Mikel John Obi

[Phil Driver 503]

Big game for him tonight to see who is back up to Frank and Rammy,what has Essien got left in the tank?

We find out tonight.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Mikel with some nice words about Jose:

[ChelseasMessiah 304]

Superb first half from Mikel, our stand out performer tonight so far.

[ChelseasMessiah 304]

I have to reiterate, he was absolutely boss tonight, I think Jose has just what he needs in midfield now.

[zolayes 14,489]

Superb first half from Mikel, our stand out performer tonight so far.

[lucio 5,418]

man he has really turned my opinion around recently. strong as an ox and quality passing. elite performance. bullied arsenal all night with essien.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

This is what I have always like about Mikel; he knows how to play it simple,keeps hold of possesion for us and makes it difficult for opposition midfielders to completly over run us when they have the incetive. Tonight was a great example.

Waits for flames....

[yuvala 2,167]

He's so different than last year, really.

Top performance tonight.

[DDA 9,691]

I am Mikels number one enemy but tonight he had a very good game. Didn't panic in possession and made the right touches to escape danger and keep the ball. Nice one lad!

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Deserves a game against Newcastle. Top class performance by him and Essien.

[OneMoSalah 8,783]

Ramires - Mikel vs Newcastle anybody?

[Stats 7,059]

Big game for him tonight to see who is back up to Frank and Rammy,what has Essien got left in the tank?

We find out tonight.

We found out alright. Essien good, sometimes looked rusty but overall very decent and Mikel absolutely flawless. Hopefully for once you will actually agree Phil and not slate him again. You were eager to see one slip up but tonight he was immense and there is no denying that. You said his time at Chelsea is over a days/weeks back and he will prove you wrong. I know Jose feels there are things to work on with him but he knows Mikel is a valuable player to have around and last night proved that.

[blu35_army 551]

Torres and now Mikel....Mou's man management is so awesome...

[Phil Driver 503]

Sorry mate thought he did ok but his direct opponent was Ramsey their best player ,he disposessed Obi once who was to slow on the ball and the ref luckily gave us a free kick in a very dangerous area and Carzola and Wilshire skipped past him when he got too square on ,his passing was safe as usual and that does not impress me,Essien is now back up to Lamps and Rammy in my book and probably Jose's as well ,he did ok for him though ,nothing spectacular 6/10 ,Essien 8/10 .

[ChelseasMessiah 304]

Sorry mate thought he did ok but his direct opponent was Ramsey their best player ,he disposessed Obi once who was to slow on the ball and the ref luckily gave us a free kick in a very dangerous area and Carzola and Wilshire skipped past him when he got too square on ,his passing was safe as usual and that does not impress me,Essien is now back up to Lamps and Rammy in my book and probably Jose's as well ,he did ok for him though ,nothing spectacular 6/10 ,Essien 8/10 .

Whatever helps you sleep better at night Phil...

[The only place to be 11,313]

Ramires - Mikel vs Newcastle anybody?

Considering Lamps was rested in midweek, conventional wisdom would suggest he would get the nod ahead of Mikel and probably rightly so.

[remains of the day 564]

He's so incredibly graceful on the ball and has a way of making it look effortless at times. Yeah there were times during the match where he slowed down play, but he compensates for it by generally being neat and tidy in possession which then allows us to launch attacks. Really though, I've been watching Mikel for a while now and I'm still convinced that he can't consistently do a good enough job (defensively) in this team. In my opinion Jose has been using him the correct way by bringing him on towards the latter part of the game and paying him in cup games. These are the kind of situations where Mikel excels, where he's not continuously being relied on to carry the team.

[The_Flash 1,144]

He's so incredibly graceful on the ball and has a way of making it look effortless at times. Yeah there were times during the match where he slowed down play, but he compensates for it by generally being neat and tidy in possession which then allows us to launch attacks. Really though, I've been watching Mikel for a while now and I'm still convinced that he can't consistently do a good enough job (defensively) in this team. In my opinion Jose has been using him the correct way by bringing him on towards the latter part of the game and paying him in cup games. These are the kind of situations where Mikel excels, where he's not continuously being relied on to carry the team.

Totally agree. I think we are lucky to have so many people to call upon.