The Skipper

LOL what the hell?

Amazing mate. Keep it up.

Fantastic today. Please keep it up for the rest of the season Fernando.

In the 2nd half we lost control and City were all over us in midfield until Mikel was brought on to stabilise the ship a bit.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. What a player. Just imagine what he'll do when he has a WC partner with him in the pivot.

Yeah, thought it was Ramires too.

Gave us the stability we needed when he came on. Decent performance and did his bit in providing the platform for us to nick the game.

Yeah, I felt he was poor but only because I have very high expectations of him. He was probably our worst attacking player today, and I was looking for him to step up especially after we conceded the goal which he didn't. I felt Zabaleta had him in his pocket for most of the game tbh. First bad game in a while though. Hopefully he can look past it and continue pressing.

He wasn't. Cahill played him on.

Lol. It's my biggest problem with Cahill, how he backs off of strikers almost every time. Aguero punished him.

Agreed. He's absolutely bossed it today.

Torres is actually playing with heart.

Fair play Torres. We should be up by 2 though - Cahill and Torres misses might not go unpunished.

I think (and hope) that once the game does open up and if we do still need a couple of goals, Mata & Willian are great options to bring on from the bench.

...Pep should pass over whatever drugs he's on.

Nice, solid counter attacking team, with good options on the bench. Should be a good game.

@chelseafc: Team v @MCFC: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry ©, Cole; Ramires, Lampard; Hazard, Oscar, Schurrle; Torres. #CFC @chelseafc: Substitutes v @MCFC : Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, D Luiz, Mikel, Willian, Mata, Etoo. #CFC

Yaya Toure playing as the most advanced midfielder today. Hope Mikel starts (and has a good game) to counter this.

Off-topic:Can you at least try and structure proper sentences. Your posts are a pain to read.

We don't have anyone to aim for in the box, plus City's threat from out wide this season (as in crosses) is there for anyone to see. Negredo and Aguero have scored a league high of 5 headed goals if I do remember correctly, and having Ivanovic at the back, who has been in good form in general this season, will simmer that threat down. City's left side does not have pace either (except for Clichy, but he's not that good going forward), so we don't need to worry about that as much. Also, add in the fact that Cesar has barely played, it's a bit unwise to throw him in now. But as you said, Ivanovic must start in this one.

Don't understand why people want Azpilicueta to start over Ivanovic...

Says the one who keeps dismissing anything he says because of his age...

Well, you and I clearly have a very different perspective of a "complete midfielder". You don't need to tell me how good Claude was, he was the best in his role and that's why he even had it named after himself. My dispute is that he wasn't the complete midfielder and you've mentioned that in your post yourself. A complete midfielder is someone like Y. Toure or Essien in his prime - one that does everything well, not one that's just a specialised player.

No, he didn't "control the game from deep". He was exceptional at tackling and defending, tactically he was astute, but when it came to the other side of the i.e. going forward, scoring goals, having the technique to dribble or drive past players etc. he didn't have that, so you can't call him a complete midfielder. Makelele was very good at what he did, he was the best, but he was never was a complete midfielder.

@hjperdeath, ignore him. Anyone that can decisively conclude after 3 months that Mourinho has failed to effectively use his players is pretty deluded. A knowledgable football fan would give said manager (not just Mourinho, anyone) a few more months, possibly a whole season before coming to any serious conclusions. The fact that he needs to keep repeating your age is also ridiculous, don't be phased by it, you're well ahead and advanced past most people when it comes to the tactical side of the game. I wouldn't even reply to him if I were you. What the man is basically saying is that anyone could do what Mourinho does or has done which is absolutely mind boggling.