The only place to be

I think people are focusing too much on Thursday's game. It's inexcusable that we went into that game with such a shitty attitude but we clearly did and I doubt that'll be the same one on display tomorrow. Which is why I'm thinking we can win this. I'm going 1-0 to the Blues. A defiant defensive performance and a goal on the break or from a set-piece.

Are Ba and Lukaku not proven strikers? I've been one of the people who said I'd be happy going into the season with those two and one other utility striker who can also play on the wings. Does that make me nuts? Lukaku has done everything we asked of him and more. He's got a fantastic attitude and has a fantastic scoring record in his first real season of Premier League football. I'd show a bit of loyalty to this guy and give him an honest shot to lead the line, along with Ba. Oh, and for those people worried he might make mistakes - he will. That's why we're called 'supporters'. We're going to support him, we're going to cut him some slack and we're going to help him up when he falls.

Wigan have absolutely no right being in the Premier League. They're in a terrible area (rugby league stronghold, surrounded by massive clubs like the two Manchester ones), they've got a small fanbase beyond their local area and stay afloat because of Dave Whelan yet they still sell their best player each season. I think he works miracles there and I think a lot of what we like about Swansea stemmed from his time there.

Just trawled through Twitter and he apparently said something about interracial couples and Visas. Although that's a worrying thing to see, he's young and a little on the thick side. I'm actually encouraged that the club decided to drop him and that he's now off Twitter (thank fuck). It's one thing to get these young kids, and another thing to handle them properly - he's just luck his absence didn't cost us last night. If he misses the next game then I'll start worrying though.

This is a classic 'styles make fights' match in my opinion. The key areas will be in between the lines - United will look to exploit the space in wide areas between the full-backs and the wingers like they did in the first-half of the game at the Bridge. That means we need guys who will track back and that could mean Ramires on the right. The one encouraging thing about Benitez's reign has been the increased work rate of Hazard on the left so I expect him to get an hour there. Our key man will be Mata though (shock horror). If the back six can keep it tight (the double pivot will have to work their bollocks off in defence and someone will have to watch Rooney dropping off the back four into deeper areas) then Mata will have to exploit the area between United's midfield and defence. That's been their area of weakness since the first day of the season when Fellaini ran amok there, but the addition of Jones as a DM has greatly improved that. If he's out then that probably leaves Carrick, Scholes or Cleverley to patrol that area and Mata could give any of them a torrid time. Ba has to play right on the last man to create space and it's is going to be very much a backs-to-the-wall, hit on the counter, Barca-special. Preparation is key, execution is essential, but United are beatable. I disagree that we need an early goal though. Keep them out for the first 30 minutes and the crowd gets anxious, the players start to take chances and pockets of space appear around the pitch. We're probably going to be under pressure the entire match which makes me think they'll go for midfielders who are comfortable in possession. Keep them out of the box, nick a ball and break fast. They'll probably be looking to create 20+ chances and we'll get 6-9 all match.

What types of things did he say? I know he gets a lot of stick from some fans north of the border and he's got a certain attitude. If it is that then that's good work from the club - always nice to remind kids that they aren't indispensable and need to take responsibility for their actions.

Wasn't involved last night and now cryptic twitter postings? Not encouraging considering he's a real talent.

Even up to the Sunderland game, there was a tiny bit of hope and the fans wanted it to work out as much as anyone. But you're right in that it's a fiasco that a number of people (Carlo, Roman, the board) need to take responsibility for. That single transfer ruined two seasons. Every player is an injury away from retirement. He's been an astute signing but clearly the club (Roman) has been saving it's powder to make a run at Falcao, in order to tempt Pep to the club. This has been the other major mistake and it stems from one man - Roman. Are we now saying Torres should've been sent off against United? Bit harsh. Again, Sturridge was a victim of us spending a lot of money on Torres, but we spent a lot of money on Torres. He had to be given every chance to succeed because we spent a lot of money on him. At this point I should mention how hilarious the name Floppes is. You'd have thought it would get boring after a while, but by jove it gets funnier with each utterance. Anyway, I don't believe Benitez was hired to get the best out of Torres. He was available and willing to work on a short-term basis. Again, this was all based on us getting Pep in the summer which has really damaged us as a club.

That's very kind.

That it's a good thing I didn't win

So until he's played in the Champions League, we shouldn't take a risk on him? You say there are dozens of players who look a poised and talented as him - name 3. No offence, but your view on our youth is what I hate about modern football. We're a family and these young kids WILL make mistakes but we'll support them because that's what families do. You'd rather go out and spend £50 million on someone guaranteed to make no mistakes (which doesn't actually happen) when we have to change our mindset and start putting faith in these talented youngsters. The supporters of Chelsea Football Club have always supported (or nourished) young kids when they make mistakes adjusting to the first-team.

You haven't really referred to any of his qualities, attributes or virtues when saying he isn't ready. Have you seen him play?

