I sort of agree with Siasia. . .Chelsea has blunted the little attacking/offensive instincts he had and turned him into a more defensive minded player hence is present playing style.
 
Let me add that Mikel was never really an enterprising offensive midfielder, as even in 2005, there were obvious deficiencies in his game. Personally, I think Mikel is a misfit of some sort cos he can't play as a 10 and he lacks the strength, steel, work ethic, marking ability and solidity to play as a Defensive Midfielder.

However, I think Mikel is still relevant in the scheme of things for the Eagles cos he brings much more to the team than he takes from it. . .with his ball holding & shielding abilities, passing etc. . .hasn't anyone noticed that when Mikel starts a game & is substituted (for both Chelsea & Nigeria), the midfield collapses totally? hence, I'll advise Siasia to play a Mikel as a deep lying midfielder (just like Pirlo of AC Milan) in between a 10 with an adventurist spirit, pace, goal threat & scoring ability and a no-nonsense and workaholic DM.

Mikel has gone too far down the road of a DM that he can't adapt to playing as a 10 anymore. Playing Mikel as the stand alone/sole DM or 10 in the Super Eagles will not augur well for the team.

Although Mikel may have started out as an offensive midfielder, he's long forgotten how to play as one and has found his comfort zone playing as a DM for Chelsea.  Hell, the Kid man has even said it many times that he preffers playing as a DM now.

Siasia should keep in mind that an old dog cannot be taught new tricks cos it's too stuck in its ways and old habits die hard. He should play to Mikel's strength and thats by using him as a deep lying midfielder cos of his exceptional ball holding and passing abilities.

Mr. Siasia,
Now I know you understand football and will surely impact on Eagles. MOURINHO destroyed MIKEL! You don't convert a natural offensive player to a defensive ball passer, if you do, you destroy the player. Argentina will never allow anyone to convert Messi to a defensive player just because he can hold on to the ball. Maradona, Zidane, Ronaldinho and their likes can't be defensive 'ballers otherwise you make football uninteresting.
Makelele, Vierra, Essien are natural defensive 'ballers with killer instincts and Mikel can never be in their class. I can go on and on.
Most Naija just sit down to watch the 'over rated' premier league, it is colonialism. Once a colony always a colony unless you liberate yourself.
The two talented 'ballers in Eagles today are Mikel and Obasi after the retired Kanu. Others are average players.
Thank you NAIRA FORUM.

@rikamann,
mikel is always in the news bcs he is playing with chelsea. if u say obasi and mikel are the only talented players in the eagles, why is it that nobody talks about obasi? is obasi in the best club? is he better in his position? what about taye taiwo? how abt other members of that same team of holland 2005? what abt the dream team that won the olympic medal for nigeria? what about the boys of the late coach tela?between 2005 and now, we have seen more mikels than we can tell. where is chrisantus? what abt haruna lukeman? why is mikel always the problem of nigerian football? many of us did not want him in sa2010 and their prayers worked but how far did we go? was mikel that player that kicked the greek player and got a red card? was mikel that player who cld not score 1 yard inside the open net?
very soon, the unsteady power supply in nigeria, the high level of corruption, the importation of arms, the kidnapping and every other bad thing of this useless greedy and envious country will be blamed on mikel.
barbetov of man u has retired from international football, so what? what if mikel decides to retire? what if the coach refuse to invite him?
common sense will make siasia understand that togetherness and unity among his players will bring out the best and this his open/press condemination of a player will do him more harm than good.

What position does xavi alonso of madrid plays? I mention alonso becos both mikel and alonso have d same qualities: d height, denfensive abilities, attacking abilities, long range passes. U hardly know if alonso is an attacking player or denfensive. So it is up to d coach to turn him into a player like alonso which enables the attacking players move easily and freely like gerrard when alonso was there, also mikel need to improve on his shoot on target. The team succes comes first.

It it too late for all this craps. Where was he when Jose started using him as a DM, i love you Siasia and will only accept this his cries if it is just a way to challenge Mikel.



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I guess may be Siasia was misunderstood or may be he need to fully elaborate what he is trying to say and in other way as a coach he may say such but may not necessarily mean anything wrong or any harm. It is unfortunate it goes the way for Mikel but I think it is too late now to talk about this, all Mikel need to do is to carry on with what he is doing now because any attempt for him to change or go another club because of this reason may spell doom for him, at the he is a player on rugualr basis in a big club like chelsea I think Mikel should just carry on playing the role he is playing now and build himself more that is my own view.

