Stats

Mata was poor. He did nothing when he came on to even change the game so I doubt he would have been any different from the start. Back to the summary of our other players. Hazard was poor but I am not concerned, I am sure once he gets his full confidence back, he will produce the goods no doubt. Cole, poor once again, could not handle Salah and as usual can not go forward. MVG, nothing special but it was his first competitive start. Lamps done a brilliant pass for Oscar's goal but apart from that was awful. To summarise our only good player to day was Oscar, the rest of the team was poor. Hopefully this is just a blip but it is worrying that we lost 2-1 to Basel at home, really shocking for us.

Where is Lukaku when you need him? .........

Well he has won every single competitive game they have played so far. Got a good game against Napoli on Sunday though.

Don't agree. Maybe he needs to prove his worth more to Mourinho but he got handed a start in a big game against Everton and Oscar needs playing time as well so no surprise. Mata does not seem as sharp as he could be so not really surprised with him being dropped, especially with the amount of attacking talents we have.

Really like the like up. Would have liked to see Azpi and KDB start but still a very strong team. Hope to see a good performance, goals and most importantly a win.

Fair enough but I still would all him a very good signing. Hopefully when he is in his 30s he still has that stamina, pace and acceleration and improved concentration. I regard Cahill as a good buy. Also we have bought big marquee signings before but mixed it up with not average but inferior compared to what we have done before. But he was a big reason why we won the CL, FA Cup and I hope in oncoming seasons he helps us to win the PL title. With Ba, regardless of the price we bought a striker who scored bag loads of goals for Newcastle. I like our movement in the market this summer. Feel we could have strengthened in other positions but so be it. Also I am quite happy we did not buy Falcao for that price tag but even the biggest of clubs buy the average type of players. Part of the balancing act and is needed for rotation.

Someone discussed about Ramires anyway but he certainly has been a very good signing. Contributed to the team in so many ways and is always improving. Ba and Cahill are not world class but I would not call them average signings or signings where we have flopped. We got Cahill on the cheap and we done the same with Ba as well. Cahill has his bad games but he also has his solid games as well and I think that is a solid investment. I don't mind having Ba around because I still think he has something to prove. He was fantastic at Newcastle and got important goals but I just feel he needs that little bit of confidence.

When we beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates last season I thought he done a very good job. He has done it in the past against Arsenal, where he completely dictates possession and provides defensive stability and he done it last season as well. Other than that even he might have lapses in concentration he still offers something to the team IMO.

Essien is not in the group stages squad so he will miss this game altogether.

Same here but because he is a better winger than Oscar and Mata he is pushed out wide. I agree though, think he would do an excellent job in the no.10 role. We might see him there of Jose decided to play a trio of Willian, Hazard and Schurrle.

I think that is many people's preferred choice for this match anyway. However if KDB does not get a start out wide or in the no.10 role I would not mind seeing him play in the CM role for this game as he is very versatile and quite a good passer of the ball.

Moses turns 23 in December mate.

The time for British teams playing at home has never changed from 7.45pm. The 6pm start is probably because of the preview.

Well at least we know he will hit the back of the net every week at our peril

Annoying thing is he did everything in pre-season to show Mourinho he could be part of his squad. He might not of had a brilliant first season but Mourinho should ignore that and and see how players perform under him and Moses played very well in pre-season. I remember the likes of Jason Cundy on Chelsea TV stating that he believed Moses had played his way into the team for the first game against Hull. Yes he was injured but he could have got a fairer chance rather than being chucked out on loan.

What a goal. Really has been best player on the pitch. Said it before but we might end up regretting letting him go to a potential big rival.

I am not Torres biggest fan but I have no qualms with him playing against Basel. Can see him scoring if he starts and although he can be a real annoyance sometimes he is definitely capable of leading the line against Basel IMO.

Funny thing now is UNited would not of need to buy Fellaini had they put more faith in Pogba. He would easily slot alongside Carrick.

They develop some good young players but there are some who totally slip out their fingers and turn out into good players. It is a bit of mix and match. I would agree it would be a good move to go to United if they had not bought Fellaini but they did and there is still Cleverley so no point of Barkley needing to move. That Januzaj kid looks a good player though who is at United but with Barkley he surely understand the right thing is to stay.

Staying at Everton is the best choice for him now. Getting regular football at a good team who can challenge for European football and would do no harm to his England chances by playing there. Going to us or United will limit his opportunities and the best option for him really would be best to stay there for the next few years.

Maybe move him into the player thread now and just to add he scored on his debut for NAC Breda in a 5-1 win today against Roda JC.

Mourinho obviously bought Willian for a reason. There are many games left. Jose will know when he plans to use him.

You just don't like him. What did he do, steal your girlfriend? He could be he the last person in the penalty shootout to take the penalty and you would want him to miss so you could sprout out all your hatred for him. Your hate for him is that bad that you would rather him play crap for us than good for us despite being a Chelsea fan

I am not denying he was good. he was rash sometimes but he did produce moments of quality as well. His ability with the ball at time was very exciting to see. Mikel saved him from getting a red though.

Funny thing is Kalou always got around double figures for us and he does for his new team now as well so there