Mikel John Obi

[Clevemayer 764]

This is the point I was making on another thread. Late in a game, we drop deep and start clearing the ball and opposition keeps the constant pressure on us. Some of the fault is down to management. There is no proper plan in place to protect leads and some of it is down to the players' choices. More often than not, our players decide to bash the ball downfield than keep it and tick the play over and run the clock down. Liverpool is just the latest in plenty of cases like that

and btw I do play football. Regularly

right but there is no point in blameing Micky for that in particular, in fact there wasn't much he could be blamed for yesterday beside that nutmegging he got from Studge twice, but the third time he did what any player would do he swept his legg fucking away.

thats the point and thats right to question, if YOU keep the pressure up then there is no chance the opponent will have that amount of chances in the dieing minutes but again this is not Mikels fault, he did the simple things in his position every one gets told, in the dieing minutes or whenever there is nobody to play to, just get that ball out of you're own half, as wide as you can.

If you play then you know it...

[Strike 7,489]

right but there is no point in blameing Micky for that in particular, in fact there wasn't much he could be blamed for yesterday beside that nutmegging he got from Studge twice, but the third time he did what any player would do he swept his legg fucking away.

thats the point and thats right to question, if YOU keep the pressure up then there is no chance the opponent will have that amount of chances in the dieing minutes but again this is not Mikels fault, he did the simple things in his position every one gets told, in the dieing minutes or whenever there is nobody to play to, just get that ball out of you're own half, as wide as you can.

If you play then you know it...

I agree. I thought it was an exception rather than the rule itself i.e Mikel usually passes sideways but there he decided to launch it forward. that's why i mentioned it

[Clevemayer 764]

I agree. I thought it was an exception rather than the rule itself i.e Mikel usually passes sideways but there he decided to launch it forward. that's why i mentioned it

yeah no problem but its common sense, if you get the ball away when the pressure is too high you can get you're shape reorganized.

I've blamed Mikel for the last three games but yesterday he was back especially in the 1st half he had everything under controll.

the funny thing about some peeps here is, they say why did Carragher, Gerrard, Studge, Henderson and Studge have had so many freedom if Mikels task is to protect the back for... right you guys read again Carragher (a defender) Gerrard, Studge, HJenderson and Studge they're 5 players, nearly 50 percent of the opposite squad, so its Mikel task to play against FIVE? ok right...

[The only place to be 11,313]

Azpilicueta, Ake, Benayoun, Torres. Think Luiz performed on the same level as Mikel, maybe a bit better, so I'm not gonna put him on that list as you wanted me to name 4 players who were worse than JOB.

FunFact: Marin didn't even play that game. Sure you watched that match?

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.

[Stats 7,142]

WOW, this debating about Mikel has led to 3 pages from this afternoon up until now

[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!