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..

Don't rate him.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Jocanovic gave the ball away less

Jocanovic gave the ball away less

Bollocks.

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!)

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.

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

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

A long way off being our worst signing. Fair player with good control and a good squad player.

Gett the feeling he could have been so much better and maybe it's down to the coaching

and the position he has been asked to play for Chelsea.

Nice lad but sadly not good enough. Loz rates him highly which I don't think has been pointed out yet this week.

Would make a good squad player, for Ipswich.

I did rate him highly, he has at times been brilliant, particularly against Arsenal for some reason.

However not consistent enough now so good squad player.

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Jose sitted him in the DM role which he did not prefer. It was Jose's idea to make him the new Makelele. He's been excellent in games and he's been bad in games.

He is far away from being one of our worst signings. He played a perfect game against ManU in FA cup final 2007. For that alone he is off the list.

So much was expect of him. In that view of light he hasn't been the player we wanted.

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.

Really no point in turning this into a Torres thread when we already have one that will run and run.................

But Mikel, a quality player? It's like saying a Kia is a quality motor!

We all know he has not been good enough - nowhere near and NEVER will be. Don't even like the idea of him as a squad player these days on however many £ a week when he give's us nothing when called upon. I'd rather give youth a chance - he's had his many times over. Come the summer it has to be "So long, farewell John Obi Mikel".

That said, still not our worse signing ever!

Edited January 25, 201213 yr by Nibs