Superblue

A lot of strikers have come over to the Premier League and taken time to bed in. Top strikers at that too. With the market the way it is, I cannot see the club splashing out serious money on a new striker unless (1) they can get top dollar back for Morata (or possibly Batshuayi) or (2) they sell Hazard and re-invest most of these funds in a striker. I think he has to be given time to adapt fully to the league. Earlier in the season, he showed that there is obvious talent there. The biggest adjustment which he is failing to get to grips with at the moment is holding the ball up and the physical nature of the league. He goes down way too easily at the moment, and that's ok in the right circumstances (think Drogba) but he also needs to be strong and hold up the ball in other circumstances. I agree with others though, if he fails to adapt to this way of the league next season we could very well be struggling again.

Willian's form couldn't have come at a better time because it gives Jose a headache as he can no longer just focus on setting up to stop Hazard. We need some big performances and I'd like to see the defence stay the same because I feel it's our best and most solid trio currently. But we should have nothing to fear going to Old Trafford, and a win will take the pressure off of us and put it squarely on United whether they could be the team to miss out on top 4.

Now I've had chance to think about the night and digest the game, firstly its a perfect example of why football is so unique for providing such a rollercoaster of emotions. From starting the game hoping, to nervousness, then to frustration when Willian hit both posts, to elation and finally to disappointment. The performance was very good tonight, a throw back to a few years ago and its a complement to the players that having started the game just hoping to still be in the tie, we finish it disappointed to draw 1-1. Everyone put in a shift tonight. Pedro wasn't at his best offensively but he run himself into the ground for the team, doing a lot of pressing so that Hazard didn't need to waste energy. It was also the best I've seen Fabregas play for a long time in such a big game. The back 3 should be our first choice now for the rest of the season. Azpi is immense and leads by example, Rudiger will continue to get better as he plays a run of games more. I'm disappointed for Christensen with his mistake but he will have to learn and learn quickly. Unfortunately this is one of the downsides to younger players is that they will make mistakes (Scott did something similar against Hull) and will be frustrating at times but it's a learning curve and he has proven this season he is by far our best option in that position. I'm glad Conte backed him after the game and I hope he continues to do so by playing him as his undisputed number one centre back. Willian is really starting to hit a bit of form now, alongside Hazard and I'm just hoping that it kicks us on now for a very difficult and important run of games. Special mention to for Conte. He got his tactics spot on for me tonight. It left us compact, but when we had the ball we looked direct and dangerous. You feel that this was a game that really got him going and you could see that he was back to his old, vibrant best on the touchline. When he is like this, I don't see anyone out there that is realistically attainable that is on his level as a coach. The biggest question will be can he keep this little bit of momentum going and help us kick on again.

He would potentially be an achievable target then if he isn't used enough at Madrid. I didn't realise he was so young still too as he has been around for a fair while. We do need a player of that ilk in the summer. I would argue that it's our biggest requirement, although it would hopefully not be at the detriment of losing Hazard and, to a little lesser extent, Courtois.

I was actually thinking Kovacic earlier myself. The problem is I haven't watched enough of him to give my own view but I have heard good things about him. Could he do a job as the midfielder we are crying out for that can play alongside Kante and dictate the tempo and rhythm of a game, whilst also being mobile and dynamic enough to get around the pitch?

It would be interesting to know what they value Bale at because it has to be somewhere between £80 - 100m. I would still want to keep Hazard who is far more durable than Bale and in my opinion has significantly more natural talent. Bale is very direct and relies far more on his pace which with his injury record will only decline over the next couple of years. If Hazard does have to go to Madrid I would far rather get a different player or two in the package.

That's a cracking goal. However many goals he scores though, loaning him out was the best thing Chelsea could do. He wasn't trusted by Conte and wasn't getting regular games. Playing and scoring goals for a big club in a competitive league can only do his confidence wonders and help his continual development. If he comes back next season full of confidence and a breath of fresh air, our crop of strikers alongside Morata and Giroud could suddenly look the strongest it's been for a long time.

When Spurs play a back 3 which position does he usually play? I would actually prefer us to revert back to a back 4 next season. Whether that happens or not we'll see, but if we did he would be an excellent choice to partner Christensen at centre back.

Any negotiations with Spurs would be hard, but he has 18 months left on his contract or Spurs apparently can extend by another year and trigger a £25m release clause which teams would snap up. He may well force their hand. For me he would be a perfect partner at the back for Christensen. Either a back 3 also involving Azpi or a back 4 with Azpi at right back should be extremely solid. If there is any possibility to make such a move we should be all over this. City having brought Laporte are now pretty well stocked in defence (depending on Kompany's situation). United would more likely be the ones to make a real push for him over anyone.

Agree, I feel as the game wore on he actually got worse. I think this was partly as he tired and there was a period at the start of the second half where West Brom pushed a little bit and we were struggling to get out. He was trying to flick the ball or bring someone into play when really he just needed to hold on to the ball for a few seconds to help us get out and support him. I like what I saw in the first half though. I think he will score goals and play better as he gets fitter and used to the way we play. It's easy to say he's used to the league but it also takes time for players to get used to a different team in the same league with a different style of play. I think we'll be more receptive to chucking the ball into the box for him at times that Arsenal wouldn't have been prepared to do. I think this will benefit him at times, and also gives us an alternative option. Also pleased to see Morata back. He was poor before his injury but the rest I think will do him some good and the added competition will push him on and prevent us from flogging him to death.

