The only place to be

I've seen Nat change roles in matches and do them equally well. At Watford he would go from a purely holding midfielder to a box-to-box presence and be equally effective, so I've never had cause to question his tactical aptitude. Technically I'd actually say that Nat is vastly underrated. His passing ability is very good, his close control excellent and I've even seen him do a job as a number 10 albeit in the youth ranks. His levels of fitness were prodigious in the youth-ranks as well, and he coped well in his first full season when he was playing virtually every match, so again I'm not entirely sure what you're basing these criticisms on. If you're comfortable with that role then that's fine - lord knows your friend needs help fighting his battles. Being a provocateur seems eminently more entertaining than licking shit to me. Think I've already addressed this. Another point is that Nat is equally comfortable in defence and coming from that position probably has a different appreciation for the work he does in midfield. We're talking about two players who could form a formidable and complimentary partnership in years to come with Nat as our Javi Martinez and Marco as our Bastien. Watford - it's a small place on the outskirts of Northern England.

It's highly, highly unlikely. The club buying him would need to be desperate to accept that because they wouldn't be able to plan long-term with such a clause. The player himself would almost certainly object because they'd probably want a lot more certainty in their career and you've also got to look at the situation at this club. The fact is we own one of the best young keepers in world football and we're dithering about what to do with him.

I disagree having watched both teams and spoken to fans of both teams, as well as people at this club. To say he's 'head and shoulders' above Nat is very unfair to Nat and seems a little 'boot-licky' (not for the first time either). They're different players and both have a lot of quality, but on the ball I still think Nat is a far more composed presence. Marco can look a little skittish at times and even in his limited game time for us he looked uneasy and nervous. It's a shame he didn't get a chance to bed in because he would've improved in my view, but Nat has never really had that until this season. He's always looked eminently comfortable in any situation and I don't see a single reason why this wouldn't be the same at this club. People talk about him needing time to develop but refuse to go into specifics. It's not like he's a Josh who needs to add workrate and physicality to his game, and it's not like he's a Todd Kane who needs to add a bit of quality on the ball. Mentally he's always been a cut above those around him and he emerged as a leader at Watford last season (which is astounding for an 18 year old). To say he isn't 'developed' enough is such a cop out.

Must've made a real impression in his games for Chelsea then. Can you pick a defining moment from his 97 minutes of match time that made you realise he's 'well ahead of Nat'?

Did Bushman write this?

Impressive. Apparently Barca are interested in him as well....that makes three of our young players that they've been linked to (Courtois and Loftus-Cheek). Ha ha...idiots. Don't they know how bad his link-up play is? Stupid Barca and their stupid youth development officers.

A nice simple point, well made. Besides the point that we might actually get an upgrade in a key position, installing Courtois as number one could have a massive impact on the attitude of younger players at the club. It would be a massive statement of intent, that if you prove yourself to be better than the next man then you'll get a shot regardless of age.

He requested a transfer two days after we signed Samuel Eto'o. All this guff about him 'deciding his future' is a smokescreen from Jose. JOSE decides who stays and who goes. Lukaku may have asked but Jose acceded to these 'demands'.

Um, actually that's exactly what football supporters are. They feed off our energy and that spurs them on. It's one of the objectives. Anyway, you've said that Nat isn't ready or developed enough but you avoid specifics. I'm not sure why this is. Having watched him play many, many times he has that one thing that top quality players of any age always have - time on the ball. He's athletic, he's a great passer, he's disciplined and he gets the odd goal. What's missing?

No. Because he's good. No-one is calling for Charley Musonda to be given a chance. It's not just about us wanting any old young player to come in, otherwise the logical call would probably be Josh. The reason a lot of people want Nat to be given a chance is because he's a good player. I don't see you talking too much about what he needs to develop, just that he's at some early stage of development. Physically he's always held his own, technically he's fantastic and he also shows good positional awareness, so what exactly do you fear him doing wrong if he was actually given a shot in the team? Pogba may have been the exception - what about Nat makes you think he isn't another exception? When I saw him play against Pogba at the Bridge, they were the two exceptional players on the pitch. Maybe you're right - maybe young players have to prove themselves at the highest level before we can take a risk on them. But how fucking boring that world is. How unadventurous and dull. Why every fan who gives a fuck about the romance of football isn't screaming at the top of their voices for young players with exceptional talent to be given a chance I don't know. But then I'm not sure why so many people who wander into Stamford Bridge on matchdays (apparently by accident) aren't screaming at the top of their voices.

Sounds like a plan. Strangely your kid sounds a lot like me....like, me now. Nice to see him being raised properly. Honestly despite my faltering memory, every time I go to matches I get taken back to me and my old man walking from Chelsea Embankment (when you could actually park there) to the Bridge. It's a really special thing and away days are even better....unless it's Millwall away and mounted police end up on the pitch. Cherish it

No. Wish I could but this time of year is just a nightmare for midweekers. It's fortunate that the Christmas matches are either at home or pretty local. You taking your little'un to his first away match is going to be special though. I'm getting to that point where mates are taking their kids to their first matches and it's such a special thing (although the cost of those little kits is extortionate). A mate of mine brought his to his first England match at Twickenham a few weeks ago and brought a new meaning to the phrase 'wetting the baby's head'. Trying to think who my first away day was against....got a feeling it might've been Leeds or maybe Arsenal. The lesson from this - take photos because memory's aren't what they used to be.

