When will John Obi Mikel get the credit he deserves?
John Obi Mikel always starts against Arsenal – despite not always being a fixture in the first team, he has started home and away against Arsene Wenger’s side both this season and last.
He’s a tremendous physical presence in front of the back four, he reads the game well, he keeps possession and passes calmly, he’s dominant in the air (vital for a holding midfield player) and he’s really improved his discipline over the past eighteen months or so.
His reputation doesn’t seem to have recovered from his initial problems in England, but he does a tremendous job whenever he plays in a big game for Chelsea. Michael Essien might be a far better all-round footballer, but he is wasted in the holding role, because it restricts his attacking qualities.
Mikel, however, is perfect for that deeper role. Here’s a breakdown of his performance yesterday.
Firstly, his passing and interceptions:
Secondly, his tackling and free-kick winning:
Pretty impressive statistics for a holding midfielder against a side blessed with great passing ability.
He may not be the most popular of players, but he does a crucial job for Chelsea in an area of the pitch where their big names have been underwhelming this season.
When will John Obi Mikel get the credit he deserves?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Cox, Zonal Marking and Zonal Marking, Zonal Marking. Zonal Marking said: NEW ON ZM: When will John Obi Mikel get the credit he deserves? http://bit.ly/a2Ba0h Brings the best out of the other midfielders IMO [...]
there is time for evrything, with hard work one day he will get his credit
i think mikel has been misused by chelsea and his career has taken soo many steps backwards that it is unbelievable. I don’t know if you watched the world youth cup (U20) in 2005, but mikel was the second best player of the tournament. Guess who came first? Messi. Guess what position Mikel played? Centre Mid with the license to go forward and create, much like cesc fabregas. His touch, control, vision etc, etc were exceptional. Nigeria lost that final to two penalties (fouls on messi) but throughout the tournament, it was clear that this guy could go on and become one of the best attacking midfielders in the world. But I guess the european view that africans cannot be creative and orchestrate attacks led to chelsea buying this wonderfully talented player and trying to turn him into Makelele Mark II. Why wouldn’t he struggle? The lad was meant to replace Jay Jay Okocha in Nigeria’s midfield but now Nigeria has no creative force in midfield. all we have is a bunch of central midfielders plying their trade in europe who can’t run a game. What is it with European coaches and favouring the physique of African internationals over their brains?
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