kmk108

Because Roman has always had a quick trigger finger. It's nice for a change.

We did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKmoVbbsdJ8

The bench But really, I don't think there's a place for a player like that in 4-2-3-1. Bring him in when we're up and want to slow things down or are down and need one of the 2 DMs to go forward more, but they just don't really have the tools to play anywhere in a normal 4-2-3-1 setup.

IMO, it's the same thing Lampard went through towards the end of his career here. He's too slow to play the no. 10, but he doesn't defend well enough to play DM.

Just a little thing about your Bayern comment. Pep is a manager that's against the Bayern identity. That's why there's many Bayern supporters that don't like him, even though of the success they've had with him.

There's no club in the world that I hate more than Bayern Munich.

I'll take the piss out of them even if we're in the Championship.

...but we had a later pre-season

I have always been one of the first to slight Ramires, but he's honestly been one of the only bright spots in recent weeks. He's not scared to take on defenders and take risks like the rest of the team.

I'd like to see Baba come in to a team that's performing well, but I suppose we're talking about Jose. If the team is performing well, Baba may not get a chance.

Also, we got on about Ivanovic, but the key is Ramires. He's deserved a start, but if Jose wants to keep Pedro on the right, Ivanovic shouldn't start. He won't be able to handle the right on his own.

Completely agree about Luis. I was disappointed to only see him in cup matches. Trust me, I don't want to put up with this Ivanovic next season, the rest of the season, or even against Villa. I think the real Ivanovic is somewhere between what he has been and what he is now, and I guess I'm just sentimental about wanting him to find that before he's shipped out of Stamford Bridge. I'm running out of patience though. I guess I just have a little more patience about it than others here.

Only because they're entirely possible. I'm not saying "If we would have beaten Crystal Palace..." That wasn't going to happen. Results matter the most, but the sky isn't falling. We're not going to be relegated. Half of the team is out of form, regardless of what Jose does. I don't think any manager would come in and make an immediate impact. There's something wrong with the players and it's not entirely Jose's fault.

He wants to keep the same back line for consistency purposes. It's helped a lot in the past. It's just not helping now, because we're so out of form. I wanted him to play a lot more, but it was easy to ignore him when the defense was playing well. Ivanovic at RB has worked in the past. Something is just not right. He hasn't just lost the pace like Terry has. He's become ineffective in nearly every aspect of his game. Something mentally isn't right and that's why I want to see what happens when he's given the best support he can. If that doesn't work, it's time for him to take a permanent spot on the bench.

No we didn't. I didn't mean that he was. I just meant that we did have a proper LB and it didn't change anything. We're not even 25% of the way through the season. There's still plenty of time left to give Baba plenty of time. I don't want to give Ivanovic 2 or 3 more weeks. I want to give him one more with Ramires and JT helping him and if that doesn't work, he's out.

We're not even a quarter of the way through the season. We've gone on horrible runs before, and things haven't always looked dire. The ball goes in the net at the end of the Porto game and we're at the top of the group. We get one more goal in the Newcastle game and we get 3 points at a place we haven't since 2011. The team hasn't been setting the world on fire, but we're a couple of goals away from being on the up. Things aren't as dire as people make it seem. At least wait until Christmas.

Quoted for records

He got Filipe Luis, but that didn't work out. I understand and agree that Ivanovic isn't the future, but there's a defender in there somewhere. I know when Ivanovic is playing on Saturday and looks lost on defense and crosses it to the first defender in attack, I'll be yelling to pull him out and sit him, but I want to see what happens. I just can't accept that one of the rocks in our defense in the last couple of years will turn into the worst defender in the league in one summer.

It proves what has been said this second Mourinho spell, he wants stability over instant success. For me, it's refreshing. I don't think Mourinho is the best for the long term, but I'm happy he's not wielding the axe as soon as he has in the past. The revolving door of managers isn't good for the stability of the club in the long term. I don't think Mourinho is the answer for the long term, but little good will be done by sacking him and bringing in a caretaker manager for the rest of the season. Let him see it out. If things look up and we show signs of promise, all of this will be forgotten. If things don't, we'll sack him and move on with a full summer to prepare for next season. Not winning anything for a season isn't the end of the world. The only thing that would be really bad would be to miss out on Europe, and personally, I don't think that's going to happen.

Baba's two matches were against Tel-Aviv and Walsall, and while doing alright, he didn't stand out. I'm saying play Ivanovic alongside JT as a way of saying, "Look, you've been given every opportunity to get your form back. If this last chance doesn't work, you're done."

Zouma has made mistakes alongside Ivanovic, and the team needs a leader in the back four. Put in the back four that had success last season for a match and see what happens. A lot of Ivanovic's issues come from taking defenders on 1-on-1. Putting Ramires in the right wing will allow him to track back and provide the first line of support for the defense. Terry, while not fast, is experienced and will help Ivanovic out when needed. He won't stand between Ivanovic and Cahill like Zouma has.

I have little faith in Ivanovic, but Baba hasn't filled me with confidence either.

Begovic Ivanovic-JT-Cahill-Azpilicueta Oscar-Matic Ramires-Willian-Hazard Falcao Give Ivanovic one more shot with JT alongside him instead of Zouma. Ramires tracking back will also help him cover. Put Oscar alongside Matic. It'll let Matic focus on defensive duties, because Oscar is more than capable of going box-to-box. Try Willian out at number 10. He's deserved it and he's been alright at getting into space and providing. Give Falcao the majority of the match. He's smarter and better outside of the box than Remy. He needs match time. Trotting him out for 25 minutes isn't enough.

Nope, not going to happen. Maybe losing the spot will wake them up to how bad the English clubs have been in Europe.

Shocking display. Not to take anything away from Porto, but we never looked up for it. Fabregas will never work alongside Matic, and with the ease that players are taking the ball away from him, the number 10 role will never work either. It looks like he's just lost it completely. I have no clue why he's even allowed to take any set-pieces or corners either. His crosses look about as good as Ivanovic's and his shots go straight into the wall. Let Willian take the free kicks. He's shown he can do something with them. Ivanovic looked shit again, but really, the whole defense looked poor. That's mainly on them, but it's also because of the 2 back midfielders giving loads of space for the attackers to work through. Pedro, while trying, isn't a defensive type, so Ivanovic isn't getting any help when there's play down his side, and Zouma is too inexperienced to properly help him out. Hazard did absolutely nothing again. I was hoping him coming on as a sub would let him play a "super sub" role, but that never materialized. He looked the same as he has all season.