So what's the deal with this guy? Can't shoot the ball worth sh*t, can only pass sideways and keeps committing silly unnecessary fouls in dangerous areas.

We went through hell to drag him from ManU's claws and paid a pretty penny in the process. What's so special about him then that I fail to notice?

I keep reading here how he's being misused at the holding midfielder position but what exactly does Mikel offer upfront? He's not a great passer of the ball, unless it's sideways or backwards, can't dribble, not very fast and his decision making is very questionable. You can't count on Mikel for a final pass or a good shot on goal and he frustrates the hell out of me with his bonehead fouling in our own half.

Granted, he is still young and have a lot of time ahead of him. but am I the only one to wonder what does he exactly bring to the team?

Not sure if I can be ringed to go into all this again. It was all covered in that thread. All I will say is that I actually think he has been a bit better since he returned to the team, though it could be argued that his return has almost coincided with our bad run, though that would be a little harsh. I guess you could also say he has only looked a little better because his midfield companions have largely been so dreadful. Who can tell? I'm pretty sure long term I will be proved right on the lad, he really isn't all that at all. In fact he really isn't anything.

But what I do know is that by starting this thread you are risking a rabid mob of nigerians abusing you with such names as 'beefdog'

Edited December 28, 200916 yr by bjd

though it could be argued that his return has almost coincided with our bad run

I'd argue that. Offers nothing and won't be missed.

I wouldn't say that Mikel is bad. I would actually say that he's good, but he can still improve.

His shooting ability is as bad as it gets, but the same could be said about dear old Maka and he was still the best defensive midfielder in the world.

The only real downside with Mikel is the silly fouls he tend to commit, but I think the amount of fouls is less this season than last. Perhaps it's one area he is working on or else it's down to experience.

His passing is good enough too. Some of his passes today were quite good. Admittedly, they are mostly sideways, but they aren't always easy. Besides I hardly think it's his duty to make the fancy passes. His duty is to win the ball or close down opponents, get the ball to a teammate and then that's it.

I mean, how many assists did Maka get?

I'm not saying he shouldn't try and get better at passing and shooting, but it's not the most important thing for him to work on at the moment.

I think he is good, but needs to improve. Especially on the offensive-part. Horrible shooter.

Who cares if he can't shoot, Makelele had one good strike throughout his Chelsea career and we didn't have a go at him. Seriously whats with all the bashing of our players.

This forum is littered with threads about how Ancelotti is doing a bad job, Ballack cant play football despite being the captain of Germany and one of the greatest footballers of the decade, Mikel our defensive mid can't shoot and he's not Essien.

Seriously ever since Kenyon left the blame has spread around to nearly everyone.

Everyone needs to get behind the team, if someone like Deco has a blinder he's the best player at the club on this forum but next week he misses a few passes and we call for his head.

Will i get shot down if i say Lampard is one of worst players this season? Most prob.

not agian. especially because he did quite well after his injury.

oh and about his shooting ability. he never gets into situations where he really can put a good shot on.

just have a look at lampard and joe cole.

lampard is in his prime was deadly as soon as got the ball somewhere near the box. nowadays his shots are deadly aswell but only for the people in the upper tiers.

I quite like him as a player, but jeez, I cringe everytime I see him lifting his foot for a swing at goal.

Stability in midfield. When he came on against City we looked more composed. Of course, our midfield will be sluggish without Essien when it consists of Lampard, Mikel, and Ballack.

People dont understand he is was naturally an attacking mid who was made into a CDM by Jose so that he can fit sometime in a midfield slot with Lamps , Ballack , Deco , Essien , Malouda and Joey for competetion . Even today he plays for nigeria at CAM .

I think he has done a great job as back up to Essien and has naturally stepped up when required. Sure he has had bad games but its unfair to put the blame on him when all 11 players have been awful in some matches recently.

I'd argue that. Offers nothing and won't be missed.

Made me laugh on MOTD last night when Alan Hansen said about how much we will miss Drogba during the ACN. He made a big point of how we will NOT miss Mikel (or Kalou) and I think 99% of Chelsea supporters would totally agree with that.

I think Mikel gets a very easy ride. Not a great deal is expected of him in the position he plays and that's exactly what he is giving us - not a great deal.

I'm glad he won't be playing during the next month as the games we have are not the sort of games where you need a defensive midfielder. They are all winable and playing Mikel in any of those matches would be a waste of a player.

Edited December 29, 200916 yr by Nibs

Made me laugh on MOTD last night when Alan Hansen said about how much we will miss Drogba during the ACN. He made a big point of how we will NOT miss Mikel (or Kalou) and I think 99% of Chelsea supporters would totally agree with that.

I think Mikel gets a very easy ride. Not a great deal is expected of him in the position he plays and that's exactly what he is giving us - not a great deal.

I'm glad he won't be playing during the next month as the games we have are not the sort of games where you need a defensive midfielder. They are all winable and playing Mikel in any of those matches would be a waste of a player.

It's posts like these that make me wonder if people are just watching the ball or the game in general.

It's posts like these that make me wonder if people are just watching the ball or the game in general.

Do you want to elaborate on that?

Made me laugh on MOTD last night when Alan Hansen said about how much we will miss Drogba during the ACN. He made a big point of how we will NOT miss Mikel (or Kalou) and I think 99% of Chelsea supporters would totally agree with that.

I think Mikel gets a very easy ride. Not a great deal is expected of him in the position he plays and that's exactly what he is giving us - not a great deal.

I'm glad he won't be playing during the next month as the games we have are not the sort of games where you need a defensive midfielder. They are all winable and playing Mikel in any of those matches would be a waste of a player.

