stamford_blue

More on that by @zonal_marking ( who had written an article about how underrated John Obi MIkel is) http://www.zonalmarking.net/2013/04/02/chelsea-1-0-manchester-united-mata-pass/

@Tommy Docherty: Supporting the team blindfolded is not my thing. If the team is not doing well and I see some obvious reasons for that, I will always point them out.

FSW out for prioritizing his CV over Champions' League.

Exhibit 1: Yaya Toure's goal vs Chelsea at Etihad this season. Catch Mikel's movement and you will understand what 'can't keep up with the pace' means.

That should explain our comeback vs ManU in CoCup once he was substituted. We were trailing while he was on the field. Isn't that the logic people used after 2-2 FA Cup draw?

The UEFA Super Cup defeat to Athletico, the 3-0 defeat to Juventus, the 2-2 draw vs Juventus, the away defeat to Shakhtar, 2-0 defeat to ManCity were not big games now?

One moment stood out today. On that move when Chicarito's header was brilliantly saved by Cech. Nani(?) had the ball and he was driving into our box with Bertrand and Luiz in close vicinity. Bertrand kicked the ball away from Nani into no man's land. Mikel was closer to the ball than Welback and no prizes for guessing who got to the ball first. Welbeck put in a great cross and Cech came up with the save of the season. That effort (or lack thereof) from mikel summed up his gameplay and contribution for me.

In the last 9 games that John Obi Mikel has started in the Premier League, Chelsea have won 1, drawn 3 and lost 5. A grand total of 6 points in those 9 games.

Isn't it funny, I post facts and all you guys can reply with is abuses? and then you start high 5-ing each other. That inability to prove me wrong must be killing you all.

Just a gentle reminder. In the Premier League this season Chelsea with Mikel in the starting XI: 16 games, 8 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses, 26 goals scored, 18 goals conceded, 28 points, 1.75 points per game Chelsea without Mikel starting : 13 games, 8 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses, 32 goals scored, 12 goals conceded, 27 points, 2.08 points per game

That is a typical fanboi comment that we keep getting here from time to time. Just because Makelele wasnt valued at RM, doesnt mean same situation applies to Mikel. Makelele was a DM who was a ball winner. I have already shown that Mikel is not a ball winner. RDM came out in his support? What else do you expect from the manager. FSW regularly comes out to say that Torres is doing very well. Do we believe him? And for those calling my last post (retort to foreverccarefree's stats) stupid, you have shown yourself up as brainless twats who dont know anything about football. Go plug in that FIFA 2013, thats the only football you will ever understand.

You need to understand the meaning of those stats as well. 1. Pass success rate: Hard to misplace many passes when all you are doing is making 5 yard safe passes. I bet if other players start playing the Mikel passing game, they would have 95% accuracy. 2. tackles: 2.4 tackles per game for Mikel, compare that to 4.3 of Lucas Leiva, 4.3 for Schneiderlin, 4 for Noble, 3.9 for Diame, 3.9 for Claudio Yacob, 3.8 for Sidwell, 3.3 for Arteta, 3.3 for Sandro, 3.3 for Dembele. All incidentally operate in the same area as Mikel and have better interception rates as well. 3. Interceptions: Schneiderlin averages 3.8, Sandro 3.6, Baird 3.2, Arteta 2.8, Sidwell 2.8, Lucas Leiva 2.3, Noble 2, Yacob 1.7. Mikel has 1.4 4. Clearances: A midfielder should not be making clearances. He should be playing the ball to teammates. A clearance is a last ditch effort that is usually reserved for defenders. Atleast use your brain before bringing up clearances of a midfielder. 5. succesful long passes per game: If our deep lying playmaker ranks 5th in successful long passes within our team, tells you all about how successful he is in that role. He is the one who plays in a position that most of the field is in front of him. Dont expect Mata/Hazard to be playing long passes from the final third. 6. highest no of average passes: You have lost it completely now.

There is not a single stat in the world which will make Mikel look good. You can look at his tackles per game You can look at his interceptions per game You can look at assists You can look at goals You can look at his aerial challenges won You can look at number of key passes he plays per game All they will tell you is: he is neither a ball winner nor a deep lying playmaker i.e. not good enough to play in that pivot. People will only rely on imaginary statements like maintain team's shape, sit back while others are attacking but performances over the course of the season have shown that even that is not working.

I dont need approval from people like you who know eff all about football.

@maksimov: All I know is that last 8 PL games that Mikel has started, Chelsea only won 1 game. No matter the quality of opposition, that is relegation form. A club that aims for top honours cannot have such tosh in its team. Reg Mikel's Champions league contribution, It wont be an exaggeration to say he single handedly pulled Juventus back into a game that they had lost and from the first match itself Chelsea were on the back foot. 2 PL titles in 3 years before Mikel 1 PL title in the next 7 seasons after Mikel came. Such things cannot be sugarcoated.

You can use any abusive words for me. They are as harmless as Mikel's play is to other teams.

I feel sorry for you.

afraid I cant say the same about yours. Must be tough being married to a brainless twat.

I was talking about last 8 pl games. 4 of them were under RDM and 4 under FSW. Ofcourse I dont need to remind people of his glowing performances in Champions League.

Only a player who has lost the desire will react in that I-dont-care manner that Torres reacted when Wio shoved into his back.

You just gave 12 PL games. This is for the entire season across all competitions. 26 games with Mikel, 41 goals conceded 25 games without Mikel, 21 goals conceded

to the people who said that Mikel has been a very important member of winning sides at chelsea, in 10 seasons that Roman has been at Chelsea 2 PL titles in 3 years before Mikel. 1 PL title in next 7 seasons.

Lets look at the entire PL season then With Mikel: 16 games, 8 wins, 4 draws, 4 defeats, 26 goals scored, 18 conceded Without : 12 games, 7 wins, 3 draws, 2 defeats, 30 goals scored, 12 conceded Each and every point above is better without MIkel. We score more goals, concede fewer, win more games without John Obi 'the useless' Mikel.

If Chelsea's goals conceded per game jump 90% when Mikel starts, you cant fault people for concluding he is a s#it DM. and to the person who was comparing Mikel to Makelele, Makelele was a ball winner. You know he would intercept passes, tackle opponents.

@above: Yeah, a game we defended with 10 men behind the ball and had to rely on penalties to win the game. No surprise that Mikel was kept as far away from penalties as well.