57 replies to this topic

[linesy91]

I honestly believe Mikel hasn't done anything since he has been at Chelsea, awful at tackling, average at passing and I can't think of much else, I am praying we get rid of him in January, one of the most average players I have seen at Chelsea for a long time..

[Seven Times]

Don't rate him.

[Phillip]

He is definitely NOT one of worst signings ever. He is a capable defensive midfielder, and has not gotten better since the day we signed him, but he is not a bad player by any means.

[g3.7]

absolutely not. so long as he's happy to be, I'd keep him as a squad player.

[Zeta Orionis]

Shouldn't start many games, but he could do a reasonable job in some of the "easier" games. That being said, like Kalou he can be infuriating sometimes.

[mad_mac]

gullit4, on 24 January 2012 - 07:02 PM, said:

absolutely not. so long as he's happy to be, I'd keep him as a squad player.

Perfectly summed up for me.

Worst signing ever is a ludicrous statement to make. He was never going to be Makelele, even if he was forced into that role. He gives away some stupid fouls and his passing can be a little one dimensional, but to say the worst signing ever....clueless.

[Shatner's Bassoon]

He arrived as one of the best young midfield prospects in the world and its fair to say his career's not really kicked on at all, In fact he's probably regressed.
That said, he's far from our worst signing ever

[Colin Geere]

Jocanovic gave the ball away less

[dkw]

Colin Geere, on 24 January 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

Jocanovic gave the ball away less

Bollocks.

[Gem]

The title of this thread amused me for some reason!!

Not a starter for me or even on the bench but I wouldn't say he is one of the worse signings (I'm sure there's a better top 10!)

[mad_mac]

Shatner, on 24 January 2012 - 07:24 PM, said:

He arrived as one of the best young midfield prospects in the world and its fair to say his career's not really kicked on at all, In fact he's probably regressed.
That said, he's far from our worst signing ever

I think Fergie was touting him as that, but I also believe he played further up the field than he found himself when he came to Chelsea. I know a few Nigerians were upset that Chelsea had "ruined" his game by forcing him to adopt the Makelele role, so who knows.

Colin Geere, on 24 January 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

Jocanovic gave the ball away less

I think Mikel actually shields the ball well, and completes simple passes. His undoing comes from rash challenges - note, that's not giving the ball away - and his slow pace in receiving then passing. His passing is actually very accurate, it's just a shame it's often sideways or short.

To say Jokanovic gave it away less is like saying De Lucas was better than Ballack

[bjd]

Certainly not one of our worst ever signings, but he is no more than a squad player.

He has been given enough chances and the opportunity of making a position in Chelseas midfield his own has passed.

He looks half decent when he is given time on the ball, against sides that are happy to sit back against us. That all changes when we play teams that attack us with pace, he is often caught out and is too slow to react. He panics and makes bad tackles in bad positions and generally crumbles under pressure.

He slows our play down too, often taking far too long to move the ball on. AVB has realised this and too his credit knows that if Chelsea are to play the way he wants them too Mikel is not a player for him. He has bought in Romeu and even though it's early days it's pretty clear Romeu understands the defensive midfielder role better than Mikel and is also much better at it.

I wouldn't be surprised if he moved on in the Summer or was moved on - as i said he can't complain , he has had enough chances to prove himself. If not I'm happy to for him to stick on as a squad player who might have some value towards the end of a game if we need an extra man in the middle of the park.

[geezer]

I think if Mikel had gone to Manure he would have become a far better player for them than he has been for us because they would have played him in a totally different role with stability at management level. Sadly that stability has never been the case at CFC and many young players have not developed as well as they should have done as a result

[bjd]

geezer, on 24 January 2012 - 07:56 PM, said:

I think if Mikel had gone to Manure he would have become a far better player for them than he has been for us because they would have played him in a totally different role with stability at management level. Sadly that stability has never been the case at CFC and many young players have not developed as well as they should have done as a result

Fair point about young players, can't argue there.

However, have we really seen enough in Mikels game to suggest he could have grown as a player anywhere else? There are some things you can't learn, speed, skill, touch and Mikel suffers from a lack of all of them, but most of all he doesn't seem to have a footballing brain, and I dont think having guidance under Fergurson would've helped him develop too much as a midfielder in that respect. But who knows?

[mad_mac]

All conjecture, for all we know, Fergie would have stopped giving him chances ages ago.

At this point I think we can all agree, he has been decent, but time to move on for the Club. If he doesn't want to, and is happy to stick around, then I am fine with that. It looks as if we've used him a couple of times in the recent past where he comes in and is used to shore up the midfield late on.

[Zeta Orionis]

Problem with Mikel is, he never looks in control of the ball. He always looks as if he's about to stretch out a long leg to just about keep the ball away from someone. Though a lot of our players have looked like that last year or so.

[Epic]

Mikel? Our worst signing? Not even close. Mikel is a quality player.

Our worst signing is Torres by a million miles. What on earth was the thread starer thinking? Mikel a worse signing than Torres? Torres is the worst signing in the history of the game as far as I'm concerned. 50m for a striker who struggles to control the ball let alone shoot on target from 5 yards out and you think Mikel is our worst signing? Am I reading this right? You couldn't make this up.

[Epic]

BlueSkies, on 24 January 2012 - 08:38 PM, said:

Problem with Mikel is, he never looks in control of the ball. He always looks as if he's about to stretch out a long leg to just about keep the ball away from someone. Though a lot of our players have looked like that last year or so.

I don't know who you've been watching but it definitely isn't Mikel. He has a tremendous first touch and close control. Mikel never in control of the ball? Dear oh dear. I understand people don't like certain players but to completely make something up is something else.

If you really want to talk about players never in control of the ball let's talk about Torres. He couldn't trap a bag of cement. Have you seen his firs touch? It's an absolute disaster. The club paid 50m for this joke of a player and people want to label Mikel our worst signing ever!

[Zeta Orionis]

Epic, on 24 January 2012 - 09:19 PM, said:

I don't know who you've been watching but it definitely isn't Mikel. He has a tremendous first touch and close control. Mikel never in control of the ball? Dear oh dear. I understand people don't like certain players but to completely make something up is something else.

If you really want to talk about players never in control of the ball let's talk about Torres. He couldn't trap a bag of cement. Have you seen his firs touch? It's an absolute disaster. The club paid 50m for this joke of a player and people want to label Mikel our worst signing ever!

I can assure you it certainly is Mikel.

[stevo]

Epic, on 24 January 2012 - 09:15 PM, said:

Mikel? Our worst signing? Not even close. Mikel is a quality player.

Our worst signing is Torres by a million miles. What on earth was the thread starer thinking? Mikel a worse signing than Torres? Torres is the worst signing in the history of the game as far as I'm concerned. 50m for a striker who struggles to control the ball let alone shoot on target from 5 yards out and you think Mikel is our worst signing? Am I reading this right? You couldn't make this up.

Spot on,my thoughts exactly.