thegoodjoehunt3:
Mikel is one of the reasons I like Coach Keshi. Mikel is not as poor as people make him to be. Look at Fellaini at Man Utd. Many Man Utd fans castigated him and wanted him out of the team. Today, he is one of the few players that brings class to the midfield.

Sometimes, people should know there is more to football than watching a player run with the ball. Decision making, intelligence and knowing when to attack or defend is important to the team.

Mikel is a very technical player and has tried for the team.

I keep pointing at the fact that Mikel was the best Nigerian player in the match against South Africa. After the game, many were abusing Mikel that he was one of the reasons we did not win the game. I shook my head in Yoruba.

vacant06:
If he drops mikel nigeria team wil fumble

chukxie:
Make una leave Mikel alone. The guy dey do his job whether good, average or bad. After all he's still at Chelsea. If Mikel were as bad as some people on this thread think he is, I'm sure Chelsea wouldn't still be keeping him. Go figure!

steppin:

I've read your posts about Keshi and it's always the same. Keshi is your idol, so whatever he does or chooses is right. You're more than biased and you post with sentiment.
Keshi is using Mikel for his own personal reasons not because he's good. His total flop at the world cup is a good reason to put his sloppy assz on the bench, but Keshi won't even think of that.
How much time does he need to perform?

abatically:
Anybody that knows football very well will know mikel obi is still the most technically gifted player we have in our midfield (apart from maybe iheanacho, but then they both don't play the same role. Nacho is an attacking midfielder who plays behind the striker while mikel plays deeper in the holding midfield role).

I'm not a fan of mikel, but no doubt we need him in our team to keep possesion going (that is when he is at his best). Its a shame he is the best we have in that role, so we have to live with that for now. Mikel is still more techinally sound than even onazi who is more a box to box midfielder. Uchebo, azeez, babatunde, Moses, musa etc are not as technical as mikel. The problem is mikel has not been doing his job well. But the sad thing is there's no one who can do it better than him at the moment.

Daninya1:
Enough of all this... Mikel is a professional.. Yes of course.. So what?.. Don't professionals sit on the bench??..
If a player is not an his best, he should be benched..
What mikel needs is competition.. He is too lax for my liking.. Keshi should give other players the chance to show what they can offer...
The last time I checked finidi George was discovered in Malta..
Even the unbencheable Mikel was scouted in Norway...
Scouts should be sent all over the globe.. We can get a better replacement for mikel..

bastien:
I disagree, have you watch Nosa, Ogu played?

abatically:


Nosa and Ogu? You got to be kidding me. These are still the same kick and follow players that make up most of the Nigerian team. Mikel is the only player that can calm the game down and keep possession ticking and open up space for the attackers to run into. He just needs to improve his final ball. I know u all want a player that will pick the ball and run at defenders, or shoot from long distance. Yes it is good to have.. but when every players in a team plays like that, then the team will be unbalanced. Onazi, Musa, Moses, etc are direct players, Mikel relies on his technical ability and we can't deny we really need him to be at his best.

bastien:
Lol Nosa kick and follow? Chai like Seriously dude, Mikel is not technically sound,even with so many years in Europe top league. Do you know why many managers and coach in Europe like depending on black players as their DM? Because they are all technically sound playing on sand in Africa and that gives them the strength to cover the pitch for 90mins,Mikel lacks pace,poor ball passer,no urgency and doesn't read the game. Watch Tiote, Song,Diame, Yaya, Onazi, Mulumbu, Muntari, Nosa, Azeze, etc all these players are box to box DM ,with alot urgency in them, only Nosa have few years experience in Europe. Why is Mike case different? If you can't score create chances. Mikel is overrated

thegoodjoehunt3:
Mikel is one of the reasons I like Coach Keshi. Mikel is not as poor as people make him to be. Look at Fellaini at Man Utd. Many Man Utd fans castigated him and wanted him out of the team. Today, he is one of the few players that brings class to the midfield.

Sometimes, people should know there is more to football than watching a player run with the ball. Decision making, intelligence and knowing when to attack or defend is important to the team.

Mikel is a very technical player and has tried for the team.

I keep pointing at the fact that Mikel was the best Nigerian player in the match against South Africa. After the game, many were abusing Mikel that he was one of the reasons we did not win the game. I shook my head in Yoruba.

