Certain players have shown the talent and made inroads into validating it, yet have not done enough to put them in the Messi category. For some, such as Michael Owen and Joe Cole, it has been a long battle, When he was the subject of a transfer feud between Manchester United and Chelsea, Jon Obi Mikel's name was on everyone’s lips. Eventually settling at Chelsea, Mikel is still fueling debate. He is certainly raw, but in 2010 became the best passer in the Premier League over the last three years (highest pass completion rate of 89.93 per cent). Chelsea's current blip has caused people to reserve judgment, but he is a fixture in their first team and can only improve under Carlo Ancelotti’s guidance.

goal.com/en-us/news/145/goalcom-features/2011/01/17/2309811/goalcom-special-for-every-lionel-messi-theres-a-nii-lamptey

So in a nutshell, he's not a failure yet. Just wait till he's thirty then u can say that 4 sure!

This isn't a matter to debate. What did you expect? Its Chelsea.

Any player Chelsea buys is bound by the evil of Roman Abramovich to be a massive failure

Carlo Cudicini
Chelsea career: 1999-present day
Signed: Castel Di Sangro, £160,000
League starts: 138

Wayne Bridge
Chelsea career: 2003-present day
Signed: Southampton, £7 million
League starts: 74

Asier del Horno
Chelsea career: 2005-2006
Signed: Athletic Bilbao, £8 million
Sold: Valencia, £4.8 million
League starts: 25

Tal Ben Haim
Chelsea career: 2007-2008
Signed: Bolton Wanderers, Free
Sold: Manchester City, £5 million
League starts: 10

Khalid Boulahrouz
Chelsea career: 2006-2008
Signed: Hamburg SV, £8.5 million
Sold: VfB Stuttgart, £4 million
League starts: 10

Shaun Wright-Phillips
Chelsea career: 2005-2008
Signed: Manchester City, £21 million
Sold: Manchester City, £9 million
League starts: 43

Scott Parker
Chelsea career: 2004-2005
Signed: Charlton Athletic, £10 million
Sold: Newcastle United, £6.5 million
League starts: 8

Steve Sidwell This guy was one of the bests in his youth ranks
Chelsea career: 2007-2008
Signed: Reading, Free
Sold: Aston Villa, £5 million
League starts: 7

Juan Sebastian Veron
Chelsea career: 2003-2006
Signed: Manchester United, £15 million
Sold: Estudiantes, Free
League starts: 5

Mateja Kezman
Chelsea career: 2004-2005
Signed: PSV Eindhoven, £5 million
Sold: Atletico Madrid, £5.3 million
League starts: 6

Claudio Pizzaro
Chelsea career: 2007-present day
Signed: Bayern Munich, Free
Sold: Currently on loan at Werder Bremen
League starts: 4


Other Notable Omissions Include :: Deco, Quaresma e.t.c

^^^ And what about the likes of Drogba, Cech, Ashley Cole, and Terry? truth is If u're good, u're good and if u're average, u're average.

This isn't a matter to debate. What did you expect? Its Chelsea.

Any player Chelsea buys is bound by the evil of Roman Abramovich to be a massive failure

Quote
Carlo Cudicini
Chelsea career: 1999-present day
Signed: Castel Di Sangro, £160,000
League starts: 138

Wayne Bridge
Chelsea career: 2003-present day
Signed: Southampton, £7 million
League starts: 74

Asier del Horno
Chelsea career: 2005-2006
Signed: Athletic Bilbao, £8 million
Sold: Valencia, £4.8 million
League starts: 25

Tal Ben Haim
Chelsea career: 2007-2008
Signed: Bolton Wanderers, Free
Sold: Manchester City, £5 million
League starts: 10

Khalid Boulahrouz
Chelsea career: 2006-2008
Signed: Hamburg SV, £8.5 million
Sold: VfB Stuttgart, £4 million
League starts: 10

