Usually, when a player
makes over 300
appearances for a club,
the fans would hold
him in the highest
regard. Longevity is
always associated with
consistency, and
players with such a
long tenure at a single
club are hard to come
by these days. The case
with John Obi Mikel
though, is slightly
different.
The Nigerian has been
at Chelsea since 2006
and has made 315
appearances in all
competitions for the
Blues. He has never
been a regular starter
for a prolonged period
of time, but managers
have always used him
to provide defensive
solidarity to the team
when needed.
Jose Mourinho, in the
last two years, has
used Mikel mostly as a
substitute to kill games
off after taking the
lead. This season too,
he has done the same.
The plan has at times
backfired, and has
brought along some
sharp criticism for the
Portuguese, sometimes
from his own fans.
Chelseas style of play
has transformed over
the last 3 seasons.
From being a side who
were defensively heavy
and played off the
counter, the Blues now
dominate games and
take the onus to attack
on themselves. Mikel is
a player who can
hardly be of much use
when Chelsea have to
do all the running.
In the 2012/13
campaign, under
Roberto Di Matteo and
Rafa Benitez, Mikel
made 22 appearances
in the Premier League.
Out of these 22 games,
he started 19 and
played the full 90
minutes in 11. This
shows that he was an
important part of a
side that was still
dependent more on its
defence than attack.
Injuries and
suspensions prevented
him from playing a
bigger part. In the
season before as well,
when Chelsea won the
Champions League,
Mikel was an integral
component. He was a
major cog in Di
Matteos tactics
famously described by
many as park the
bus.
Last season, there was
a big change. Mikel
only started 11 games
and was brought on as
substitute on 13
occasions.
Interestingly, 15 of his
24 appearances came
away from home. This
is a clear indication of
the fact that Mourinho
felt Chelsea needed him
in midfield on their
travels to prevent the
opposition from
breaching their
backline. Since the
arrival of Nemanja
Matic in January
though, Mikels
appearances were few
and far between.
This campaign, Mikel
has made 6
appearances, all of the
substitutes bench.
Four of these games
have been away from
Stamford Bridge, and
on two of those
occasions, he was
brought on to preserve
a one-goal lead. In
both those matches,
away at Man City and
Man United, Chelsea
have ended up
conceding a late
equaliser. Mourinho
seemed to have
learned his lesson last
week at Anfield, when
he refrained from
bringing the midfielder
on even though his
side were only one
goal up in the closing
stages of the game.
Despite being a loyal
servant to Chelsea so
far, there are some
very concrete reasons
why the club no longer
needs John Obi Mikel.
His influence, as stated
above, has waned
since Mourinhos
return, and his style of
play isnt at all in line
with the brand of
football Chelsea are
looking to play.
With Cesc Fabregas, a
summer arrival, being
deployed in the pivot
alongside Matic,
Chelsea have found the
perfect balance
between defensive
stability and attacking
thrust. The system is
very dynamic, and
attacking midfielder
Oscar also drops deep
to provide cover. A
major reason for the
Blues unbeaten start
to the season is that
they have been very
difficult to beat in
midfield .
Ramires is used in
away games against
big sides for his
incessant running and
energy, and has done
his job admirably well
whenever called upon.
All in all, Mikel is finding
extremely difficult to
find a place in the
starting XI in any kind
of game this season.
The 27 year-old offers
close to nothing going
forward, as his 4 goals
in 315 appearances for
the club clearly show.
His introduction
automatically forces
Chelsea to go into a
defensive mode, and
allows the opposition
to dominate
possession in their
half. Against strong
teams like City and
United, the Blues have
paid the price. The
following graphic
reflects Chelseas
attitude in the latter
stages of these games,
when Mikel has been
on the pitch:
There is also a theory
which states that Mikel
is brought on in
Oscars place to enable
Fabregas to go further
forward. But clearly,
there is absolutely no
need to do that. The
Spaniard has created
32 chances from his
deeper role, and is
getting time and space
to exert his influence
on the game. With both
Fabregas and Oscar on
the pitch, Chelsea
neither lose their
defensive discipline
nor their goal-scoring
opportunities.
The fact of the matter
is that Mourinho can
do without Mikel. He
may well be better off
without him. Nathan
Ake, a promising
young Dutchman, is
coming through the
ranks and showing
great promise. While
being just as
defensively solid as
Mikel, he is also a very
good forward passer
of the ball.
At 27, Mikel will fetch a
good price for Chelsea
in the transfer market.
There are sure to be
several takers, and it is
the right time for the
club to sell the Nigerian
and with him the last
component of their
bus.
