The only place to be

Yeah, we do. It isn't 2003 anymore and we're being run as a business, especially in light of FFP. That's why we have all these commercial deals in place, and if we have an asset that could be sold for a good return when he isn't first-choice for us then it is absolutely a possibility that he'll be sold.

Big. Fucking. Deal. We don't lose players - we sell players. We choose when players leave and if we want to sell these players then we will replace them. If these players (who have hardly set the world alight this year) can't step up to Mourinho's challenge when he drops them, then they aren't worth keeping around. Mourinho is the boss. He doesn't need to be beholden to players' whims just because they might get unhappy.

To me that doesn't sound like you watched the game. What we tended to do was play the ball around the back four and Mikel a lot, which is why Terry, Cahill and Mikel attempted so many passes. Rather than making the Schalke defence uncomfortable, they seemed happy to keep it tight up until the point Hildebrand made a fuck-up. From that point on (when Schalke actually started looking for a goal and leaving gaps) Mikel and Ramires looked a lot better, but the problems before that goal are what I'm worried might crop up again with these two in the pivot.

De Bruyne did well in his first CL start for us last night, didn't he?

Do you see a problem with creativity from the pivot if West Brom adopt the same tactics as Schalke did? Basically, did you watch the game last night or are we expecting Myhill to pull a Hildebrand?

Bit extreme. Lampard and Ramires have been good this season. Going overboard after one shit game against Newcastle (No Oscar in the CAM) and one win against Schalke (3-0, same result we got with Rami and Lamps having a stormer) seems unnecessary.

He doesn't have zero vision. He's actually been the heartbeat of this team and whilst he contributes slightly less than Mata in the attacking sense, he contributes far more defensively and also ties the team together better right now. We actually look like a team rather than offence and defence, which we did last season.

No offence, but it's a Chelsea forum. People are going to mention things about matches, atmosphere etc. (and not just to slag the home support off again, as I noticed some were doing in the match thread).

It's brilliant lone striker play. He drifts in the area between the two defenders just as the ball is about to be passed so he goes from being Terry's responsibility to Cahill's. He makes at least two dummy runs/feints to draw Cahill maybe half a metre beyond Terry (by no means criminal as some are suggesting) and even then all he's managed is to run on to a ball that is moving away from goal and is on his weaker foot. Ultimately it becomes something of a hit and hope job because he'd never expect to beat Cech on his near post, yet he does. It's a combination of fantastic strike play, poor goalkeeping and dumb luck at the end of the day.

Sorry mate, didn't mean to offend. Just bringing up a memory of supporting Chelsea that was pertinent to the discussion. Didn't think that would touch a nerve.

It became a running joke around the Bridge, the number of times he was called offside when he was perfectly level. You must have heard the grumbles and groans each time it happened.

The quality of Aguero's there (sic) has simply been underrated. Wow, that was easy. Cahill makes the right move. He can't see Aguero (because he's behind him) but he's expecting him to make a curved run off of Terry and into the channel Cahill is monitoring. It's fantastic forward play combined with a well-timed ball. Aguero's job there is to cause confusion and he does that better than most strikers. But if you disagree, you disagree. Aguero's run reminds me of the runs Crespo used to make for us though, and they're very hard to defend against (although Hernan was usually called offside by linos who simply weren't used to that type of run).

We didn't look solid in the first 15 minutes, and until their keeper gifted us a goal we didn't look like scoring either. After that (when Schalke went looking for a goal) Mikel looked good. Whatever shit Phil gets, there are equally 'fervent' supporters of Mikel who seem to place greater emphasis on him than on the good of the club. They're 'Mikel supporters' to me, which explains their ease with shitting on people like Lampard with apparent glee.

Couldn't disagree more. Aguero's run there is of the highest quality. He's between the defenders, behind Cahill's back and makes a couple of stutter steps to create maybe half a metre difference between the line Cahill is holding and the one Terry is. It's a fantastic piece of forward play and I doubt you'd get many people suggesting it was a Cahill mistake. From there on, Aguero is on his left foot moving away from goal so it's really down to Cech not to be beaten on his near-post. Looking at the video again, Cahill and Terry seem to be having a small conversation about Aguero before he makes the run. Again, the positioning of Aguero is fantastic, the run perfect so having a pop at 'Garry' Cahill seems a bit harsh.

