The only place to be

Against Basel Oscar scored one, hit the crossbar and put Hazard through clear on goal. Against a team who defended deep, that's enough isn't it? Mata makes us attack better, but I think that right now Oscar can make us the better team. He's carried this team at times this season both in attack and defensively. Until he stops doing that, he's the number 10.

Mata has been at this club for about two years. Great guy, but that's really fuck all in the grand scheme of things. He's not our best player right now either - that's Oscar.

:lol2: :lol2: Mata doesn't fit with what Jose wants. He's said that but he's giving him the chance to mould himself into a player who can play in Jose's team. Right now Jose thinks he can't do that, whereas Hazard is at least doing the basics of what he wants (and showed under Benitez too, with his improvement on the defensive side of the ball). Oscar has been given a chance and taken it. He's carried this team at times this season. Has it been perfect? No. That doesn't mean I 'dickride' whatever Jose does. What it means is that I give him the benefit of the doubt, especially when the season has barely started. Fans like you seems to find it very easy to turn on the manager at the drop of a hat and that had been a major problem at this club for a while now. Quite frankly I'd prefer that element wasn't part of this club, but luckily it only seems to exist in small corners of the internet. So stick around, have your moan but keep it keyboard-based. :heart:

Eden would be a nailed-on starter for Spurs. His problem has been that teams have defended with a low block which reduces the space he has and sees him getting the ball with his back to goal - that is almost the complete opposite of how Spurs would be expected to set up against us, isn't it? You'd expect them to leave gaps as they'd be looking to pressure us. So Jose picks Hazard and Cole for the first few games, rests them in midweek and chucks them back in against Spurs. Taking a step back and looking at the season as a whole rather than simply looking at individual games, doesn't that make some sense or am I wrong?

Mourinho suggested EXACTLY why Hazard is still in the team. He's not getting the ball whilst facing the goal, so we need to learn how to play with him in the side and get him what he needs. Yes we could drop him and Ashley, but they need time to gel as a unit (that's how coaches tend to see teams, as units). Hazard is still a young player learning his trade is a relatively new league, under a completely new system. He's having to unlearn some of what he was doing under Rafa whilst learning a new system under Jose who clearly sees him as the future. Again, getting to that new place with be painful and there will be mistakes along the way but clearly Jose (and I) think it will be worth it in the long-term.

So he won't play Oscar in midfield because he's being stubborn? Could it be that he thinks Oscar (our best player this season) is more effective in the number 10 position rather than being 'stubborn'? I wanted Oscar to play in the double pivot, but Jose sees him day in and day out and doesn't agree, and I accept that because Jose has forgotten more about football than you or I will ever know. I don't think he's being 'stubborn'.

Because Hazard will be a key player for us and we need to learn how to get him the ball when he's facing goal, not with his back to it. Jose said this in his interview yesterday. Because he doesn't trust Bertrand? Because he wants to keep the Hazard/Cole unit together so they learn how to play together in September so they're ready for Janaury-May? No, you build your team around the way your manager wants them to be built. That's why we hired him. Mata is not irreplaceable - in fact he's been replaced by Oscar who has been our player of the season so far. He's been key to everything we've done and we're still building a new team. Despite that we're top of the league so I don't know what supporters like you actually want? You'll get your commemorative title-winning patch to plaster on your kit next season - just ignore football until that's available on the megastore because it might be a bumpy ride and not always fun.

Another fantastic performance and his engine is unbelievable. Always available on the right in a way that we simply don't have on the left - would like to see Azpi play but this guy is untouchable at the moment. One of the first name on the team sheet.

Again, too much talk about Mata and not about this young man who is putting the team on his back at times rather than disappearing when it gets tough. He's skilful but he's got a steel and tenacity that you'd associate with more workmanlike players. The sky is the limit for him.

Well that shirt printing is expensive. Win a local derby, top of the league and Mikel scores....but Mata didn't play so I'm gonna bitch. Some things I just don't understand.

