Mikel v Wanayama

honestly it will be tough for Mikel for this point onwards....but the guy is strong he might just respond...if we do sell Mikel, i dont think we need to buy a replacement...we have Romeu who i think can become world class...what we need to get is a deep lying playmaker who is fast both in terms of tot and recovery..'ll take one of Benat/Montinho or Fellanni...then as our youngsters come through we can bed them in..what makes me happy is i am sure the club has a strategy for the future with FFP in full consideration...i might not the details but i am sure we wont do a malaga..happy to be a chelsea fan!!

we are always talking about players at other clubs.. is this a chelsea mentality?? I don't get it.. we have Mikel, Romeu, Ramires and now Luiz!?!? we can't have em all!!

@Pancake....i simply dont understand it. We have exciting young players coming through...and everyone is simply bent on buying,especially in over-populated positions. It beggars belief.

Wanyama is a celtic player,Mikel is a chelsea..i dont get the comparism,i saw the topic and was thinkin its a comparism of their abilities only to see a downgradin of our own and praise singin of another club's player..and u think mikel was given a new contract so he could be sold??the way some of us here devalue mikel he might just do a makalele to us..u dont know the value of what u have until u loose it.

I have never seen Victor Wanyama play and if he was that good any EPL club would have snapped him up by now. We do need a proper pacey deep-lying playmaker like Alonso (too old now)/Benat/Moutinho and those who think Luiz is better than Mikel in every way, you watch against Everton Mikel will start in the DM not Luiz. I know Mikel can't pass the ball like Luiz but he is 100% more disciplined than Luiz. Chelsea will not sell Mikel otherwise they would not have given extended his contract. The reason why people don't notice his Luiz's overall play is because we are winning.

Mikel is truly slow and slows up our attack, but guys there are games where he is best suited than all the flashy players we have in lamps, luiz and even romeu, this lad have given his all to chelsea from day one, and I think the club has a plan for him, I think most fans are grudgingly accepting him as a good player as the abuse on him as now dwindled to he is only slow (which is true though), he is trying not to be mistake prone as usual, I tell u this my friends, if chelsea get a fast CM or succeeds in bedding in luiz as a CM, then don't be suprised if mikel maintains his place in the XI as his slow play will be reduced by the ability of his partner in the pivot, he might just be the shield for the back 4 as usual, offcourse there are games he won't obviously play where the likes of romeu will be preferred to him.

If we need CM, we should go for spanish midfielders. They are quick and technical. I think they are the kind of players who can suit well with the current crop of players. But, given choice, I will go with KDB/Josh/Luiz/Ramires/Romeu/Mikel in the central midfield. They are very much enough for us. In the worst case, we can buy a replacement for Lampard (Pjanic could be a ideal one)

Value what yu have....

@shlok,how often do u see wanyama play??ffs the guy plays for the best club in the spl where its practicaly a monopolised league right now...mcfadden,miller,gordon,mcClouch and co all came to the epl and were unsuccessful after bein highly rated in scotland.

I am just worried on the deeplying playmaker role and should KDB is this type of player, please get him back into the team. We need quality player like him right now....

Wanyama or not, we need one more midfield m achine like Ramires and a quality deeplying playmaker. If we can get a young hardworking quality DM that will not cost more than 12m and can pay Moutinho's 23.5m release clause and buy Lewandrowski & Walcott instead of Falcao, it will be perfect. But we may have to part with Lamps and one of Mikel, Romeu.

New DM, Romeu or Mikel, Josh, Moutinho & Ramires will battle for the CM role.

ken4cfc....I Would rather see victor or moutino or any other dm in place of mikel at cfc...its high time for chelsea to get a new dm and give him a chance rather playing mikel who is too slow for our style ...

