John Obi Mikel Appreciation Thread

[PloKoon13]

http://www.carefreechronicles.com/2012/06/mikels-sideway-pass-no-197.html

Inspired by this great article (which includes the above pass), I thought we should have a place in which to put our Mikel love. The Metronome has won the lot with us, and looks like he will play a huge part of Chelsea's next great midfield.

The screamer against Tottenham is just around the corner...

[BaneIvanovic]

Criminally underrated, gets alot of stick at the bridge - unnecessarily - but I absolutely love the guy. Best 'anchor man' in the Premiership, imo, and has excelled tremedously in the 4-2-3-1 and his passing is quality (hear alot of criticism about his passing, but he's got a very good range of passing and is smart and economical with the ball - see our double winning season and generally under Carlo).

Praise the Pumpkin (anyone who saw Joe Cole on Teammates when he was with us, gets the reference)!

[BrewCrew]

Agreed. The guy is very very underrated and when he gets regular playing time he can control the game. His passing is very underated

[g3.7]

he's good. he needs to continue to improve, but he's a highly useful player. outstanding in the champions league final.

[Ozztheboss]

When Mikel's only job is to win the ball and cover spaces he is f**king enormous, both performance wise and with his physical presence. You can't knock him over without fouling him. However, when he needs to take creative and offensive responsibility, like AVB wanted his anchorman to do (why Romeu was preferred), he's sh*t. Too nonchalant on the ball and too little vision.

This is also why I want Mikel to be teamed up with a deep lying playmaker like Lampard has become. Then, Mikel's only job will be to win the ball, pass it five yards to Lampard/De Bruyne/Josh and one of them do the passing to our attacking four. Ramires doesn't have that ability, and that's why I want Ramires as a defensive winger (but that's not for this thread, so PM if you disagree :)).

I salute Bane's post, which sums up pretty much everything I mean. Mikel is great in possession (short passes), has great strength and very good understanding of his uber-anchorman role. Massively underrated!

Edited June 5, 2012 by Ozztheboss

[linesy91]

I have to admit I have been critical of him, I didn't think he brought a lot to the team but recently (especially under Di Matteo) he has been more dynamic going forward and more clinical with his passing, really enjoying watching him play at the moment, will be key next season.

[Davey Baby]

I've wanted him to leave for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, he started playing under Robbie, and was superb in Munich. He hasn't got a creative bone in his body (the clip PloKoon posted must have been an aberration, either that or Mikel was on drugs). Defensively I believe he is very suspect. I urge everyone to watch the build-up to Robben's shot that hit the post in Munich, the way Mikel lets him dance into the penalty area, typical Mikel). However, there were games, like City away, again under Robbie, where he was enormously impressive. Composure, technique, intelligence. He deserves his spot in the team next term but I'll have my eye on him. He has been so appalling for so long it will take a while before I'm entirely convinced. At home, against teams that sit back, he is a wasted spot, as he slows things down, and given time, hasn't got a clue what to do, other than pass it sideways at five miles an hour. It is clear he benefited from Robbie having faith in him, and grew in confidence as a result, until he became a key player, taking responsibility for a change. I have never seen him play so well and for that Robbie deserves a lot of credit. He got inside his mind, or perhaps he just stopped him from smoking ganja.

[Pauly]

Not an "Anchorman", he's cost us goals by not tracking a man a few times this season. Nor is he a great tackler that we could rely on if we played a super-attacking team like Makelele and the Galacticos. A fine player, but I don't think he should be relied on to be an anchorman in the true sense of the word. I think Romeu is definitely the future here and I curse the stupid deal we signed with Barca for him- makes it difficult to develop him.

[Cam]

He scores when he wants.

He just doesn't want to.

Mikel.

[evissy]

Two Mikel's really. When chasing game or passing around with lot of possession Mikel is useless. In counter-attack game like under RDM he can be brilliant. He was as cool as they come in the final. He is a big game player. We havent really lost many finals and he's featured in many of them. FAcup final against ManU is one of his best performances and he was 19 or 20 in that. Underrated and the same time one of the faces of our unattractive brand of football. Lets keep him we have finals ahead of us.

[KURT.5]

Personally i don't think we should have ever developed him into an 'Anchorman'. There's only one anchorman for me and thats Makalele. As for Mikel, when we bought him i thought we were investing in an attacking midfielder who gets goals adn can spot a pass (thats what i saw that Lyn Oslo anyway). I remember the Nigerian coach getting really annoyed too that he developed more defensively. But overall i have love/hate feelings for Mikel. Too inconsistent, plus he's the type of player that plays well when the team is playing well, no individual drive.

