Reddish-Blue

He's not going to leave Everton after half a season...

Azpi is a much better crosser of the ball than Ivanovic. He's also good at linking up with our AM's Well if the central midfield can't provide the link between defence and attack, it doesn't matter how much you spend on attackers.

absolutely no one to cross to ? in recent times, all i've seen is Ivanovic try to run forward, lose the ball under little pressure..and then suddenly the opposition counter with Ramires, Willian tracking back

Completely agree, I feel the home support could be a bit louder in tricky situations. The flipside is that our new players haven't created that connection with the fans yet.....the process will take time. Hopefully we stick with Jose, build some stability and recreate the atmosphere we had a few seasons ago!

Thats why we need to find a new midfielder capable of linking defence to attacking midfield. Our buildup from the back is slow..but thats because none of our midfielders know what to do with the ball.

I would add Cabaye, even Southampton's Schneiderlin to the list. I really like Schneiderlin's energy, physicality in midfield...wouldn't be a bad partner for Ramires.

To be honest, if you can't handle a bit of winding up...then the forum wouldn't be much fun. As for the whole Mikel debate...at the end of the day, he provides cover so that Ramires can push forward and join the attack.

Nope. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263227/Michael-Johnson-reveals-quit-football-mental-health-reasons-club-admits-defeat-gambling-alcohol-addictions.html He was a very promising talent in midfield. Had all the tools to be great, just couldn't handle the pressure Sometimes you wonder how England manage to waste so much talent..

Decided to sub out Agger & Mignolet...both of them end up getting a clean sheet

If Courtois was joining Chelsea straight from Genk, then I'd be worried about inexperience... However, due to his progress at Atletico...it'd be stupid not to give him a chance at Chelsea. Either he comes back to Chelsea, earns the #1 spot or leaves...(I hear Barca are looking for a keeper) As for the comparison to De Gea..he conceded a similar goal this season...but all the media attention went to Januzaj for scoring the winner with a volley.

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.