Utter bollocks. He's building a team for Chelsea....that's CHELSEA, not MATA FOOTBALL CLUB. If Mata wants to play for this club then he has to do what Jose wants him to do. If he can't do that then we sell him. People can either support that decision or they can fuck off somewhere else. But I trust Jose. The club hopefully backs him because that's what this club needs in my opinion - stability at the top. As for the game, Fulham sat deep like other teams have but we stepped it up in the second half. Oscar showed exactly why he's keeping Mata out of the team with another MOTM performance. Mikel actually played better against Everton but seems a different player under Mourinho. Jose also explained in simple fucking language what he's doing and why he's doing it. How many managers can so eloquently tell pundits, journos and even supporters to shut the fuck up, and still do it with a smile on their face?

The fact that we're less than 10 games into a new season, with a new style, new manager and new personnel should see people giving the club a bit more time, but football fans can live in the moment. Jose could be here for years and hundreds of games, and people are panicking after matchday 7?

Couldn't disagree more. I didn't want him to go out on loan, but I think he has a very long future ahead of him at this club. He has all the tools to fit into a Mourinho system but it was clearly a pragmatic decision to not go into the season with 4 strikers and he was just unlucky to be the only viable option from the view of the management. So Jose doesn't believe in him, but lets him take the fifth penalty in a cup final?

I think Jose feels we need Oscar in that middle role, so it's down to Mata to learn how to play as a winger (right probably) in a Mourinho system. I love Juan, I think he's a great guy but it's now down to him to step up and do what Jose wants. Too fucking long we've put 'player power' ahead of sticking with a manager. Jose is the manager, he's the guy we've entrusted we've steering this club in a new direction based on stability and I'm sorry, but if it's a choice between that and Mata then I'd sell Mata tomorrow. Player of the season yes, but last season was one of the worst seasons I can remember at the club. Some people look at the trophies and nothing else.

Exactly. He deserves credit for putting in better performances recently, but he has to keep it up. Actually felt his performance against Everton was much better than yesterday but he stepped up and it was encouraging to see. This is the thing about people like you and I who have criticised him - we didn't do it because we needed a scapegoat or just for fun. We did it because he wasn't playing well (in our opinions), but when he does put in a good performance then we're quite ready to give him the credit he deserves. And I'll be honest - it felt good to sing his name yesterday. I hope this is the start of a new era for him, but he needs to kick on.

It's clear that whilst Mata might be the better attacking number 10, Jose thinks he can build the better TEAM with Oscar in that position and I tend to agree. He always seems to link the play better, simply with his higher workrate allowing him to cover more ground than Mata. Mata HAS gone missing and not just in big matches. Look at the Villa game at the end of last season where the link between defence and attack was non-existent, and that was by no means a one-off. Jose explained exactly why he is doing what he is doing. If people don't trust him then I'm not really sure what to tell them - he is the manager of Chelsea and he will get my full support. We're trying to build something new here and we're top of the table. There's a breed of Chelsea supporter who want instant success and don't want any of the pain that goes along with supporting a football club. It's probably best to ignore these guys until we're back where we were a few years ago and they are kept quiet with their plastic flags again.

And this has been the root of our problems over the last decade. Jose is the manager. He is THE MAN. He was hired to do the job, and when he does it people moan because their favourite player isn't picked. We have to trust this guy, otherwise we fire him and just hire the next manager available (Mancini for a season or two, then sack him?).

That's a mate having a laugh - not some anonymous guy on the net using your kid to have a pop at you.

I'll stand by that - players are fair game within reason. Families and kids aren't. But I'm not going to argue this with you - you either understand that or you don't.

I think you're wasting your time. It's a question of decency - yes players are open to mocking but their families and their children especially should be off limits. That's the way it's always been with decent supporters.

I was being facetious - I think that however bad Torres is (or any player) laughing at their kids is a step too far and any decent supporter would agree with that.

I think you're being a bit unfair. Torres hasn't scored enough goals for us so it's perfectly justified that we laugh at his (supposed) child in order to further have a dig at him.

Actually you sometimes need patience. We've been chasing instant success to appease a certain type of fan for too long....time to relax a bit.

Ivanovic wasn't. Jose is clearly still looking for his best XI and his best system, so I doubt he'll change the things that actually are working at the moment. Once the squad is a bit more settled then I'm sure players like Azpi will get a chance.

First two games. I was also going to post in the Van Ginkel thread that is was his first start for us. Patience.