Siasia need to concentrate on his Role,

Jose converted Mikel into a holding player,

Yuri Nikirov who won the golden boot at the 1987 Under 17 world cup as Striker came to the 1994 world cup as Russian's Center half


Matthias Sammer went from Attacking midfielder to Sweeper


Andreas Pirlo went from supporting striker to deep lying play-maker


people tend to forget that every player at the youth championship are still growing and more likely to change position,

semid4lyfe:


 
[b]Let me add that Mikel was never really an enterprising offensive midfielder, as even in 2005, there were obvious deficiencies in his game. Personally, I think Mikel is a misfit of some sort cos he can't play as a 10 and he lacks the strength, steel, work ethic, marking ability and solidity to play as a Defensive Midfielder.

However, I think Mikel is still relevant in the scheme of things for the Eagles cos he brings much more to the team than he takes from it. . .with his ball holding & shielding abilities, passing etc. . .hasn't anyone noticed that when Mikel starts a game & is substituted (for both Chelsea & Nigeria), the midfield collapses totally? hence, I'll advise Siasia to play a Mikel as a deep lying midfielder (just like Pirlo of AC Milan) in between a 10 with an adventurist spirit, pace, goal threat & scoring ability and a no-nonsense and workaholic DM.

Mikel has gone too far down the road of a DM that he can't adapt to playing as a 10 anymore. Playing Mikel as the stand alone/sole DM or 10 in the Super Eagles will not augur well for the team.

Although Mikel may have started out as an offensive midfielder, he's long forgotten how to play as one and has found his comfort zone playing as a DM for Chelsea.  Hell, the Kid man has even said it many times that he preffers playing as a DM now.

Siasia should keep in mind that an old dog cannot be taught new tricks cos it's too stuck in its ways and old habits die hard. He should play to Mikel's strength and thats by using him as a deep lying midfielder cos of his exceptional ball holding and passing abilities.[/b]

i love this reply.the best so far.that says it all


@Ola-Ray

spot on

There is a role for Mikel in Our Midfield but not as the offensive player

Mikel can be our deep lying playmaker in a 2 man defensive midfield. Football has gotten too fast for one defensive midfielder.

Mikel should stop trying to be Okocha's replacement as he will never be. We should start looking at Mikel as a Xabi Alonso or our own Sunday Oliseh.

Nigeria needs to discover a new offesive midfielder.

Joel Obi of Inter Millan should be groomed to be our attacking Midfielder just like Mesut Ozil.

i totally disagree with siasia,if he want coach super eagle very well, he should leave temperaments out of it.mikel is still the mikel we used to know,even he is better.siasia should ask carlo who mikel is really is.

Sia1 should just move on. How long has it been since Mikel was converted to a dm? Let him find someone else to play the creative role in our midfield

If Joel Obi (Note: not a brother of Mikel Obi) is used for African Nation's Cup 2012 as the offensive Midfielder, London Olympics 2012 . . . .by 2014 World Cup will we have a strong leader in the midfield.

My prefered Midfield trio going forward should be Mikel, Lukman Harun and Joel Obi. Sani Kaita should be in the Sqaud to replace one of the defensive midfielders when they are not available.

mikeansy:

There is a role for Mikel in Our Midfield but not as the offensive player

Mikel can be our deep lying playmaker in a 2 man defensive midfield. Football has gotten too fast for one defensive midfielder.

Mikel should stop trying to be Okocha's replacement as he will never be. We should start looking at Mikel as a Xabi Alonso or our own Sunday Oliseh.

Nigeria needs to discover a new offesive midfielder.

Exactly my point but wait until someone like 12large who believes a team should always play 4-4-2 and playing 2 DM's is a "taboo" gets in here and starts yapping rubbish

try find new replacemet

Taaalk, im listenin.

mikeeasy a nigeria midfield without rabiu ibrahim is not complete i still believe that 433 is the answer against average teams and small team, while against the elite team 4231 is the answer example
433 against usa,mexico

enyeama

odiah apam adeleye taiwo


mikel

haruna ibrahim

osaze obasi obinna

this is a killer squad since haruna can play all the position in midfield while against teams like brazil,argentina we should go 4231

enyeama

odiah apam adeleye taiwo

mikel haruna


ibrahim

okoro obasi obinna

so is not that am against 2 defensive midfilders, but we shouldn't play those kind of formation against teams like guinea

Mikel went crazy on his own. He'd have been a better player if he 'd opted to play for United or Arsenal!!!

Mikel has done well for himself

Olalimits:

Mikel   went   crazy   on   his   own.   He'd   have   been   a   better  player   if   he   'd   opted   to   play   for   United   or   Arsenal!!!

How can you be sure? He is currently one of the best defensive midfield stoppers in the league and holds a regular first team position for the current epl champions. Not bad for a twenty three year old. To be sure, I loved the Mikel of old, I wish he may have gone on to become a more explosive attacking midfield player in a Manu Shirt or Arsenal. But you can't be sure he would have succeeded in any of those places.

Mikel has never been a great scorer, and his decision making has been suspect ever since he started playing in the big leagues. I don't see how that wold have changed much if he was playing under a different coach. He has shown a tad improvement this year and my hope is that he develops the ability to be less static and predictable around the midfield and create more decisive plays for his attackers. Yes we all agree, his attacking game has to improve.

