Sarcasm...of course this is all just a knee jerk reaction because he proved his class last season...

Sarcasm...

It's more fun when you don't reveal your hand - like Plokoon13.

Sarcasm...of course this is all just a knee jerk reaction because he proved his class last season...

What game did you watch tonight?

youll find that im one of the most vocal mikel bashers on these boards, but he had a good game tonight

He did well tonight I thought?

He looked like the Mikel of old tonight. Seems like he is getting his fitness back, which is great because he is a very important player for us when at his best. F**k the haters. Mikel is awesome.

Edited August 22, 201213 yr by Amputechture

I watched the game where he was subbed and we went on to score 3 goals and win the game 1 of which came from a Gary cahill cameo in midfield...coincidence?

I watched the game where he was subbed and we went on to score 3 goals and win the game 1 of which came from a Gary cahill cameo in midfield...coincidence?

Mikel was faultless.

Both Ivanvic and Cahill were suspect defensively but because they scored everybody will naturally overlook that. JT looked way off the pace as well.

Amazing? Hmmm.....

He was alright, like he often is against limited oppositon , but no more. No need to go over the top.

He is doing enough to maintain his place in the first xi but is he our long term answer in that role ?

Not for me and never has been.

I watched the game where he was subbed and we went on to score 3 goals and win the game 1 of which came from a Gary cahill cameo in midfield...coincidence?

Is your understanding of the game seriously this rudimentary? Correlation is not causation. Taking Mikel out when Robbie did was the right decision because Sturridge's introduction overwhelmed Reading defensively and opened up just enough space in the middle of the pitch for us to exploit. At that point in the game, they were mostly sitting back and a holding midfielder wasn't necessary. That doesn't change the fact that Mikel played well when he was on the pitch.

That was MIkel's best game in a while. Wrong time to hate on him since they're have been plenty of opportunites in the past few weeks. :p

I dont think some of you know what Mikels role in the squad is. Its clear that you have no idea how to judge him and dont understand what playing defensive mid in a two man pivot means. I dont think you would recognize a solid performance if it kicked you in the nuts.

Edited August 22, 201213 yr by Xfaxtor

Did you really have to make a new thread about this? I like many others on here don't think mikel is needed in games like this as he slows our play down and is pretty much a spare part. Against the weaker teams i would like to see someone more mobile who can get the ball and give it quicker.

No problems with playing him in the big games against the top sides as he gives our midfield a more solid base.

I to thought he did nothing wrong tonight so don't think this thread was needed.

I dont think some of you know what Mikels role in the squad is. Its clear that you have no idea how to judge him and dont understand what playing defensive mid in a two man pivot means. I dont think you would recognize a solid performance if it kicked you in the nuts.

I bet you don't know what it means either.

It's fair to say that there were at least nine other players more worthy of criticism out on the pitch tonight than our midfield lynchpin Mikel.

^{Anyone to critisize Mikel is out of their mind, the man puts out fires all over the pitch and has a calmness on the ball like no other. He is quality and hes only now starting to peak, hes got veteren experience and is still VERY young. He will be massive this year.}

Well it's obvious a lot of people disagree with my opinion which I am a big man and I can take but one thing I could say for sure is had maka or essien been our DM in that position would they have been substituted in the 68th minute to go for the win? The answer is no as these two were head and shoulders above mikel, if we needed someone to keep the ball and slow play down we might as well have just kept Mceachran who has tons more threat in terms of vision. He should be expecting to play well but there are moments in the last 2 games where had we been playing a better side where he would have been exposed and I fail to believe he is developing into this awesome DM role

This thread is embarrassing for the guy who craeted it. Seriously you have made a bit of a fool of yourself pal- Mikel was decent tonight how ever much your deluded little mind thinks otherwise. I am no fan of Mikel but this is just ridiculous.

I was at the game and the general consensus from myself and everyone around me in fact that was Mikel put in a decent shift and on the night was better than Frank in the deeper midfield roles, who was guilty of giving the ball away on many occasions. There were subpar performances from others on the night- Ramires, Cech, even Ivanovic depsite the goal at the end so to single out Mikel is pathetic.

Anyway, we won in a pulsating and fantastic game to watch so get a grip and enjoy it.

Do we really always need a black sheep??

Now kalou and Bosingwa are gone,a lot of you need another victim.

Well, I think we have an early vote contender for "Most pathetic thread after a victory" thread. Marvelous.

He played well and much better than lamps. Kep the shape well, was positionally sound etc. One minor error all game.

We conceded through a keeping error and sloppy work from ash / Cahill.

Next day what do we get? A thread critical of mikel.

I mean honestly have a word with yourself.

This thread is a waste of precious internet space

Did you really have to make a new thread about this? I like many others on here don't think mikel is needed in games like this as he slows our play down and is pretty much a spare part. Against the weaker teams i would like to see someone more mobile who can get the ball and give it quicker.

No problems with playing him in the big games against the top sides as he gives our midfield a more solid base.

I to thought he did nothing wrong tonight so don't think this thread was needed.

I think Mikel is technically good enough to pass the ball quicker, just needs to adapt to it a bit and to have a real playmaker sat along-side him, imo.

Well it's obvious a lot of people disagree with my opinion which I am a big man and I can take but one thing I could say for sure is had maka or essien been our DM in that position would they have been substituted in the 68th minute to go for the win? The answer is no as these two were head and shoulders above mikel, if we needed someone to keep the ball and slow play down we might as well have just kept Mceachran who has tons more threat in terms of vision. He should be expecting to play well but there are moments in the last 2 games where had we been playing a better side where he would have been exposed and I fail to believe he is developing into this awesome DM role

Essien wouldn't have been subbed because he was an absolute beast and could drive us forward in those situations. Only other DM in the world I can think of who can currently do that is Toure, who is too tactically indisciplined to play as a proper DM anyway.

As for Makelele - a good manager would have. We didn't need a DM, there was no real threat from Reading as they were sitting deep and one holder was enough, and Lamps is a better passer and more creative than Mikel (I still think Lamps should have been taken off though).

The McEachran comparison - really? You're comparing one of the league's most defensively solid DMs to Josh who is a playmaker and doesn't provide much cover at all?

I agree Mikel done well, but some people are going way over the top on his performance. I personallu don't think he has a place when we're playing the lower league teams at home, when he came off for Studge we looked far more dangerous IMO.

I agree Mikel done well, but some people are going way over the top on his performance. I personallu don't think he has a place when we're playing the lower league teams at home, when he came off for Studge we looked far more dangerous IMO.

Yes we did look more dangerous but that's because RDM made a CORRECT TACTICAL CHANGE, nothing to do with the personel

That's like saying we had more width when we swapped a CM for a winger..........that was the point