Shaun Wright-Phillips
Chelsea career: 2005-2008
Signed: Manchester City, £21 million
Sold: Manchester City, £9 million
League starts: 43

Scott Parker
Chelsea career: 2004-2005
Signed: Charlton Athletic, £10 million
Sold: Newcastle United, £6.5 million
League starts: 8

Steve Sidwell This guy was one of the bests in his youth ranks
Chelsea career: 2007-2008
Signed: Reading, Free
Sold: Aston Villa, £5 million
League starts: 7

Juan Sebastian Veron
Chelsea career: 2003-2006
Signed: Manchester United, £15 million
Sold: Estudiantes, Free
League starts: 5

Mateja Kezman
Chelsea career: 2004-2005
Signed: PSV Eindhoven, £5 million
Sold: Atletico Madrid, £5.3 million
League starts: 6

Claudio Pizzaro
Chelsea career: 2007-present day
Signed: Bayern Munich, Free
Sold: Currently on loan at Werder Bremen
League starts: 4


Other Notable Omissions Include :: Deco, Quaresma e.t.c

@mobinga,
no matter how we try in this world, there is always the will of God that MUST PREVAIL. i don't know if u believe that but no matter ur stand, there are two types of ppl in this world viz; men without good spending habits but have excess to spend and that is where i see roman abromovic - the chelsea owner while second are those with good spending habits but have no money to spend and this later group knows how best to calculate other ppl's wealth and can tell u the mistakes of others and with ur analysis above, i think though not too sure, u belong there. uncle, wld u rather be a foolish abrahimovic who spends carelessly and warrent buffet who throws funds away to charity or wld u rather remain where u are with ur wisedom?
if all these wise men are as wise as the portray, why are they not richer than these fools? well, if what all these guys are doing are acts of foolishness, i want to be a FOOL.

when it comes to players, there two types of players viz; those who do not know their right from their left but are favoured e.g mikel obi and those who are far much better than marradonna and pele joint together but are very unlucky e.g u. if u want favour like mikel, change ur prayer point today and things will begin to work out for u but if u prefer ur individuality, then so be it. remember, no one can course somebody wey God don bless.

uncle, football is like every other business out there, u loose some and u win some. from ur post above, chelsea got some free and made some funds out of them. ferguson of man u bought owen hargreves and the player have stayed 99% of his time injured at man u while the same ferguson bought mikel for 4.2m and without playing a single match sold him for 16m.
how much did barca buy ibrahimovic and how much are they loaning him for? what about robinho? this is a crime every club is involved in.

if u think chelsea kills players, the likes of lampard, john terry, ashley cole, drogba, essien, cech , calvaho and a host of other successful players will be happy to hear that. mikel signed 3 yrs contract with chelsea and had since finshed that. he is into an improved 5 yrs contract of 85,000pounds a week, uncle what else can a young man do for himself and his family?

if nigerians continue in their critics of mikel, one will be forced to ask if nigerians contributed all their legs for the guy. most of us who seat behind computers to criticise the guy can barely provide their own daily breads talkless of having dependants. there are over 500 million players in europe and there is no way everybody will win world best player so if mikel is not winning that, that is his personal life.

if any one thinks mikel is not doing anything right at the moment, let that one dress up and show the world how best to do football. mikel is not the only player nigeria has but he is always on lips on daily basis even we have all confirmed that he does not know how go play. let us leave the guy to enjoy his God's given favours.

Mobinga:

This isn't a matter to debate. What did you expect? Its Chelsea.

