The only place to be

So you're upset that he's playing second fiddle to the guy who has been our best player all season. Jose Mourinho thinks that Oscar is better for this club in the number 10 position than Mata. That's not being disrespectful.

Schurrle managed. KDB has managed. Cole has managed. Plenty of players have managed. I understand he must've been frustrated but petulance like that from someone like Mata can seem a little calculated. He's an intelligent man, he understands how stuff like this works. Why has he received crappy treatment? Jose just rates Oscar higher than him in the middle and Willian better than him on the right-wing. How on Earth is that crappy treatment? Cole has been surplanted by a right-back who proved Jose wrong. Azpi wasn't in the first-team, but he was given a chance and won that shirt. Has Mata not been given a fair chance? People are judging him on his actions. No-one is ignoring his contribution to this club but simply putting it into context. I haven't seen anyone belittle him. In fact what I've seen is more people moaning about Mata not playing at the first opportunity (especially on Twitter) than praising Oscar's emergence as one of the most exciting prospects in world football.

Fergie used to say that if United was within 5 points of the leaders in January then they could still win it. We have a coach who knows how to win titles, knows how to win this league and the team is getting better. Plus we can actually get the reinforcements we need and ship out some of the 'under-performing' aspects of the squad. However that run-in is going to be tough. Ideally you'd like to see Cardiff and Sunderland have a catastrophic next few months otherwise it's not impossible that 4 of our last 6 games are against relegation-threatened sides. 2 of our last 7 are against teams pushing for a top four finish as well. There's plenty of banana skins but if we continue to improve as we have been then we'll be there or thereabouts by the time we roll into Anfield.

How are people trashing him exactly? His response yesterday was always going to draw attention and Mata isn't one of the players who is too stupid to realise that. He knows exactly how media and social media works. On the pitch he simply hasn't been as important as he was for us, and that's got nothing to do with trying to 'prop up the manager'. And Oscar has repaid that trust in him. Oscar is a potential Ballon d'Or winner, Mata isn't. I've said for the last two seasons that we would have to choose between the two eventually and that time seems to be here. If Mata can't do a job for us on the right-wing then I really don't think he has a future with us.

I'm not worried about cup-tying them, but it hurts their value if they are. Really we're probably only talking about Bertrand in that regard and he hasn't been fancied by Jose for much of the season. I'd rather see Azpi at left-back and Kalas at right-back simply because Kalas has a future at this club.

£25 million quoted to Wolfsburg, apparently they're willing to go to £17 million. If that's true then it's roughly £10 million profit. Nice.

A really tough one to predict. You'd like to see some young players given the chance but Derby away is not going to be an easy game and the last thing we want is to lose (the second to last thing is a replay - need to win on the day). Schwarzer needs a start, Luiz is coming back from suspension and our midfield options are already limited so I'd expect Essien to get a run out (maybe even in a 433). Up front I'd assume it would be Ba, but there is the possibility of not wanting to cup-tie him or simply wanting to give one of the other guys a run out considering they're in half-decent form. Hazard on the bench, along with Oscar and maybe even Traore? Plus maybe a young'un to make up the numbers in midfield (Baker sat against Swindon, seems to be first in line unless McEachran returns and goes straight in). I'm just confusing myself here. Between not wanting to cup-tie players who might be on their way out (Bertrand, Ba), not wanting to lose the match and wanting to keep the good form going, anyone could be selected but here goes. Schwarzer Kalas Luiz Cahill Azpi Essien Ramires De Bruyne Willian Schurrle Torres

Both big misses but we've got some momentum going now so maybe we can get over these a bit better than we would've earlier in the season. Luiz showed he could do a job for us in midfield against Liverpool whilst we've got Kalas who can cover at right-back (hopefully against Derby this weekend). I also expect us to dip into the market sooner rather than later and there's also the chance that a youngster like Chalobah or even McEachran might get a shot in midfield, but I think Bertrand is almost certainly gone in this next window.

But we are in transition.

So we need someone to pass the ball through defences like Hazard did for Oscar's first chance, or Hazard did for Oscar's goal? How about Hazard? Or Willian? I don't disagree that Mata has been great over the last couple of seasons, but we weren't. We're now looking like we could be a great team....I'd sacrifice Mata's Chelsea career at the alter of Jose for that to happen.

You can believe that second part if you want, but Oscar and Willian's introduction saw us add pace and precision to our play. Personally I'm not too fussed who plays, so long as they work hard and produce results. At the moment that's Oscar and Mourinho doesn't seem willing to change his number 10 any time soon. Adding a manager like Mourinho and players like Willian made us 'not poor'.

He was a great player for us...but we were a poor team. Maybe that's his limit. Maybe he can't be part of the team we're building. Not really gonna shed a tear about that.

Cech was dropped after the Stoke game. These players have each been dropped. Has been. Has been. He's been awful this season, he doesn't fit the system and he was awful today. He deserved to be subbed and he didn't need to make the fuss he did. I'm only disappointed the cameras didn't cut to him when Oscar actually started leading this team.

Cech, Cole, Azpi, Torres, Mikel, Cahill, Luiz. Eto'o, Ba, Schurrle. Essien.

Plenty of other players have been dropped and not moaned. It was pathetic.

He may as well retire. He's only completed 13 of the 17 Premier League matches he's participated in this season.

If you look at how many players have been 'dropped' or simply left out of the team this season (Azpi, Luiz, Cahill, Mikel, Cole, Cech, Torres) then why Mata thinks he has a divine right to start I don't know. No-one else has given that reaction and the majority have reacted well and improved their performance. Mata hasn't. Very disappointed in his reaction and he's no fool. He knows the media very well and knows exactly what they will be looking for.

Thought he was good today, broke play up and laid it off quickly. When the team is playing well, he won't let you down.

Nothing to do with goals, but everything to do with our pace and tempo. Undeniably talented but starting to look like Joe Cole in his last season at the club where the play would slow when it got to him. Why move our best player when the system is working so well?

Why when we have Schurrle and De Bruyne, with Traore also recently signing. I get the point you were trying to make but it makes no sense. Mata is a great player but saying he doesn't fit our system isn't disrespectful.

What's more important? A strong bench or a good striker?

Bad game but think he still has the engine and the directness that can work well in this side. In a team with Oscar and one of Willian and Hazard then he can be an important player for us, but simply wasn't his day.

How is it immature? He doesn't seem to fit the system and would fetch about £30-35 million which we could use to strengthen areas we are weak in.

Southampton should've scored as well though. The difference between the first-half and the second-half for me was that everything good in the first-half came from individual moments of skill (mostly Torres) whereas the second-half was a complete team performance. That first-half was worryingly reminiscent of Newcastle away actually.

Hated the dive, loved everything else. He's our most important player in almost every phase of the game and he's starting to build a real rapport with Willian and Hazard too. Now if only he could put in a corner.