Shlok...how many times have u seen wayama play? And against which team? When u tell me 2-3, then I'll love to debate, that said, there only about a few natural DMs better than mikel defensively, comparing him with wayama is an insult to the lad, yea I said it. Its an insult, in a team where samaras Is their model player, u pick a player and say he is better than a multiple medal winner is a big insult

@Desmond I agree! So what if Mikel isn't fast and not an asset in the attack, neither was Makelele! We need balance in the squad, not everyone can be "creative". We're talking about a DM, a sweeper, not some allround deep lying jack of all trades. (IMHO we should return to our classic 4-3-3 to make that clear.) This summer we get McEachran (a playmaker and "new Lamps" if you like) and Chalobah (a DM and "new Mikel" if you like) back from loan, so why buy another one? Total waste of money to go for Wanayama even if long term injured Romeu (who BTW is rubbish compared to Mikel, with worse passing conversion and often caught out by poaching strikers) is sold now that Luiz been converted to DM.

barca has busquet who is good in dm as well a good passer of ball....we need a player of that quality who can do both job brilliantly....he has been at chelsea since ages then why cant he improve his weakness....all i get to hear is he is young and he will improve...when he will improve and become a complete dm...gone are the day when we had old type dm...today the scenario is differnt we need multitasker who can do dm as well a good passer...im not saying we need a dm who will create for our striker but a dm who can quickly pass on the ball to our attacking midfilder rather than playing tika tika style footbal with his own defender...

hey @Perenzo, how many goals did Makelele scored throughout his chelsea career ? Since you rate a DM perfomance by the number of goals he scores....

@finney angel it's not even about romeu here.we as chelsea fans should learn how to appreciate our players.this same mikel was instrumental to our double winning season last season.and they are now talking about wanyama now not even a player better than Mikel.SABER really fall my hand o.

@shlok27,its obvious U just hate to see mikel in a blue shirt not to talk of startin for CFC that u are desperate to take just anybody.i would advice to channel your desperation to our striker department thats where its needed

And anybody who think wanyama is better than mikel should has well use his money to purchase the wanyama of a guy in his own cfc club.

What about Sneijder??Apparently he is available.

What we need is true midfield destroyer with good passing ability. If you want to see the perfect defensive midfielder, watch this footage of 1993/1994 champions league final. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNC7CzyoIeo

@Shlok27 u re just an idiot who dont know how to make arguements and defend his views. i normally dont respond to tots like yours except i want to slam u. U slam players i slam idiots like u who dont know how to fit in to proper discuss.

@shlok, there are so many people here who are not from mikel's nation who see mikel's contribution for what it is, so don't try to fool urself by makng that comment, u watched wanyama in one game and u in ur infinite wisdom believe he is better than mikel? Pls I know u are better than that, @latunvic, funny about the way u defend the SPL and celtic, it seem u are the only one living in dream land and thinking celtic is currently one of the top 10 teams in the world, with ur argument u rate them as one of the top 15 in europe (which Is not)), if celtic is in the england's championship, they'll find it tough to get promoted to the EPL, u cited forlan when he was a young un flopping at man utd and making it in la liga, can u dig up the stats to backup ur claim? Diego forlan chance was limited when he was in man utd, there were other strikers at that time ahead of him, he wasn't man utd no.1 striker then, gerrard pique is another player, but mind u he was the one who wanted to leave and also there was rio, wes brown and vidic ahead of him, so we have only 2 players who u can point to as a flop in man utd who later made it big elsewhere, but in the case of samaras,mclough, everton's mcfadden and this highly rated scottish league player blackburn bought last year all flopping when they come to the epl, in recent years u hardly see 3 players coming from a club in scotland playing for a top 4 club in england (correct me if I am wrong) so stop talking of someone being bias, In my first comment if u scroll up, I gave my analyses of mikel and its still there, I just want to diffuse the tension saber and shlok are dredging up, wanyama is not better than mikel, we can only say that when we see him play up to 10 games and with quality oppositions before we say he is better, u can't judge him and rate him over a seasoned chelsea player when most of u have onely watched him play only once in the UCL, I think frlamp watched him a lot as he have been talking about him even before the barca game and he can be the one to really compare the stats without being biased, the rest of u should keep a lid on it will ya! So we can't say any of them is better until we see more of the wanyama guy

