I know he might not be the most consistent in terms of his opinions and has been known to flip-flop a bit and be rather wild at times, but John Obi Mikel has received a lot of unwarranted and disrespectful hate and comments purely for being a passionate and emotional fan.
He also deserves respect for what he did at our club and what he achieved here, becoming a real cult hero amongst the fan base.
I don’t like a lot of what he says sometimes, but other things he says I really rate. But at the end of the day, John Obi Mikel just wants what is best for Chelsea and feels he needs to say what he feels in public, even if it is criticism or negative. As a fan, you fully have that right.
If some fans want to always only be positive and never call out the bad things, then that is completely their prerogative and up to them. All opinions are different and I can accept that.
Personally, I believe we as fans help set and keep the standards of the club by calling things out and being critical. This is not some new fanfare thing, it’s been happening since the game first started, only it was happening in pubs before and after the games instead of people fighting behind keyboards instead. If we stay quiet and don’t use our voice, then we are ignoring issues and they will keep occurring.
Players must learn to deal with critique because it is and always will be just part of the game.
Nicolas Jackson snapped back to criticism from Mikel in public, and oh how it’s backfired this week after his ridiculous sending off.
Mikel was never unfair with his critique of Jackson, he was just saying that he doesn’t see him as someone who can lead the line long term for Chelsea and let’s be honest here, he isn’t that guy. And that is why we are going all out to sign a new striker this summer. Mikel was just being passionate and calling it how it was.
He was also challenging Jackson to prove him wrong, and he complimented Jackson when he was having a good run of form.
Football is not an easy world to be in, players need to learn to be thick skinned. I mean, the world in general is not easy either and nothing will ever be handed to you on a plate.
Firing back to former Chelsea players for offering critique is not the way to go. Letting your feet do the talking IS the way to go.
Mikel is old school, but he means well and wants the best for the club and the players. If Jackson started scoring 25 goals a season then believe me, Mikel will be the first one to come out and praise him and say he was wrong (although he wasn’t wrong at the time).
This is fanfare, there is nothing wrong with this. And I think the hate towards Mikel wasn’t on at the time. He said what 95% of the fans are saying now! Also, the abuse Jackson and other players get is also completely wrong and never acceptable. But criticism is different to abuse.
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