher up the pitch... great composure and great skill on the ball

[CHOULO19 24,332]

He was played much higher up than usual, right?

I don't know if he was "played", as in the manager told him to player higher, or if it was Stoke's deep defending that lead him there.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Of course there's no praise for Mikel, even though he's played very well in the last two games.

[Kostas 1,468]

I think he looks at his best when teams sit deep and invite pressure rather than trying to dominate.

[Ollie 4,400]

Stoke posed precisely no ambition and no attacking desire. They played to score 0 and were so negative they coulda finished with -1, Mikel had an easy game today. Lets see how he does against City, Spurs and Arsenal if he plays. What even happened to Romeu?

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I liked him higher up the pitch, I think he added stability there. I'd forgotten how good Mikel was in these park-the-bus situations. Well done lad.

[5354 204]

He's still raw while playing higher up....would love him to play those killer passes though....

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

Mikel has done really well under RDM.He's shown that he is a force to be reckoned with and that he shouldn't be considered as a 3rd choice for the cdm role. I honestly feel that Essien is much better at that role.Essien can offer much more than Mikel,he's fast and can take some lethal long shots.Romeu is also a class cdm.He makes those quick passes up ahead and is solid at the back,he's like a 5th defender for us.

Reports have suggested that Juventus are interested in Essien.Now I feel if they offer more than 10m then we should sell him.Essien is too injury prone and its time we sell our players at the right time.The man is almost 30 years old and it can be fair to say that he wont be here for long.Mikel's performances can be erratic but then we also have a consistent Romeu who may choose us over Barcelona when the time comes.David Luiz can also play as cdm,a role which he favors and is quite good at times.So there are many options.

I am not really a huge Mikel fan but when I see a player work hard and play well,its my duty as a Chelsea fan to appreciate such performances and praise him.

[Spike 12,049]

Mikel's passing was sublime against Stoke. He made many more foward passes than a lot of fans give him credit for.

[termninja 5,290]

Stoke game was just a match for him. We needed concentration and stability in order to break through their bus and he did well. Would love to see some killer balls from him though...

[Aussiedan 154]

People forget that his still only 24, most central defensive midfielders peak around 26, 27. Makelele was 29 when he first starting at Chelsea and he had a brilliant 5 year career with us.

Mikel cops a little because of his goal scoring record but his not in the team for scoring goals.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

People forget that his still only 24, most central defensive midfielders peak around 26, 27. Makelele was 29 when he first starting at Chelsea and he had a brilliant 5 year career with us.

Mikel cops a little because of his goal scoring record but his not in the team for scoring goals.

Wow, he's been around forever as well

[Kieran. 6,317]

I account for his age whenever I analyze him, but yes I agree, people do forget his age.