Mikel John Obi

[Jase 43,479]

Juliano Belletti ‏@julianobelletti 4h

Aleluia!! My friend John Obi Mikel scored his first goal for Chelsea FC in 261 games. OMG!!

[Phil Driver 503]

58 of them where forward passes ,not as good as Van Ginkel v Basle then who had 95% pass success ,still at least his win /play has improved Tottenham next .

[Kojo 4,676]

This goal might give him a bit of confidence.

Only goal keepers should have 0 goals after the games Mikel has played, I know it's not his priority but it's the english league with the english media with the english fans, we apply the pressure, and most of the time it's unfair. Now no one can say Mikel hasn't scored a Premier League goal, if you ask me good for him. I was really happy when he scored, it shows that he isn't as useless as some of us thought he was.

One goal lets not get ahead of ourselves though, but I heard he put in a good performance and that's good to hear, Mikels problem has been consistency, if he can keep it up then I'll be happy with it. I have been mad at Mikel for years for not taking his place in the team, it's gotten to the point where I've lost all hope for him and want him out of the side, if he can prove me wrong this season then I'll be happy, and I mean that.

[zolayes 14,489]

I actually think he was better in the first. especially the first and last 10 mins where he was winning everything in midfield. He and Oscar were also the only two players trying to make something happen when everyone else, especially our wingers were mostly static.

You should really watch the goal at the very least.

Oh, and do try to stop trying to get on my nerves on purpose, it's very obvious and you're bad at it. I actually find it rather funny, tbh

That goal was nothing special. Nine times out of ten the Fulham defense does the right thing and clears it. But the tenth time you score (not literally of course, but you know what I mean). But in order for that to happen you need to try ten times, and for you to be able to do that, you must have the possession for most of the game to try again and again. That's how you break tight defenses down, by keeping the ball and trying over and over again. It takes one second to lose the ball by attempting a pass that will probably won't reach it's destination, but it takes at least thirty or a minute to win it back. Playing the guaranteed pass may not be "fancy" but it will help you much more to win the match, especially when it's not your job to play the defense-splitting pass. Look at Ramires today for example, in the first half he misplaced a lot more passes thank Mikel and two-three of the lead to very dangerous counter attacks. That's why you never want your pivot to misplace passes especially if you are playing with such a high block and have massive gaps at the back.

And just for the myth about only playing backward passes, he completed 89 passes (84 + 5 long passes) today at 92% accuracy. 58 of them where forward passes and 31 where either backwards or square. (Squawka.com)

your obsession with mikel is not funny its sickening Again I wonder if you have ever seen a live football match.. He scored a goal yes ,,,,

I saw it ... NOW get real

[robsblubot 3,250]

I actually think he was better in the first. especially the first and last 10 mins where he was winning everything in midfield. He and Oscar were also the only two players trying to make something happen when everyone else, especially our wingers were mostly static.

You should really watch the goal at the very least.

Oh, and do try to stop trying to get on my nerves on purpose, it's very obvious and you're bad at it. I actually find it rather funny, tbh

That goal was nothing special. Nine times out of ten the Fulham defense does the right thing and clears it. But the tenth time you score (not literally of course, but you know what I mean). But in order for that to happen you need to try ten times, and for you to be able to do that, you must have the possession for most of the game to try again and again. That's how you break tight defenses down, by keeping the ball and trying over and over again. It takes one second to lose the ball by attempting a pass that will probably won't reach it's destination, but it takes at least thirty or a minute to win it back. Playing the guaranteed pass may not be "fancy" but it will help you much more to win the match, especially when it's not your job to play the defense-splitting pass. Look at Ramires today for example, in the first half he misplaced a lot more passes thank Mikel and two-three of the lead to very dangerous counter attacks. That's why you never want your pivot to misplace passes especially if you are playing with such a high block and have massive gaps at the back.

And just for the myth about only playing backward passes, he completed 89 passes (84 + 5 long passes) today at 92% accuracy. 58 of them where forward passes and 31 where either backwards or square. (Squawka.com)

I hear you but don't value short passing at all. A huge number of players are quite comfortable with short safe passes. Parker is one of them. Gareth Barry another. The really good DM/CMs are the ones who go beyond short easy passes: ex Toure and our own Essien back then (when he had functional legs).

I really paid attention to Mikel today. Nothing, nothing impressive about his passing. No pressure at all. He actually did lose possession and started a counter attack in the first half when surrounded by two players; it seemed like he was going to keep it by turning and shielding the ball, but then he lost his footing and the football. Until the first 15 minutes he attempted two long balls which were passed directly back to a Fulham player. After those two he did not attempt another long ball for the remaining of the first half.

Again, I hear what you say and how much you value these types of passes. I can see more value in such passes when we play a team like United away from home. So, if in such situations, under constant pressure, he is able to do the same, then and only then he will have my respect.