I agree with all 3 points, especially the first, couldn't help but laugh at Hansen.

It's posts like these that make me wonder if people are just watching the ball or the game in general.

And its people that stick up for Mikel so much that make me wonder if people are just watching the game in general or just the ball.

Edited December 30, 200916 yr by bjd

Do you want to elaborate on that?

Fine.

One, Mikel brings us stability. Remember the City game where the midfield was atrocious? The instant he came into the game we were able to show some composure and string some passes together. I remember against Liverpool in early 2008 our midfield was getting hassled. Mikel came on and was able to hold off Mascherano and Lucas and be able to give us a link between attack and defence. Same thing against West Ham.

Two, he's an AM being converted into a DM. That he's doing quite well at 22 is impressive. More so with less games played than Fabregas, Messi, or Rooney. Even better is that it's in one of the best midfields in the game.

Three, when we lack players with movement up front and Essien, it's going to be a glaring problem. Having Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Deco, Belletti, and Mikel in there is going to be a hindrance. It's going to be easy to overrun that midfield when Mikel will get overloaded.

People keep complaining about our midfield, when it's obvious we need pace. Mikel isn't the problem, it's him having a bunch of other slow guys around him when our athletic and pacy guys are injured that's the problem.

I don't know why people want to drop him, more so if they want Ballack (Good lord that horror show against West Ham says it all) or Essien who has no business being in the holding role because it restricts his ability.

Did'nt understand when we let Diarra leave for next to nothing, said at the time he was the next Maka and Madrid have since spent £25m on him believing the same, to then spend £16m on Mikel to play the same holding role is crazy.

Then again we have since let an Engilshmen leave the club when an English quota is going to be necessary in Bridge and replaced him with a Russian at a net cost of £5m this season so we hav'nt learnt a thing.

Mikel has time on his hands, and i think he'll get better and better with a long run in the side but some of the dicision making at the club beggers belief at times.

This is what happens when you dont have 1 manager running the football side over a long period, too many cooks and too many people at boardroom level who ultimutly are'nt responsible when it all goes tits up.

Somebody like Pini Zahivi or whatever his name is must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Fine.

One, Mikel brings us stability. Remember the City game where the midfield was atrocious? The instant he came into the game we were able to show some composure and string some passes together. I remember against Liverpool in early 2008 our midfield was getting hassled. Mikel came on and was able to hold off Mascherano and Lucas and be able to give us a link between attack and defence. Same thing against West Ham.

Two, he's an AM being converted into a DM. That he's doing quite well at 22 is impressive. More so with less games played than Fabregas, Messi, or Rooney. Even better is that it's in one of the best midfields in the game.

Three, when we lack players with movement up front and Essien, it's going to be a glaring problem. Having Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Deco, Belletti, and Mikel in there is going to be a hindrance. It's going to be easy to overrun that midfield when Mikel will get overloaded.

People keep complaining about our midfield, when it's obvious we need pace. Mikel isn't the problem, it's him having a bunch of other slow guys around him when our athletic and pacy guys are injured that's the problem.

I don't know why people want to drop him, more so if they want Ballack (Good lord that horror show against West Ham says it all) or Essien who has no business being in the holding role because it restricts his ability.

That's better!

I agree with some of your points. We certainly cannot play Mikel & Ballack in the same midfield and as Mikel has time to develop and hopefully learn, I would opt for him ahead of Ballack who I would off-load come the end of the season.

But to mention Mikel in the same breath as Fabregas, Rooney and Messi? Are you sure? He may still be young, but if you honestly think he is going to reach the level of those players you are going to be very disappointed. These guys have things in their locker that Mikel will never have as long as he's got a hole in his bum.

That's better!

I agree with some of your points. We certainly cannot play Mikel & Ballack in the same midfield and as Mikel has time to develop and hopefully learn, I would opt for him ahead of Ballack who I would off-load come the end of the season.

But to mention Mikel in the same breath as Fabregas, Rooney and Messi? Are you sure? He may still be young, but if you honestly think he is going to reach the level of those players you are going to be very disappointed. These guys have things in their locker that Mikel will never have as long as he's got a hole in his bum.

Put a cork in his bum & sell him to united?

People dont understand he is was naturally an attacking mid who was made into a CDM by Jose so that he can fit sometime in a midfield slot with Lamps , Ballack , Deco , Essien , Malouda and Joey for competetion .

Two, he's an AM being converted into a DM. That he's doing quite well at 22 is impressive. More so with less games played than Fabregas, Messi, or Rooney. Even better is that it's in one of the best midfields in the game.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. What in his performances for the club so far would suggest that he's capable of playing in his supposedly "natural" position as an attacking midfielder? When did you ever see him go on a brilliant run ala Lampard or Essien or make a killer pass for the striker to score? When did you ever see him dribble past defenders or as much as shoot the ball on target? So he suddenly forgot how to play as an attacker because he was asked to play in a more defensive role?

I'd say pretty much every midfielder in our current squad is capable of offering more in the attack than Mikel ever could. Mourinho and the three managers that had followed him weren't stupid when they delegated him the holding spot. These people see him in training every day and they know exactly what he's capable or not capable of. If Mikel doesn't make it as a defensive mid at the club I'm afraid that's the end of the road for him as far as his Chelsea career is concerned.

Then again we have since let an Engilshmen leave the club when an English quota is going to be necessary in Bridge and replaced him with a Russian at a net cost of £5m this season so we hav'nt learnt a thing.

Wait, you're saying replacing Bridge with Zhirkov was a bad idea? Zhirkov is twice the player Bridge is, especially now. He's been a complete joke at City, and I can't really see him not getting replaced in the next season or two by Mancini.