Ze Bombay Blue

My thoughts exactly!

Thanks for the Welcome, The reason I call Mikel overrated is because of the near immunity he enjoys whenever Chelsea's shortcomings are being analysed. It is almost as if it is taboo to highlight his laziness moving forward or his regular costly defensive lapses. The only explanation I have is that he is a very committed and nice lad to have in the group. But that is clearly not enough to stick with a player who has been so detrimental to Chelsea in the past two seasons. If you think my first post was an essay, wait till I show you the spreadsheet I have compiled about his performances this season :) Of the 27 games that he has been avtively involved in this season, there have been only 10 or so games where his contribution can be deemed as positive. That is a mind boggling stat. The only other explanation; and this is a bit out there, is that Jose is using Mikel in a clever way to keep expectations down this season. Want to drop points/lose a game? Start with Mikel!

Hello all, first time poster here. I spotted the JOM thread amongst the top 3 threads on the list so I assume he has been a topic of discussion amongst fellow Chelsea fans. I have seen Mikel play for Chelsea as long as he has been with us and cannot for the love of me see what managers see in him to have played him this consistently over the past few seasons. I thought all that would change under Jose but this season has been no different (except that JOM has scored 2 goals instead of the customary 0). Now, I have no personal vendetta against the man but in my humble opinion he is probably one of the most overrated players to have ever played for Chelsea. Those who argue about his super defensive abilities should know that I have lost count of the number of times I have seen Mikel lose a player around our penalty area, only for that player to end up unmarked in our area to score. The latest in that long list of mishaps is the Nasri goal on Saturday. I don't think that I have to mention his sheer lack of playmaking ability in the middle of the park. I can feel my blood curdle whenever Chelsea are on the verge of a good break and the ball falls to Mikel, only for him to take half a dozen touches before passing it either square or finding one of our attackers, who has, by that time been surrounded by 2 or 3 opposition players. It was great watching Luiz and Matic keep City at bay in the league game a few days ago. Why Mikel got the nod in central midfield ahead of the likes of Lampard, Oscar, Luiz and Ramires is a mystery. Matic has been a top performer since arriving in January and just when there was hope that this could mean the end of the road for Mikel, there he is starting a "must not lose" cup tie away from home at probably the toughest venue in England at the moment, in a game where we were fine without him just a few days ago. Like I have said, I am at the end of my wits trying to figure out exactly what makes Mikel so special to enjoy such favours from Chelsea managers time and again. Maybe some of you could enlighten me. Cheers,