The Skipper

Fully agree. This I would love to see. I think Oscar playing deeper is a massive risk but it's one I'd be willing to take. Him playing next to Mikel or a withdrawn Ramires could possibly work as he'd be an ideal link player and can of course also get forward and join the attack. Eto'o Hazard - Mata - Willian Oscar - Ramires Something I'd really like to see.

He hasn't been getting minutes and the manager hasn't really shown faith in him so obviously, he's going to be sloppy on the ball. He's still the best orchestrator on the ball in our squad and I think he's the X Factor we've been missing when going forward. Even the half chance (Eto'o) we created in the second half came off a pass from him. We really need to play him more IMO.

Our best player at the moment.

He's good enough to start and he's better at going forward than Cole is. This will allow more freedom for Hazard and co. on that left flank as teams tend to ignore and contain Cole very easily whereas it's different for Ryan. Really hope he gets to start the next few games.

Spot on. It's why I want Mata to start against Fulham. Like you said, we need order in our attack, and Mata truly brings that. Jose just needs to put his faith and belief into that. Mata was a leader last season but he's sort of been diminished into a squad player. Not one of Mourinho's best motivational tricks in my opinion. Mata is still our most dangerous forward especially with Hazard not performing. Speaking of Hazard: he seems to play a lot better when Juan does. I agree with you that we need some Juan magic. We need Mata in top form very soon.

I think him playing the holding role is the reason why he probably couldn't impose himself on the game today. Should've played next to a Ramires or a Mikel, but also not to forget this was his first game this season and like every player - you need minutes. The bad performance wasn't really his fault though.

Ah and the "blame Luiz for every goal/loss" song is slowly starting up again I see.

Pretty sure we'll win this one. Too much doom and gloom in here. People are forgetting we have quality players and that a few bad games doesn't make us inferior to Fulham. Hope to see JT and Azpilicueta starting. Also going to have Ramires back which is a massive plus. We'll see how much character this bunch has. We have to win. My team: Cech Azpilicueta - Luiz - JT - Bertrand Rambo - Mikel Willian - Mata - Oscar Eto'o Cole has not been good over the last few games - think he needs a rest plus I think Bertrand will give us more going forward. Azpilicueta deserves a game. I'm saying Rambo and Mikel in midfield because I want Mata to start - he doesn't have to worry about defending as much. Hazard to come off the bench because he has not been consistent enough when starting a game. At the same time I don't want to drop Oscar as he has been our best player this season so far. Even though it's pretty hard to accommodate him and Mata it's worth a go I believe. I don't mind KDB starting ahead of Mata either though. Eto'o to start for me as I still think he's our biggest threat as a striker. The above team probably won't happen but it was just a suggestion we'll see. Mourinho needs to start picking our best team consistently pretty soon because we need to start picking it up now. Come on you blues.

Probably the biggest reason why we haven't had a good start to the season. Our two best players have not been playing to the level we expect them to be.

What the hell? I'm not blaming them, where the hell did you get that from? All I'm saying is that the atmosphere was flat and that reflected in our play.

I wasn't at the game but the atmosphere sounded (and felt) so bad. The fans really didn't make The Bridge a fortress tonight.

Missed the first half but I heard it wasn't inspiring (one shot on target?). The major problem for me is that we don't have an identity yet, and it doesn't seem like we're working towards one either. It seems that the attacking players are confused about what we might be doing (except for Oscar who has pretty much been our best player this season) which is really sad. I think the vision is for our attacking players to be dynamic, fluidly interchanging positions to confuse the opposition but it really isn't working. We don't seem to have a focal point anywhere in the team based on that last game. I think that Azpilicueta must play, simply because one thing that we seem to be missing is a threat from our full backs. Ashley Cole isn't a threat going forward, nor is Ivanovic (from open play). I'll watch the game again in a few days or so to verify what I'm thinking, but right now it isn't looking good. Mourinho must get more out of these players.

We haven't been playing a counter attacking system in the last two games though.

I'm not sure Eto'o is really a poacher anymore, he's being deployed as a deep lying forward here - regardless, we could do with a more physical type, like a Giroud or Mandzukic like you said - there seems to be no focal point in the team at the moment, we're just faffing the ball about. But you're right, someone like the two aforementioned would maybe be the striker we need. I actually think Lewandowski is the perfect striker for us at the moment. His availability is questionable though.

Gone on the ignore list.

Basel want to win it more than we do, simple. Embarrassing from the lads, really is.

Loooool!

Eto'o's achievements with his teams blows Torres' out of the water but that doesn't matter - you were saying Torres had a better career when he clearly didn't, and that was the only reason I posted his achievements. Not because I wanted to, but simply because your argument that Torres had a more decorated career is obviously flawed. The achievements don't lie. You telling me Eto'o isn't one of the most decorated football players of all time either? The African Player Of The Year award, which pits Eto'o and Drogba against each other - has Eto'o winning it the most times in history - he's actually number 1 on the list of most awards won. So it really isn't "hilarious" for anyone to say Eto'o is the greatest African player ever. But whatever, I think it's best we just leave it here because the argument is obviously going off topic. I didn't say I think Eto'o is the best African footballer of all time - all I said is that many people think so. It isn't my personal opinion. Regardless, both are certainly worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Abedi Pele, Milla and George Weah.

What? So you think that Torres has had a better career than Eto'o? Torres only had 1, maybe 2 really good seasons. You can't compare that to Eto'o's career at all. Let me remind you of Samuel's club achievements: 3 Champions League titles: 2006 (in which he was MOTM), 2009, 2010 3 La Liga titles; 2005, 2006 (top scorer), 2009 1 Serie A title: 2010 2 Copa del Rey titles: 2003, 2009 2 Coppa Italia titles: 2010, 2011 2 Spanish Supercup titles: 2006, 2007 1 Italian Supercup title: 2011 How anyone could say Eto'o, whom many regard as one of it not the greatest African player ever hasn't had a better career than Torres is really beyond me. Eto'o has definitely had the better career by far.

Weiss' goal against PSG was insane!

Don't really need him IMO.

We didn't play counter attack against Everton. It's a myth that Mourinho has a set system for the squad.

What? I'm not sure if you're trolling or not. Eto'o never been the better footballer? That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. Where the hell have you been in the last 2 and a half years?Torres has one of the poorest ball controlling skills in the whole squad, have you not seen how often he loses the ball? He's nowhere near Eto'o's level. To say he has better dribbling skills as well is mind baffling and to say you think Eto'o isn't an aerial threat means that you obviously haven't watched him enough at all. How does better "communication" make him a better footballer? Torres is one of the quietest players on the pitch. Not sure what you've been watching. Torres has NEVER been a technical striker. When it comes to pure footballing skill, Eto'o is miles ahead, don't know how anyone could think otherwise. I'm not going to say much because I'm genuinely baffled how anyone could (especially a Chelsea fan who's endured crap over the last two and a half years) think Torres is the better footballer... That's similar to saying Torres is better than Drogba. I'm just going to let Eto'o do the talking himself over the course of the season.

Are you serious? In what way is Torres technically better than Eto'o?

How many times do you have to regurgitate the same stuff? It's all you've been saying in the last few pages. Give it a rest already.