Qatar Spend Big on World Cup

The sugar daddies of the beautiful game are mostly found in the Middle East for a reason: they have money and they are looking for where to spend it. From France to England they have taken over one or two clubs and caused disruption as far as footballing power dynamics go.

Among the money bags though, Qatar is setting a precedent by hosting the most expensive World Cup ever. Last year’s world cup did hold that title for a while when it was revealed that Russia spent $15 billion to make sure Putin got to show the world that Russians do eat and take shits this same way the rest of the world does. Qatar did decide to raise the standard by a tiny bit: they are spending $220 billion.

When you have a large reserve of a major natural resource lying under your feet, you automatically become rich. Your problem shifts from “what do I eat today” to “how the hell do I choose from these 1000 dishes” added with “don’t bother, I will buy the restaurant”.
Qatar won the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup and for all the “this will probably be the last World Cup since the heat will melt anyone that goes there” protests, the opening ceremony remains 2 years away.

Granted there many things that make a world cup memorable: cultural displays of the host nation on the opening ceremony, the anxiety to win their first game, the Groups of Death, tournament surprises, heartbreaks, humiliations and triumphs, but colour does add a lot to the magic. And that is where money comes in.

From revamping and constructing 8 stadiums in 5 host cities into world class standard, Vladmir Putin would be wondering if he isn’t ruling the wrong country while the United States media will spend quality time reporting and criticizing how much of a waste that budget is even though their military spends more than that every year to bring “freedom” to the world.

Either way, football fans are in for a treat of unforgettable Arabian nights come 2022.

MIKEL TIPS CHELSEA YOUNGSTERS

Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has tipped youngsters of the club Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to find their way into the England first team, saying they are good enough.

Both youngsters have very promising future, being amongst the top prospects from the club’s academy. They are close to breaking into the first team of the club but the competition at the Blues midfield makes it difficult.

Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has tipped youngsters of the club Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to find their way into the England first team, saying they are good enough.

Loftus-Cheek and Chalobah have grown under Gareth Southgate in the English Under-21 set-up.

Mikel says having seen them play that they have what it takes to break into the senior team and to succeed in football, in a statement that will have fans scrambling on to www.1st4footballtickets.com to get tickets for Chelsea’s up and coming home fixtures.

“Why not? I think they are now doing it for the Under-21s so I think they will. Loftus-Cheek is a great player, Chalobah is a good player. If they want to play for England then they will have a role to play one day. England has a massive load of talent out there so they have to work hard and make sure that in the years to come that they will still be there,” the Nigerian play maker told Goal.

Loftus-Cheek won the Toulon Tournament with the Under-21 team this summer and has been used more than his teammate by Coach Antonio Conte.

“They are all very, very good players, you can see the future of Chelsea right there. I am sure that these players will play a massive role at this football club for many years to come. Loftus-Cheek, everyone knows who he is and he has played a few games for the first team.

“It is about mentality, how bad do you want it? That’s what we tell the young players [at Chelsea], it can’t be given to you, you have to work for it. You have to show the manager in training, you have to show in games that you want to play for this football club,” Mikel added.

SHEARER SLAMS CHELSEA DMs

Newcastle United legend and BBC pundit Alan Shearer reckons that Chelsea were certainly not helped by the lack of defensive support from Cesc Fabregas in the recent 3-0 loss against Manchester City.

Chelsea suffered this immense setback against their title rivals in only the fourth match of the season. The team failed to start the season with a win after only drawing against Swansea on the opening day, and hav stuttered for form since.

The performances of Fabregas have come under the radar once again, as the Spaniard has not been able to match his high standards set at the same stage last season.

Newcastle United legend and BBC pundit Alan Shearer reckons that Chelsea were certainly not helped by the lack of defensive support from Cesc Fabregas in the recent 3-0 loss against Manchester City.

The performances of Fabregas have come under the radar once again, as the Spaniard has not been able to match his high standards set at the same stage last season.

Ever since the turn of the year, the 28-year-old has not been at his best. José Mourinho has been criticised for not clearly defining the role of Fabregas. He has been playing alongside Nemanja Matic as part of the two defensive midfielders. However, he is also expected to contribute in attack due to his exceptional passing skills, which have not been coming up of late.

This, in turn, has exposed his weakness on the defensive front. It remains to be seen if Fabregas will be dropped for a specialist defensive midfielder like Ramires or John obi Mikel. However, Mourinho may also see City has been one of the best attacking forces out there and it was simply a case of being overpowered by the opposition. Even befoer the match Manchester City had shorter odds (on the contemporary odds website) of winning the title than Chelsea.

“When these two teams last met, at Stamford Bridge in January, Blues boss Jose Mourinho played Ramires in defensive midfield alongside Nemanja Matic and successfully killed the game.”

“With Ramires back in the team, that is what I thought would happen this time too, with Chelsea set up to sit and defend and stay tight. Fabregas did not look like he knew whether he was meant to be an attacking midfielder or a defensive one. He ended up being neither,” said Shearer.