He said he was after the match, but I'd watch for something more official. I could quite imagine Mata retaining his place anyway or maybe even Willian coming in for a more 'energetic' presence in that spot.

Exactly, and December is a time when it's just about the points on the board. Performances and goals scored really don't matter. I'd take 1-0 wins all this month and be very happy. As for the team Cech Ivanovic Cahill Terry Azpi Mikel Lampard Ramires Oscar Hazard Torres I'd go for the same as the West Ham game, but I can see Jose maybe going with something a little different.

The lack of patience some show with young players is astounding to me. I simply don't understand these types of fans. Essien made a massive cock-up yet the supporters in the ground didn't get on his back. They encouraged him, they cheered him and put the proverbial arm around his shoulder. Why this wouldn't be the same for young players I don't know and I know every Chelsea supporter worth their salt would love to see youngsters being brought through. I guarantee not a single Chelsea supporter agrees with this. All players make mistakes, and Chelsea supporters have ALWAYS supported youngsters. We have a fine tradition of young players coming through in fact. I try my best to not engage with you Choulo but when you're so amazingly wrong, I have to interject.

http://www.redcafe.net/threads/paul-pogba.278058/page-10 Page 10 contains posts from around 2011. It's then you'll start seeing a few people saying Pogba should be given a shot and then others saying 'it's a big jump' and 'he's too young and inexperienced'. That debate goes on for a couple of years, although it's a bit sadder now. The simple fact is that we don't know how well he'd do if he was given a shot, but we can make guesses based on what we've seen of him.

The problem is Jose doesn't seem to trust him, so if we've got Ivanovic, Azpi, Shaw and possibly even Kalas then you've probably got enough cover to last you a season. Bertrand probably needs to move on for his own sake.

Unbelievable maturity for a young guy and impressive physically too. The comparisons with Rooney are apt because you don't see young guys slide so easily into first-teams and hold their own technically and tactically, because that system Pochettino is running is by no means conventional. He's yet another example of what can be gained from having faith in your youngsters, alongside Ward-Prowse and Clyne. I like the idea of throwing in players like Moses and Bertrand to lower the price too.

I think he might've. Essien really didn't do much and Chalobah is really being wasted in Nottingham, whereas he would at least be another option here. Sometimes it just doesn't work out at a club and the manager simply doesn't fancy you whereas at least he'd be training around world-class players and maybe getting some time here and there. My own view is that he has everything to be a quality player for us but he needs to be given that chance and that's something the club (and some 'fans') seem reluctant to do despite us looking poor in the position he plays. Yet these same 'fans' would love us to sign Paul Pogba (I would too but the guy was underrated by many just because he was in United reserves, before getting a chance with those cunts in Turin).

Against West Ham he set up the team perfectly to completely negate their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Against Southampton he probably made some errors in the selection but made the necessary changes and we won. Not all managers will say they got it wrong and react to what actually happens on the pitch, but he does. It's a welcome change from certain recent managers and to do it when he's still trying to work out his best XI is perhaps even more impressive.

Not true. Oscar has CARRIED this team at times this season and to pretend like Mata wasn't streaky and went missing at times last season is a little skewed. In fact even when Oscar isn't having a great game creatively, he still puts a shift in. When Mata isn't producing magic, he's not far off of chocolate teapot territory. I'm not trying to put Mata down, but both players have their positives and negatives - ultimately it comes down to what you want from your number 10. Both need more from the guys behind them though.

Oscar was MOTM against West Ham just a week ago.

A weird performance in that Southampton looked good, but never really created much whereas we had a poor first half and then came out in the second half looking like a different team. Ivanovic was brilliant today, marshalling that right-side on his own. His part in the first goal illustrates his importance at set-pieces. Azpi always looks to do something when he gets the ball, although at times the fact that he's a rightie playing on the left is painfully obvious. JT and Cahill didn't have to do a huge amount, but they looked fairly solid doing it and their goals were massive. Rami was a machine. Essien really needs more games. He relies on his strength more because he can't get away from players like he used to, but he showed some nice touches. Best not to dwell on his first touch too much. Hazard seems to be completely under-rated, but I think he's invaluable at just being a consistent protector of the ball in the final third. He just needs to start showing that magic...the x-factor that we all know he has. Oscar and Mata don't work together well. They cannibalise each others' space and both are looking to set the tempo which leaves gaps in key areas. It's looking increasingly like it's one or the other. Torres looked like a part of the team, rather than a misfiring outcast. Needs to add goals to his game but did well. Ba simply caused problems for this Southampton team. He's a decent option off the bench, but everytime I see him I just think Lukaku should be taking his place in the team. Nice bloke apparently, but I have little love for him. Lamps was good when he came on, working hard and putting some nice passes in. He recycled play well for Terry's goal and that's something we miss with other options. So after the doom and gloom of Basel it was actually a fairly comfortable win in the end. A lot of good points and plenty to work on, but the same underlying issues remain.

He looks like a member of the team right now, rather than a millstone around it's neck holding them back. He seems willing to run at players again, he is someone that defences have to look at and he works hard. That's a big improvement on what he was playing like the last couple of seasons.

Unused sub again. Failure of a loan spell. Well done Chelsea.