DYC.

Fair enough. But again, Zanetti (completely agree with you btw, perfect fullback) played a defensive role. (Azpilicueta's father?) Chivu in the pivot haha. Could you think of something more Mourinho-esque...

I don't really mind the stubborn part. He has his views and beliefs and that's his prerogative. Of course, if you're doing something and it doesn't work, you will be criticised. Mehh, this is the man that played Gallas and Chivu at fullback. Ferreira and Arbeloa as well, they're so old-school. Cole joined and became a defensive fullback in the short time he played under him. He only likes to play one fullback, one 'modern fullback' max (I dislike that term, 'modern fullbacks' have been around for over 15 years, it's time to drop the modern part). Now we have a defensive fullback on one side and a CB built RB with 0 pace on the other side. (Mourinho playing Marcelo was shocking btw, talk about stepping out of your comfort zone.) Personally, I'd never drop Hazard. Just like I would never drop David Silva for example. He's just one of those players who can always come up with something or find form in an instant. But I'm not mad at Mourinho for benching him. I would've preferred Hazard in the middle behind the striker and Cesc out in this shape. But it doesn't really matter as long as it brings a win.

Ivanovic will be back in the starting line-up once he recovers. You can bet your house on that.

He's lacking in inventiveness for me. Always the same shape and approach. If he steps outside out of the box a bit, it's always in an attempt to nullify (Ramires on the wing, Zouma in midfield). I'm quite disappointed by that to say the least. P.S. His aversion against real fullbacks drives me insane. Even against an opponent like Villa I don't feel confident in seeing a good display. But I guess that's too much to ask for at the this point. A mere win will do.

Many will say it's very harsh, some will say it's a bit harsh but I think it's simply the truth. Both are decent, solid players overall, in terms of top level football. Supporting cast. With Oscar you hope he gets better as he reaches his prime physical shape, refines his technique and grows from the experience he builds up as he ages. But he could very much end up to be the sequel to Mikel. Brazil still have good players btw. Dunga should make better selections (some nonsensical choices really) and change their style. Brazil is easily top five in terms of talent, though I will admit they have problems in centre midfield.

Positioning, anticipation, finishing, shooting technique, heading. Adding a greater physical presence in terms of moving around, working the channels and work rate to his game. At 22, he's also still growing in terms of physicality. Learning how to be more effective in physical tussles, timing his jumps better, things like that. I doubt Drogba was the physical monster he was at 27 when he was 22. Ibrahimovic certainly wasn't. He made great leaps in the use of his body and in his agility as he aged and reached prime physical shape. He could also turn into a big game player, who knows? He's easily better than Bent and Remy imo. He'll never become Ronaldo reincarnated but I don't see why he can't become a Costa or Cavani. Their technique isn't that much superior and he's still refining his technique to, like they did at a younger age. I've already seen clear improvements in his touch and passing, and his ability to play with back to goal as well. Neither do they beat him in terms of physical attributes. I'm not saying it will happen but there's plenty of room for improvement.

Isn't it funny how Yaya has bossed games in the PL but has looked so ordinary in Europe? Tactically, he's just not there. He has technique, plenty of it, but he becomes crippled when he has to really think (to be a step ahead) and think quick. Cesc is like that. It's sad because Yaya would be such an amazing midfielder if he did have that. Legendary even. Touré is kind of like the Zlatan of midfielders, but Zlatan has a more impressive body of work over a 10 year span. RLC has a lot to prove so I think it's very premature to rate him so highly or give him so much praise. I would like to see him given a chance though. But the idea of him alongside Matic and Cesc could easily not work. I was always very vocal about strengthening midfield and was very sad it didn't happen. Mikel and Ramires simply aren't up to scratch (Ramires is a cool option to have in your squad though) and the weaknesses of Matic and Cesc were visible for a very long time. Pogba wouldn't have helped imo, in terms of creating a great midfield three. Wrong type of player as he also has troubles off the ball. And he's not as nearly commanding in possession as his hype and price tag suggests. A diamond in the rough and he was never a realistic target anyway. The ball was dropped in this area, no two ways about it. But Mourinho is paid so much money because he is supposed to be able to do more than a 'normal' manager so coming up with a solution is completely on him.

