Cybereagles

I'm not sure if this has been posted. It's a new ESPN article by Colin Udoh.

These are points we have made several times here. I applaud Mikel Obi.

http://www.espnfc.us/story/2993598/john ... in-january

John Obi Mikel has told ESPN FC that he will consider his future in January after Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr claimed his lack of playing time at Chelsea this season was punishment for participating at the Olympic Games in the summer.

Mikel, 29, who has been at Chelsea since 2006, has yet to make an appearance for the Premier League club under Antonio Conte this season.

The Nigeria international represented his country at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Rohr believes it was this decision that has led to him being sidelined at Stamford Bridge.

"He is being punished for deciding to go to the Olympics for Nigeria," Rohr told ESPN FC, adding that as long as Mikel continued to give his all in training, he would field him for Nigeria. "He is training well and doing well for us. I cannot punish him for deciding to make a sacrifice for Nigeria."

Mikel, who is with the Nigeria squad for this weekend's World Cup qualifier against Algeria, told ESPN FC he will make a decision on his Chelsea future in January.

"We will wait and see what happens in January," he said. "For the first time in my career, this is happening to me and I have to stand up and deal with it. It is what it is but I'm training hard every day and I always wish the team the best and I am happy we are doing well.

"I've been at Chelsea a long time. Managers come and go, players come and go. I've been at Chelsea a long time and these things happen in football. So we will have to make that decision when January comes."

As i said Mikel isn't being picked, because he chose his country ...COnte yab

Rohr was at Chelsea to get a first hand information on Mikel's situation and he saw everyone but Conte. With Chelsea doing well, it is obvious Mikel's time at the Bridge is up as Conte is obviously nursing a big grudge against Mikel. Rohr is right with his comments.

Very disappointing for Chelsea to treat someone with 11 years of service this way.

It was obvious his omission was for non footballing reasons.

Mikel should leave.

Bigpokey24 wrote:As i said Mikel isn't being picked, because he chose his country ...COnte yab

Ugbowo wrote:Very disappointing for Chelsea to treat someone with 11 years of service this way.

It was obvious his omission was for non footballing reasons.

Mikel should leave.

For you Chelsea fans, I imagine it's really tough. On the one hand, the captain of your country stands. On the other hand stands the club you support.

Honestly, I applaud Mikel and it was clear this would be an issue for him but he had everything to gain from the Olympics where a kid like say Iheanacho had everything to lose. The time has probably come for Mikel to say his goodbyes to Chelsea. It's a win-win, he can experience something else and he's won everything at Chelsea. Meanwhile, you have Chelsea doing really well right now, I'm sure deep down you guys cannot really complain about the performances, your club is playing well without Mikel.

It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

My only issue is the disrespect, and the fact some Nigerians are bashing him, take for example that kid niyi...

Ugbowo wrote:Very disappointing for Chelsea to treat someone with 11 years of service this way.

It was obvious his omission was for non footballing reasons.

Mikel should leave.

Of course it was. He has not even made the bench meanwhile the likes of Solanke and Aina make the bench regularly when others are absent. I guess Rohr knows what he is talking about since he visited the club recently. Sad though considering what he has achieved with the club and how long he's been there for. They almost treated Terry, who has been there longer and regarded as a club legend the same way anyway so I am not surprised.

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

In as much as I agree to a certain extent, you cannot compare Mikel's situation with Iheanacho's. Iheanacho only had one full season prior and was just 19 years old. Mikel was a 29 year old who had been at the club for 10 years and won many titles. Nobody expected him to come back from the olympics and become a regular in the first 11 but to not make any match day squad, even in the efl cup is ridiculous especially with all the injuries they have had lately.

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

You had to bring black people into it right? SMH!

Right, so lets compare this to Mikel's own words before he went...

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/sport-o ... 09851.html

“It is difficult to leave Chelsea at this time,” he said. “But I explained to the club why I wanted to go and I thank them for their understanding and allowing me to be a part of this.

"The coach also gave me his blessing. He told me to make sure I do well and bring back the gold medal!"

And he knew the risk of going, so he can't come back now and say he's being punished...

"Obviously, it is hard to be away because I want to impress the new coach. I had one week of pre-season training and you need more than that if you want to prove yourself to a new manager who wants to change everything around."

papilo wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

In as much as I agree to a certain extent, you cannot compare Mikel's situation with Iheanacho's. Iheanacho only had one full season prior and was just 19 years old. Mikel was a 29 year old who had been at the club for 10 years and won many titles. Nobody expected him to come back from the olympics and become a regular in the first 11 but to not make any match day squad, even in the efl cup is ridiculous especially with all the injuries they have had lately.

Top flight football is a ruthless business for the players, Chelsea doesn't owe Mikel anything but a paycheck so if the manager deems him surplus to requirements then he doesn't play.