For me he must reproduce what he did when Fulham were tired and beaten in the final minutes of the match. That type of stuff is what better CM/DMs do on a consistent basis. No he doesn't have to score all the time, but he must move like he did then - esp at home. No not all the way to into the opponent's box, but close enough so he can too open up some spaces for the other players.

[ja1 1,166]

Essien and Toure were/are not DMs, though they could/can play there.

[OneMoSalah 8,616]

Mikel has now scored, now he is seen as an amazing player OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Yeah I know where is he

Because this goal what Mikel scored that one goal in about 300 games has proven everything he said wrong.

Jesus do some of you people even try anymore? You complain about the Mikel thread being full of hate yet here you are being childish, get over yourselves.

We were having a laugh, relax mate.

[The Skipper 20,593]

JOM is a martyr. #believe

[EBH 283]

I think the problem is, everybody think now that defensive midfield, you must be Pirlo otherwise you are not good. This is stupid. It is like saying, striker, you are not good if you are not Pelé. Pirlo is one of the best ever football players. Maybe in our whole lives, we will see one more like Pirlo, if we are lucky. For everybody else, Mikel is the maximum.

People see Pirlo then say, why Mikel cannot pass like that, why Mikel cannot score goals? I think we need to be more realistic. The whole point of defensive midfield, is to allow other players to attack. Why should he be good at attacking? That is not his job.

[Kieran. 6,317]

I think the problem is, everybody think now that defensive midfield, you must be Pirlo otherwise you are not good. This is stupid. It is like saying, striker, you are not good if you are not Pelé. Pirlo is one of the best ever football players. Maybe in our whole lives, we will see one more like Pirlo, if we are lucky. For everybody else, Mikel is the maximum.

People see Pirlo then say, why Mikel cannot pass like that, why Mikel cannot score goals? I think we need to be more realistic.

And according to the logic of some of these posters, Mikel isn't as good as Makelele (best DM of all-time) so he's shit. Brilliant

[Las7 951]

Mikel has outscored Eto'o; Torres and Ba in the League this season I think he deserves plaudits for his finishing

[Stats 6,987]

While people say there is no need for Mikel in our current system I really think people are underestimating his range of passing. Especially long range passing. Do people remember Drogba's goal against Cardiff in the FA Cup in our 4-1 victory I think it was? The 5-0 victory over Portsmouth as well a few years ago when he done that wonderful through ball for Drogba to score. He is capable of this. He has displayed moments of brilliant passing in other games as well. I hope he displays more of what he is capable of over the season.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

While people say there is no need for Mikel in our current system I really think people are underestimating his range of passing. Especially long range passing. Do people remember Drogba's goal against Cardiff in the FA Cup in our 4-1 victory I think it was? The 5-0 victory over Portsmouth as well a few years ago when he done that wonderful through ball for Drogba to score. He is capable of this. He has displayed moments of brilliant passing in other games as well. I hope he displays more of what he is capable of over the season.

His pass for Anelka's second goal in the 6-0 at Wigan in 2010/11 (our second game of the season) was one of the best passes I have ever seen.

[The only place to be 11,313]

This goal might give him a bit of confidence.

Only goal keepers should have 0 goals after the games Mikel has played, I know it's not his priority but it's the english league with the english media with the english fans, we apply the pressure, and most of the time it's unfair. Now no one can say Mikel hasn't scored a Premier League goal, if you ask me good for him. I was really happy when he scored, it shows that he isn't as useless as some of us thought he was.

One goal lets not get ahead of ourselves though, but I heard he put in a good performance and that's good to hear, Mikels problem has been consistency, if he can keep it up then I'll be happy with it. I have been mad at Mikel for years for not taking his place in the team, it's gotten to the point where I've lost all hope for him and want him out of the side, if he can prove me wrong this season then I'll be happy, and I mean that.

Exactly.

He deserves credit for putting in better performances recently, but he has to keep it up. Actually felt his performance against Everton was much better than yesterday but he stepped up and it was encouraging to see.

This is the thing about people like you and I who have criticised him - we didn't do it because we needed a scapegoat or just for fun. We did it because he wasn't playing well (in our opinions), but when he does put in a good performance then we're quite ready to give him the credit he deserves.

And I'll be honest - it felt good to sing his name yesterday. I hope this is the start of a new era for him, but he needs to kick on.

[Despiadado.Maleante 1,046]

So strong shielding the ball

[Laylabelle 9,305]

Yay he scored and the world hasnt ended lol..maybe Torres might score again that be as strange!
Good on him for it

[Jase 43,479]

Salomon Kalou ‏@Skalhuno 1h

Tchaaiiii. My bobo scored. They gonna learn today #obimikel #chelseafc #africa http://instagram.com/p/ej4mQcCCal/

Mikel? Bobo??