Daninya1:
Enough of all this... Mikel is a professional.. Yes of course.. So what?.. Don't professionals sit on the bench??..
If a player is not an his best, he should be benched..
What mikel needs is competition.. He is too lax for my liking.. Keshi should give other players the chance to show what they can offer...
The last time I checked finidi George was discovered in Malta..
Even the unbencheable Mikel was scouted in Norway...
Scouts should be sent all over the globe.. We can get a better replacement for mikel..

kannymoore:


Bros.... Mikel creates chances oh!... I kid you not. Yes he may not create chances for chelsea, they have more than enough game-changers to go around. But for Super Eagles, Mikel na primadonna as far as creating chances is concerned. Jokes aside.
As far as I'm concerned, Mikel should have the most assists for super eagles than most other easgles players except maybe Kanu.
His style of play may not be flamboyant but he sure does get the job done with minimum fuss.

kunlesehan:
Mikel, Mourinho and Keshi all have something in common.
Lol

mikeson12:


http://m.goal.com/x/en-ng/news/5755011

http://www.supersport.com/football/super-eagles/news/141102/Keshi_lifts_the_lid

thegoodjoehunt3:
If Coach Keshi wants to bring in a player from Malta, people will shout.

By the way, replacing Mikel is not easy. Technically brilliant players are difficult to find. Look at Italy, since 2000 until today, they have not been able to replace Pirlo. Xavi and Xabi Alonso was irreplaceable until Thiago Alcantara came along.

Super Eagles have had very great players but only Finidi George, Kanu and Mikel have showed technical brilliance in the Super Eagles. It is hard to explain this quality. I never watched Coach Keshi play in midfield, but I heard he was that sort of player.

They spend more time reading the game than playing it.

So it is not just about scouting players.

thegoodjoehunt3:
If Coach Keshi wants bribe, do you think he would be collecting money from Salami instead of Martins?

Still shaking my head in Yoruba.

bastien:
Lol Nosa kick and follow? Chai like Seriously dude, Mikel is not technically sound,even with so many years in Europe top league. Do you know why many managers and coach in Europe like depending on black players as their DM? Because they are all technically sound playing on sand in Africa and that gives them the strength to cover the pitch for 90mins,Mikel lacks pace,poor ball passer,no urgency and doesn't read the game. Watch Tiote, Song,Diame, Yaya, Onazi, Mulumbu, Muntari, Nosa, Azeze, etc all these players are box to box DM ,with alot urgency in them, only Nosa have few years experience in Europe. Why is Mike case different? If you can't score create chances. Mikel is overrated

Arnoldo:
bros read wetin u type na......poor ball passer ...in ur list only song get pass more than him.....have u 4gotn DAT Mikel was once rated no2 after Alonso in pass accuracy in England.........

thegoodjoehunt3:
If Coach Keshi wants to bring in a player from Malta, people will shout.

By the way, replacing Mikel is not easy. Technically brilliant players are difficult to find. Look at Italy, since 2000 until today, they have not been able to replace Pirlo. Xavi and Xabi Alonso was irreplaceable until Thiago Alcantara came along.

Super Eagles have had very great players but only Finidi George, Kanu and Mikel have showed technical brilliance in the Super Eagles. It is hard to explain this quality. I never watched Coach Keshi play in midfield, but I heard he was that sort of player.

They spend more time reading the game than playing it.

So it is not just about scouting players.

thegoodjoehunt3:
Mikel is one of the reasons I like Coach Keshi. Mikel is not as poor as people make him to be. Look at Fellaini at Man Utd. Many Man Utd fans castigated him and wanted him out of the team. Today, he is one of the few players that brings class to the midfield.

Sometimes, people should know there is more to football than watching a player run with the ball. Decision making, intelligence and knowing when to attack or defend is important to the team.

Mikel is a very technical player and has tried for the team.

I keep pointing at the fact that Mikel was the best Nigerian player in the match against South Africa. After the game, many were abusing Mikel that he was one of the reasons we did not win the game. I shook my head in Yoruba.