[Nibs]

Mikel certainly did have a decent last couple of Months and all credit it to him for that. IF he can build on that and start next season how he ended this one then we might just have a player worth keeping after all.

It is laughable though to see statements such as "Criminally underrated" when refering to Mikel. Some folk clearly haven't been around for very long otherwise they would have seen all the adulation dished out over the seasons!!

[Zola]

Had a big end to the season, played his best football under RDM there is no question about that!

Overall hes been pretty disappointing as so many games have passed where he has done little.

I've said before though, he has a very dull role in the team compared to the rest and he has to be cautious for the sake of the team, thats why we see the sideways passing and other non creative elements in most games.

[just]

I like Mikel and have generally always seen the benefit in having him as part of the squad. Unlike Kalou.

Yes, he is not like Makelele. It's a pointless comparison. Who is? It's like pointing out that Torres isn't Drogba !

[2211]

Had a great end to the season and deserves full credit for that. He came good in our big matches when it mattered most. However, like said earlier, I would like to see a bit more speed and drive. Even learning to take less touches of the ball, and starting free kicks quicker rather than sitting on the ground pulling up his socks would go a long way to making him a more productive player.

[Davey Baby]

^ He does pull his socks up a lot.

Funny, because he needs to pull his socks up.

[Davey Baby]

If you look at the clip posted by Plokoon, it tells us everything we need to know. It was the most creative pass he has ever played, hence the reason it was posted in the first place. It's a pretty simple ball, my grandmother could play it, and yet it was such an unusual event, an incisive, precise, forward ball, that I remember thinking at the time, "By golly, we have an imposter pretending to be Mikel". It's not by coincidence that clip was posted, it's the best they could find. I'm not knocking the guy, it's clearly not his game, but when people suggest we curtailed his creative instincts I go mad. He hasn't got any creative instincts, if he had, we would have seen them by now. You can't hide them just because you play a deep role. Whenever Josh plays that role they're self-evident, he is a more offensive and creative passer. That's not to say he's better there than Mikel it's just to say don't blame Chelsea for the fact Mikel doesn't contribute much to our forward play. He may have been an attacking midfielder when he was four and a half but that has little relevance to his Chelsea career. Apparently he was better than Messi at the World Youth Cup. Yeah and I was a natty dancer, that doesn't make me John Travolta!

[Davey Baby]

Completely gratuitous but never mind ..

[Pauly]

Personally i don't think we should have ever developed him into an 'Anchorman'. There's only one anchorman for me and thats Makalele. As for Mikel, when we bought him i thought we were investing in an attacking midfielder who gets goals adn can spot a pass (thats what i saw that Lyn Oslo anyway). I remember the Nigerian coach getting really annoyed too that he developed more defensively. But overall i have love/hate feelings for Mikel. Too inconsistent, plus he's the type of player that plays well when the team is playing well, no individual drive.

100% agree.

[TheWestwayWonder]

Hard to believe he is still just 25. Feels like he has been here forever. I hope that his form under Robbie is the end of the up and down days of Mikel and is a glimpse of reaching a level of maturity in his game.

[Coxy]

He;s OK. Still isn't anywhere near winning me over.

[HazardsLeftPeg]

Remember that time when we had the "John Obi Mikel - One of our worst signings ever?" thread?

Oh, wait.. that was this year.

[bluedave]

My opinion of him is in a transitional phase at the moment, I used to think he was useless but after his big game performances last season I'm starting to believe he might have some value. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain that standard.

I still think he's just a player we should use until we can find somebody better in that position.

[Celery1989]

Not sold yet on Mikel. He was fantastic under RDM, but was rather mediocre under every other manager before. If he can kick on next season where he left off this year then great, but given his history I'm a little skeptical. Happy to give him next season to prove me wrong though for good.

[Gem]

It's like pointing out that Torres isn't Drogba !

I was waiting for another comparison of the 2, surprised it came in a Mikel thread though.

Sorry just, I respect your views and your posts but the constant comparing of the 2 players is getting too much now... Maybe I've spoken complete rubbish and you don't compare them constantly but it certainly seems like it.

Anyway Mikel - I only really notice him when he loses the ball or passes backwards... Perhaps I should start to appreciate the good side of his game. In all seriousness and I'm not being sarcastic - what are his strengths?