Any player Chelsea buys is bound by the evil of Roman Abramovich to be a massive failure

what you also fail to specify is what have these players done with their careers after chelsea,veron is still playing and earning money,wayne bridge cant even play well at westham and u say its chelsea's fault.,asel del horno was an average joe when we bought him and he is still average,steve sidwell(u say one ofthe best in his rank,emmm which playrers are u talking about,if you are refering to english youth players,u must be having a laugh,they cant play anything thats why the 3 lions are as useless as the superless eagles.na all talk but no sense
scot parker?from last i saw he is still one of the best in the bpl he just couldnt displace lampard and ballack and essien,will u take parker over any of these players?
ben haim,njothing to be said,grant boy
and dont try to mention wright phillips u think it is by coincidence that he bears the same name with philips osondu?all pace no sense(thank God obinna is learning)wright philips cant finish a move to save his life
if you are good,you are good cos i am sure u forgot to mention the likes of makelele,drogba,lampard,deco,crespo,cav,alex,bopsingwa,cech,zola,essien and yes mikel(afteralll he has been prefered by all cpaches chelsea ever had,u cant say maurinho is a bad coach,neither is hiddink,scolari,ancelotti
and how can someone be called a failure,howqw many nigerian players get 1 bpl winners medal for neck but "Kan u believe it"
will u say okocha is a success cos of his skills or what he won which u cant really count at club level,
dont get me wrong,mikel could be beta and i know he is beta but THIS BOY IS SACRIFICING HIS SKILLS FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM,how many thick heads here will do same,why do u think cole and bosingwa can bomb at will,simple,mikel stays as the clean up factor with terry and iva.and at least he is starting to take a more advanced role than in previous yrs if it is just 1 step at a time while the likes of ibrahim and tijani babangida whom you all want to die for just stood stagnant all thru their careers,

personally i think this chidicris guy has a mental problem why did he just insulted that guy like dat

Mikel is yet to deliver on the promises he showed as a youngster.

medjai:

Mikel is yet to deliver on the promises he showed as a youngster.

Yeah my broda. That is the long and short of the whole story, No one is saying he hasnt succeeded afterall where are all his peers but fact is he hasnt realized his full potentials rather He seems to be comfortable taking the back seat in Chelsea.

wesley80:

Yeah my broda. That is the long and short of the whole story, No one is saying he hasnt succeeded afterall where are all his peers but fact is he hasnt realized his full potentials rather He seems to be comfortable taking the back seat in Chelsea.

That is the problem we have as nigerians, ME FIRST MENTALITY
the boy has basically sacrificed his attacking skills for more defensive skilss so the TEAM could progress.another name that comes tro mind is benzema,at lyon, benzema was a midfielder who could attack but at real they have about 10 mids but none as skillful as benzema,what did maurinho do,he told benzema not to worry about the midfield bu attack which is wh the boy is busy banging in goals,mikel like it or not,has been converted to makelele which is a very good thing since there has only ever been one makelele and besides mikel is still learning

"One of the key reasons they were able to do this was because they had John Mikel Obi back in the side after an injury-hit period.

With full-backs Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa encouraged to get forward, the Nigerian often acts as Chelsea's third defender in addition to their centre-backs, and as a result they are less likely to concede goals.

So perhaps it has come as no surprise that his absence in recent weeks has coincided with the team's dip in form.

Michael Essien, who has been out of sorts, and fellow midfielder Ramires, who is still getting to grips with the English game, have attempted to perform Mikel's role but they have not quite matched the 23-year-old in providing defensive protection. The other thing that Mikel provides is an easy pass out of defence.

Chelsea's defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates over the Christmas period provided a stark example of Mikel's worth when Ancelotti took him off at half-time, only to see the Gunners pinch the ball in exactly the kind of space he usually occupies and score twice in the 3-1 victory."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thefootballtacticsblog/2011/01/ruthless_chelsea_expose_predic.html

Una dey talk, Mikel this, mikel that, What about Taiye Taiwo?! Shebi he came third in the same competition behind Messi and Mikel? Where is he in the scheme of football as far as left backs are concerned? At least mikel made list of 100 current players by fifa a couple of years ago. Oya! Wey taiwo nah? Abi them no be mates??!

Una sabi criticise the poor boy anyhow. Please spare mikel the flak and try to encourage him!

Ok