Siasia is right to have a moan about what was done to Mikel.

It's his right as the National Team coach, and as the coach who groomed and first brought Mikel to national and global attention.

Can you imagine what Alex Ferguson would have said if Rooney had been bought by Barca and converted into a midfielder, or (lord help us) a defender?

You know he'd make his feelings known to all.

So too must Samson Siasia.

Siasia is right to have moan about what was done to Mikel.

It's his right as the National Team coach, and as the coach who groomed and first brought Mikel to national and global attention.

Can you imagine what Alex Ferguson would have said if Rooney had been bought by Barca and converted into a midfielder, or (lord help us) a defender?

You know he'd make his feelings known to all.

So too must Samson Siasia.

@ROSSIKE,
is it possible any of us here or siasia love mikel than mikel loves himself? did the super eagles coach decide for siasia which team to play for during his playing days? at mikel's age, how on earth are nigerians seeing him as a fool or a waste?
how many goals did okocha score both for nigeria and his club at 23? which nigerian football fan does not know how okocha used to shoot 40 feet above the goal post? was it not later in his carrier that okocha began to score goals?
mikel has personal dreams, he has parents and other people who depend on him for survival and they are never disappointed with mikel? what can be more fulfilling in a 23 yr old boy than playing in one of the biggest clubs in europe and been a regular?
will mikel playing attacking football and scoring goals solve the problems of nigerian football? why are nigerians more interested in the success of mikel than the success of the team?

Mikel went crazy on his own. He'd have been a better player if he 'd opted to play for United or Arsenal!!!

@Olalimits,
google, morgan anderson of lyn oslo. he was the sporting director of lyn oslo that fraudulently sold mikel to man u and u will also see that the man was later sent to jail for forgery over the sale of mikel and the ban in norway on nigerian players was lifted. in man u, how many black players of african nationalities are playing there? do u know the angolan player called manucho. he was bought by ferguson and he cld on future in one premier league game for man u and was sent out on loan and afterwards sold.
do u know diouf? he is presently on loan at blackburn rovers while his mates like macheda, bebe, hernandez etc are all tryimng their lucks at the club.
talking abt arsenal, have u seen wenger compet for any player that is hot and been sort after by other big clubs? will mikel force himself on wenger when the coach is interested in players that are free agents.
if u were mikel, will u leave a club that will pay u more money for a club that will pay u less just to play football? name players that do that and also tell me why that particular player left the comforts of his country for the hostilities of europe.
mikel made the choice 1,000,000% of nigerians will make if faced with a similar situation.
siasia have refused to sign this same contract for a very long time now because he was asking for more money. will siasia overlook money and coach nigeria for free?
we must not talk bcs we see talk, let us talk like reasonable ppl.

12large1:

mikeeasy a nigeria midfield without rabiu ibrahim is not complete i still believe that 433 is the answer against average teams and small team, while against the elite team 4231 is the answer example
433 against usa,mexico

                                               enyeama

                  odiah            apam           adeleye             taiwo


                                              mikel

                                 haruna            ibrahim

                          osaze          obasi             obinna

    this is a killer squad since haruna can play all the position in midfield while against teams like brazil,argentina we should go 4231
                       
                                                          enyeama

                          odiah               apam            adeleye         taiwo

                                              mikel                  haruna

                                               
                                                         ibrahim

                                    okoro              obasi             obinna    

so is not that am against 2 defensive midfilders, but we shouldn't play those kind of formation against teams like guinea  

which Haruna be that,  the same one wey i know?

Man u also wreck the careers of football players. Can anyone remember anderson when he was at porto? He was a supporting striker. In man u, he's a central midfielder and his present predicament is much worse than mikels. All i'm tryin to say is that abeg, make una cut mikel some slack. Players boku brekete. Alex nkume dey, joel obi dey, lukman haruna dey, rabiu ibrahim dey, abeg, biko, mikel aint the only midfielder worthy of an eagles call-up.

siasia made a mistake by saying dis,chelsea made mikel who he is 2day,mikel was voted best midfildr in england last month is not easy,hw many goal did makelele scores 4 chelsea?he should nt think dat way,alex song of arsenal score more goal dan mikel,but dat nt make him beta dan mikel.
[color=#006600][/color]

how does mikel make the starting 11 at chelsea FC? there is something going on behind the scenes for sure

[]
mr saisia,i hope u know what u are doing?are u telling us dat u knw more than jose mourinho,avram grant ,scolari and ancellotti who prefer to play him in a more defensive position.i knew right from 2005 that mikel is better off a defensive midfielder than an attacking one.in 2005,he couldnt shoot and do somethings that attacking midfielders usually do.must everyone be attacking?what abt the makeleles,vieras,and co.they made their name cos of the defensive qualities rather than their attacking qualities.siasia should make mikel a better player in his own way.as for him suggesting that mikel should move to another club,would siasia be happy to have mikel join stoke city and play attacking football.siasia,if u are a good coach then get us another attacking midfielder.dont tell us that if mikel can no longer attack,we cant have another one.a bad workman complains about his tools
[quote][/quote]

Absolute nonsense!

