Reddish-Blue

To be fair in Azpi's case, I'm not sure if he's suited to the LB position. I feel we are wasting his attacking instincts by not playing him at RB. Would really like to see Bertrand get a proper run at LB...every time i've seen him play, it's like a breath of fresh air.

I would say that Alex (back then) was more solid than Luiz....and Duff was underrated as an old-fashioned winger. Our lack of width is very concerning...Hazard & Willian love to cut/dribble inside, Cole doesn't have the legs anymore and Ivanovic gives away the ball too often when trying to push forward. And then there's also the problem in our CM/DM positions. Lampard doesn't have the legs to track back and Mikel just isn't aggressive enough. I really feel we should of signed Strootman for 25 million, Roma got a bargain.

I still don't get why Azpi is playing LB. He doesn't look capable of providing any support for our LW/LAM. Either play Azpi in his natural position or leave him on the bench.

Best keeper in the world? Not based on this season. Some of his decision-making this season has been awful. I really hope we don't sell Courtois, just so Cech can retire at Chelsea.

Disgusting performance. Our midfield pairing is so pathetic... Petr Cech..for a goalie of his class, he should of pushed away the second goal.. There was no flow between defence and attack...all I saw was Cahill to Ivanovic, Terry to Cech, Cahill to Cech, Azpi to Cech..

If he doesn't want to leave, that's his loss. As for him not being allowed to leave...I would be surprised to see Chelsea stand in his way if a large bid (e.g 30 million) was made.

I thought Hazard was our only AM capable of doing something against Newcastle.

Would love to see Willian - Azpi combining on the right.. Unfortunately, Ivanovic is untouchable by the looks of it. Same team as Schalke and we should be able to beat them.

Completely agree. Such a classy player on and off the pitch, it is a shame he doesn't exactly fit into Mourinho's system. Also, playing Mata or Oscar in the wide positions is a waste of talent. I think eventually Mata may leave...

Luiz would still be first-choice, he's just going through a rough patch of form. And anyway, even if Luiz is sold, I'm sure Jose would go and buy another top-class CB.

The only problem for Chelsea is that we don't have the right combination for the pivot. Lampard - Rami is good for certain games and Mikel - Rami is good for certain games. BOTH of our pivot pairings have weaknesses and until we bring in a new midfielder, Lampard/Mikel should be rotated based on the opposition.

Certain fans just don't seem to appreciate a good performance by Mikel. Mikel has his flaws..but when he plays, we look more solid in midfield & Ramires gets alot more freedom.

Willian was just class and Eto'o knows how to score. If only our strikers could score like this in the PL on a regular basis... I'd say keep the same team for the upcoming PL match.

Surprised to see Sunderland only won by a goal..considering they played against Southampton's B-team.

It's not fixed. Torres won't leave because no decent club wants to pay his wages. Anyway with relation to the original post, if Mata was to leave, it would not be the end of the world.

True, he could have waited till after WC...but I remember an interview with Schwarzer about 2 years ago when he was asked about retirement. And Schwarzer's reply was along the lines of: If my body can't hold up, then I would be happy to make way for youth. Hopefully Langerak (Dortmund's #2) gets the chance to fill the void

I'd take Luiz over Cahill any day of the week. Luiz just needs a kick up the ass from Jose. If he doesn't improve on his performances, then i'm sure Jose won't have much choice other than to sell him.

It sums up Torres' career at Chelsea. He takes one step forward, two steps back.. As for the game against Schalke, we need to play with intensity and pace...would like to see Willian/Schurrle and Azpi get a start for this one.

serious or sarcasm?

To be honest, if Bayern really doesn't want Lewa, he'd be wise to choose Arsenal. Just like Liverpool, Arsenal's system makes a good striker flourish. At Chelsea, as a big name striker, you'd be kinda worried after seeing Sheva & Torres struggle to score against good opposition.

I don't know if its just me...but whenever Mata plays (and Oscar is pushed out wide)...our central midfielders look extremely vulnerable. I'm not going to blame Lampard for his poor performance yesterday...our whole team (other than Terry?) performed under-par... I feel Lampard and Mikel should be rotated based on opposition.

I disagree. Our midfield is weak, imagine if Ramires picks up an injury...we'd be screwed. IF the right midfielder is available in January, we should sign him.

I don't think Ozil can be made, just a class act whenever you see him play. As for Mata...he goes missing in alot of games. He really needs to step up if he wants to claim the CAM position from Oscar. Back to the original post, I say keep Oscar as the CAM.

He would have been better than Lampard today. At least by having a holding midfielder, Ramires would have been able to join the attacks.

The one game week I decide to put Suarez as captain...he doesn't score. Should of stuck with Ramsey as captain