I personally thought Matic was brilliant in 2014. A great year overall. But his form has been waning since the start of the year. His partner isn't ideal but it's an excuse for the most part. A mitigating factor, sure, but you simply can't shift complete blame like that. Like the poster above says, he's not the first or only one playing alongside a lightweight or a defensively flawed partner. That's why Busquets impresses me so much, as a lone DM. Barca are far more dominant, yes, but there's a far greater margin for error when the ball is lost. I don't know if he's going through a rut, which would not be uncommon at all. In fact, the very same Busquets went through that in in 2013 and the first half of 2014. But it's possible he was riding on a cloud that year and won't ever reach a level like that again. I'm sure he'll improve his current form, but he might not be capable of being as commanding as first. But I don't blame individuals in this current form of the team. As a team, Chelsea is simply all over the place defensively. I do think the midfield (and attack) isn't played to it's strength. I think a lot of power and dynamism is asked of them but that's not where there strength lies. Chelsea have just felt unbalanced and unstable the entire year and the tape, chewing gum and spit that was holding the foundation together have dried up.

You hear players speak (or read what they say) and they all sound like robots to me. It's generic and politically correct in practically all cases, never saying what they truly feel because they're not allowed to. Don't even understand why they interview players at all. But I like what Diego said. It feels genuine and he came out with strong message. But this is football. You can only prove it on the pitch, so I hope to see great improvement.

Now the sacking makes sense. Good move, I have to say. Young team, very good manager. But more importantly a team builder, something they really needed. I just hope he doesn't have any magic in him this year. Losing out on a top four spot would be disastrous.

Have you seen Liverpool's next six games? Comical timing. Talk about a warm welcome.

Funny Capello would make a comment like that. He is Mourinho's dad. But I've been thinking the same. Trying to make sense out of the situation, you look at Mourinho's history and his teams. I think his style is very exhausting for players, especially combined with the lack of rotation. And when you look at how often he talks about the importance of players impressing and earning their stripes in training. I think his training methods are (very) intense. Eventually leading to physical but more importantly mental exhaustion Mourinho teams are known for their fitness. He gets 100% out of them. Make that 110%. It would explain why he does his best work in the first two seasons. Chelsea (first time around) and Real dipped in the third season. He left Inter after two seasons but they struggled in the season after he left as well. What we are experience now is extreme. All managers hit bottom at some point. We weren't lucky enough to experience his all-time high (treble with Inter) but we've been honoured to go through his all-time low with him. In normal circumstances, Chelsea would look off the pace and stale, with six or seven points more in the league, instead of the current hot mess. But it's just a theory.

The amount of trouble he could save himself and the club by simply keeping quiet. I think Mrs. Mourinho wears the pants at home. He lets go at his jobs.

Yeah this is big. For a player to jump from youth football to top level football like this is impressive. Boga has been experiencing a much tougher time. If none out of Christensen, RLC, Musonda, Boga, Solanke make it here, no one will. You'd think at least three have a genuine shot.

4 FKs. A specialist hits 5 in a good year, 7-10 in an exceptional year. Two of Willian's weren't even direct attempts. That last one was sweet. A FK goal in four consecutive matches has to be a record right?

I understand that. He has credit. Deservedly so. But that doesn't mean you can't blame him. Saying the players have turned crap on him is too easy. An entire team doesn't decide to perform poorly just like that. Something is wrong.

I asked him a question and he said Mourinho's not to blame. Yet Ancelotti was. I just find some fans inconsistent in their reasoning. We apparently have Mourinho to thank for past succes but this is on the players.

I can agree with that.

Come on, Tomo. That first season, at least half of it, Bosingwa was quite the relevation. I remember him getting praise from every corner. His speed and stamina were something else, he was covering the entire right flank. I'm not saying he was Cafu but he was good. Then he got injured. Then he turned to crap.

I'm not just talking about the fans though. He was sacked. So he didn't get the chance to fix things .

You do realise that just makes things harder for Ancelotti, which makes Mourinho's case worse. So what you are saying is different rules apply to Mourinho because he's Mourinho. Got it.

We saw a similar occurence under Ancelotti. For a long while the entire team looked like crap in 10/11. Ancelotti was blamed (thank God for that late run to finish 2nd). He also won the double the season before. This is even worse (Tomo disagrees with me). Why not blame Mourinho?

Two or three teams? That's harsh. Only City. Utd and Arsenal don't possess more quality. Fact is Chelsea have been declining since Jan but the manager failed to find a way to combat the issue. That's my issue with Mourinho. What's happening now is extreme but it doesn't change the fact that this side is one-dimensional and that's unacceptable at this level.

No defender in the world can fix the shambles that is Chelsea's backline, especially not John Stones. John Stones, seriously? Chelsea's problem isn't individual ability. The 11 players on the pitch aren't functioning together. Any kind of cohesion is lost. They look like a bunch of strangers. Far from a well-coached unit. It's unbelievable something like this could happen but it happened. I'm starting to realise/accept it will take a while to fix.

Again, Mourinho spouting nonsense. Just recently he wasn't ready. That magical word: ready. I hope Cheek is completely unfazed by the mess around him and puts in a strong performance. Maybe we'll actually witness a functioning midfield.