Mikel John Obi

[Jase 43,479]

And Mikel replied this to @SeB,

John Mikel Obi ‏@Mikel12Official

the toughest is Steven Gerrard. He doesn't give u the ball, is skilful & doesn't hide from tackles. @SeBlueLion @chelseafc #askmikel

Gerrard doesn't give you the ball? Remember this?

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

At 0:47.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

And Mikel replied this to @SeB,

Gerrard doesn't give you the ball? Remember this?

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

At 0:47.

Damn!We used to play some really good football.

[Ramzi 233]

I'm turning this topic into mine . But what follows is more important than everything that has been said on this thread before:

I'm about to ask mods to close the thread after those wise words.

I was thinking the same thing, basically confirms that he doesn't enjoy playing alongside Lampard.

[Jase 43,479]

I was thinking the same thing, basically confirms that he doesn't enjoy playing alongside Lampard.

Are you seriously gonna make that conclusion just from that reply?!

[Ramzi 233]

Are you seriously gonna make that conclusion just from that reply?!

Well, the better choice of words would be that I over analyzed, I'm a fan what am i supposed to in this long break!!

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

Ask Mikel Q&A:

[ja1 1,166]

44% of John Obi #Mikel's passes have been played forward (77/172). He's the 17th biggest passer and 29th playing fwd, more than Lampard (65)

[Pacquiao 1,834]

Mikel is class simple as that, best thing is he keeps on improving. I really want to see Romeu in the double pivot with Mikel though to see how that works out.

[zolayes 14,489]

preconceptions or misconceptions will always defeat statistics .....

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Are you seriously gonna make that conclusion just from that reply?!

Unless he is being sarcastic, the point he (Mikel) is trying to make is that Lampard does not help out defensively "No one will cover...".

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Unless he is being sarcastic, the point he (Mikel) is trying to make is that Lampard does not help out defensively "No one will cover...".

No, he isn't. The point Mikel is clearly making is the it's not the defensive midfielder's position to go forward. If the DM goes forward, it leaves a spot uncovered. He's explaining why defensive midfielders don't join the play, not making a specific criticism of Lampard. It's an absurd reading of a straightforward comment. (Also, It's absolutely not the job of the deep-lying midfielder to cover for runs made by the defensive midfielder because the defensive midfielder should not be making runs. Busquets might be the best defensive midfielder in the world right now and he has scored 3 goals in his career. Makalele is the greatest defensive midfielder Chelsea ever had and he scored 2 goals in 144 games in the league with us.)

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

No, he isn't. The point Mikel is clearly making is the it's not the defensive midfielder's position to go forward. If the DM goes forward, it leaves a spot uncovered. He's explaining why defensive midfielders don't join the play, not making a specific criticism of Lampard. It's an absurd reading of a straightforward comment.

No, it isn't. If he was really saying that why didn't he just say something like "I'm a defensive midfielder, it's not my job to score goals". He said "No one will cover" because it's true. He plays in the double pivots yet it seems he has to do all the defending. Lampard bombs up the pitch too often. I don't know how some cannot see the point he is making here.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

No, it isn't. If he was really saying that why didn't he just say something like "I'm a defensive midfielder, it's not my job to score goals". He said "No one will cover" because it's true. He plays in the double pivots yet it seems he has to do all the defending. Lampard bombs up the pitch too often. I don't know how some cannot see the point he is making here.

There many ways to say the same thing. He is clearly, very clearly explaining why he doesn't go forward more. In the 4-2-3-1, the defensive midfielder just doesn't go forward. He is clearly not blaming Lampard for him not being allowed to make runs. (For starters, Mikel has played 160 league games with Chelsea and only about 5-10 with Lampard so saying that he doesn't get forward because of Lampard would be idiotic).

I don't know why you think "double pivot" is one position. It isn't. There is a defensive midfielder and then a deep lying midfielder. They have different responsibilities. Lampard and Mikel are not playing the same position Lampard's job is to create and Mikel's job is to cover for defenders and to stop attacks. Busquets and Iniesta don't have the same responsibilities.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

There many ways to say the same thing. He is clearly, very clearly explaining why he doesn't go forward more. In the 4-2-3-1, the defensive midfielder just doesn't go forward. He is clearly not blaming Lampard for him not being allowed to make runs. (For starters, Mikel has played 160 league games with Chelsea and only about 5-10 with Lampard so saying that he doesn't get forward because of Lampard would be idiotic).

I don't know why you think "double pivot" is one position. It isn't. There is a defensive midfielder and then a deep lying midfielder. They have different responsibilities. Lampard and Mikel are not playing the same position Lampard's job is to create and Mikel's job is to cover for defenders and to stop attacks. Busquets and Iniesta don't have the same responsibilities.

The Regista is still, in most cases, supposed to help out defensively as well.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

The Regista is still, in most cases, supposed to help out defensively as well.

Of course they help out defensively. Everyone is supposed to help out defensively. However, the deep-lying playmaker is not primarily a defensive position. The defensive midfielder is primarily a defensive position.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Of course they help out defensively. Everyone is supposed to help out defensively. However, the deep-lying playmaker is not primarily a defensive position. The defensive midfielder is primarily a defensive position.

What I'm saying though, is that Lampard is almost non-existent when it comes to defending. He is either at the other end of the pitch because he has been attacking too much or just too lazy to dig in and press and defend.

[Kojo 4,676]

Haha, I love it!

Some people can dump on Torres and Mikel every day of the week with ridiculous points, when some try to nuance and make some coherent remarks they're which hunted as if they were insane.

As we say in French: the number doesn't make the sense. Some here make clueless remarks, others follows them like if they were the messiah

How is it a ridiculous point when it's evident Mikel has been awful recently?, there's no logic. Fair enough you can disagree and point out that there's still the rest of the season to go.

Lets all see what happens anyway, i think he will be terrible for us and wont be able to hack it, and if you're right Seb then fair play to you, but we can only judge this at the end of the season.

[Blue Armour 4,170]

What I'm saying though, is that Lampard is almost non-existent when it comes to defending. He is either at the other end of the pitch because he has been attacking too much or just too lazy to dig in and press and defend.

Clearly Mikel wasn't critcizing Lampard. He was just talking about his own defensive duties.

But you're right in saying Lampard has made too many forward runs ( pushing well into the opposition d-box in some of the recent games), leaving Mikel isolated in the counter-attacks. Lampard did do well in the recent England game though, and his runs yielded results. But how often do we play teams like Moldova, who hardly put pressure on the midfield?