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Mata! What a lovely difference he has made today. Excellent ball!

Important we win but we should know that with the PL it is too early to write off teams. Say we draw, we are 6 points behind Arsenal. We still have them home and away and if we can do the double over them like last season we in theory will be on level points with them. There is a long way to go and even if we win, draw or lose tomorrow the title race for us is certainly not over.

Agree. Many seem to agree with Mourinho on this forum however on the article on skysports news the majority of people seem to disagree with Mourinho. Just look at all the likes that are given compared to the dislikes on how Mourinho is in the wrong: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/9048809/romelu-lukaku-made-a-transfer-request-at-chelsea-before-his-everton-loan Yes, Lukaku may have asked for a loan but in the end of the day, Jose is manager. Gary Cahill may have asked for a loan because he thought it would be tough competing for a place with Luiz and Terry but does that mean Mourinho would let him go? Of course not. Mourinho is the manager and ultimately the decision lies with him. While I am happy to see Lukaku scoring at Everton, like I knew he would, it was Mourinho's decision to let him go. He is the manager and he would have had the final say. If Mourinho envisaged him being a key part of our team he would not have let him go however he did so IMO, Lukaku does not need to explain himself. Some people believe he will come a better player at Chelsea because of his loan but I don't necessarily agree with this view. He certainly will have more goals there as eh is guaranteed more minutes however it would of been beneficial playing with a better team, competing for major trophies as well. Just needed a bit of time which he did not get so I am not surprised he asked for a move. Torres is looking better this season but still does not convince but anyway when he first came it took ages for him to come and make an impact. Eto'o who is impressing me more in recent weeks, also needed a few games to get ticking and that is what Lukaku needed. Look, to sum it up I am happy he is enjoying his football at Everton but I also think at the same time, Mourinho does not need to switch the spotlight on Lukaku for him to explain himself. He is the player, Mourinho is the manager and obviously the question should ultimately be pointed towards Mourinho because if he really wanted him he would not have let him go, simply and regardless if Lukaku comes out and states that he did ask for the move, the responsibility does not lie with him. I don't apply this to all, but I am sure had this been Benitez loaning him out, many would be calling for his head but let's just hope this is a situation sort of being over-hyped by the media and comes back next year a more mature player and ready to lead our line.

Oscar is not going to be played in the pivot anytime soon. Ramires had a bad game yesterday night but I fully expect him to play against Southampton.

It is indeed but whether those rumours are true or not, I can understand if Southampton took that stance. He is only 18, played a bagful of PL games and has been very impressive and looks better and better every time you see him. They would not sell him on the cheap when in a few years his price is obviously going to increase and he probably will be one of the best LB in the business. Southampton are not in financial trouble as well so anyone who wants to snap up Shaw will have to pay big for him. You don't get much 18 year old's playing week in, week out on a regular basis and impressing. Quite rare, especially in the PL.

That is your opinion which I find bizarre. No it is not a fact. If we go out and play the way we are capable of, they will have problems dealing with Oscar and Mata, whoever is in the no.10 role. I would like to see Mata start for this. Been unused for the last 2 matches and I feel he has a point to prove and games like this I believe he can be the deciding factor. Also, why is that a fact because I find statements like that quite stupid.

Hard to say but a loss like this was thoroughly deserved. Awful performance. No signs of wanting to win the game and seems like the tactic was to just defend and get the point and while we are through I hope Mourinho takes note. I like Lamps and while I think some of the criticism he has got this season has been harsh, he should not be playing every single game. He is fucking 35 and should be used as rotation. Mourinho needs to realise he is not the same player from when he had his first reign at the club but tonight the performance was just dire and horrible to watch and no one really played well IMO. Basel deserved the victory. With all respect we are quite lucky that the other teams in our group have been inconsistent. Mata been an unused sub for the last 2 games. Hope things are refreshed a little against Southampton and he proves a point and we recover from this awful performance tonight!

You are ridiculous. Your head is really not in the right frame of mind.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/287405/analysis

Yeah once again, lets's criticize Mikel rather than complimenting him. YAWN. Getting boring now. Why can you not just state he had a solid performance rather than picking him out as "average". You really don't like him do you? The reason why Lamps was so effective yesterday was because of how well Mikel done in his role (which Lamps acknowledged himself) but let's ignore that. Every player was good yesterday and not just our "top players".

What? That was his best performance in a Chelsea shirt this season! He was quality IMO. What us fans want to see from him on a regular basis. Where did you get the idea that that was his worst performance in a Chelsea shirt. Sorry but I find that a ridiculous statement. I hope you are sober making this comment Henrique

BT Sport gave him MOTM anyway. He had some flaws but look at what he contributed. Goals! That is what you want from a striker. Falcao does not do much in games but he normally scores like a striker should and that is what Lukaku done. I would like to have a striker who can have off days but still perform with a return of goals. Shame they did not win as that would of been a magnificent way to write himself in Mersyside derby history. While he is scoring goals at Everton that is good but I have no idea he would of eventually bang in the goals for us had we kept him but oh well, hope to see him do it more for Everton and come back next year and be given a proper chance which he deserves!