I don't really know what's going on with the Mikel situation but I think that Conte doesn't really fancy him. Mikel is a strange player, he has talent obviously but he retrains himself to the point that he doesn't do anything particularly well. He can't run fast, he doesn't score goals or even assist. He doesn't break up play that well either, its like he's just the 11th man on the field who's job is to simply stabilize the team. Conte prefers work horses with a particular skillset. I still maintain that going to the Olympics didn't help his case though.

My main argument was about Iheanacho though and going to the Olympics. If he would have gone to the Olympics I can say without question that boy's Man City career would have been done. He would have been in some second division European team somewhere playing on loan.

aruako1 wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

You had to bring black people into it right? SMH!

the thing weak me oo, wetin black folks got to so with this?

maceo4 wrote:Right, so lets compare this to Mikel's own words before he went...

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/sport-o ... 09851.html

“It is difficult to leave Chelsea at this time,” he said. “But I explained to the club why I wanted to go and I thank them for their understanding and allowing me to be a part of this.

"The coach also gave me his blessing. He told me to make sure I do well and bring back the gold medal!"

And he knew the risk of going, so he can't come back now and say he's being punished...

"Obviously, it is hard to be away because I want to impress the new coach. I had one week of pre-season training and you need more than that if you want to prove yourself to a new manager who wants to change everything around."

It's not him saying he is being punished. He has never said that. The coach himself went to Chelsea. At every other club, Rohr met with the Coaches except at Chelsea. Rohr went to go find out first hand what was going on. That Mikel could not even make the bench in an EFL game where a contract rebel was put in his place said volumes.

Maybe Mikel was being PC and obviously had permission to go but you cannot with a straight face say he is NOT being shut out right now. Add that to his contract situation and it is obvious he is not wanted.

He should leave. And you Maceo should not let your dislike for Mikel cloud your judgment. Its becoming obvious.

As I said in another thread, I salute Mikel, any person that willingly put country and others above their own needs and comfort is a true leader, demonstrated in his deed. I am a Chelsea Fan, Mikel needs to to a mid table team and be the king of the pack.

Ugbowo wrote:

maceo4 wrote:Right, so lets compare this to Mikel's own words before he went...

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/sport-o ... 09851.html

“It is difficult to leave Chelsea at this time,” he said. “But I explained to the club why I wanted to go and I thank them for their understanding and allowing me to be a part of this.

"The coach also gave me his blessing. He told me to make sure I do well and bring back the gold medal!"

And he knew the risk of going, so he can't come back now and say he's being punished...

"Obviously, it is hard to be away because I want to impress the new coach. I had one week of pre-season training and you need more than that if you want to prove yourself to a new manager who wants to change everything around."

..

It's not him saying he is being punished. He has never said that. The coach himself went to Chelsea. At every other club, Rohr met with the Coaches except at Chelsea. Rohr went to go find out first hand what was going on. That Mikel could not even make the bench in an EFL game where a contract rebel was put in his place said volumes.

Maybe Mikel was being PC and obviously had permission to go but you cannot with a straight face say he is NOT being shut out right now. Add that to his contract situation and it is obvious he is not wanted.

He should leave. And you Maceo should not let your dislike for Mikel cloud your judgment. Its becoming obvious.

ignore mace, he has nothing better to do, but bash Mikel, since he got married, mace has no freedom to speak in his own crib, so he takes his anger on anything Mikel.

valachi wrote:As I said in another thread, I salute Mikel, any person that willingly put country and others above their own needs and comfort is a true leader, demonstrated in his deed. I am a Chelsea Fan, Mikel needs to to a mid table team and be the king of the pack.

If Mikel moves to a smaller club, they will still yab him and say oops, bobo don flunk so he got kicked to a small club...take mace for example

aruako1 wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

You had to bring black people into it right? SMH!

Well, am I lying? Africans tend to be very emotional most of the time. Look at the Yaya Toure threads for example. Everytime Man City lose or draw it's Pep's fault for not playing old man Toure but they miss the part that up until this past weekend City were first on the league table and doing fine without the guy.

Mikel isn't as good as some of you people think and I'm quite surprised he lasted this long at Chelsea, Conte doesn't rate the guy and it's obvious otherwise he would have made the damn bench. He should go to Italy or something.

Mr. Piffington wrote:

papilo wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

In as much as I agree to a certain extent, you cannot compare Mikel's situation with Iheanacho's. Iheanacho only had one full season prior and was just 19 years old. Mikel was a 29 year old who had been at the club for 10 years and won many titles. Nobody expected him to come back from the olympics and become a regular in the first 11 but to not make any match day squad, even in the efl cup is ridiculous especially with all the injuries they have had lately.

Top flight football is a ruthless business for the players, Chelsea doesn't owe Mikel anything but a paycheck so if the manager deems him surplus to requirements then he doesn't play.

