Mikel John Obi

[Start 22]

Been quite impressed by Mikel in the confeds. Would like to see him go forward to see us next yr, especially under a 433 system.

[OneMoSalah 8,615]

Not at the races this half ,another of his traits lack of fitness ,no chance he can be box to box in that role ,like Frank or Rammy ,looks like he is running in sand,as soon as this is over Jose will bring us the good news that he is leaving .

Na think hes been ok this half, still Nigeria's most influential player. Hes had a few decent runs and passes so I think its tough to criticize him, especially against the best team in the world.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Na think hes been ok this half, still Nigeria's most influential player. Hes had a few decent runs and passes so I think its tough to criticize him, especially against the best team in the world.

Don't worry, he just seems hellbent that Mikel is definitely leaving because apparently Jose has told him personally that he doesn't rate Mikel.

[OneMoSalah 8,615]

Don't worry, he just seems hellbent that Mikel is definitely leaving because apparently Jose has told him personally that he doesn't rate Mikel.

Lol doesn't rate Mikel but he signed him in the first place and basically converted him to a defensive midfielder.....

[The Skipper 20,593]

Well. That's that. 3 - 0 is flattering to Spain in my opinion, Nigeria played well - they just lacked that quality in the final 3rd. Mikel was brilliant in the first half, head and shoulders above almost everyone on the pitch including the Spanish players, but I didn't like his attitude in the 2nd half, it was almost nonchalant. He played without that same passion unfortunately.

All in all, I'm happy that he used the tournament to remind everyone of his qualities. Great tournament overall.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Lol doesn't rate Mikel but he signed him in the first place and basically converted him to a defensive midfielder.....

That bit isn't true - Jose only started Mikel as a DM in 12 out of 27 games. The conviction that Jose turned him into a DM is untrue; that's more down to all the other managers that decided to use him there permanently.

[Phil Driver 503]

Wont be playing against Spain every week though

Or Tahiti .

[OneMoSalah 8,615]

That bit isn't true - Jose only started Mikel as a DM in 12 out of 27 games. The conviction that Jose turned him into a DM is untrue; that's more down to all the other managers that decided to use him there permanently.

Really? I thought Jose played him there a lot.

I know under Carlo he played a much more there too, he became a key player under Carlo imo.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Or Tahiti .

Come on... he played better against Spain and Uruguay who are both great national teams. He had great games. Don't know why it's so hard for you to at least give him a bit of recognition for that.

[Phil Driver 503]

I will if it gets the transfer fee up ,yes brilliant ,brilliant goal against Tahiti .

It will all unravel now and I will wish him all the best with his new club ,they will be getting a bargain .

[The Skipper 20,593]

I will if it gets the transfer fee up ,yes brilliant ,brilliant goal against Tahiti .

He scored against Uruguay.

[bluesman2610 1,227]

I will if it gets the transfer fee up ,yes brilliant ,brilliant goal against Tahiti .

It will all unravel now and I will wish him all the best with his new club ,they will be getting a bargain .

He scored vs Uruguay.. was beaten too it sorry in advance

[robsblubot 3,237]

Come on... he played better against Spain and Uruguay who are both great national teams. He had great games. Don't know why it's so hard for you to at least give him a bit of recognition for that.

He does play better for Nigeria, but I reckon Chelsea cannot afford to build a team around Mikel the same way Nigeria do, because Frankly Mikel is't good enough for that to happen. A medium club perhaps could go that route, perhaps a different, slower league too. BTW, he was a bit slow to take the shot and missed the opportunity in the first half.

A big caveat on Mikel's performance is how much time on the ball he was allowed by Spain; it's really strange they would allow Nigeria's arguably most influential player to receive a pass after pass with no pressure whatsoever. It's like Spain decided that closing down on Mikel was unnecessary and despite his fine game, it worked.

I have to confess I am NOT impressed with this Nigeria team. Yes, they have power, speed, but little technique as their incompetence in the final third showcases.

[Leif 6,006]

I'm not bashing him, good performance, but stop overlooking the fact that Spain didn't play a pressing game tonight. They completely sat back and also built up slowly for the majority of the game. Without the pressing of course Mikel could show off more mobility. He won't be given such time & space in most PL games.

Also low pass completion again. For every "UGH NICE THROUGH-BALL MIKEL!!!!" there's complete strays. He needs to work on this.

I like his hair now.

[OneMoSalah 8,615]

He does play better for Nigeria, but I reckon Chelsea cannot afford to build a team around Mikel the same way Nigeria do, because Frankly Mikel is't good enough for that to happen. A medium club perhaps could go that route, perhaps a different, slower league too. BTW, he was a bit slow to take the shot and missed the opportunity in the first half.

A big caveat on Mikel's performance is how much time on the ball he was allowed by Spain; it's really strange they would allow Nigeria's arguably most influential player to receive a pass after pass with no pressure whatsoever. It's like Spain decided that closing down on Mikel was unnecessary and despite his fine game, it worked.

I have to confess I am NOT impressed with this Nigeria team. Yes, they have power, speed, but little technique as their incompetence in the final third showcases.

Little technique? They are the one team that has given Spain a good game in this competition they were confident, getting on the ball and passing it around quite well. I wouldn't say they lack technique but just some of their decision making was awful, they are actually a good side Nigeria. They could have done a bit better in the second half maybe but hey who has played as well as they have in the first half against Spain in recent times?

[The Skipper 20,593]

He does play better for Nigeria, but I reckon Chelsea cannot afford to build a team around Mikel the same way Nigeria does, because Frankly Mikel is't good enough for that to happen. A medium club perhaps could go that route, perhaps a different, slower league too. BTW, he was a bit slow to take the shot and missed the opportunity in the first half.

A big caveat on Mikel's performance is how much space he was allowed by Spain; it's really strange they would allow Nigeria's arguably most influential player to receive a pass after pass with no pressure whatsoever. It's like Spain decided that closing down on Mikel was unnecessary and despite his fine game, it worked.

I have to confess I am NOT impressed with this Nigeria team. Yes, they have power, speed, but little technique as their incompetence in the final third showcases.

I agree that we can't build our team around him - that ship has sailed away a long, long time ago. Never said we should either, especially when we have talents like Oscar, Mata and Hazard to build around - what I do think though is that he needs to be given more offensive responsibility. He clearly has the passing range and intelligence to do so, even from deep. What would be interesting at CFC is if we do sign someone like Kondogbia we can easily play a midfield two of Mikel - Kondogbia, with Mikel allowed more freedom to express himself and link up effectively with the likes of Mata, Hazard, Oscar etc. in front of him.

At the start of last season I was hoping to see that in his game because I do think he's capable of doing so but he was once again used as the holding player in the pivot. Next season could be very interesting, would like to see what Mourinho does with him in all fairness.

And yes, I partially agree about the Nigerian team. They lack quality in the offensive third but we do have to remember they were missing their main men there in Emenike and Moses who are both very decent players.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Brilliant in the first half and gave up in the 2nd. Must have been frustrated with the shower of shit he's surrounded by.

Brilliant player.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

I remember last time he got abuse, that was after the Juventus game, he had deleted his twitter account. Then Robbie stepped up and said:

'I don't know why Mikel is underrated by the media or the fans. He is very rated by us in the group and it's a position where you're a bit of an unsung hero,' the Italian explained.

'You do the dirty work which is not recognised all the time because the goalscorers and more creative players get the recognition. But he is very important for our team, he breaks up the play, he is physically strong, he is getting better on the ball with his distribution and dictates the tempo of the team as well so we are very happy to have him in our team.'