BlueLion.

Absolutely in love with this man. If anyone says he isn't a team player, look at all the defensive work he did. He did better defensively than Bertrand did, to such an extent that for the last 7 minutes di Matteo had Ivanovic and Bertrand to swap over because of how poorly Ryan was playing. That gave Eden the chance to bomb forward. Such a vital player for us. When he plays well, we win. Its as simple as peas.

Dear John, Our defence is a shambles without your organisation. Ivanovic blows hot-and-cold, that floppy-haired twat does sod-all and Cashley ain't doing too well either... get your ass back, boy! Love from Alex xxx

Bertrand had a fucking nightmare yesterday. Any player with pace (ie the whole Shakhtar team) was skipping past him like he wasn't there. Plus, he must have slipped over twice. His overall positioning was shocking, to such an extent our most creative player (Hazard) had to come back and double-up. Ivanovic had an average game at right-back, but I can count on the fingers on one hand the amount of times he got beat yesterday. Bertrand was roasted alive. We have to be very patient with Ryan. People saying he is ready to be Cole's successor are rather wide of the mark. He is still very young and has good potential, so we must give him chance to improve. But he is certainly streets behind Cole, or even Baines, at present.

Atmosphere last night was a bit subdued in the Shed Upper, where I was sat. Very noisy in the MHL I could tell, but when the whole Shed was singing together, it was some fucking racket. Trust me, it really is the microphone positioning at the ground. Stamford Bridge can be very noisy.

The Fernando Torres I saw last night was by some distance our best player. Funny how well he plays when you watch the game live, you really do appreciate his movement more.

As I've already said, Drogba scored goals with just Mata behind him. Torres has Mata, Oscar and Hazard and is utterly useless. Get rid.

Embarrassed to say I support this club, at times. We just cannot stop ourselves from feeding ammunition to the haters. People like these deserve life bans, but what they do in terms of damaging the club's credibility and PR work is double that. Shocking to see, especially in this day-and-age. Of course the recent race storms will only exacerbate this.

Call me cynical... but Drogba would not have made the top five if he hadn't have scored that penalty in Munich. #1 for me will always be Frank Lampard.

I have solved our forward line issues. Play this man:

I'd quite like to see us play a goalkeeper as well.

Correct. He's said as much. If the day comes he isn't wanted in a playing capacity by the club, he'll join the Academy as a mentor and coach.

Its fine for me, and my screen resolution... what operating system do you use as a browser?

Cech has been brilliant all season, so far. I can count on one hand the amount of mistakes he has made, and only one has led to a goal (Guthrie's goal for Reading). There is very little he could have done about any other goal he has conceded this season, for my money. He also has the highest saves-to-shots ratio (87%) of any goalkeeper to have faced more than 20 efforts in Europe's top 5 leagues (EPL, Serie A, Bundesliga, la Liga, Ligue Un).

Correct. However that comes with the territory of playing the role he does. Like Petr Cech as the goalkeeper. Both positions command incredible concentration, and even the slightest slip-ups will be heavily criticised because they are so costly (for a goalkeeper it is concession, for a deep midfielder it is loss of possession and exposure of the defence). However Cech is applauded for making a save, and no-one bats an eyelid when Mikel makes a brilliant block or interception. He is arguably the most important player in our team. He is the base of every attack with the way he breaks down the opposition play and instigates offensive football by a simple pass. At the same time he is the pivot point of the defence and an important part of our rearguard. In essence he fulfils two roles, and he does it brilliant. Granted he has his off-days, but so does every player. It all just boils down to the territory of his position. Mikel, to me, has always been integral. There is a reason when, even as a teenager, José Mourinho would pick him for every big match. Every coach we have had since has followed suit because they recognise his importance from a defensive/disciplinary point of view.

Granted, but it is what you make of your chances. Kakuta played for this club 16 times. That is 16 times to impress the coach. Instead he overdid everything, went for goal from distance all the while, tried to nutmeg one player too many, etc. etc. He is a very selfish individual with no idea of the team game, and that is why he was left on the Chelsea bench whilst Oscar, a purveyor of the beautifully-simple game, is a superstar at 21.

And suddenly its fashionable to like Mikel. Those of us who have backed him since 2008 are feeling pretty smug, right? At least until it becomes fashionable to slate him again.

Yes we're on a great run - but Shakhtar are on an equally as good run. A draw is a great result. A win would be incredible. I'd happily take a point from this game. 4 points from six is the minimum against this side if we want to progress.

What a waste. Shit attitude. Look at what Oscar has done with his talent, or someone like Cristiano Ronaldo. One of them is the best player in the world (arguably) and the other has the potential to be an absolute superstar, because of their incredible mindsets. Kakuta, on the other hand, is so laissez-faire its incredible. What an absolute waste of potential.

Please ask before advertising. Its just common courtesy, isn't it?

The member chealsist has been permanently banned for a racist remark, posted earlier today. The user was given an instant level-three ban, which is a permanent suspension from the site. I would like to remind all users that TalkChelsea.net has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism, or any other form of discrimination. TalkChelsea is a universal forum, used by people of all ages, genders, races and creeds, and therefore posting such material is as incredibly distasteful and offensive as it is painstakingly stupid. Please help us address this issue by reporting any explicit content to an Administrator or Moderator. Regards, Alex.

Re-opened to focus player discussion to this relevant thread.

Shed Upper or Lower, or MH Lower.

Outstanding work, btw.