The only place to be

The 433 is built around improving the midfield, which is woeful at times with or without Lampard. The 4231 struggles with any combination of our 3 midfielders, so he changed it around. I'm not sure why the club didn't spend money on a defensive midfielder, but I'm not privy to their efforts to do so. To say that the team is built around Lampard is fucking laughable. It favours the whole fucking team because any combination of those 3 midfielders seems to be woefully under-fucking-performing.

The problem with Mikel and Ramires in the pivot is that there's no-one there who can then pass the ball forward with incision, zip or vision. Lamps is the only midfielder who has something approaching playmaking ability in a deep role. I know for some he's become this pantomime villain but it's really not as simple as some are making out, nor is there some conspiracy. It's very easy to slag him off (even easier behind a keyboard) but the problem arises when you have to say who you'd rather have in there and how that is likely to work in a real-match situation.

That's complete rubbish. The system isn't built around Lampard in the slightest - if anything it's built around Oscar and Hazard. Right now we have a two or three man midfield system and only four regular midfielders. Of those four, only one has what you would call proper forward passing ability which is why he's played more than he probably should have. The problem with Mikel and Rami is that they aren't that great at moving the ball forward to unsettle defences and you need that to create space for the attackers. Nonsense about Mourinho refusing to buy better players really adds nothing to the debate.

It's one of those ones that looks a lot worse than it is, but in reality a lot of keepers wold struggle with that because it's not something you would practice for. The ball itself is going into the top corner, Courtois is readjusting and it's a very, very tough ball to get your angles right for. I've seen the very best keepers get caught out by things like that.

What case? You suggested something completely nonsensical and then come out with this?

Apparently it's from a Colombian publication called Cromos which seems to be dedicated to Falcao. http://revisterovirtual.com/catalog_issue_display/4520/publicaciones/Cromos/4882.html

There's nothing wrong with being a passenger, or a seat filler. You need players who simply don't let you down when everything else is running smoothly, but I think people would prefer a more commanding presence in that position. Someone who rallies the troops and is a leader, rather than a follower. Again, that's not really an insult against Mikel. He is a rather quiet bloke in person and not a big presence by any stretch of the imagination and that's something you can accomodate in a team, but it's not something you can build around. We've been spoilt by that spine of Cech, Terry, Makelele, Lampard and Drogba because they were all leaders and you could put the likes of Tiago, Cole, Del Horno etc. around them and they'd carry you. Even the likes of Deschamps and Wise were leaders in that position - I don't think the same can be said of Mikel.

It's a new season with a new manager. What came before really doesn't matter as much as what he thinks is best going forward, and in that number 10 spot he's chosen Oscar who hasn't let him down. Let's put this into context - Oscar has the potential to be one of the very best players in the world. It's not like Mata has been dropped for Craig Burley. I think it was because Mourinho wanted more directness on the wings so he went with Hazard instead. Having a player whose first inclination is to cut inside clearly wasn't working, so that probably ruled Mata out. Here, have a like though.

Again, certain fans confusing Chelsea FC with Mata FC.

Not a bad argument, but I think there's a strong possibility we go back to doing what we did against West Ham and force Southampton onto the back foot. The other option is simply to throw in Schurrle for one of the midfielders and let him and Hazard loose on the wings.

What Mata situation is that? The one where he's being kept out of the team by Oscar, who has been the player of the season by a long distance so far? I simply don't get what all the fuss is about regarding Mata. He's a great player, but Oscar is a great player as well and he's in some good form.

Unfortunately there's not much we can do about it except look for him to have a good game. West Ham might be weak but he put in a very hard-working performance against West Ham and we applied enough pressure to disrupt whatever gameplan they had. We can't approach Southampton afraid of how they might force us to play, because we're a better team than them. It's not like the other options are markedly better either. Mikel had a shit game at the St. Marys last season, but he probably has to play as well and reach the levels he did against West Ham. Like always, it's easy to say why we shouldn't do something but harder to say what we should do.

Good point. This is also the problem with signing 32 year olds who have taken it easy for a while.