@desmond : where did latunvic say celtic were "one of the top 10 teams in the world or the top 15 in europe" ??..stop trying to twist his words. the point he was trying to make was we shouldn't compare players based on where they play!.. u said comparing mikel with wanyama was an insult to the former cuz wanyama plays for celtic!! LOL where did we get mikel from? and celtic may not be a top 10 side but they are the scotish champions, they are throu to the last 16 of the cl @ the expense of benifica, they almost drew barca @ nou camp n actually managed to beat them @ home.wanyama was a big part of that. I have been following this guy every chance i get since frlamp suggested we buy him a while ago.. the guy is an absolute brute, fast, tireless runner, great/aggressive tackler and a decent passer of the ball. there is a reason why top clubs are after him uno.. writing this guy off just based on the fact that he doesn't currently play 4 one of the elite clubs in europe, without making any valid points about his flaws/weaknesses is laughable.

@latunvic,a point of correction no one is sayin celtic is a rubbish club or zero standard club only that they are the best team in a low standard league(compared to europe top leagues),the spl has now been monopolised followin the demotion of rangers(celtic's only rival)..u are talkin about history and celtic bein former european champions same can be said about Liverpool but are they among the top 20clubs in europe??? Or do u think celtic would have won as much title if they are in the epl???....when we signed mikel from Lyn Oslo did he bench makelele,essien,ballack or lampard?? NO,it was because he was nowhere near their league but he bid his time and learned under their tutorship and now he is bein able to take over from them...yea brown and samaras where starters and flops for fulham and man city respectively but are now demi gods in the spl,your comparism of forlan is not valid because he spent more time on the bench and well below the perkin order...maybe its u should take off your mikel-hatred blinkers,argue objectively and without bias

Why are you guys even tensed about what some Saber and some Shlok27 is saying about Mikel? Who are they in the world of football? Are the Roman's advisors? Are they Emenalo's PAs? Are they the gaffer? Please can someone with astute knowledge of football and history explain who these guys are? I want to know. I think i should come out with an article soon

the thing is desmond mikel is very good DEFENSIVELY against teams that put together a string of passes in the final third (like arsenal & barca). their style of play allows him to get close enough to muscle the ball of their players, get blocks, interceptions.... But against more direct teams like United, spurs.. he gets outpaced and outrun, he struggles to close down their attackers and he is not a very sharp tackler (he usually just bundles people to ground). Unless u're an expert @ reading the game and always know how to position urself (like maka) pace, energy, aggression and sharp tackling are too important. Mikel is a good player! a team player. Maybe if he had gone to the serie A he might have become the best in his position by now. But like the author says he does not suit the style of play we r adopting now. he takes forever to execute a simple horizontal pass. tempo starts from the back mate, if the dm slows the game down, there is not much the others further up field can do about it because the slow build up allows the opposition to close down all the space...last summer GABEU in one of his articles suggested we buy nuri sahin for 13m and FrLamp in the comments section argued what we needed was a brute like fellaini, tiote or wanyama and that of the 3 he would prefer wanyama. that is quite a compliment from a guy who really knows his footie. like i said i have followed him ever since, ur argument about the scotish league is valid, but this kid has proved his quality against quality oppositions in europe and not just this year mate. Like u said, let's reserve judgement on whether or not he is a better player than mikel.. but his attributes and yaya toure-esque style of play suits us better.

@Shlok27, i am 'no one' that is why i dont speak foolishly. that's something you do here. arguing without fact or sense. it's only in your fantasy footie that Mikel isn't good for Chelsea. I know what football is and others here who also have an idea understands that Mikel is a rare gem and we are only privilege to have someone as composed, matured, team spirited player among us. He hasn't been a flair player but he has the skills and can do it if given the chance. watch afcon 2013 and see the role he plays for his country.

