Superblue

Pace isn't everything. He could be the quickest player in world football but it won't improve his defending at set pieces, or his crossing ability, or his lack of concentration and awareness of what is around him. Ferreira is an accomplished and experienced DEFENDER. Defending should be the main strength of any defender IMO, and ability going forward is a bonus. Ferreira was one of our best players against Fulham.

Never been the same player since his injury 2 years ago. I understand AVB preferring Bosingwa to Brana because a natural full back provides width and balance to the team. I would actually prefer to use Ferreira more. His best days are definately past him and although he doesn't possess the same pace as Bosingwa he is a much more solid and reliable defender, better concentration and positional awareness. Although he isn't likely to take the ball on high up the pitch and take on the full back, he can still get up and down the flank and at least when he does he can cross the ball in. Van Der Wiel is not as good as people think if we are talking about replacements. For me, I wish Srna was a couple of years younger. If Arsenal struggle this year, possibly a move for Sagna?

I don't condone some of the comments people are making, but I must admit I've never rated Kalou. For me just watching Sturridge this season and how dangerous and a goal threat he poses justifies my opinion. I fully agree with the comments that so many managerial changes cannot help, but there have been a lot of players who have flourished at Chelsea despite the number of managerial changes. I do believe though that AVB is going to be given a real fair crack of the whip and Kalou's limited chances so far are not a coincidence. After the penalty, his general play was also dreadful and you could easily see how badly his confidence was effected by it. This incident could go one of two ways. It will either be the end of Kalou, and therefore AVB will keep him much on the periphery until he can offload him. In this instance I could see a loan move in January which will hopefully help us sell him for a decent fee in the summer (say £6-8m). We could always bring Kakuta back, who although hasn't shined like was expected, hasn't really had the opportunities yet. OR if AVB still views Kalou as part of his plans, I can see him starting with him on Sunday. This could well prove to be a masterstroke as Kalou is very much a confidence player, and may give him the boost he needs.

I can understand the logic behind AVB's preference to play Bosingwa over Brana at full back because the natural width Bosingwa gives brings a balance to the team. However, the recent poor defending at set pieces can almost be entirely blamed on Bosingwa's defensive deficiencies and lack of concentration. Bolton, although they try to play a bit more under Coyle, still have strength at attacking set pieces, so playing Bosingwa would definately be a worry for me. Therefore in this game I would go with Ivanovic at right back, with David Luiz and Terry in the centre (I assume Alex is still suspended). I expect Lampard to play after getting the goal last night and Ramires' energy is vital. Therefore the holding midfield role will be between Mikel and Meireles. I expect Meireles to take it on the basis that Mikel has played 90 minutes both Saturday and yesterday. I believe if Sturridge is fit then Drogba may remain on the bench and be given a good half hour. Sturridge, Mata and Anelka as the front three. If Sturridge is not fully fit, then Anelka, Mata and Drogba.

I can understand the stance of Chelsea fans unhappy with the way Kalou is criticised but in my opinion he just isn't good enough. I would much rather let Kalou leave and keep Anelka for another year as a squad player. Kalou used to at the very least be a good impact player from the bench...unfortunately he isn't even doing that anymore. I think his time is running out. He has figured in a limited capacity under AVB so far, and if any positive is to come of this it is only going to enhance Sturridge's standing for a starting berth.

I think the manager will rotate again a little simply because we have once again played a significant period of time with 10 men. I think David Luiz will come in, and so will Lampard. I would imagine Torres will play simply because Valencia and Genk are the only two chances he has to play until the end of October. But I would imagine Drogba to get 30 minutes against Valencia ready for starting in Torres' absence. It will be interesting to see how Terry is, as I heard he struggled through the game today. I also think AVB is reluctant to play Brana at right back because he wants a more naturally suited full back, and I have a feeling Ferreira may play instead of Bosingwa in the week. It will be our most difficult group game, so I would definately take a draw now.

I know Kalou gets a lot of flak but he does take an awesome penalty, he always seems to put them top corner...perfect spot. Lampard take note please

The Romeu situation is very different to Fabregas. Firstly Fabregas moved when arguably Arsenal were stronger at the time than Barcelona, and the Premier League was just peaking. He also left very young, he never had the opportunity to prove to himself if he could force his way into the Barcelona squad. Romeu on the other hand has left Barcelona when they are clearly the best team in the world and at 19, has much more of an idea in his mind if he would have a chance of breaking into their squad. If he flourishes at Chelsea and is playing regularly, why would he move back when Barca have Busquets who is only 3 years older? It's not just Romeu, Barca have brokered the same deal with any young players sold in the summer. They have a similar deal with Bojan at Roma, and to be fair is something we should look to do when we let a lot of our younger players leave. Even if they try to buy him back, he doesn't have to move so let's just enjoy him and show him our full support, and then hopefully if Barca do try to take him back, he will reject them.