Abraham2013:

Well keshi is d sole genesis of d confusion. Keshi keeps playing mikel out of position without considering d qualities of mikel. A gud coach considers ability of a player to adapt and qualities of a player b4 switching d players position. Mikel is one of d best defensive midfielder and his best qualities is to break attack and initiate counter attack( by passing to d central or attacking midfielder) not lead d counter attack. Dis is b/cos mikel is not blessed wit pace and goal scoring instinct dat a central or attacking midfielder must possess in order to be successful. Dat is y people seem to tink mikel is slow. Take ceaser aztallaquta of chelsea as an example. Wen mourinho was switching him 4rm RB to LB, he considered dat he can cross d ball wit both legs, has pace and defends well hence it was easy 4 him to switch. Finally in as much as I agree wit u dat mikel is a technically gifted player, keshi is simply playing him out of position and mikel does not hav d qualities to play in d new position he is playing him. Forget d occasional flashes mikel may show in some matches, in d long run he will fail wen we needs him most. I believe mikel should return to DM position and lukman haruna or solomon owello should replace mikel in d CM position while d likes of abduljaliu ajagun and ejike uzobuenyi can compete 4 d AM position.

olajide8:


I beg to defer on a lot of fronts - because like you said - you never knew or saw keshi play active football - well he wasn't a technical player he only brought discipline to the field, he was actually respected because he was an agent in belgium when his mates played local football, so they showed him that respect both on and off the field - samuel okparaji* of blessed memory was the technical player, we lost during his time - and then others like bendict iroha! They did the technical marking and wipe out of players, they left the other members of the team the opportunity to play, they collected the yellow cards and got all the fowls - and they did the sweeping - not in this keshi's bad team, the other guy that played middle field with mikel, was the technical player- he did all the running and on the field distribution, played shots here and their- this 21 year old boy that matuidi injured* - looking at technicality - mikel is left side blind* and that makes it hard for him to dribble with both sides and that's why, he tends to shield the ball with his size, rather then attack the ball- that's where the issue of technical depth- comes, he covers it up with long passes - now for a good coach you either play football on the ground or in the air and you can't play the 2 well except you have a variety from a bench - you look at your opponents on the field of play and then determine what format to play - that? Ehn is what keshi lacks, and that's why he always plays a half footballer, like mikel* that makes football difficult to play- unlike etim essien, kanu, okocha, mutiu siasia, finidi, amunike etc its not rocket science its starring us in the face- GEJ incompetence has brought an incompetent coach back simples*

bastien:
Since. I know u on nairaland u have been supporting Mike,even when I said mikel won't perform in 2010 world CUP and 2014 world cup u argued with me till I gave up........if mikel is a good player or better than matic he won't be sitting on the bench at Chelsea. Mikel will never play for any big club in Europe again, it's not joke it's a promise! Watch out Mr Chelsea fan

steppin:

I've read your posts about Keshi and it's always the same. Keshi is your idol, so whatever he does or chooses is right. You're more than biased and you post with sentiment.
Keshi is using Mikel for his own personal reasons not because he's good. His total flop at the world cup is a good reason to put his sloppy assz on the bench, but Keshi won't even think of that.
How much time does he need to perform?

DeeMain:


Bros Keshi was a defender that liked to overlap not a midfielder please. And don't insult the memory of such fine footballers with this inane comparison with Mikel abeg you.

thegoodjoehunt3:
If Coach Keshi wants bribe, do you think he would be collecting money from Salami instead of Martins?

Still shaking my head in Yoruba.

goodgood2:

Martins has refused to play ball.

bastien:
hahahahaha with short pass or long pass? With killer pass or back pass...... when fabgrepas still dey Arsenal den? Abeg link/source

thegoodjoehunt3:
I understand your perspective but you are missing something.

A deep lying playmaker has a defensive midfielder behind him.

Xabi Alonso had Mascherano at Liverpool. Xavi has Bisquets, Pirlo had Gattuso, in Mikel's U20, he had Sani Kaita. Schneiderlin at Southampton has Wanyama.

What disrupted Mikel's game was Onazi not shielding the defence line and overlapping.

Mikel had a nice game against Sudan at Abuja because Hope Akpan did a fantastic work as a defensive midfielder. Onazi could overlap without creating a vulnerable gap in front of the defence.