He's been fantastic this season and last season people were moaning about Azpi's crossing. I said then that the problem was a lack of decent targets in the area and that hasn't changed. He's also struggled from a lack of consistency in the right wing position, but now Willian seems to have earned a second successive start then maybe they can start to build a rapport. His presence in set-pieces is also a powerful tool, as well as the tactic of pushing him on and using him to win first-phase ball from goal-kicks.

Actually thought he was a little off last night, but like Oscar he still maintains defensive solidity when firing on all cylinders. Also has a decent free-kick on him, which is less noticeable when he's probably fourth in line for a dig (Luiz, Lamps, Mata...Hazard?).

I enjoy seeing United struggle too much to want them to get anything from this game. I don't see Arsenal maintaining their form anymore than I see Ramsay continuing his scoring run, and personally I'd love United to miss out on Champions League football. Long-term, that could have serious consequences for them financially. I think this too, although I am aware of how these posts might look come May. I don't know if you can rely on Ramsay to keep this run going. It's too early to say whether this is a temporary moment of amazing form, or this is who he actually is from now on. He is 22 after all, and this was about the age Lamps started to really kick on. Plus he had that injury setback. Now I'm just worrying myself.

The first goal was a fluke, but some might call that experience. The second was just sumptuous though, and the type of goal we've probably missed from our strikers. Clinical, powerful, confident...and Eto'o just seems more mellow compared to how I remember him. When Draxler went in on him 9 out of 10 players would've reacted in some way, but he's seen it all before and just helped the kid up (should've seen a card for that in my opinion). I've said before that he looks like a 32 year old Eto'o when I've commented on his pace, but it seems like he's lost none of the instincts that made him so dangerous. He might still be able to do a job for us until May.

A draw would be a nice result, although I can see Arsenal winning that match which isn't the worst thing in the world. I expect them to fall off at some point and I'd rather have United further back behind us.

He has a speed and directness on the right that we simply didn't have when Oscar played there, and it stretches the play to create gaps for other players. Right now he's a very necessary player for us, otherwise we become very slow and compact like we were last season.

It was a quiet game, but he still contributed and the team just looks more like a team when he's involved rather than the disjointed mess we had on Saturday. Schalke seemed to focus on him a lot which left more space for Willian which is the benefit of having a fuckload of attacking talent.

Thought he was a liability in the first 10-15 minutes but he kicked on and once Schalke opened up and went looking for the goal he seemed composed and in control. The problem is what happens if we don't get that fluke of a first goal and Schalke continued to defend deep? It worked well last night and he probably deserves a start against West Brom, but it could be more of the same.

Don't need to make too many changes from the team that beat Schalke. Cahill did enough to retain his place whilst I think Cole is probably put back in at left-back for this one, despite a decent performance from Azpi. Mikel can probably get another start with Lamps to come on if we're pushing for a goal and whilst I think it's more likely he'll start on the bench, I wouldn't be surprised if Hazard came in for Schurrle who was solid but unspectacular against Schalke. Cech Ivanovic Cahill Terry Cole Mikel Ramires Willian Oscar Hazard Eto'o

Not the best performance and we looked a little flat until Hildebrand gifted us a goal which Eto'o played no small part in but after that it was pretty much plain sailing as Schalke had to go looking for a goal. The team looked a lot more balanced with two direct wingers and Oscar back in the middle, and Ramires and Mikel looked good in the pivot with Rami venturing forward whilst Mikel sat. Cahill had a fantastic game too and should retain his place at the weekend. It actually looks like the squad is starting to shape up nicely and there's competition and depth that we could only dream about last season. But that first 15 minutes should've seen us a goal down and we won't score flukes like the first goal every week, so there's still plenty of improvement to be made. Fair play to the Schalke fans though who were fairly boisterous for most of the night. A couple of their players are right cunts though and that Jones is an awful player.

Would be a real shame if he went, but with Ivanovic seemingly first-choice and Wallace and Kane coming up then it might be a possibility in the summer. But I'd be surprised if other teams weren't monitoring his situation.