It would make sense if we were interested as we poached Everton's main scout in the summer and he was the person who actually discovered Barkley for Everton.

I'm glad we're looking at a younger element when it comes to signing players. The problem is being able to ascertain if they can realise their potential, as some players don't and prove to be a waste of money. £20m is a lot of money, but United paid £30m for Rooney when everyone felt it was ridiculous and a risk to spend so much money but it has paid off massively. It's a risk but it may be one worth taking...as long as it's not to the detriment of Josh McEachran.

I expect us to make changes, but I also expect Fulham to rest a few, bearing in mind the size of their squad and they too are in Europe. However you don't want a squad purely just kids, you still need some experience to hopefully get us through the game with a win. I would also like us to play again 4-2-3-1 as opposed to 4-3-3. GK Turnbull/Hilario LB Bertrand RB Ferreira CB David Luiz CB Alex CM Romeu CM Lampard/Mikel RW Kalou/Anelka AM McEachran LW Malouda ST Lukaku Subs - Hilario/Turnbull, Chalobah, Billy Clifford, Mikel, Meireles, Sturridge/Anelka, Drogba Try to give Drogba some game time (if fit), possibly to come on and play with Lukaku would be interesting if we were to slightly adapt to a change in formation. Lampard IMO should play against Fulham both for his experience, and to hopefully see a reaction from him to being subbed at half time. If we don't see a performance it might prove to be a long way back for Frank. Maybe have another couple of the youngsters on the bench to blood in if things go well - Chalobah, Billy Clifford. With European games now up and running, we must give some players a night off - Cech, Bosingwa, Terry (no longer need to play him in games like this anymore), Ivanovic, A Cole, Ramires, Mata, Torres.

There are three key things for me that will benefit Torres: 1. AVB seems to have a lot of confidence in him and see's him as his first choice striker, having started 5 out of 6 games so far this season. 2. The change in formation to 4-2-3-1 is something I talked about using at the beginning of the season. Meireles and Ramires have the energy and drive to play in a 2 man midfield, and although we rode our luck at times. it's ironic that the we didn't concede in the second half when we dropped the holding midfielder. Such a formation allows Mata to play in the perfect position for him, essentially a free role behind Torres to be able to drift around and dictate the play seamlessly. Any two then of Anelka, Sturridge and Malouda gives Torres more support higher up the pitch without crowding him out allowing him the space to keep running in behind defenders. If goals do start to come aswell and teams become more wary of Torres, it will benefit the attacking trio around him who can benefit from Torres pulling defenders away, etc with his clever movement. 3. The style of play is taking shape, as Mata and Meireles seem to have given our midfield and attack an extra edge. If David Luiz plays at the back in most games he also gives something extra to the team's direct style of play. What Torres said in his interview is just what we have all been saying this whole time. It's therefore no real surprise that he has looked at his most dangerous for a long time when we are spotting his runs and playing the ball to him an extra touch or two quicker. Yes Torres snapped at a couple of chances but in all fairness to him he has fed on scraps in a lot of games, as those chances keep coming he will put them away on a more regular and clinical basis GUARANTEED. His willingness and determination to run and work for the team was evident yesterday and the goals will start flowing, I believe starting with Swansea at home. Finally I agree with everyone about the papers, but I must admit I was actually pleasantly surprised Sky Sports coverage didn't play on it more. Graeme Souness, who has been massively critical of Torres' form, was very complimentary of him and said he has no doubts now that Torres can return to his old form.

Form is temporary, class is permanent.

I may be going crazy, but I have this real strong gut feeling that Torres will score Sunday and we'll get something out of the game. Don't ask me why, but he has the ability and his work ethic is so much better than I saw at Liverpool, he just desperately needs a goal and I'm sure a glut more will be round the corner. I know United have been very impressive this season but they haven't played anyone near our level, I just think Fergie may be more cagey and play some experience such as Ferdinand, Carrick, Fletcher, etc and that might well play into our hands.

I actually think his style brings a freshness to the team, and there is no doubt when he does step in to make a tackle or interception and it comes off, it lifts the crowd. He was one of the big reasons we started hitting form again in the second half of last season. However I just think against the very best teams and players it's a risk as the last line of defence, and United at Old Trafford I just worry he will be walking a tightrope on every tackle and decision made. United fans will also not forget he should have been sent off at the Bridge last season and play on that every time he commits a foul.