This kid loves Chelsea and he's proven he's good enough for the Premier League. Why don't we give him a shot rather than buying a 26 year old to put in his way? I know there's plenty of fans who love everything about this guy and I'm one of them. I'd rather we sell him then treat him like this. Could do, or we could actually use him in the first team. This kid has something special and I'd probably agree with you if I hadn't seen him play so many times. Finding the right loan for him would be very tough. He's done better than I expected at Malaga. It's early days but if we can get rid of Marin then I'd include him in the squad. Nailed on for a spot next year. Sadly I agree. He needs at least two more years before he's even ready for a squad spot in my opinion. If we include Chalobah in the first-team squad then he could go on loan. Again, it has to be the right loan (Brighton would be ideal if they lost Bridcutt) but his versatility would be usefu. He's been playing in midfield for Watford and he could come in and compete for us. He's just an outstanding prospect and I don't know what he'd gain from another season on loan. This kid has everything and he'd be a great presence in the squad. He's about as ready as a player could be. If we're going to transition then there's always the option of cashing in on Cech and letting this kid help establish a new spine in our team. If Lamps is gone then JT will go next summer. Got to imagine he has no transfer value left with his public image and deteriorating physical condition.

The kid has something special about him, but he didn't cost £30 million so fuck him. People want to wait until a player is absolutely certain to fit in before they give him a chance - where's the fun and adventure in that? Where's their joy in seeing a kid coming on for his debut? I've long rejected this idea that football is losing some of it's identity but seeing people caring only about trophies and not the joy and heartache of supporting a club is actually becoming more noticeable. This is a kid who works his bollocks of, isn't afraid and has something you can't train into a kid no matter how much money you have.

Except United did that in 1996. But that was a different time wasn't it, when you could win with youth (except we now know they didn't). You've said before that you don't think Chalobah is ready (you're not the only one). In what way is he not ready apart from him not having played in the Premier League? What have you seen in his game that convinces you he couldn't come in and do a job for us? My view is that he has everything needed to be pushing for a start for us from next season so why don't we let him at least fight for a spot.

Why couldn't he be starting here? If he was given a chance to fight for that DM spot, I think he'd have a good chance at winning it from Mikel or Ramires. See this is our problem. We don't give players a chance and then say we can't because they haven't played enough. It's maddening.

This would be how he gets experience, no? Chalobah is good enough in my opinion. Piazon is starting games for a Malaga team who would give us a good game, whilst Ake didn't disgrace himself before although a loan might be best for him if Chalobah and De Bruyne came back. But out of interest, why isn't Chalobah ready? What specific areas of his game do you think he need to work on? What's doing an Arsenal? When people say that, they're usually completely wrong and don't have a clue what they mean. Arsenal's problems weren't relying on youth - it was underinvesting in the squad, selling their best players and actually not having young players of a high enough calibre supplement the first team squad. Now they're stuck buying players like Mertesacker, Arteta, Podolski etc.

I've not seen anyone go too overboard on him. He's an exciting young talent and could be very good indeed.

Torres cost £50 million - he had to be given every opportunity to succeed because of that investment and even up until December/January there were people on here thinking he might be returning to form. Let's not misremember history. Ba. Plus they'd already spent £68 million on Lukaku and Torres. So the board let a player that some people on here were saying wasn't good enough go on loan and now everyone wants him back because he's awesome. Let's not misremember history....again. Sold a player for twice what he was bought for, on an expiring contract without much likelihood of him being used - replaced him with Moses and Ba. Yes they did. Yep. Kenyon looks like a genius because people don't seem to be able to make the link between the mistakes made under his tenure with what's going on now. The board are the perfect scapegoat - they always are at every club who are struggling, especially when fans are too scared to blame the owner in case he picks up his toys and goes home. Does Ancelotti get none of the blame for the signing of Torres? Does Roman? It was a massive mistake that hangs around this clubs neck like a millstone, but he will go and we'll continue building. Right now the mob is angry and they want an easy target.

Am I the only one who thinks we can get a result? It's going to be a fascinating tactical battle, but this is the type of game our players get up for. Our wingers need to get back and cover because that's where they fucked us in the home game in the first 30 minutes, and Mata has to turn it on (although I wouldn't be surprised to see Jones marking him if he's fit). The back six need to keep it solid and the front four will need to take any chances they get, but United are beatable and we've shown glimpses (Arsenal first-half, West Brom, um....Everton) of being able to play like a decent outfit. The players need to have faith and so do the fans.

Bring them all back for next season and include them in first team plans. We need a deep-lying playmaker like Modric or Benat and Josh isn't ready so we'd need to go into the market, but for the replacement for Mikel we could go with Chalobah. Up front rather than going after Falcao we could go with Lukaku, Bent and either one other who can play on the wings as well, or maybe even include Feruz. De Bruyne instead of Isco, and maybe even look at bringing Courtois into the fold and cashing in on Petr. We're in transition so now is as good a time as any to cut ties with the past an build something new. Is he overhyped? He's a very, very promising youngster.

Chalobah Lukaku De Bruyne Courtois Ake Feruz Piazon Is next season the time to put the future of the club in their hands and let some of the older hands take a back seat/leave?

So what should he have said? We overpaid and he's not the player he was? That would've been a genius fucking move wouldn't it? At least you've got the bottle to say Roman should go - it's fucking ridiculous but at least you said it. Is he better or worse than Kenyon was? Who is more to blame?

Sorry, are you are Steaua fan or a Liverpool fan? #livinginthepast