It's not just that Christensen is a very good defender and extremely comfortable on the ball, but it's the confidence others around him seem to have when he's alongside them. Azpilicueta is the best case, who does not look comfortable alongside Luiz or Cahill anymore because I don't think he trusts them and is regularly needing to cover for them. It was the best and most solid game I've seen from him in the last few weeks. Rudiger on that left side of defence for me is our best option too at the moment, He's quicker and stronger than Cahill and he's far more comfortable with the ball on his left hand side. The standing ovation for Christensen when he came off shows how far along he's come this season and I believe in both the minds of the fans and now Conte that he's undisputed number 1 in that position now for the club.

Huge game just got bigger with United's loss today. A win to head into the United game just 3 points behind them, gives us a huge opportunity to drag them further into the fight themselves and I believe would be a big bonus against United as Mourinho will almost certainly then play more cautiously. The way things are going at the moment, I look at United as potentially the most vulnerable team for the top 4 places beyond ourselves and we need to make sure we're right on their coat-tails.

There is absolutely no chance we'll buy all of those players. It would cost hundreds of millions. We also have to be realistic that there won't be such a large cull of the squad. Maybe a few leave but not half the squad. In my opinion there are three important areas we need to improve on: I would say one and two are the most important because I think that a back four of Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen and Emerson can work, especially if we can buy a midfield which will help us hold onto the ball far better in the midfield. City's defence is average but are rarely tested because of their dominance in possession. The other player i would love us to buy if possible is Sessegnon who I think could develop into a top notch player and would provide genuine competition to Emerson (especially if he never fully recovers to his best from his injury). 2 or 3 world class players is what we need. If the squad needs filling out with a couple more, then use the academy (Hudson-Odoi, Ampadu) and/or bring a couple back from loan (Zouma, Kenedy, Batshuayi, Abraham, Loftus-Cheek). More than enough options to freshen up the squad without having to spend money unnecessarily.

Don't get me wrong, I think Pochettino is a very good coach and has definitely developed and progressed a lot of players at Spurs, but he is incredibly fortunate to have Harry Kane in his team. I know he broke through under Pochettino but he wouldn't give him many chances for a long while in his first season despite Spurs fans begging him to do so. But I think if you put Kane and his goals in any of the other top teams, they would be pushing City for the title (think Suarez at Liverpool). That volume of goals from your striker is absolute golden and they benefit immensely from that where other teams competing don't.

I agree. Certainly in his formative years, he is better placed playing deeper as opposed to the pressure of playing as the lone striker but I think he could develop to play that position also. In the current situation though with Morata out, he should definitely be first choice backup for the striker spot behind Giroud.

Reading the whole interview he's talking about his kids and that one day he'll live in Madrid. That could be at the end or after his career. He also said he's happy at Chelsea and in negotiations to renew his contract. If we reinvested to get a keeper of a similar standard I wouldn't be too concerned, but recent transfer history suggests that wouldn't happen so I'd much rather keep him as, on form, he's one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.

He has something we sorely lack within our squad. Raw pace. It scares defenders (just ask Cahill) and pushes teams back and pins them in. Recently teams haven't been scared to press us high because we haven't got enough pace and directness getting in behind. He certainly deserves to be within the first team squad and an option from the bench. He offers a 3rd choice striker option which should be far more effective than Hazard and one of the deeper or wider options too.

Agree with this, I think they'll have plans in place for next season and believed they could get by until the end of the season with Conte. After the last week or so, they will want to accelerate those plans and that doesn't happen over night (certainly not with this board).

It might sound stupid after the last 2 results, but I actually think it's the right thing to do. The players are shot mentally and physically at the moment, what's the point in running them into the ground even more when we have a week before we play again? Don't quote me on this, but i think this may be the first time in about 2-3 months that the club has had a week between games and a lot of the players have been flogged to death during that period.

I said a few weeks back he needed taking out of the firing line asap. We had Drinkwater and Fabregas on the bench last night so there was no excuses for continuously playing him, especially after his performance against Bournemouth. Unfortunately I cannot see a way back now. By not taking him out sooner, which would have given him time the relationship he has now with Chelsea fans has become toxic. He just will not be accepted now, it's as simple as that. I do feel the best we can hope for is loaning him out next season and hoping he gets back to somewhere like his Monaco best which would allow us to minimise the hit we'd take on selling him.

We're in a much more precarious position than in previous times in my opinion. I agree with the comments regarding Conte last night. His reaction to Hazard's goal was the biggest indicator to me. Last season he would have been barking at the players, encouraging them to stick in there and wildly celebrating that goal. To have no emotion in that moment speaks volumes. The bigger issue is who is he replaced with because I don't see a stand out option available. I'm not sold on Luis Enrique who had arguably the most potent attack in club football history at his disposal alongside a number of world class players and proven winners across the team at Barca.

The same goes for Emerson. If he was fit for the bench why didn't he start because it left us with Zappacosta and Cahill on the left hand side, neither comfortable with their left foot and always wanting to cut back inside. I would much rather start someone and if they are struggling, or aren't match fit to play the 90 minutes they can come off. It's surely a greater risk to bring them on as a sub only to see them break down and then have to use another sub?!

I'd include Azpilicueta in that bracket too. Again, he's another that isn't his usual standards but there were at least 3 or 4 times last night he tracked the last man when the rest of the team stopped in the hope he'd deal with it.

Whilst I am a firm believer of a lack of identity at the club and have posted a number of times about the lack of vision and long term planning finally starting to catch up with us, the fact is without Roman and his money we wouldn't have won the league titles, domestic cups and european titles that we have done in the past 15 years. We could very well have gone the same way as Leeds did considering the mess we were in at the time.

He's looked off the pace the last few games to be honest, but he's far too important for us to risk resting him.