For how much I love David Luiz, we cannot afford to play him at centre back at Old Trafford, he will walk a tightrope all game. However, we would then lose his energy and creative ability on the ball, I would love to see him play the holding midfielder role, but without prior experience is this too big a risk at Old Trafford. The only thing I'm thinking though is whether the best way to take United down is to spring a surprise on them. Fergie has been doing it for years. What could even be done is have our holding midfielder man mark Rooney, who will likely drop deep a lot anyway. It would leave two against their two in midfield and I would like to think two from Ramires, Meireles and Lampard could take two from Anderson, Carrick and Fletcher. I would similarly prefer not to play Bosingwa as he is simply not a good enough defender against top class opposition. For me: -------------------------Cech------------------------- Ivanovic---------Alex-----------Terry---------Cole -------------------David Luiz------------------------- --------Ramires/Meireles----Lampard------------ ----Sturridge---------------------------Mata-------- ------------------------Torres------------------------

I watched him a few times for Liverpool last season and he was by far their most creative and skillful player. When we signed him I commented that he would be an excellent signing and much preferred over being held to ransom on Modric. I think the general consensus was we didn't get 'the big one' and Meireles wasn't seen as a creative player, but I fully expect him to quash this perception very quickly. I agree that he could do damage further up the field but AVB pulled a masterstroke playing him in the deeper role. It's clear the ball gets stuck in our midfield far too much and for too long, and he is someone who likes to play forward and release the ball quickly. We already have the players up top, and on Saturday especially Mata and Sturridge who can hurt teams but the ball needs to be fed to them quickly. I would not have expected Mikel or Lamps on current form to play that pass for Sturridge's goal. Meireles, Mata and Sturridge give our team a whole new dimension, and when David Luiz is also up and running I think we'll soon hit our stride.

Papers today suggest Milan are keeping tabs on Fernando Torres' current situation, and would be open to the possibility of a swap deal involving Pato, an apparent long term target of AVB. Would anyone take that? For me personally I would love to see Torres come good, if anything to shut the scousers up, but if he's still struggling come January, how long can we really afford to give him, taking into account he will be 28 in March. Having seen how positive our young signings have been over the last 12 months (that includes Ramires and David Luiz), I would not be against signing Pato.

There's always an element of bias when comparing players whereby some play for Chelsea. Let's just concentrate on our own players and giving them the support and encouragement they're going to need to help realise the undoubted potential a number of them have. Lukaku has huge potential, perhaps to even develop to become one of the best strikers in the world and I am delighted the club pushed through a deal for him this summer.

The homegrown quotas have obviously hindered us over the last couple of seasons in not being able to utilise fully the 25 man squad. I have rated Gary Cahill highly for the last couple of years, and believe he is the type of player who will blossom the higher the standard he reaches. I would not be against us selling Alex (who I also rate very highly, but taking into consideration the homegrown rules and ages) for £8-10m in January and using that money on Cahill.

It would have been nice for him to reach 100 caps but I just don't see it, he's still 13 away. I'm selfish and would rather him retire from international duty in the best interests of Chelsea!

Lampard being dropped from the England team had to be one of the biggest positives for our club at this stage of the season. Knowing the character of Lampard over the years, I would expect this to be a wake up call for him to knuckle down and push himself again, which hopefully means dynamic, match winning performances we haven't seen for over a year. He has to do this if he wants to win his England place back. Capello's brave decision to drop Lampard may also encourage AVB to also drop Lampard if he continues to perform poorly. However it could also work another way in which Lampard, at 33, decides to retire from international duty and focus on Chelsea, which would hopefully prolong his career and benefit his performance and fitness levels for at least these last two years of his contract. I would imagine such a scenario wouldn't happen until at the earliest the end of the Euros, although if Lamps gets vibes that his international career is as good as over he may decide to end it given his age and stage of his career.

Fully agree. I believe we are in a state of transition, as we blood a younger generation of players and slowly phase out some of the older players. However I believe we have a young, bold manager capable of bringing us through this transition with as minimum fuss as possible. Yes United look good but they're biggest test is to come...replacing Fergie. He won't carry on forever and that will be a huge burden for United. And City are still building an identity and a spine of players, they're not the finished article.

Can't understand why Bertrand isn't a 'club trained' player. We've owned his registration for over 3 years between the age of 15 and 21 haven't we?

He's still young enough to not have to be included in the 25 man squad. You have to be included in the squad if you are over the age of 21, hence why Sturridge and Bertrand have to be in the squad this year as opposed to previous years. The club can field unlimited amounts of under 21 players during the year and not include them in their 25 man squad, i.e. McEachran, Lukaku, Romeu, etc