I don't really know what's going on with the Mikel situation but I think that Conte doesn't really fancy him. Mikel is a strange player, he has talent obviously but he retrains himself to the point that he doesn't do anything particularly well. He can't run fast, he doesn't score goals or even assist. He doesn't break up play that well either, its like he's just the 11th man on the field who's job is to simply stabilize the team. Conte prefers work horses with a particular skillset. I still maintain that going to the Olympics didn't help his case though.

My main argument was about Iheanacho though and going to the Olympics. If he would have gone to the Olympics I can say without question that boy's Man City career would have been done. He would have been in some second division European team somewhere playing on loan.

SMDH,

11 years top flight football and he doesnt do anything particularly well, wow!!!, I can accept that he does not fit into Contes plan, nothing to do with the Olympics,

I don't dislike Mikel, and its obvious he is not wanted, my issue is with the reasoning behind it, and trying to make Mikel into the victim. A new coach can come in and not like certain players or think they fit in, doesn't mean they are punishing them. Mikel just needs to get the hell out and not make unnecessary excuses (of course its Rohr saying it, but where did he get that idea from, if like you said he didn't meet Conte ). Doesn't matter why he's not wanted, he's simply not wanted, instead of this "stay and fight" nonsense he's always on, he needs to go somewhere else where he would be wanted.

Ugbowo wrote:

maceo4 wrote:Right, so lets compare this to Mikel's own words before he went...

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/sport-o ... 09851.html

“It is difficult to leave Chelsea at this time,” he said. “But I explained to the club why I wanted to go and I thank them for their understanding and allowing me to be a part of this.

"The coach also gave me his blessing. He told me to make sure I do well and bring back the gold medal!"

And he knew the risk of going, so he can't come back now and say he's being punished...

"Obviously, it is hard to be away because I want to impress the new coach. I had one week of pre-season training and you need more than that if you want to prove yourself to a new manager who wants to change everything around."

It's not him saying he is being punished. He has never said that. The coach himself went to Chelsea. At every other club, Rohr met with the Coaches except at Chelsea. Rohr went to go find out first hand what was going on. That Mikel could not even make the bench in an EFL game where a contract rebel was put in his place said volumes.

Maybe Mikel was being PC and obviously had permission to go but you cannot with a straight face say he is NOT being shut out right now. Add that to his contract situation and it is obvious he is not wanted.

He should leave. And you Maceo should not let your dislike for Mikel cloud your judgment. Its becoming obvious.

Mr. Piffington wrote:

aruako1 wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

You had to bring black people into it right? SMH!

Well, am I lying? Africans tend to be very emotional most of the time. Look at the Yaya Toure threads for example. Everytime Man City lose or draw it's Pep's fault for not playing old man Toure but they miss the part that up until this past weekend City were first on the league table and doing fine without the guy.

Mikel isn't as good as some of you people think and I'm quite surprised he lasted this long at Chelsea, Conte doesn't rate the guy and it's obvious otherwise he would have made the damn bench. He should go to Italy or something.

Africans are the only ones who are emotional abi? Did English people not moan when Wenger first fielded a team without a single English man? What about the Germans who have complained about Schweinsteiger's treatment at Manchester United. Those complaining are doing so because they are fans. Nothing to do with their race.

aruako1 wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:

aruako1 wrote:

Mr. Piffington wrote:It's obvious. When a new coach comes in he wants to assess the goods available, when you're not there he can't see you and by the time you get back to base he has already formed the core of his team. You'd have to be in the upper echelon of talent for him to bring you into the fold.

When the not-so-smart people here were screaming for Iheanacho to go the useless olympics I waned to bang my head on the wall. We can see now that the young man made the right decision. Black people need to stop acting on impulse all the damn time, sit back and try to see the bigger picture.

You had to bring black people into it right? SMH!

Well, am I lying? Africans tend to be very emotional most of the time. Look at the Yaya Toure threads for example. Everytime Man City lose or draw it's Pep's fault for not playing old man Toure but they miss the part that up until this past weekend City were first on the league table and doing fine without the guy.

Mikel isn't as good as some of you people think and I'm quite surprised he lasted this long at Chelsea, Conte doesn't rate the guy and it's obvious otherwise he would have made the damn bench. He should go to Italy or something.

Africans are the only ones who are emotional abi? Did English people not moan when Wenger first fielded a team without a single English man? What about the Germans who have complained about Schweinsteiger's treatment at Manchester United. Those complaining are doing so because they are fans. Nothing to do with their race.

They have emotional fans, we have emotional everything.

Ugbowo wrote:Very disappointing for Chelsea to treat someone with 11 years of service this way.

It was obvious his omission was for non footballing reasons.

Mikel should leave.

It's not Chelsea.. it's the coach. But like Mikel said, he too will go soon.