IIRC Carrick was signed after this failed transfer, so it worked superbly for us.
John Mikel Obi: Choosing Chelsea over United was 'best decision of my life'
- Thread starter horsechoker
- Start date
You had a "legends" game recently and Wes Brown's little brother got a game. If he counts then Mikel absolutely does!
That's because he played in an era where we had great players coming out of our ears and he was the unassuming guy in the background doing a lot of the crucial work. He's bound to not come up a lot in discussions in an oppo forum, but for those of us that watched him every week for over a decade, he is well loved and remembered.
I wrote this article about him many, many years ago when he scored his first goal after 7 years
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation...8/john-obi-mikel-scored-a-goal-where-were-you
Yeah if I was a United fan, I would be pretty happy with how all that worked out, 16m for basically holding his contract for a couple of days? Then turning that money into Carrick. Not bad at all.
When your greatest legends include Roman Abramovich and a proven racist full kit wanker - then nobody's going to blame you for scraping the barrel trying to find some more
Not every club can have fine upstanding gentleman such as Ryan Giggs or George Best in their pantheon of heroes.
Fair do'sCarrick - 316 appearances, 5 PL titles
Obi - 249 appearances, 2 PL titles
I’d say we’re all fecking delighted you chose Chelsea.
Obi - 249 appearances, 2 PL titles
I’d say we’re all fecking delighted you chose Chelsea.
There seems to be three different discussions here?
1. Was Mikel a Chelsea legend? Who cares
2. Was he better than Carrick? Hell no
3. Title - Was choosing Chelsea over United a better thing for him? Probably yes given that they won so much during that period
1. Was Mikel a Chelsea legend? Who cares
2. Was he better than Carrick? Hell no
3. Title - Was choosing Chelsea over United a better thing for him? Probably yes given that they won so much during that period
We won more though, so he lost out on that.
Can’t say it worked out badly for either party. Definitely a bizarre transfer, but just one of several dozen ‘Keano’s replacement’ transfer stories from that era.
Who the feck cares after nearly 20 years
feck my life
feck my life
Not with him we wouldn't have
Chelsea stunted his development big time by putting him in the defensive midfield role. He was a totally different player at international level.
Missing out on Mikel did not equal signing Carrick. Ferguson was chasing a CM-type for years and a guy like Carrick would fit the new tactics Ferguson and Queiroz were transitioning to going forward after selling off the likes of Butt, Ruud, Phil, firing Keane, etc. and failing with signings like Djemba, Kleberson, and Miller. Keep in mind Ferguson kept chasing Hargreaves that summer after signing Carrick. Per say Mikel ends up at Old Trafford it's more probable that Anderson or Hargreaves do not arrive in 2007.
Exceptionally underrated player. Never got robbed of the ball and rarely gave away possession with his passing. If Jorginho could tackle, shield the ball and out-muscle players he would basically be Mikel.
If he won more trophies at Chelsea during the same period then I'd understand his comments but we ended up with more and a lot more at that.
For someone who says choosing Chelsea was the best decision of his life he sure does mention us a lot.
For someone who says choosing Chelsea was the best decision of his life he sure does mention us a lot.
I what context were those remarks made? They did actually ban posters in 2005 you know. No idea why you’d have to drag this up anyway.
Was a decent player but we really didn't miss out on much by not getting him.
he was really average.
I think a lot of people are missing the point - he said he achieved everything he wanted to achieve in football at Chelsea. He didn't say he wouldn't have achieved more at United. He's also probably looking at it from a personal perspective in that if he hadn't joined Chelsea he wouldn't have had the life he has now. His home is now London, he met his wife here and now has 2 kids ect.
Actually feel sorry for Mikel. He was badly exploited at 18.
By coming out with this now I suggest he does actually regret it as it’s still on his mind.
By coming out with this now I suggest he does actually regret it as it’s still on his mind.
How did we landed 12 mil for a player who never played any game for us? I thought he was never rated much but looking at chelsea fans here in this thread, obviously he meant something to them. Thanks for financing carrick obi.
WTF. United dominated for 7 years after he signed.
I remember those days i was in rural malaysia that time. Did not have internet access, basically following the saga by having to ride a bike to the nearest town to read the newspapers. Was gutted when chelsea took him. Glad it all turned out well
What?
My apologies, I thought he left the club long before he did, must be confusing him with someone else, thank you for bringing it to my attention.
We accept you apologies, duffer is a most forgiving person, he is thankful that your attention has now had this brought to it.
He did look very promising as a number 10. Was very creative and dangerous as a teen and it was a shame to see that beaten out of him by Jose's Chelsea.
Today he would have probably been a creative 6, but even that otherworldly passing range gradually disappeared over time till he became an average, purely defensive player
In my defense it looks like he was on the bench a fair bit, but I was horribly wrong. In fact his best run of games seems to have been when they won the CL, so fair shakes to him, he fully deserved that medal as a starter.
That didn't actually work aswell as made out. Actually use to invite more pressure.Really? I thought he was a very decent but unspectacular player. Michael Essien- now there was a player for Chelsea that i wished we'd signed.
I think every oppo fan died a little inside when Chelsea brought Mikel on as a sub to protect a slender lead. That's probably what I remember most about him; just the "Oh god they're bringing him on. The bus is well and truly parked"
The two games in Manchester in 14/15 prime examples.
It's a common misconception that it was Jose that turned him into a (full time) DM.
That actually happened under Scolari.
I think he would have developed differently and played with Carrick if he signed for us.
probably meant that Scholes would have retired earlier, so you’re probably right.
We got Carrick instead, I'm definitely not complaining. Carrick would be regarding as one of the best, if not the best, in his position if playing today.
Robben, Essien and Hazard were huge losses to that mob
This guy, meh
This guy, meh
Can someone explain this to me, have no memory of it.Imagine this happening in 2022
Yeah I think I remember one game where RVP equalized in the last minute, and I think Mikel might have come on in that game. Still, it was always depressing to see him come on for Chelsea- not because anyone rated him highly it's just Chelsea were already pretty well drilled and organised and to see him come on was just yet another defensive screen you had to bypass.
Not sure how some are saying he was bang average. He wasn’t a flash type player.
But in his peak he was one of the best CDMs in the world at the time. Was massively important for them.
But in his peak he was one of the best CDMs in the world at the time. Was massively important for them.
It's a photo of United signing Erling Haaland on a pre-contract before Dortmund hijacked the deal.
At no point he was one of the best CDMs in the world.