HEADING TO THE EXIT

Chelsea midfielder John obi Mikel is widely thought to be heading towards the exit door after interest from Inter Milan has been growing in the last few weeks. The Nigerian international has been unable to seal a first-team squad at the club.

This was despite finishing second to Yaya Touré in the African Player of the Year contest. Yaya Touré is widely regarded as the best midfielder in the Premier league right now. Due to his absence of regular first-team football, Mikel’s position in the Nigerian national team is also under threat.

Mikel was originally signed by Jose Mourinho in 2006. Over the years, he has been a consistent first-team player even when the club was going through several managerial changes. After the arrival of Mourinho in the summer, it was expected that Mikel would retain his first-team place in the squad. However, the manager has brought in Nemanja Matic from Benfica for a transfer fee of £ 25 million. He has been utilised as the midfield pairing along with Ramires. It is now looking highly unlikely that Mikel would be able to force his way into the first-team given the way that Matic has been playing.

As a result, Inter Milan have been linked with a £ 10 million offer for the midfielder, who still has three years left on his contract. The midfielder was brought to the club for around £ 16 million in 2006. It is extremely possible that Chelsea would consider a fee in the region of around £ 15 million as the transfer valuation of the player. Mikel is one of the few players left in the team that won the 2012 Champions League and several other trophies during the Mourinho’s first spell at the club.

He has made more than 250 appearances for Chelsea since 2006.

OBI MIKEL MOVES ON?

John Obi Mikel has been a name strongly linked with a move away from Chelsea in recent months. This is primarily because the midfielder has lost his position to the new signing Nemanja Matic, who has been quite impressive since coming in a £ 21 million deal from Benfica.

Since he has lost his first-team place, Mikel has been rumoured to be on the lookout for a new club. Inter Milan have been looking at him in the last few weeks. The Italian outfit have been on a decline for the last few years, but they are prepared to spend big in the summer in order to spark a revival.

Mikel has been one of the several names linked with a move to Inter Milan, but the Nigerian has rejected any truth in the rumours by saying that he is more than happy to stay at Chelsea for the remainder of his contract. He still has three more years left on his deal. Mikel is one of the few players left from Jose Mourinho’s squad of 2006. He came to the club when he was a teenager and he has gone on to make more than 250 appearances for the club.

Inter recently brought in Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic on a free transfer.

“As far as I know this is all speculation. Obviously, it is normal for clubs to show interest. But the player has not said he wants to leave, and the club have not said they want to let him go. There is always contact with various clubs here and there, but he still has three years left on the contract,” said Mikel’s agent John Shittu. Inter Milan have also been linked with moves for Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, who has been a massive disappointment since his £ 50 million move from Liverpool.

One of The Most Overrated Players

John Mikel, the soccer star from Nigeria, has been tagged as one of the most overrated sportsmen of the world, especially amidst the players of Premier League.

The rating was published by FTB pro taking a host of factors into account such as unwarranted praise, vast wealth and undeserved accolades some players have somehow managed to pull in for diddly-squat.

It has been found that Mikel is going on racking up trophies and appearances in Chelsea while contributing almost nothing for his team on field.

Next to the Nigerian, the one who comes up in the list is Theo Walcott. Yes, there’s no denying of the fact that the footballer is really speedy but Walcott’s mere pace is never enough to skirt his defects as a soccer player. He badly lacks the right vision, technique & attitude aspects- the most significant attributes one needs to maintain to be an ideal soccer player.

Moreover, his constant demand for wage hike in Arsenal has put forward another reason to dislike him.

John Mikel, the soccer star from Nigeria, has been tagged as one of the most overrated sportsmen of the world, especially amidst the players of Premier League.

It has been found that Mikel is going on racking up trophies and appearances in Chelsea while contributing almost nothing for his team on field.

Moreover, his constant demand for wage hike in Arsenal has put forward another reason to dislike him.
Then of course, there’s Marouane Fellaini. Moyes wished for best of midfielders of the world- sadly he could not get even the best of midfielders in Everton. Fellaini’s 27.5 million pound transfer to ManU was such a waste for the team.

Deployed as support striker in the team to make the most of his aerial capacities, Marouane was to some extent effective, though not really impressive to the eyes while at Everton. Moving to champions & shifting to a holding position in the midfield, the look alike of Belgian Bob has come up as more of lost. He is immobile, weak on ball & cost more in comparison to what Man U paid the very talismanic Tour. Thankfully the soccer world is gradually getting conscious of Fellaini’s incompetency.

MOU LOVES OBI MIKEL

Jose Mourinho has praised John Obi Mikel as the Portuguese coach considers him to be a ‘’genius’’ as he told Chelsea’s official website. “Mikel is a genius in his position. It is a miracle if he loses the ball’’.

Mikel said that coming to such a big club like Chelsea as a young 18 years old player was a dream come true for him but stated that during his early days at the Premier League club was intimidating.

“I remember coming into the dressing room and I was shaking all through the first week. The players in there really helped me settle in – John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and the other African players that were there at the time.

“I looked at these guys every day and I learned a lot from them, how they act on and off the football pitch, which helped me develop and mature as a person. It was a growing up stage which I never had with any other team. I just jumped straight into this team so I had to learn that way,” he said.