@teepie yaa your no one thats why dont question other people wether they are this or that....if you dont like my comment then you can mind your own business...also check my previuos comment or others also for your so called fact and sense ...more than me you are the one who is talking rubbish without any fact and sense...here everyone is chelsea fan and they speak what they feel abou their team...if i was roman advisor do you think i would waste my time debating with you...the problem is that the day someone speak something against mikel he is called foolish and that also by his worshipper ....you dont need to be a footballing expert to know wether a player is suited enough for this style or that...just beacuse he is your favourite player that doesnt means he is the best dm...get over dude face the harsh reality that he DOESNT NOT SUIT CHELSEA ATTACKING STYLE....hope you get it now crystal clear...

This is extremely laughable.. resorting into cooking up what I never said... @Desmond where did I say Celtic is a top 10 or 15 club, seriously, this is laughable.... I still insist, based on some arguments above downgrading Celtic and Wanyama, Mikel has no business becoming a Chelsea player then... If u want to argue that Mikel is a better player, state objective points, saying wanyama is not good cos he plays for Celtic and in Scotland is just a very silly argument.... And are u serious about your point that Diego Forlan wasn't a flop at Manutd cos every football fan knows he was. Forlan scored only 10 goals in 63 appearances at Manutd (even Torres labelled a flop did better in 63 appearances), compare that with 74 in 134 at A. Madrid..... Your words @Desmond.. "Diego forlan chance was limited when he was in man utd, there were other strikers at that time ahead of him, he wasn't man utd no.1 striker then" Now, when has that become an excuse to score just 10 goals in 63 appearances and say it wasn't a flop.... Most of the arguments writing-off Wanyama lack substance, are non-factual and based on personal insinuation...

@latunvic, u said celtic qualified for the round of 16 which makes them a great club, so I was telling if u are confused about my comment that they are not in top 10 or 15 in the world or europe, I am saying comparing mikel with wanyama is an insult to mikel and I have stated why, I won't argue with u further bcos @blues4eva have stated points based on what he have seen, about the forlan talk, how many times did he start for man utd and how many strikers were ahead of him? When u get that u'll surely inderstand my comment more, I don't want a protracted argument that will result to name calling pls

@Latunvic,u should also correct the insinuation that wanyama is better than mikel when they ve never seen him play or seen him play once or twice

Why do people think the topic of Mikel always bring arguments? Well, my personal opinion is Mikel is just darn too lazy. Chelsea is top club, all first team players must have a certain quality. My problem is i cant figure out what Mikel does different most players cant. I've looked at all the top 3 clubs in the top 3 leagues, i have researched the opta stats and it all proves that Mikel is average at best. There is no top 3 team in any top 3 league who's holding midfield player is not better than Mikel. I hate it when people say we dont appreciate Mikel because he doesn't score goal because that is just an insult to our intelligence. Maka was here and didn't score much, no one complained. Essien been great in the past but hardly scored buckets of goals and still was highly regarded. So why is Mikel not appreciated much? Simples, he doesn't do enough. Mikel cant stretch a pass to open up a midfield or defense but want to do the simple pass to the next player every time. If that player to receive is not there, he just passes it to Cech. He is too cowardly. The question some fans pose is why is here all this while? Its quite complex, i think Mikel is a respectful bloke and so the club appreciates him , much like how Paulo is still here i guess. Please Mikel is not bad, far from it. He's just not good enough for chelsea. Do u think if Mikel was half as good as Maka or Essien, we would be thinking of buying a CM this winter, why is it that even the press dont praise MIkel's perfomances? Has MIkel ever been voted Man of the Match before? Mikel is just too comfortable, someone with ambition would have left where he could be appreciated. I think he is just okay with the paycheck. Mikel defending is nothing to hype about, he doesnt close down quick enough, theres no fear factor in him, he just waits to tackle but if the player is very swift, he is easily bypassed. Mikel better games have come when Chelsea have been defending deep and there is a collective defending from the entire team like in the UCL final. In such cases, he's calmness is a plus and he doesn't have to run much to intercept balls and it seems he's having a better game. But this Chelsea fc! where we play attractive , attacking football. Unfortunately Mikel doesn't suit us.

