Thor

To be fair, Mata has a poor first touch and lacks pace. I guess that is something that doesn't fit well into this counter attacking style. Willian and Rooney on the other hand are perfect. He's probably the second best player on our team after Hazard, though he does lack certain qualities.

Lamps was tragic, so was Ba. Yes, Cech made some good saves, but those voting him for MOTM, seriously? He got beaten at the near post again. It seems to be common place for him now, its actually frustrating me. Ramires and Hazard were bosses, winning the ball back and keeping it, and Lukaku looked brilliant for me. I'd go with him, and Torres coming off the bench later in the game for the MAN U game. Lukaku is young, fired up, and chases everything. Plus MAN U won't be expecting it or be familiar with his play so much. We'll also be able to play our counter attacking game due to more than likely not having 70% possession this time around. A lot of people will rag on Ivanovic's play, but I completely support him for his tactics. Benteke was doing the same thing all night, and somehow it was our players getting penalized in the air. I couldn't be more glad when he got that yellow and got smacked by the high boot. Needs to go whine somewhere else, and don't want him on our team like some are hoping for. We already got all the good Belgians, and a better striker in Lukaku.

From what I've seen on here it seems to be a somewhat consensus that he was average last game or something. The fact is, he actually dominated the game as much as anyone yesterday in the period it was won; the first 30 minutes.

He won us a penalty... He won us the free kick Lampard scored from... He created several chances for teammates through link up play. How did he prove he was useless yesterday exactly? Because he didn't score? I'm not a fan, but last game is hardly the one to point to for him being an absolute hack these days.

Some of you are so ignorant, rude and act like superior beings as if you are the end all be all of the discussion. I'd love to hear what makes Mata a better player than Hazard... There isn't a thing he does better aside from crosses. But sure, a club MVP makes him better... He won it last year when Ramires should have gotten it. He can keep winning them for all I care, hes not a better player than Hazard. Just because hes a ball drawn, assist man/second striker who gets to rack up the stats, doesn't make him better than Hazard.

That's great and all but if you actually think hes the better player... then... well yeah.

The Spanish team as a whole is successful exactly due to the way they nurture and bring up their youth players. There is a reason he is in the U21 squad and not straight into the top team. Its the way they do it with all their players. Look at how the English team tries to pluck from the youth ranks which results in nothing but trouble and talents falling off. Spain have a great mentoring system, that clearly is working since they have been the dominant nation in football for more than half this decade. And yes, I'm saying that ISCO is in fact level with Mata. Plenty laughed and berated me on here when I stated that Hazard was a better player than Mata prior to coming to Chelsea. Look how that one turned out... Isco isn't as good as Hazard, nor will he ever be IMO, but he certainly is as good as Mata, and hes most definitely a better player than Oscar.

Isco is exceptional, and you'd be doing yourself a favor by watching him some more. He has Mata beat in terms of pace, first touch, on the ball, etc. Even his vision is on the same level as Mata.

He'd be a walk on starter, just as he would here. Some of you are seriously underrating Isco, while overrating Mata. Natural as he plays for our team, but tone it down some of you.

I burst out laughing reading this. Jordan not a douchebag? Punched teammates in practice, said white players aren't talented enough to be stars, a notorious gambler and cheapskate when it came to paying up, etc. Read up. Jordan was a massive c*nt. Much like Ali was, but you never hear about that either.

I think Rooney is a great footballer and all, but when he has a shocker, he goes missing completely. Also, it tends to happen in the biggest of games. Obviously its great to have a player that can win you the games you're supposed to win; as this seems to have been our problem more than anything recently. Depending on the price, I'd love to have him here. He's a better player than Falcao and Cavani, as much as people will argue otherwise IMO.

I'd take Lukaku over him. Better link up play, stronger, faster, better finisher, etc. Don't know how many chances I've seen this guy squander. I might just catch him at the wrong time, but he misses a lot of easy ones.

Dzeko is such a lethal finisher. I hope we at least make a run at him. Hes the jack of all trades when it comes to a striker. Can really do it all.

I'd personally love to see him develop into a CM role. Another reason why Isco is one of the few players I actually want us to pursue. We don't always need the most expensive player out, since they don't always work out in the team. I think Isco would be great, and hes not exactly the most expensive option out. If there is the option of Isco for 20 mil or Shcrulle for the same price, I'm taking Isco 10 times out of 10. Hes far more versatile, more technically gifted and has shown more promise.

Your posts are worse in each thread. I guess his goal scoring record in Germany is a mistake. I guess 24 goals in 25 starts in the CL as of recent is a mistake. Yeah, they all just bounced in off his shin or ass. Watch the games so you can contribute something valuable to these forums.

What an absolutely terrible post. How many player can do what Gomez does? His goal scoring record is not an accident. Hes versatile, dynamic, and gets the job done while putting up great stats. What is with this shit of hating on Gomez? Do people do it just because its popular? He has proven himself to be elite on absolutely every level.

That has more to do with the English selectors than anything seeing as he deserves a spot on the team quite easily. He is not more versatile. For all the shit Sturridge got playing on the wing, he was quite successful, still scoring goals, creating mismatches, and using his speed and technical ability to help the team out. People act like his time out wide was shambles but he was in fact the talk of the forum at one time and rising up the list of most peoples favorites while playing wide.

Completely agree. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how he's better than Sturridge, who we sold for what, 11 mil? He's not as technically gifted on the ball, can't hold it up as well, isn't any better shooting the ball, isn't any faster, and really isn't that much better of a passer since he's poor at that like Sturridge. I just don't see why we're buying the same player for a bigger price.

I do. But I hate watching games if they're not live. I kind of just skim through them and watch the good chances and plays. 18 of 22 years. Pretty much more Aussie than Croatian/Serbian. Heh.

Yep. Can't even watch the game against Everton this weekend. Working...

The original poster can't be serious putting Mata in the top 5 players in the world? Are you serious? We're all die hard Chelsea fans here but most of us can admit hes not, or close for that matter. In fact, hes not even the best player on our team, Hazard is. He probably wasn't our 2nd best player this season either... As to answer the question; exactly what everyone else has said. He lacks the qualities needed to be the striker. Not great at holding the ball, isn't physical and lacks pace just to name a few.

The more I've read and watched this guy, the more I see a less technically gifted Sturridge. If we do get him, I hope we at least play him in his preferred position and not one that clearly hampers his play and impact on the game because there might be some bigger names in front of him on the team.

I'm honestly in the camp for neither. I'm more of the perspective of signing a more all round, better with the ball at his feet type player like Dzeko. Also keep developing Lukaku, whether its here or on loan still.

I think a lot of people will be disappointed if he does end up coming here. He'll be a good player, not great, and definitely won't justify what is being reported in terms of buying him. How exactly does he fit in with our style of play? When we get into our oppositions third, we like to play possession heavy, link up play, finding the best shot at goal. Falcao is not a great passer, not that great with the ball at his feet, and fully utilize one of his strengths in speed to get away from his opponents like usual. How exactly do people see him fitting in to our team? EDIT: Look at the goals he scored against us... Everything on the counter, on the run with the defense not set. Everyone knows how much our midfield likes to pass the ball around, and I just don't see him thriving like he did at Athletico.

So we get rid of Sturridge, then buy a player that plays exactly like him, just for more money? Sounds like Chelsea type of business. I'm not complaining so much about the deal, since hes a fantastic player, but so was Sturridge, and we've essentially replaced him with himself.