Mikel said that coming to such a big club like Chelsea as a young 18 years old player was a dream come true for him but stated that during his early days at the Premier League club was intimidating.

It comes into doubt however if the newest signing of Chelsea, Nemanja Matic will limit the chances of Obi Mikel from playing consistently. The Nigerian player is already competing with the likes of Lampard, Ramires, Essien, Van Ginkel, Oscar and even David Luiz in order to get a chance to play in the starting lineup of Mourinho and considering the €21 million price tag that Chelsea had to offload in order to secure the services of Matic, he will probably be in the plans of Mourinho.

Just as Matic seems to be on the near plans of Mourinho, the question rises on whether John Obi Mikel will be maintaining a secured spot in the main squad of Chelsea along with all the other competitors.

LOOKING FORWARDS

John obi Mikel has stated that he is very much looking forward to playing in the Champions League against Galatasaray, as this match will see the reunion of Didier Drogba. Drogba left the club back in 2012, but he is still regarded as a legend at the club.

Jose Mourinho has spoken in length about how Drogba is destined to face Chelsea in this year’s Champions League because it has happened to him on several occasions. Mourinho has come up against his former clubs like Barcelona and Chelsea on numerous occasions.

Mikel has not been a first-team regular this campaign, but his opportunities are increasing with every match. He is expected to be a first team regular by the time this match kicks off. Mikel and Drogba experienced a lot of success during the last decade. He has, however, reminded everyone that the prospect of being in the Champions league quarter-finals should be the main priority and people should forget about the return of Drogba. It has the capability to affect the occasion, but Mikel is concentrating only on winning both legs.

The tie will take place towards the end of February with the match at Stamford Bridge being the second leg. Chelsea finished top of the group stages and are one of the favourites to win the title. “It will be a tough game but it’s a game we’re looking forward to. It will be good to meet old rivals, who you have played against in the past, as well as old team-mates. We shouldn’t get carried away about Didier coming back; he is a player that was here for eight years, he won major trophies, he’s a big player with a big personality,” said Mikel to the club’s official website.
There have been transfer rumours linking Mikel with a move to Galatasaray.

NO GOALS YET

John obi Mikel has had to live with the unwanted record of not having found the back of the net in more than 250 appearances for Chelsea.

The Nigerian midfielder was signed back in 2006, but he had not found a single goal to his name despite being a first-team regular in all these years. He finally broke the unwanted record by scoring in the 2-0 win over Fulham. Normally used as a defensive midfielder, Mikel does not go up for corners. Mourinho, though, has been looking to use the height advantage in recent matches.

John obi Mikel has had to live with the unwanted record of not having found the back of the net in more than 250 appearances for Chelsea.

Thus, the 26-year-old found himself at the right place at the right time against Fulham. After Oscar had given Chelsea the lead, Mikel’s goal just after 70 minutes gave the home team all three points. After the match, José Mourinho was in full praise of the player, who was one of his signings of the first spell. He is a regular goalscorer at international level with the Nigerian national team because he plays in an attacking role. Yet, many would have expected a defensive midfielder to come up with the odd goal. Mourinho thinks that the goal will provide Mikel with a lot of confidence.

After being a substitute during the early part, Mikel slowly appears to be forcing his way into the first-team. “Good for him, good for us. I think it is good for his confidence. And I think people enjoyed seeing John (Obi Mikel) score a goal. The goal was a shot in a set-piece, in a corner, a rebound, the finishing was good and he was in the position, but the important thing for me is he played a good game, he gave balance and stability. He kept very good control of the game, so I am happy with the way John is playing,” said Mourinho.

Monaco target deal for Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel

Cash rich French club AS Monaco is threatening a dream reunion with Didier Drogba for Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel by apparently launching a bid for the Nigerian international.

Turkish giants Galatasaray are eyeing up a cut price deal for the midfielder who is seen as surplus to requirements at Chelsea and reunite him with former Chelsea hero Drogba, who returned to Europe at the end of last season after leaving Chelsea for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua. The Blues reportedly want a staggering £ 16 million for the midfield hard man, which is much beyond what the Turkish club can afford and that is where AS Monaco have sensed a window of opportunity and are looking to exploit it by launching a bid for the player.

Cash rich French club AS Monaco is threatening a dream reunion with Didier Drogba for Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel by apparently launching a bid for the Nigerian international.

The Nigerian midfielder was signed back in 2006 after a long drawn transfer saga involving his Norwegian club Lyn Oslo and Premier League rivals Manchester United. But John Obi Mikel might now have to leave the club after the return of the man who brought him to the club all those years back. The Nigerian has had a trophy laden stint at Chelsea, winning the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League as well as the Premier League but faces the axe now.

Although he has four years to run on his current contract with the club, Mikel has admitted he is unsure what the future holds for him and added that he is open to a move if the opportunity comes up. He added that he still has a four year contract with Chelsea but nothing can be guaranteed in football and if he has to move on, he will have to.

AS Monaco have already spent £ 120 million in the transfer market and are looking to spend more with John Obi Mikel.