I dont know more than the coaches KEN4CFC , those coaches came to meet mikel. I cant force him out , im just a fan who isnt blinded by some attraction or sympathy for any player. KEN4CFC are you nigerian? I'm just asking because a lot of nigerian chelsea just love mikel because he's nigerian. But i have discourse with nigerians who are Man U and other teams fans and they all agree that Mikel is not good enough but they are just happy we are persisting with him. Chelsea always want to learn the hard way, the fact that mikel's mistakes have reduced doesnt make him great all of sudden. He must prove to us that he's good enough.

check this out, doesnt say much though: http://www.futaa.com/football/article/wanyama-makes-top-20

well said ishomoto you explained it perfectly with proper facts and sense....hope the so called mikel deluded fan get it better....think cfc first and then about your favourite players...

@ishmoto, my previous comment goes to u too, u seem well informed so the reason I direct this comment to u, in our 2007 FA cup final against man utd, were we defending when we pipped man utd 1-0? When we played barca in the nou camp were we defending there too? Check mikel's performance at the camp nou, under avram grant when we played some tough teams mikel didn't play only in the final, check his performances, mikel was one of our best performers against bayern in munich, check all the finals mikel have played in, u'll see him consistent in those high profile games, hardly will u see him flop in a high profile game, as I said in my first comment on this thread, I am not ignorant of mikel's flaws,he is slow, ball watches atimes, passes to the back (thank God that have stopped to a reasonable level) but I just want most of u to see a clear picture and stop channeling ur frustrations on the lad,remove mikel from this chelsea team, u'll see our players being bullied annoyingly.

Mikel should mark, tackle, intercept, play accurate long passes, score loads of goals, never lose the ball all the while never crossing the half way line.

Please Read! KEN4CFC,i said mikel hasn't benched any of them if they were fit and it was an important Match. let me see, in 2009 CL at camp nou, mikel played alongside Essien and at home, he was on the bench because we needed a gaol and essien was the best then. So there you go. In 20012 CL final, essien was out of form and injury plagued but still lampard played alongside. So I'm still right right ok. In 2010 fa cup final, ballack played and Mikel was even injured!. Do u know your facts at all??In 2009 mikel played alongside essien.. So he didnt bench essien right?. Good. In 2007, he played along essien again.So he didnt bench essien. Good . The only time mikel bench essien was in 2012 and that was when essien was finished and just injury plagued. What i'm trying to put out to you ken, is take off your mikel tainted glass and analyze a trend here. This trend is all successful coaches have either preferred others to mikel be that ballack, maka or essien in that role. When mikel has been used in that role he was always supported by an experienced player to clean up his mistake and provide the attacking impetus. With the demise of the players due to age or injuries mikel has been given the stage to prove to us that he has learnt from these greats. What has mikel shown us? That he is the same guy from wherever he came from, lens i presume. In this new age of chelsea post essien, chelsea has not found that player to own the holding role or experienced enough to play along mikel to overshadow his obvious shortcomings which has intentionally refuse to erase from his game. Mike has just refused to develop into that world class player but he keeps his mouth shut and does his best and this is why he is still at chelsea fc. Because most players here are very ambitious and would have left where they could achieve their maximum potential. But mikel is cool with what he has and i dont play him on that. African brother like him , earning big pounds for doing little work , i would have done the same. I blame chelsea for leaving him hanging around hoping he will develop but quickly shipping players with obvious potential like sturridge albeit their gross personal character problems. Please i do not hate mikel, i just dont appreciate what he has done, because he hasnt done enough for my chelsea. One more think , i have researched and read and observed before coming to the glaring fact that mikel is not good enough. So before you counter me or try to enlighten me try to back your feelings with FACTS here. ok. RANT OVER

* i dont blame*.. sorry too many typos..