There is no individual in ChelseaFC’s squad that divides fan opinion quite like John Obi Mikel. While some consider him a valuable member of the Blues’ first-team squad, others wouldn’t be too sorry to see him go sooner rather than later. Many others are torn between the two conflicting viewpoints. However, whilst he isn’t quite the second coming of Claude Makélélé, Mikel will – on the evidence of recent matches – play an important role in Chelsea’s challenge on all four fronts.
Amazingly, the Nigerian has racked up 328 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea till date, more than all but three of Chelsea’s current playing squad – John Terry, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba. In a Chelsea career spanning nearly a decade, Mikel has won a Premier League title, four F.A. Cups, a League Cup, a Champions League and a Europa League trophy. Stats like these would normally guarantee a footballer legendary status at a club, and yet it would be fair to state that a large proportion of Chelsea fans would be very reluctant to bestow that honour upon the midfielder. Mikel is something of a cult hero – Chelsea fans are never more gleeful than when celebrating a Mikel goal, there’s nothing quite like it – but arguably hasn’t had the impact at the club that others in the same ballpark of Chelsea appearances have had.
The 27-year old is a far cry from the ill-disciplined teenage tyro Chelsea signed in 2006 after a legal fracas that, amongst other parties, involved Manchester United. Although there is a sense that he has never quite fulfilled the promise he showed as the runner-up to Lionel Messi in the 2003 U-17 World Cup Best Player award, Mikel has matured into a very good footballer over the years. An attacking midfielder in his early career, it was José Mourinho – in his first spell as Chelsea manager – who moved him to the base of the midfield in a role similar to the one Frenchman Claude Makélélé made his own at Stamford Bridge. The Nigerian international has grown into that defensive midfield role and put in some outstanding performances for Chelsea over the years. In what has been a tumultuous (albeit very successful) past decade for the London club, Mikel’s contribution has been a welcome constant.
With the classy combination of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fàbregas in the centre of the park this season, ably supported by the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard and Willian, Chelsea have one of the best midfields in the Premier League, if not Europe. Mikel isn’t a key member of Mourinho’s starting XI, but even his staunchest detractors would grudgingly admit that he is capable of ‘doing a job’ when called upon. Doing a job – that most clichéd of footballing expressions – is used almost as a euphemism these days for ‘not very good at football’. In the Nigerian’s case, however, the expression could not be truer. Mikel is capable of doing a job – specifically the precise job that the manager wants him to do – and therein lies his true value.
The midfielder has started in five out of Chelsea’s last six fixtures in all competitions as part of different midfield combinations – including playing with Matic in a midfield double-pivot in Cesc’s absence, with Cesc in Matic’s absence, as well as with both Fàbregas and Matic as seen in Chelsea’s 2-0 away win against Stoke City on Monday night. Not only is Mikel an astute footballer tactically, he has also developed into a very reliable one – what you expect from him is what you get. For a manager like José Mourinho who tweaks tactics and formations depending on the opposition and is known to pay minute attention to the tiniest details, Mikel’s reliability is priceless.
Primarily a defensive midfielder, Mikel is quite simply the only player Chelsea have as back-up to Nemanja Matic . Nathan Aké has played in that position for Chelsea, but with only two senior starts for the Blues, it is safe to say he is still finding his feet at the club. Inevitably (but perhaps unfairly), Mikel is often compared to Matic given they play in the same position, and like many defensive midfielders would, he comes off worse in that particular comparison. It is pretty evident that Mikel is a lot more limited than Matic . He doesn’t have the same quality on the ball; doesn’t necessarily have the vision to pick out the likes of Hazard and Oscar in pockets of space in the attacking third; doesn’t have the burst of speed that takes him past opposition players like they don’t exist; doesn’t have the sheer reach and thus ability to intercept passes that Matic does given the Serbian’s height and spider-like limbs, and arguably isn’t as much of an aerial threat as Matic is.
Mikel does have his own strengths however. He has the positional and tactical discipline needed for a defensive midfielder; is very safe in possession (which, it has to be said, may not always be a positive); uses his physicality very effectively to retain the ball under pressure and to win tackles in the middle of the park as was evident against Hull City and Stoke, and most importantly, as the veteran of several successful Premier League and Champions League campaigns, has the experience and wherewithal to make small but important decisions in big games.
These decisions could include anything from wasting time when holding on to a lead, to making ‘clever’ fouls on attacking players to disrupt any momentum the opposition attempts to build. As Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville might put it, he is very good at ‘big game management’. Equally crucially, he provides an option to the manager particularly in difficult away games where his presence in a midfield three can add more defensive stability whilst at the same time allowing more freedom for the likes of Matic and Fàbregas to operate.
The Mikel-Matic combo worked a treat against Stoke City – their physical threat was completely nullified by the duo and their most creative player, Bojan Krkic, found one if not both of them breathing down his neck every time he received the ball in the final third. As a result, his impact on the game was very limited. Mourinho has used Ramires in the midfield three with Matic and Fàbregas before this season, but on recent evidence, it is clear that the team looks more solid defensively with Mikel in it rather than the Brazilian. Whilst Mikel has none of Ramires’ pace or ability to run with the ball, the Brazilian doesn’t have Mikel’s sense of positioning or defensive discipline.
Additionally, with Mikel in the side, Matic has the freedom to contribute more going forward. He is able to press in more advanced positions, knowing that if he does get turned and beaten for pace, as he is sometimes wont to do, Mikel is there to cover for him. His presence also allows the Serbian more freedom in terms of his lateral movement – he can help out fullbacks and cover for wingers during counter-attacks whilst Mikel’s presence in the centre of the pitch ensures that large gaps do not open as they did for Emre Can against Liverpool at Anfield.
Fàbregas, in turn, is spared some of his defensive duties, and can focus more on creating chances for the likes of Diego Costa. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily push him up to the no.10 role, Mikel’s presence means that the Spaniard has more freedom of movement up and down the pitch and can make more attacking runs into the box safe in the knowledge that he has cover and will not always have to sprint back in case there is a counter attack. Mikel is thus an effective shield for the back four, and a valid option for Mourinho in big away games, particularly in the knock-out rounds of the Champions League and the latter stages of domestic cups.
It does Mikel absolutely no harm either that the manager sees him as a team player. He has come a long way from the off-field indiscretions and ill-discipline that marked his early Chelsea career, and the midfielder is now a top professional. If nothing else, he can fill in and allow the manager to rest the likes of Oscar, Matic or Fàbregas when needed. Mourinho values this type of footballer above all others, as he reiterated in a recent press conference. “The first time he played, against Newcastle, he was our best player”, enthused the Portuguese. “How can he be our best player if he didn’t play for three months? Because he was working every day at the top level.” If he continues doing that, Chelsea’s no.12 can expect to be playing a lot more football in the coming weeks.
With no African Cup of Nations campaign in 2015, it is very unlikely that Mikel will face any more three-month long absences from the Chelsea team. Although he may not be everyone’s favourite, it is quite clear that John Obi Mikel has an important role to play for Chelsea this season. Indeed, if he continues to play like he did against Stoke, and perhaps even improve on that performance, it would go a long way to stifling the groans that Chelsea fans let out at the sight of his name on the team sheet. And whilst it might not cause the buzz that the name ‘Fàbregas’ or ‘Hazard’ does, the Blues’ faithful might just, in due course, come to feel a sense of security knowing that Mikel will be a part of their midfield, doing a job.
Culled from thehardtackles.com
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