The Mak

It's not all about Ivanovic playing or not, it's more about what he's given licence to do - attack, and he isn't good at it to say the very least. Azpi has been playing but out of position. He's also been told to sit when he's much better going forward than Brana. They could easily swap positions.

Maybe not, but people have still been worried about their constancy in José's side and now teams seem to exploiting that and their weakness (e.g. allowing Ivanovic to have as much of the ball as he wants because he's useless going forward with it). So I still don't think they're kneejerk reactions.

Kneejerk? How? Mentioning things like playing Lampard in almost every game and using Ivanovic as a winger are hardly kneejerks. How are they kneejerks if they've been playing like that since the start of the season and people have been wary of it beforehand? And who has exactly said they don't want Mourinho? You can't boil everything down to a 'kneejerk reaction' just because they're criticising José. He'll get criticism the same as any player would, he shouldn't be immune to it simply because of this arbitrary 'almighty master plan' that you use as a shield to protect him. Until we see his plan take shape we should be able to criticise his faults along the way, the same way we would with any developing player.

Tell that to Mourinho.

All I know is that if we're relying on a 35yr old playing out of position to play in almost every game and Branislav Ivanovic to be our main attacking threat, then somebody, somewhere has fucked something up big time. I'd like to imagine we'll bring in a reinforcement in January in the mould of a CM, but I'm not holding my breath to be honest. I've just come to accept now that we won't sign what we most desperately need.

Well thanks for clearing that up! I knew something didn't seem right...

Transfer news: Anderlecht in line to land Kevin de Bruyne on loan from Chelsea http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9017142/transfer-news-anderlecht-in-line-to-land-kevin-de-bruyne-on-loan-from-chelsea Surprised this hasn't been put up already. Anyway, I'd hate to see him go back on loan to the Belgian League. I'd hope for the Bundesliga at least.

May as well close this thread then, because no one is allowed to criticise Mourinho or air their feelings on the matter... Classic snide, 'holier than thou' comment from you. You'd seriously want to grow up sometimes...even though I know now you'll probably want to say something like 'Some people on here need to grow up blah, blah, blah' but some of your comments seriously make you seem like a closeted bigot. They're the antithesis of the very nature of what a forum is supposed to be, especially as one as multicultural as this.

Penalty all day, every day lads. If I was a WBA away supporter, I'd go home with a nice warm feeling in my tummy (like hot chocolate) knowing that justice was done and the result was completely fair!

Stop! I'm being super serious right now guys.....

The more I look at the challenge on Rami, the more I'm convinced it's actually a pen (maybe a soft one though). I mean he just runs into him and gets none of the ball... http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x170b9g_chelsea-vs-west-bromwich-2-2-goals-highlights_sport

If that is true then I don't hold much hope for the rest of the season. That's great, but he was also at initial fault for the 2nd WBA goal. You should have a gander at this: http://eplindex.com/43776/azpilicueta-v-ivanovic-start-chelsea-stats-compared.html

I agreed with every other point except the Mata one. I'm not sure what else he's supposed to do when there's 5-8 of our players constantly in their box. Clarke's team was just well organised.

But you really have to wonder why he's given the liability to go forward so often when he's so fucking dire at it...

I'll just leave this right here, seems like you guys would be interested.

Cheers ref....says Ivanovic.

Double post.

Bound to happen when you ask a CB to attack so fucking much.

FUCK OFF IVANOVIC!!!!

An article pitting Brana and Dave's stats against each other. Pretty much confirms a lot of people suspicions. However, it again calls into question why Mourinho is so favourable towards Brana when his aerial ability is the only dominance he really has over Dave. And why Brana is given such liability going forward when it is clear who the better attacker is. Link below. http://eplindex.com/43776/azpilicueta-v-ivanovic-start-chelsea-stats-compared.html

A big difference. Azpi was specifically told to sit in that game, it was obvious. He's our best defender going forward and he barely ventured past the half-way line. Read this if you don't believe me: http://eplindex.com/43776/azpilicueta-v-ivanovic-start-chelsea-stats-compared.html If Hazard didn't have his 'untouchable' status with Mourinho, he wouldn't have played against Cardiff because he would've been dropped a long time ago. Agree to disagree then.

I don't think it says much to be honest. Besides from having that shot off target and crossing the ball out for a throw/goal kick, I can't remember him doing much of note.

People tend to go on form. By form and knowing what he can actually do, Hazard has been average so far this season to say the least. And he topped it all off by missing a training session. So no, he isn't better at the moment. Schurrle received absolutely no support during the Schalke game because Jose had Azpi acting practically as a 3rd CB. Now compare that will Willian's performance who was supported the entire game by Ivanovic...Even if you compare their previous games, Schurrle scored against City while Hazard was piss poor against Newcastle. I don't even think Hazard that would get his spot back so quickly but only for the influx of fixtures.

Just forget about it. You're just dealing with someone who refuses to admit he's wrong/contradicts himself, hence why it's getting more absurd. You don't even want to know the exchange we had we he said "Oscar is best as CAM" and then minutes later suggested him as CM....

G'wan lad! I hope they don't actually send him on a new loan in January. He's doing so well at the Dons, he really seems settled. It'd be such a shame if a move would affect his form and he'd end up on a bench for the second half of the season. Dons are also very reliant on him at the moment, it'd be a bit of a sucker punch for him to up and leave halfway through. They could still make the play-offs. I'm sure it can wait till next season.