BlueLion.

They mainly got their chance at Milan because of a lack of options. Mikel and Robben were the same - Mourinho only really had Cole, Duff and Robben as wide men as he favoured a 4-3-3, hence the reason we've signed a fair few wingers since then. Similarly with Makelele retiring we needed a new defensive linchpin in the midfield, and the tall and athletic Mikel was ideal. Kakuta is an awkward one because he will never break through as an attacking midfielder due to Lampard and Essien and out wide there is no way he can displace Anelka or Malouda. It's hard for him, but he has potential and the ability to be a great footballer.

Was Robben really world class at 19? He was certainly very good for his age but I think you can only consider him world class based on last season at Bayern; before that he was very much an inconsistent, hit-and-miss sort of player. Kakuta probably hasn't struck you as the sort of player who can be world class because he hasn't played. You're assuming that's because Ancelotti doesn't think he is good enough to give him those minutes - however, that's where you're wrong. Ancelotti likes experienced footballers. We can see that from his old Milan side; besides Kaka and Pato, very few young players came through at the San Siro when Ancelotti was there. The same can be said of Chelsea - hence why we have signed players like Benayoun and still have the likes of Ferreira in the squad. Ancelotti likes players proven at this level; I see him as a very cautious manager. You have to consider Chelsea's position - as a big club on the world stage there is a demand for instant success. That means more Premier Leagues, more FA Cups, and an illusive first Champions League trophy. You can't win trophies like that by giving youngsters playing time. There's a reason why Arsenal have such a good quota of young players - it's because they haven't won anything in years. Wenger gives them time, which is something a club like Chelsea cannot afford to give. Sooner or later there will be a transitional season for this club where the youth are promoted and we say goodbye to the likes of Lampard, Terry and Drogba, but until then it is going to be incredibly hard for young players to even be given minutes let alone make themselves regular players. Ancelotti is under pressure to win, and when you're under that strain you can't afford to play too many youngsters. Carlo is doing the right thing; he is giving the kids experience when and where he can. Either way you look at it, now is Kakuta's time to shine.

It feels so strange for Lampard to be out for so long - he's such a fit and strong player, its weird to think he hasn't played in our last six matches.

In all fairness I've only ever seen one player who was a 'wonderkid' at 19 and that was Messi... we can't judge Gael on what is probably about 200 minutes of Premier League football.

If Young's up against Cole I'm not concerned. Ferreira on the other hand... JT needs to continue his brilliant form so far this season if we're going to get anything out of the game.

Not related to Chelsea, so moved.

Chelsea vs Wolves 23 October 2010, 1500 KO - EPL, Stamford Bridge MATCH CHAT HERE

Spartak vs Chelsea 19 October 2010, 1730 KO - UCL, Luzhniki Stadium MATCH CHAT HERE

Surely we'd play in black?

With no Drogba I'm a little concerned... granted we beat them 7-1 without him in March, but we had Lampard back then. Not confident at all.

Fair point but they're playing more games than they would if they were at a better team in that division, or if they were still with us!

If there is no Terry I'd be pretty certain Ancelotti wouldn't risk playing Bruma in such a big game - he's great but he's sometimes overly cautious. We'll probably see Terry play through the pain but if he can't make it I really wouldn't be surprised if Essien started at centre back. Times like this make we wish we still had Juliano Belletti.

That's hardly racist It's race-related, but not racist... there's a difference. Racism is prejudice against certain ethnicities and cultures... he's simply pointing out (something of a fallacy in all seriousness) that there are few black German peoples - I acting did some research into this for a Geography/Demographics task and found out there's quite a large proportion of blacks-to-whites in Germany in comparison to other European nations...

I'm going to take a screenshot of the poll for the next time he suddenly is the most hated player in the squad again

I said if we could take six points out of City away, Arsenal at home and Villa away we'd have been spoilt rotten - knowing Villa, I think I'd be happy with a point tomorrow; United are going to have a very tough run of games as they are facing Spurs at Old Trafford, Stoke away and City away in their next four games. Conversely we have Villa, Wolves, Blackburn and then Liverpool away - we should take at least 8 points from those games but we could potentially get 10 to 12 which is a brilliant return. With United's away form I think they will drop points, especially at Citeh.

Haha exactly! I have no problem with it, it isn't as if you're some deluded Tottenham fan trolling.

If Arsenal go for him there is a 99% chance he'll go there - simply because he'll be first choice, simple as that. The fact of the matter is he'd be number two to the Premier League's second-best goalkeeper at Chelsea, much like he is number two to another of the league's best in Sorenson.

Eleven?! He must be good...

Fair point, but I honestly believe we have one of the best medical departments and some of the best facilities of all the clubs in Europe.

I think most people who watched us struggle to beat Portsmouth 2-1 at home last season saw him... he was man of the match and only a Frank penalty won us that game.

7-1?

Essien the best of an impressive bunch for me!

Good shout about Gregory Coupet, what a goalkeeper he was! Another startling absentee is Julio Cesar!

It's his birthday today RIP Troy...

From that list, only Casillas is a better goalkeeper than Cech. The ironic thing is one of the world's best (Reina) isn't even anywhere near that list!