Frustratingly he has started to put in better crosses but then lets himself down with that simple ball over the top for Salah's goal. Maybe he should've been deeper but unfortunately when you've got someone with Salah's pace it's going to be tough to make up that ground. Could definitely see him dropped for Southampton, but that leaves us with a couple of other issues.

I'd be inclined to go with the same team that beat West Ham, but with Torres in for Eto'o. Cech Ivanovic Cahill Terry Azpi Mikel Lamps Ramires Oscar Hazard Torres Obviously it's a bit more fluid than that but I think that line-up deserves another run-out with an extended rest. I could actually see Ivanovic maybe getting dropped with Cole in on the left and Azpi shifting to the right, but we need to have some intensity in our game right from the off. Oscar needs to be the focal point because he's completely anonymous out on the wing.

There are over four days between now and the Southampton game. I think that's enough time for him to recover and put in another performance like the one he did against West Ham. Look, if he puts in a good performance and we win people will be happy. And if he puts in a bad performance and we lose, well a lot of people will still be happy. Now we're getting into the realms of 'maybes'. Neither of those has played there for us so I don't know if they could do a job.

Jose rested Hazard because Jose has other option in Hazard's position. Jose doesn't have other options for a three man midfield when he only has three midfielders available. Van Ginkel's injury is hitting us harder than anyone probably imagined.

Glad we can agree. I think Mikel can be a good squad player, and even a first team player if he's used in the right way and (for want of a better word) protected. But I think he can look like a lost little boy when he's given too big of a role in the team. I don't know if Rami is the guy you can trust to keep him in check either because he's possibly one of the thickest players we've ever had at this club. If we had a real leader in that position, like a De Rossi, then Mikel would be fine. I know some of is supporters will say he had a good game last night but Chelsea supporters are knowledgeable enough to expect more from someone who should be a leader by now. It's not his fault because that's just who he is, but we simply can't afford to put too much pressure on him because he will crumble.

Spot on. It's not something that you can coach unfortunately. He's a nice guy, but sometimes winners are real cunts.

Because more people will take notice of mistakes that occur in Chelsea matches. It was a freak mistake too, rather than a few of Cech's errors. Looping balls like that can catch out the very best keepers (Nayiiiiiiim!!!) and it's a very tough type of ball to judge because you'd almost never practice being in that situation. He's still the keeper for our future.

Thought he probably could've done better for their goal. Salah's second touch gets away from him a bit but Cech doesn't move. Nitpicking maybe but that's what you get when you're one of the best around. Still think he's on his way out at the end of the season in favour of Courtois, who also threw in a bit of a clanger last night.

And as if by magic....

Here's the weird thing about Mikel - I rarely see him shouting at other players. Great players in that position have been likened to generals, dragging their teammates into position to help them if they're being overwhelmed. Mikel has never done that to my memory. He always just seems content just to be on the pitch, putting in a 7 out of 10 performance. There's never been any ambition there, any impetus or driving force from him. He's a passenger, which is fine when the team is playing well because he doesn't seem to drag them down but when the going gets tough, Mikel has a tendency to disappear. I think that lies at the crux of why Chelsea supporters haven't really taken to him. He doesn't ever stand up and be counted or show a huge amount of fight. Going back to the question I've quoted, no I don't expect him to defend against 5 men (not that he did at any point last night), but I expect him to be something of a leader in that position at this point in his career.

Sorry, I'm not sure if top class midfielders should ever crumble. In fact I'm not sure if top class sportsmen should crumble, especially when they're supposed to be at their peak. There's a reason why after 300 games for this club Mikel still hasn't convinced a large majority of supporters (in my experience anyway).

I think I've said Lamps had a poor game, but unfortunately a lot of people have acted the cunt and gone overboard in their criticism of Lamps (hoping he gets injured, insulting him personally) so my reasoned criticism probably got a little overshadowed. I even said Mikel had a good game against West Ham, but he's massively inconsistent. Last night everyone played poorly yet the focus was almost entirely on one man. Mikel actually reverted to type and had a very poor game as well, but that gets swept under the carpet. That's despite Hod actually criticising Mikel and agreeing with a lot of the things many Chelsea fans have been saying about Mikel for years. When the pressure is on Mikel, he crumbles.