Madmax

Dammit. Collect your like, you filthy animal.

Wow, you really broke your back for this one. Btw, was the last away league goal vs Hull?

I'm not saying motivation is the be all and end all or that it's a substitute for tactics or talent ... all I'm saying is that it adds on to the existing ability and should not be underestimated in it's capacity to spark that extra something that makes a difference. The better and more well drilled sides don't always win - everyone here's watched enough football to know that. You speak of the City and Newcastle games - what do you put those dropped points to? Solely worse tactics on the day? Solely sub-par execution? Maybe City were even more determined to get something once they fell a goal and a man behind. Maybe Newcastle were determined to continue their good record against us. 'Up for it' as it's called. Of course I'm not saying that we'll beat Stoke just because Mourinho will have the boys up for it ... the ability is a given (otherwise you cannot be top of the league in England, so I think you're being a little harsh in that respect, but that's another discussion). When we were 8 points ahead maybe we were guilty of switching off at times where we wouldn't have, had that gap not been so wide (Sunderland). Now that the gap's been wiped out, I expect to see a more hungry side out there, and I think that extra hunger coupled with the pre-existing quality will take care of Stoke.

Anyone else like the look of Ayoze Perez? Puts himself about, decent technique, nose for goal ...

You'd be surprised how much it actually adds on to the general level of play - both individual and collective.

Yeah, this was good for garnering exposure and eyeballs but the bread and butter is the I League.

Well contrary to most here, I'm pretty confident about tonight ugh, Monday night. Mourinho's sure to get them well up for it. Nothing motivates like fear. 2-0 Chelsea.

That's harsh .. why shouldn't Mourinho get credit for the defences he built?

He knows he's talking bollocks about Cahill ... it was a dive all day long. But it's a deliberate tactic so it's all good.

Call me naive but I honestly lapped it up whenever he talked about the youth. Once bitten, twice shy now though.

Looking at the fixtures till Aguero comes back (mid Jan): Chelsea Stoke (a), West Ham (h), So'ton (a), Spurs (a), Newcastle (h) Man City Palace (h), WBA (a), Burnley (h), Sunderland (h), Everton (a) Theirs are a shade easier.

So you're saying Mourinho lied through his teeth? Okay then.

Well Mourinho certainly thought he was ready, so what you or I feel is moot. Anyway this'll just keep going around in circles like the Mourinho thread so let's end it here.

I should've been smarter than deciding to watch that. Depressing.

So far, so good ...

Or be blatantly awarded 3 pts by the refs (Everton)

No way Palace keeps a clean sheet. Good thing is City are shit at the back so with a bit of ambition they can nick a goal or even two.

LMAO

How can you make the jump from 'he's not blameless' (which is reasonable) to 'it's all down to him' (which is not)? You speak about working hard and taking the chances offered ... well, he did that already. It was then up to us to take cognizance of that and trust him to make the step up here, even if the integration took place in installments. This is Mourinho speaking at the beginning of last season - " He could be in our squad already. But we think one more season and it will be his last one out on loan." (http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8836629/jose-mourinho-to-send-chelsea-teenager-nathaniel-chalobah-out-on-loan).He was ready. Chelsea knew it. But they failed to take the initiative, farmed him out one more time and surprise, surprise - the vagaries of the loan system struck. You can put it down to any number of things and speculate all you want about what's going on behind the scenes, but they all arise due to the basic reluctance on Chelsea's part to take him in when he was on the crest of a wave. Also, he did not choose Boro. Apparently, Mourinho 'told' him he was going there .

Can't blame him for hooking him up with terrible loans ... but you knew that.

No surprise it's a worry now ; we let him stagnate (and possibly regress) after the initial success. Can't blame the player.

Oscar clearly has a threesome fetish.

City's fixtures during Aguero's absence are a cakewalk so that's no factor at all :/

Torres would retire of cramp the moment he steps off the plane in Delhi/Mumbai.

This Madrid talk is a non-starter under the current circumstances for any number of reasons. The boy and Mourinho have a fantastic relationship; the boss is almost paternal in the way he's going about nurturing Hazard into a bonafide world class player. Eden himself loves life here, has bought into our ethos and is hungry to achieve big things. He's being paid extremely well. Chelsea don't have a record of selling their key players ... in fact I'm struggling to name one such case. He may very well have dreamt of Madrid as a teenager but he strikes me as the type of guy who lives in the real world. Money talks and who's to say heads won't be turned if a crazy offer is placed on the table, but until then the club is on the up and this is the place to be.