This should not even be considered a rumour regardless of what website it comes from. Clearly bullshit, Lahm is Bayern through and through and will be there likely for the rest of his career. Just lock this thread I say. Never going to happen.

HAHA

But he is still a player they developed through the academy. He joined them at 15 and progressed from the youth team, to reserves to the first team so while he was at QPR for his very young days, Liverpool are the team who actually developed him and pushed him on.

Scored a first half hat-trick against Arsenal today. Definitely the most exciting talent we have right now in our youth ranks. Such a talent! http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3539000/title/under-18-report-arsenal-0-chelsea-3

Look at the positives. Arsenal have not gained ground on us as they lost and a weekend where we could have dropped to sixth place, Spurs and City lost and the better fact is that we still remain fourth

I am sure Mourinho will have watched clips of the game last season where they completely bulldozed our team and due to what we witnessed at St James Park last week and at Upton Park last season I would not be surprised if Mourinho goes without a no.10 this match and plays a 4-3-3 to match up against their physical nature. When we play 4-2-3-1 it leaves the central midfielders more exposed. I think Mourinho may go with a trio of Mikel, Ramires and Lamps. I would not mind seeing this as I believe we would be best suited this way. We are playing West Ham at a good time as well. They beat Spurs 3-0 not too long ago but apart from that their form has been well below-par and hover just above the relegation zone. If there is a best time to play them it is around now so hopefully we get our faults fixed and come back with a bang.

Good win. Looks like we will top the group with ease this time round despite that first matchday scare. Willian, simply fantastic. Work rate, balance, flair and just a display you want to see from your attacker. Definitely was my MOTM tonight. I am not being critical of Oscar because his scoring statistics look good but he really needs to offer more going forward sometimes. He is regularly praised for his defensive work rate and winning the ball but from our no.10 I would like to see a lot more than being a hard worker. Just look at Willian's performance, that is the quality I like to see going forward from our attacking midfielders. While Oscar has been one of our better performers I have felt that over the season he can offer a bit more bite going forward. I don't want him to be simply known as a player Mourinho likes because he has got a good work rate etc because he has not been the only one guilty of it but because he is right not Mourinho's favoured no.10 I feel for the last 3 games or so his attacking displays have been quite average, don't want to sound too harsh but that is my general feeling. I wish Mata got the chance to play in the no.10 role when Oscar was subbed of but oh well, maybe he will play on Saturday in the no.10 role, refresh things a little. Ramires and Mikel were very solid in midfield together. Mikel started of sloppy then was very solid IMO. Hope to see these pair more often. I would not mind seeing Lamps start against WBA though. it is a game which I feel Lamps will thrive in as we are likely to have the ball more and he will be useful for these sort of games at home where we are expected to win. When we get back to Upton park I would like to see the pairing of Ramires and Mikel. Cole was rightly dropped tonight and he will know that he can't simply walk in the team no more because his recent performances have been poor. Solid display from Azpi and glad to see Eto'o getting his scoring touch again. Hope this inspires him for more goals continuing with WBA on Saturday. We have made Schalke look extremely average in the 2 games we have played against them but they have been without Farfan and Huntelaar, which helped us a little but take away nothing from the win. Clean sheet in our last 3 CL games. Looks good!

Cole deserves to be dropped. Needs that kick off the backside to show that he will not always play when he gives shit performances. Mourinho is not afraid to make big changes as we have seen at his time at Real and already has made big decision so far while at us.

Just scored a magnificent free-kick with his left foot against Schalke in the Uefa youth league. You don't get many players who come as two footed as Baker. Simply magnificent. He uses his right foot slightly more but as just seen is comfortable using his left foot for set pieces as well. Live on eurosport for those who are interested.

They were all alternating positions. Not one player had a fixed position. Oscar sometimes moved to the right and so did Mata.

Cole was absolutely awful. I know the majority was off form today but he is far too fragile, lets players get past him too easily. We saw the same with Newcastle last season when they beat us. The same thing they done again, which Jose could not see. Stick Sissoko on the right and let him rip Cole apart. Every player I watched take on Cole was successful. Shocking performance. Newcastle did not even need to bring on HBA and had Taylor and Coloccini injured, their best 2 CB. Poor. Hopefully this is just a blip and provides an angry response in the week but we lost a chance today with Arsenal taking on Liverpool. They completely dominated the midfield and we were second best. Hazard was the only player who looked like making something happen tbh, everyone else shambles. Passing was atrocious. We will learn hopefully anyway but this is a game that many fans were complacent about and expected us to win. Proves why we can't take any games in the PL lightly. We will move on!

Form is temporary... class is permanent,,, yes Torres is back to his best! (Really frustrated)

Mata looked more potent. We pose a bigger threat from set pieces when he plays but oh well.... TBH I don't think Mourinho should of gone with Oscar, Mata and Hazard anyway. Too many flaws.