Mikel John Obi

[The only place to be 11,313]

No he was praised because he was excellent on the ball while most of our players couldn't keep the ball under Bayern's pressing.

That's not true in the slightest though is it. In that game, Lamps kept hold of the ball better and also worked his arse off defensively. In fact the whole team put in a shift whilst Mikel was very much his normal self.

Bonus question - who was the player slow in closing down the crosser for Muller's 83rd minute goal?

[hjperdeath 2,226]

[123-blue 19]

Read your post again:

If you don't see the twisting of logic and logical fallacies in decrediting Mikel then I give up.

'Decrediting' Mikel? So if one does not fawn and drool over Mikel's performance and says other players did just as well, it is talking down Mikel's performance?

There there petal.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

That's not true in the slightest though is it. In that game, Lamps kept hold of the ball better and also worked his arse off defensively. In fact the whole team put in a shift whilst Mikel was very much his normal self - average.

Bonus question - who was the player slow in closing down the crosser for Muller's 83rd minute goal?

It is true. And that's what everyone was saying after the next day, not just my opinion. Here, watch it again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0LamBfOyBc

You thought MIkel was average, which is your right, but the vast majority of Chelsea fans thought he was excellent. And you can go back and see what everyone wrote here on any other Chelsea forum after the match.

[123-blue 19]

Appeal to the masses. IT MUST BE TRUE.Discussion closed.

[The only place to be 11,313]

It is true. And that's what everyone was saying after the next day, not just my opinion. Here, watch it again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0LamBfOyBc

You thought MIkel was average, which is your right, but the vast majority of Chelsea fans thought he was excellent. And you can go back and see what everyone wrote here on any other Chelsea forum after the match.

I'm actually watching it now. Mikel's finest defensive performance came in a game where we constantly looked to get 9-10 players behind the ball whenever Bayern were in possession. Mikel did nothing exceptional in that game and we won because of luck and because Bayern's finishing was absolutely atrocious.

And the fact that ONE performance in 2012 is all his supporters can point to is precisely why he's viewed the way he is. He's a passenger. He always has been.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

'Decrediting' Mikel? So if one does not fawn and drool over Mikel's performance and says other players did just as well, it is talking down Mikel's performance?

There there petal.

Saying the he "was praised cause no-one thought he had it in him to stand up and be counted" is like the definition of decrediting

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I'm actually watching it now. Mikel's finest defensive performance came in a game where we constantly looked to get 9-10 players behind the ball whenever Bayern were in possession. Mikel did nothing exceptional in that game and we won because of luck and because Bayern's finishing was absolutely atrocious.

And the fact that ONE performance in 2012 is all his supporters can point to is precisely why he's viewed the way he is. He's a passenger. He always has been.

Of course everyone points to that match, that was the most important match in the history of the club. But you want big performances in big matches? See the FA cup final a few days before Munich. See the performances against the "top 4" in the 09-10 season, especially the games against Arsenal. More than 300 appearances for the club under some of the best managers in the world. You can call him what you want but you can't change that he's part of our success in recent years and has been a great servant to the club over the past 7-8 years.

[123-blue 19]

Saying the he "was praised cause no-one thought he had it in him to stand up and be counted" is like the definition of decrediting

Stands to reason that the over the top praise would be cause it's something supporters had not witnessed before. Again why are the likes of Frank,DD,Ash not praised for something as vague as 'Mikel gave players an outlet'or some such jazz?

[dee25 1,044]

That's not true in the slightest though is it. In that game, Lamps kept hold of the ball better and also worked his arse off defensively.

Yeah but Mikel did pretty turns with the ball and stuff.....

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Stands to reason that the over the top praise would be cause it's something supporters had not witnessed before. Again why are the likes of Frank,DD,Ash not praised for something as vague as 'Mikel gave players an outlet'or some such jazz?

Because that is the job of the holding midfielder? But for the record, Didier always got praise for being an outlet for pressure, because we would just hoof the ball forward to him and he would win it to release the pressure and allow us to reorganize at the back. I always say that Didier was a key component in our brick wall defense during his time here especially in the Jose era (for that and for the amazing job he does at defending set-pieces).

[Drogba4ever15 47]

No he was praised because he was excellent on the ball while most of our players couldn't keep the ball under Bayern's pressing. Keep twisting it which ever way you want, but you can't change the fact that Mikel has been part of our success in the past 5-6 years and he's put in some big performances in some big matches along the way to help us win the trophies we have won.

So we can't criticize Mikel in the city game because everyone played really bad, but we can single him out in a game where everyone played really well and give him the lime light when it was Lampard who made all those vital interceptions and cleared the ball out of the box more times than the average centre back.

[Henrique 9,133]

I'm not really sure what you're trying to get at. You act as if Matic is no better than Mikel but then you say this:

I don't get it. That is my main point, but yet it seems like you want to disagree with me at the same time for the sake of it.

Thank you!

I really dont know what you are finding hard to understand. My point is very simple: a better player doesn't always play better than a worse one, and sometimes the "worse" is "better" for what a team needs. We had many examples in the past. Just take a look at Shevchenko or Torres. They were proven players in their clubs but the just failed to produce the performance people were expecting.

So, as the other guy said, Matic was one of the best players in portuguese league, but I dont mind, because he needs to be a good player for Chelsea, and what I'm trying to say, and I expect you will understand now is: how big is Matic impact in the team? Whats the difference between having Matic or Mikel as our DM in terms of results? The best example was our team last season. Mata, Oscar and Hazard. Really fun to watch sometimes, you cant deny they have better technics than Kalou, Malouda, Anelka, but at the end of the day Mazacar were no better than Kalouda/Anelka/Malouda.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

So we can't criticize Mikel in the city game because everyone played really bad, but we can single him out in a game where everyone played really well and give him the lime light when it was Lampard who made all those vital interceptions and cleared the ball out of the box more times than the average centre back.

Lol Who says you can't criticize him? You can say whatever you want about him and you have said whatever you wanted about him. That's your opinion. But like wise, I have the right to point out that he is being singled out and getting slatted much more than players that played much worse than him in the same game and express my opinion that he (and Luiz) is being scapegoated, yet again, for a bad team performance.

Plus, no one has ever singled Mikel out in the CL final. All the lads were heroes and, for me, if you're going to single someone out it has to be Petr. That match just comes up because it is obviously the most memorable response to the factually incorrect claims that John can't perform at the highest levels or in the biggest games or that the team can't win trophies with him in it.

[dee25 1,044]

So we can't criticize Mikel in the city game because everyone played really bad, but we can single him out in a game where everyone played really well and give him the lime light when it was Lampard who made all those vital interceptions and cleared the ball out of the box more times than the average centre back.

[hjperdeath 2,226]

gif war begins.

[dee25 1,044]

gif war begins.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

GIF wars elsewhere please.