Is this really Mikel?!

He plays with so much guile not typically appreciated in English football. Mourinho was said the way Mikel played was not an easy way to play soccer. Only talented player can make playing soccer look so easy

Jon Obi was actually a very good footballer given a bad rap by some ignorant fans. Played most of his career out of position and did it very well. Had very good ball skills for a big lad too.

comment by The Blue Texan (U11585)
posted 10 hours, 7 minutes ago
He plays with so much guile not typically appreciated in English football. Mourinho was said the way Mikel played was not an easy way to play soccer. Only talented player can make playing soccer look so easy
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Maybe that’s why he was so awkward, usually out of position and slow to move about. Guy was like the qe2 at times.

comment by vavarising (U21731)
posted 7 hours, 40 minutes ago
Jon Obi was actually a very good footballer given a bad rap by some ignorant fans. Played most of his career out of position and did it very well. Had very good ball skills for a big lad too.
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Lol

The more time passes I'm not buying the rational that Jose ruined him. With the pace the game is played at in the Premier League he'd have been even worse as a no.10, you can't be as slow with the ball as he was playing that high up the pitch.

Looking back Mikel was just an average player out of his depth in an exceptional team. Same as Kalou.

comment by Devil D.A. (U6522)
posted 47 minutes ago
The more time passes I'm not buying the rational that Jose ruined him. With the pace the game is played at in the Premier League he'd have been even worse as a no.10, you can't be as slow with the ball as he was playing that high up the pitch.

Looking back Mikel was just an average player out of his depth in an exceptional team. Same as Kalou.
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Disagree with this, Devil. He was a very good player - in his defensive midfield position. He created space for himself, and frequently seemed to have so much time on the ball because he had such great skills. But I agree that his speed was his downfall. He played as a number 10 for Nigeria, but was not quick enough in the premier league to play as a number 10.
He was frequently undervalued by a selection of Chelsea fans though - he did a great job for us.

comment by Devil D.A. (U6522)
posted 18 hours, 32 minutes ago
The more time passes I'm not buying the rational that Jose ruined him. With the pace the game is played at in the Premier League he'd have been even worse as a no.10, you can't be as slow with the ball as he was playing that high up the pitch.

Looking back Mikel was just an average player out of his depth in an exceptional team. Same as Kalou.
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Harsh on Mikel and Kalou. We had many average players who looked out of their depth and were duly sold. Kalou spent years at Chelsea managing double figure goals each season, frustrating style of play, yes, but also talented, the type of hard working, versatile and efficient player every team needs. When you look at how our team is struggling for goals he would probably be even more suited to this system then most of the other systems he played under. Still going strong in the Bundesliga at age 33, turning 34 this year

comment by BlueJ2 (U4630)
posted 17 hours, 44 minutes ago
comment by Devil D.A. (U6522)
posted 47 minutes ago
The more time passes I'm not buying the rational that Jose ruined him. With the pace the game is played at in the Premier League he'd have been even worse as a no.10, you can't be as slow with the ball as he was playing that high up the pitch.

Looking back Mikel was just an average player out of his depth in an exceptional team. Same as Kalou.
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Disagree with this, Devil. He was a very good player - in his defensive midfield position. He created space for himself, and frequently seemed to have so much time on the ball because he had such great skills. But I agree that his speed was his downfall. He played as a number 10 for Nigeria, but was not quick enough in the premier league to play as a number 10.
He was frequently undervalued by a selection of Chelsea fans though - he did a great job for us.
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Was valued perfectly at his level by Chelsea fans. Probably a nice guy off the pitch, like Ferreira and was happy being on the bench. Stole a living imo but fair play to him. Probably the worst defensive midfielder at actually defending and marking I’ve seen lol

Kalou was fun though, productive player.

The more time passes I'm not buying the rational that Jose ruined him. With the pace the game is played at in the Premier League he'd have been even worse as a no.10, you can't be as slow with the ball as he was playing that high up the pitch.

Looking back Mikel was just an average player out of his depth in an exceptional team. Same as Kalou.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Harsh on Mikel and Kalou. We had many average players who looked out of their depth and were duly sold. Kalou spent years at Chelsea managing double figure goals each season, frustrating style of play, yes, but also talented, the type of hard working, versatile and efficient player every team needs. When you look at how our team is struggling for goals he would probably be even more suited to this system then most of the other systems he played under. Still going strong in the Bundesliga at age 33, turning 34 this year
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Not harsh at all. Both were OK players whose weaknesses were magnified because our team was so good back then. Neither of them would be out of their depth in this Chelsea team, infact both would be very valuable squad options (especially Mikel as that Jorginho backup), but for the Chelsea teams they played in they were a hindrance.

In Kalou's case the team didn't really need a player like him. Because it was so direct and functional it needed either a perfect compliment to it (e.g. an in-form Malouda) or a complete contrast to instill an element of unpredictability and flair (e.g. what Robben was/Robinho could've been). Kalou was somewhere between both, he didn't really fit.