Have u forgotten that u could place Mikel and Messi side by side in 2005, but now u can never compare them in anyway. Therefore Mr Siasia know what he's talking about

Mikel is goog buh not as expected after his triumph as second best in the youth world cup.
He'd've had a better lifr with d GUNNERS!!!

of all the responses i am seeing,only one person actually nailed it on the head,mikel was made a cdm to accomodate ballack and lampard cos they both cant defend to save their lives(ballack is wayyyyyyyyyyyy too rough,but better as attacking),with the way he is playing now,it will not be long b4 people see him as the next pirlo,if you have noticed,his assists this yr i think is doubled that of yrs b4,its all a matter of time to undo what has been done to him but it is good cos he now has that defensive qualities,he needs to work more on his shooting and passing forward,he is getting better at it and rem,rome was not built in a yr or in the case of nigerian footballers,20yrs

apoti:

[]
mr saisia,i hope u know what u are doing?are u telling us dat u knw more than jose mourinho,avram grant ,scolari and ancellotti who prefer to play him in a more defensive position.i knew right from 2005 that mikel is better off a defensive midfielder than an attacking one.in 2005,he couldnt shoot and do somethings that attacking midfielders usually do.must everyone be attacking?what abt the makeleles,vieras,and co.they made their name cos of the defensive qualities rather than their attacking qualities.siasia should make mikel a better player in his own way.as for him suggesting that mikel should move to another club,would siasia be happy to have mikel join stoke city and play attacking football.siasia,if u are a good coach then get us another attacking midfielder.dont tell us that if mikel can no longer attack,we cant have another one.a bad workman complains about his tools

Absolute nonsense!

Have u forgotten that u could place Mikel and Messi side by side in 2005, but now u can never compare them in anyway. Therefore Mr Siasia know what he's talking about

Thank you. Sia1 spoke very well, and really, he didnt say that Mikel was a bad player or wasnt needed. He just said the obvious. Just look at all the hype and talk of Mikel here on Nland and among Naija groups, so it's not surprising that the National Team Coach who predated Mourinho and those Europeans that some of us adore like gods, made a statement to that effect.

mens dept:


PLEASE!!! I don't like arguing football cos it doesn't pay esp when u're not a football analyst but this is simple logic here,

If you teach a kid how to solve quadratic equations and he becomes the best in it, Then u go on to teach him Surds but he forgets quadratic eqn, Thats not a good student!!!
Everyone keeps blaming Mourinho or Chelsea. But i'll give 'em credit. The defensive qualities was supposed to give him something extra AN EDGE, make him a better player but reverse is the case. I don't think Mikel is even among top 10 defensive midfielders in d prem. Or top 20 in d world. Top notch DMs possess some skill plus their grit. Eg. Patrick Viera, Esteban Cambiasso, Micheal Essien, Sebastian Veron n loads of others.
So he should dig for the "lost skill" it's still in him i believe. And Siasia should use him as a pure DM till he's back to his old AM status. But i doubt it. Mikel has grown really arrogant over the years to his own undoing. He's needs to humble himself. Wish him the best!

@Tubebase

Na word you talk for there. . . Maduro the dutch midfielder back in 2005 was hot and he got one of the best goals in that tournament thanks to his solo effort with great skills but right now he plays as a centre back for Valencia. The present dutch coach has - will never ever complain or bleat like a goat like Siasia bout Maduro becos their are hundreds of better player than him .

If a player has this offensive instinct in him , no matter how or where he plays you will definitely see the ability in him. I bet you Mikel's 2005 season its a flash in the pan , that year i don't really like Mikel becos the hype was too much , bla bla bla - new gerard , better than scholes , and so on . . God! what the F!K is wrong with siasia there are 101 better players than Mikel in Nigeria , go out there and fish for a better one or two and go for the tournament and convince the world and Nigerians you can do it and stop blabbing.

I thnk siasia is rite abt wat he said, wat wl happen to mikel if he takes a rist to move d ball a bit forward?, Luk at arsenal song, he goez front nd scorez even let me nt go far, check owt dz nu chelsea boy frm brazil, he juz joined chelsea dz season bt luk at d way he moves wit d ball, mikel shld step up hz game jooor, Wtf

Guy i agree with you. the Truth is that Mikel does not play with confident i guess he is trying not mistakes that is why he is a good passer. He may be getting rich but if he does not get confident of himself and be a play maker in the game his career would be at stake.