Muzchap

I agree he looked like a headless chicken - Willian is definitely better there I thought we really missed OSCAR in the middle of the pitch - his tempo and work rate are amazing and MIKEL cannot do that (he had a decent enough game) Fabregas whilst MOTM is definitely better deeper, he just doesn't have the legs IMHO. Hopefully the goal will give Shirley some confidence, but he looks a shadow of his former self. Decent, solid performance and on to the next round

Great post good luck for the game against Norwich Despite popular opinion Steve is no managerial mug and I'm expecting a proper game - it won't be easy. Should be an interesting one for both fans and the neutrals

Ok so what historical facts and evidence do you have to support your 'myth' that playing youngsters is not a risk? As far as facts go - we have only suffered one defeat this season and we are the only team in the entire English league to have an unbeaten home record. Those are facts What you are peddling is supposition - e.g it worked for other clubs it will work for us. That's not how life works unfortunately. What you are describing is the Microsoft Zune vs the Apple iPod, the Betamax to the VHS - there's no empirical data to suggest it will work, it's a pure gamble. Jose is not a gambling manager - he plays the percentage game and tries to maximise every potential chance of winning. I knew that when he came back. The young lads will get a chance if we are 3-0 up and controlling the game - that's the reality. Jose wants to win - and if he has an unproven opportunity vs a known quantity, logic will dictate he chooses the known quantity as that is predictable, rather than the unpredictability of youth. Who would have thought Januzzai would be benched this season after appearing to be Utds best prospect last season? Why? Because LvG needs to build a platform and is choosing experience and known quality over unpredictability - and sadly it is working for them. I get you want us to bring through youth - I do too - nothing would give me greater pleasure than not having to buy any players for 3-4 years and sticking it to those that say we 'buy not breed success' - but the reward vs risk is just too high this season unfortunately and this game in particular. Is it a perfect strategy? That can only be answered at the end of the season. But! I understand why he is doing it this way and if it was me - in his situation - I'm not so confident I would do it differently...

Pressure, Experience, Organisation and Reputation An under 21 game and training are very different to the real thing. That's why lots of promising players end up never achieving the high expectations set. Wilfred Zaha springs to mind, at Utd looks lost, chuck him back into Palace team and he shines - just cannot make that transition (yet?) As it is a cup game - no second chances, higher potential of risk vs the league where it's the best team over 38 games as opposed to 90 minutes. I don't think you will find one true Chelsea fan that doesn't want to see the youth guys get a chance - we have some amazing talent coming through. However this needs to be balanced with achieving Silverware. If we lose tomorrow night, we undermine everything Jose is trying to build here, the 'winning attitude' the mental resilience to pressure. That's just my opinion, have tried to avoid cliches where possible - but sadly some cliches do hold small grains of undeniable truth.

This is the game of Derby's season - nothing will get bigger than this, except maybe Play Off Final Anybody expecting an easy game is just nuts. Yes they looked shit against Boro, because every single one of them was focusing on this game. High tempo, professional start with the big guns! If we can get to 3-0 at any point, then is the time to bring on the youngsters. I swear - if Jose played the kids and lost 99% of you would go fucking mental and this place would be in meltdown. Just chill out. the young lads will get there chance when ready, or sadly, when a key injury forces it. This is not the season to be experimenting ! We need to win some trophies !

Come on Leicester - have the game of your fucking lives!

That looks like Trevor from GTA-V

Oblige - he's learning the ropes well, some consistency won't hurt either. Plus he can help take points off our rivals At this age needs to keep playing

Yeah those were dark days People have short memories - our team now to back then is so much better

Nice work Strike - good article

Pressure is a bad thing and it has destroyed him. Something to watch out for with our youngsters Injury and big money move = end of Torres. It is sad really - I know he's a multi millionaire - but money ain't everything, it only is to those that don't have it. My mate inherited around £5 million when his parents died, got a Ferrari etc - 2 years later diagnosed with Stomach cancer and 4 months later passed away, even his money couldn't save him and he did say he'd give it all up just to live and bring up his kids. That's when I realised chasing money is less important and life is about how you feel.

He will go back to Loserpool

2-1 win coming in the dying moments... Has it written all over it, scored by a substitute

Luiz for Brazil > Luiz for Club He seems to step it up for Brazil. Look he's a decent player, done some great things for us and made us a tidy profit I will wish him well in every aspect of life, unless it's when facing Chelsea - then I expect howlers and blunders He's an emotional player - on his day solid, off day - not so much. You can't change that and just have to accept it

I believe on Monday

I would take a one legged Cesc over MIKEL any match of the week People always bitch and moan - we are sitting pretty in all competitions - yet still not good enough. I honestly despair at the posts on this forum, where have all the positive people gone? We're season 2 into what will hopefully be a 10 year (min) stint by Jose - lots of problems are being addressed, is it perfect? No, progress is good though, but we do need a Plan B for some games (would be my only criticism)

Excellent point - demonstrated by the fact I will mostly be sitting on a bench (chair) and running zero marathons in my foreseeable lifetime

I said a few weeks back if Aguero gets injured - City could be fucked. Let's see how they do now SAD for Aguero - he always has injury problems

I watched the game until United scored the second For a while I had to remind myself this was the Premier League and not the Second Division Both teams looked absolutely shit The only thing United did was play with Width and that fucked up Southampton That's what we need to do - get width in our attacking play, it exposes defenders massively. Shane Long - how is that guy even a professional footballer? He's fucking useless.

We dropped points because we have no Plan B This has been a constant problem for years and is a massive limitation of the 4-3-2-1 formation We need width, Hazard needs to stay wide and Wllian needs to stay wide, both AZPI and Iva need to overlap and pull defenders apart. We don't have that and it's frustrating as fuck to see us trying to play through the middle all of the time. I would actually say we need two wingers that are happy to play 15-20 games a season, as well as a backup for Matic. Shirley is in a horrible patch of form and doesn't look like the answer, same with Salah. We do need a Plan B though - so hope Jose is working on this...

Actually he let his squeaky arse rule his heart and head! He pussied out at leaving because of the shirt burning and threats of violence towards him, so he stayed A pussy of that nature and a born loser - deserves everything he gets at Loserpool...

He recovered from a potentially career ending injury and needed game time! You think that MvG is the only say in where he plays? He's an employee! Plenty of people would have been involved in the decision making process. The decision makers believed we had enough to cover the position! If any blame is to be apportioned - it's at the decision makers. Please think before you post, it just makes you look stupid if you don't even understand how decisions about players are handled...

II would take him for £10 million - cheeky Jan bid

I would take Dembele - he'd be perfect as a Matic or Cesc backup Get him in the team, Jose restores his confidence, will be an immense player again... Gotta be worth a cheeky Jan bid

No disgrace in that view - I also shared some doubts, he looked a poor player at Gala But put him at the Bridge and boom, the old Didier is back! It's a shame about Lampard, but I love the effect Drogba has on the team, the guy is a born winner! That's what we need on the pitch and in the dressing room, you can't buy that level of commitment and mental strength and all the younger players will benefit! In the end a smart move by Jose, along with Remy, who looks a steal at the price we paid, bet the Scousers are kicking themselves