Obi or not Obi – That is the question!!

Debate about whether John Mikel Obi is good enough and effective enough for Chelsea or whether he passes it forwards or backwards, or even what is the point of Mikel has seemingly raged since the Nigerian midfielder has played for Chelsea. Nevertheless, Mikel has been a fixture since he made his debut against Liverpool on 13/08/2006 in the Community Shield as a 19 year old. It is surprising that he is still relatively young (26)  for a holding midfield player, and since his acquisition the heir apparent to Makalele.

To understand Mikel is to understand the role, and indeed in many respects the sacrifice he makes for the team, for be in no doubt the holding midfield role requires tactical discipline and carrying out the instructions of the manager to the letter. Only when playing for Nigeria does he enjoy the freedom to go forward without responsibility, and was in fact the player of the tournament in the recent African Cup of Nations, in doing so.

Many Chelsea supporters level accusations at Mikel that he is too slow; too one paced; slows the game down; doesn’t score enough; is too ill-disciplined and so on. His supporters will counter that with the fact that he is fulfilling his role in the team effectively – he is there to be the disciplined holding midfield player – intercept the ball, win tackles and play the ball away from danger. Futhermore, your forward passing and the pace of your play can only be as quick as your team mates ahead of you will allow. And what of those team mates? Well they love him and trust him totally. Mikel is the out-ball for his team mates as they trust him to keep possession and distribute effectively, yes, he may lose it occasionally but the fact is Mikel is often given the ball in situations of intense pressure.

It is true that Mikel may not be and may never be Makalele, the man he was bought to follow, but then again we are talking about a player for whom a role was named after – a one off – unique. It may also be true that in Nemanja Matic, Chelsea have found a player who can add a different dimension to this role and may well eventually force Mikel out – he has already played less this season than he has for the last few years.

As far as I am concerned, Mikel is a valuable member of the team, and with all good squads we need ‘horses for courses’ players, prepared to do the job that is required and carry out the manager’s instructions. Futhermore, how can we doubt the effectiveness of a player who has won 1 Premier League; 4 FA Cups; 1 League Cup; 1 Community Shield; 1 European Cup; 1 Europa Cup. In addition he has often saved his best performances for Finals, and few doubt that he was our Man of the Match in the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, and along the way has kept some of the best attacking midfielders in the game in his pocket – Cazorla, Arteta, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi to name but a few.

On the Chelsea FanCast this week we feel that it is time to set the record straight, and nail the issue once and for all. We’ll be having a debate on whether Mikel is effective in the Chelsea side or not. Do you rate him or not?

If you want to take part all you have to do is email chelseafancast@gmail.com before the show or tweet @ChelseaFanCast during the show and let us know what you think. If you want to have your say, then set up a skype or phone call with us. Let us know by email and add us on Skype – chelsea.fancast – and we’ll set it up tomorrow Monday 3rd March before 18.30 GMT.

You can also vote below and we will reveal the results on the show tomorrow night.

Don’t forget to tune in at 19.00-21.00 GMT on Monday 3rd March for the Chelsea FanCast on sportstonightlive.com, mixlr.com or watch live here to see what the boys have to say about John Mikel Obi!

 Loading ...