CHOULO19

Call it whatever you want, I don't think he plays nearly as well in the number ten role in our system as Oscar or Willian. I thought it was a very big drop in performance. He went from being the engine of the whole team and the architect who designs the attacks and controls the tempo, to fairly limited impact on our attack, mostly through set-pieces. Salah, Schurrle and even Matic had a much bigger impact on our attack and general play than him.

How does the Mata make it worse? I didn't compare any of the abilities of Cesc to that of Mata I was just using Mata to point out how playing 10 in a certain system does not mean that you can play 10 at any system. The main difference for me is physically. Cesc does not have the strength of Oscar and Willian nor their speed. Yes, Cesc presses well, but he's literally the last one of our players you'd want to see sprint and that would be an issue if he plays the 10 because we press with a 4-4-2. Plus, playing in Oscar's position means that he'd often need to switch positions with the wingers and, unless he is taking a FK , I really don't want to see Cesc on the wing. In the final third, he just doesn't the movement and runs off the ball to create space like Oscar and Willian do and would naturally have less time and space on the ball. I really thought that yesterday proved exactly this. His performance was several notches lower than usual. He didn't have nearly as much impact on the game as he usually does and was bullied off the ball several times near the box. So, yes, if, for some reason we need to not play Cesc in the pivot in an important match, then I would not like to see him in a more advanced role as long as Oscar or Willian are available.

But you said it right there, in a completely different system which can be even more different than playing a different position, just take Mata for example. Call it playing him out of his usual role if you don't like "out of position". Unless we are going to completely change both our pressing and attacking system, I wouldn't like to see Cesc in an advanced role except to give rest to other players like yesterday.

-_________- I lost some of my will to live after reading that 'joke'...

I would much rather have Oscar or Willian in the number 10 position regardless of who is playing in the pivot. Even if Jose judges in a certain game that Rami or Mikel should start over Cesc, that doesn't mean we have to play him out of position and somehow try to jam him into the team.

Holland: "There's not a lot that he can't do, so I guess we can now add 'taking penalties' to his list of repertoires"

Yes, and he asked RLC if he has "filled into his body, yet".....

If Rami is 100% fit, he naturally he should be the one to come into the side, otherwise, Mikel replace Cesc. Though, we should really beat those with our U21s team. They're that bad!

I think Solanke should get him "a nice bottle of red wine" for yesterday. He assisted his first two goals on a silver plate and set up the move for his hat-trick goal. He looks so much more mature and developed than the rest of his teammates, even if not as talented as the likes of Boga or Musonda.

Well, I didn't say it was impossible, I said he "might not become world class". But, let's be honest, it's very unlikely. He just doesn't the technical and natural ability on the ball. But that shouldn't stop him from being a very solid defender.

I fully expected it. Roma are the biggest bottlers in Italy, especially in European competitions. They have a huge history of bottling the big matches.

jokedʒəʊk/noun 1. a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline.

The suggestion that he should be played at number 10 has been there since we signed him. Even yesterday there were a couple of "Finally Cesc at 10" posts when the team news came out. I never got that. He's much more useful when he had a bit more space and time to look up and pick a pass.

Yes, I'd definitely favor Atletico to beat City purely on physical basis, but I think in certain circumstances that City would have a chance to beat them. Can't say the same if they face Real Madrid. Probably 50-50 with Barca if they get Aguero back (and don't pussy out and try to park the bus like they did last season).

Reporter: Jose, what did you tell Ruben before he came on? Jose: I said he needs to buy a good bottle of red whine, the expensive kind, and he said "no problem".

I think City have a chance against almost anyone (bar Real) but I can't see Arsenal going through unless they get Monaco or possibly Porto. It's amazing how most people refuse to see that at the end of the day only the betting companies make money. I know several people, including a close friend, who've ruined their lives on football betting.

Yes, we all wanted to see more of him, but that was only for sake. After all, this was nothing more than a symbolic gesture to Ruben and all the talents in the academy. He obviously was not going to be part of the first team this season. It's about motivation to keep progressing and that's irrelevant of whether he gets 8 or 28 minutes. I actually agree with Jose that it was probably the right time when he brought him on because the environment was "safe" for him.

Jose said after the game what we all already could feel. Andre hasn't been fully fit for sometime and that he's just now starting to regain full fitness. Great time for him to get back in form as we'll no doubt need him in the next few weeks.

Excellent today. Out-shadowed a bit by Schurrle, but he put it an impressive performance as well. Good to know that he can deliver when called upon and he will no doubt have another chance to impress against Derby next week.

I really think Kurt is someone who, might not become worldcalss, but could become a fan favorite in the future. He's just got that something special about him: a mix of passion and charisma and willingness to get involved in the game. Don't know, I can just feel something about him.

I literally facepalmed when that happened.

I like him better playing deep

Very true. He was real bright spark for the team when he came on and gave the Newcastle defense a lot of trouble as evident by the Taylor sending off.

Went with Schurrle for MOTM. That was more like it from him. We need him on this form for the coming period. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaYaw9BObY8

Because what you are saying makes absolutely no sense. By your logic, the likes of Essien, Ballack, Meireles, Lampard, Ramires...etc. all aren't Chelsea quality because they are even much further down that table than Mikel! Surely they are a much better benchmark for comparing than Muamba since they play in the same team? I have answered all your points, answer me, if your main point isn't just to bash Mikel, how in the word did your argument move from "he gives the ball away too much from his sloppy passing" to "he only consistently has the highest passing accuracy with the most passes because he only passes sideways" in a few minutes? And why did you completely then ignore my point that he used to play more percentage of his passes forward than our other central midfielders? Tell me you don't think he's Chelsea quality, or that he is too slow to be playing for us, or that his passing lacks ambition, or that he offers nothing going forward, or that he lacks dynamism. I don't agree on all of them but I would accept your opinion. But just don't bash him with ridiculous criticism just for the sake of bashing.