The only place to be

To my mind we've actually been improving as the season has gone on which isn't at all surprising when you think about it. The players would obviously take time to learn Mourinho's system and methods, but Jose would also need time to work out which players he can trust and which players might not be able to fit in. So you see guys like De Bruyne marginalised whilst others like Azpi come to the fore. I don't know if you keep a £35 million player around when he doesn't fit the system just in case a player gets injured. I actually think he might be FOURTH choice for the number 10 spot (behind Oscar, Willian and Hazard who played there against Southampton) so we probably could do with an additional wide player instead of another player whose best position is 10. The question is whether there are players available that we could purchase and there probably aren't at this time, so Mata won't go anywhere until the summer. The concern there is that his value may continue to drop.

There aren't any other players available in Mikel's position (Lamps injured, Van Ginkel injured, Essien done) and we're looking to buy a new player in his position. So your answer to where he fits is to suggest we radically change the way we play at home? I agree that we look better defensively, but I think that comes from all 10 outfield players doing their jobs better having learnt them in the months since Mourinho arrived. I just think that Mourinho wants us to play a very specific way and I don't see how Mata fits into that in the long-term.

United's problem (going off-topic) is that I'm not sure they know what they need. I think they're looking to replace Keane and Scholes but the game has moved on. I don't know what their style of play is and I don't know what Moyes style of play is to be honest, which is why they look like a mess. They seem to want to continue to play the 'United way' but that was looking a bit weary over the last couple of seasons.

All very nice, but the question remains where does Mata actually play right now? To my mind, he's probably THIRD choice in the number 10 spot behind Oscar and Willian. He's probably second choice on the right wing behind Willian. So what role does he play? Impact sub? He's not that type of player. He's the type you have to build an entire team around and let him dictate the tempo. It's easy to say he makes us weaker in defence, but that's too simplistic. We press high up the pitch and that isn't just about defence, it's about creating chances for us to score as well. It's a dimension of the offence that is often ignored but it helps us control the tempo of games even without the ball. So you're left with a player who is worth about £40 million to the right team who doesn't fit our system in his best role, doesn't really fit it on the wing and isn't the type of 'plan B' option you'd want off the bench. That's a £40 million asset on a team that needs to acquire players in other positions both in the short and medium-term. Sentiment aside (because the arguments for keeping Mata aren't based on where he fits in a tactical sense) there's a strong case for cashing in.

And the funny thing is that it's not just about Mata or Oscar, look at the players on the wings this year. Hazard in particular seems to be benefitting greatly from the guy next to him putting in more of a shift, but also a greater amount of responsibility. Then there's Willian on the other side who has been something of a revelation. That's what I love about Oscar - he makes the player next to him better. The press works better with him. The midfield gets far more support from him and now he's adding goals and assists to his game. He's had more MOTM performances than any other player and he has carried this team, especially at the start of the season. You can see him growing in confidence with the shots he's taking. He even stepped up for a free-kick yesterday. The argument for playing Mata isn't that he would fit this team better, but that we should build the team around him. Problem is there are only a few players in the world that top teams would build the entire side around and I'm not sure if Mata is one of them.

What a fantastically facile article.

And we finished third in the league miles of the pace and crashed out of the CL? There are other factors but so many times last season we looked disjointed whereas this season we actually seem to be building a consistent game plan based around a pressing game and a fast attacking system that suits Hazard, Willian and Oscar. You're right that it seemed incomprehensible that Mata wouldn't be at the centre of things last season, but some people did ask questions about how he would fit into Mourinho's team. Also Oscar was playing on the right a lot last season which really didn't suit him. Now he's in the middle and he's an early favourite for this season's Player of the Year.

To be honest the ultimate measure of any player is whether their contribution helps us win matches. Oscar might not fill out a stats sheet like Mata but his contribution to this team has been fantastic. He's been the best player in a team which is far better than last year's and we haven't missed Mata. Mata's problem now is that I'm not entirely sure what he brings to this team.

It depends what you want from a CAM. If you just want assists and goals then maybe Mata is the better choice (although Oscar is adding that more and more to his game as you'd expect a young player with his talent to do). But Mourinho asks the midfielders to do more, to lead the pressing and link up the team from front to back and in that regard I think Oscar is clearly better. The sense I often get from you is that you have a very narrow scope of what you want from that role and it clearly doesn't chime with what Jose wants. I think you'd be delighted to see us build a team around Mata, rather than build a team and have players fit into the roles asked of them. Maybe that's unfair, but it's what I get from you.

I wouldn't be so sure. The financial benefits of selling him now for a price way over the odds (which it would be) might outweigh the hit to their 'prestige', especially if they look like they're going to fail to make the CL. At the end of the day Rooney is an asset on a balance sheet who is losing value by the day.

Understand the context. We bought in Eto'o two days before loaning out Lukaku. Eto'o was bought in from semi-retirement after chasing a fat paycheque to Russia. Neither of these things endear him to fans, and he simply represents a lot of the bad stuff at this club. Torres has put in some very good shifts this season and scored some very important goals (the first against Palace, the first against Southampton, the winner against City) and yesterday he should've scored but for a fantastic bit of keeping. What is this thing with people removing context from things?

Sorry Rami, but that's fucking poor. I have faith in Jose to try and sort it out before it becomes an issue, because it could cost us penalties in the future.

Luiz/Cahill don't radically change the way we play in the same way Mata/Oscar does in my opinion. Chances created is important, but it's just one aspect of how the team performs and whilst Mata might create more chances I think there are obvious downsides that need to be weighed against it.

I think it was an experiment. De Bruyne looks certain to be gone in January so not worth playing him, but that does raise the question of Mata. Against a team like today's maybe he wanted a hard-working, high tempo team and maybe he doesn't think Mata can do that. The big question is where was Schurrle?

Clear sign of mental illness. I mean, who willingly supports Charlton??

What the fuck? He did okay when he came on today and but for a couple of good saves would've scored. Worked hard against Southampton too and scored a goal. Doesn't deserve the level of vitriol he's got on the back of that performance.

Looks like good work by the keeper to me.

Full strength team again, need to keep the momentum up. Cech Azpi Cahill Terry Cole Mikel Ramires Willian Oscar Hazard Torres Maybe Luiz in midfield but incredibly unlikely. Maybe Eto'o for Torres but after today...no chance. Not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination.

We did produce chances. Don't see how it's embarrassing in the slightest - you know we own Hazard and we needed him to beat Sunderland in the league who aren't much better (if at all) than Derby at the moment. Credit to Derby by the way. Played some nice football and did well to push us. Credit to the away fans too.

Good solid result, JT got a rest, Mikel scored, Willian, Oscar and Hazard looked scintillating again and Lewis Baker made his debut. Coming up against a solid Championship team who are doing well in the league this is a fantastic result. Bring on Stoke (urgh). Willian MOTM for me. Didn't stop running and works his bollocks off with the ball and pressing. Fantastic.

Hiding behind implication. You're a coward mate and I'm going to put you on ignore rather than have to deal with you anymore. Like RMPR and others know, I come here to talk to Chelsea supporters, not deal with insults from keyboard warriors too lacking in tecticular fortitude to back up what they say on the internet. Enjoy your pint and goodbye. Apologies to other supporters for this shit in the thread.

Congrats Lewis.

2-0 up he certainly could do with a few minutes. Him for Rami or Oscar?

Giving you the opprtunity to call me a bigot to my face. Sorry mate, but I don't see where you get off calling people names like bigot. That's a fucking horrible insult, and you clearly wouldn't have the balls to say it to someone face to face.

Careful there keeper. That ball nearly hit you.