The only place to be

At first I thought this was a stupid idea and I was like Then I saw the amount of money on offer and I was all :tophat: :tophat: Then I noticed Spurs and Liverpool hadn't been considered and I went :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

I have read numerous primary sources. They sound like pieces informed by a morality that existed a couple of thousand years ago and we've moved on, yet the 'primary sources' obviously haven't. That's the problem. Unless you think things haven't changed in 2000 years then you have to acknowledge that they're intrinsically flawed. Oh no.....the democratisation of ideology. The most important modern phenomenon has been the internet, in that people have more information available to them than at any

You're ignoring the fact that people's religious beliefs have blocked the rights of groups and individuals for centuries.

He'll have transfer value for that period. Plus Chalobah will need a break every now and then.

So you're saying he's using cocaine? I thought that was just some twitter bollocks that no-one had a shred of proof about. As for him as a player, I think he's an undeniable talent who has some question marks over his fitness. The way he came back from such a serious injury has been impressive and he seems to have a decent attitude regarding his profession. But I can't see him leaving unless something major happens, like Wenger leaving.

If we want him back, we click our fingers and he comes running. Fortunately I've seen nothing to suggest he's going to be troublesome. As for Cech, we're going to move on from him at some point and if we have a once in a generation chance to do that then you have to remove emotion from the equation and take the sensible business move. It's very rare for a team to go from one player who's best in the world to another.

Instead of what? Letting him go on a free? I wouldn't read anything into that except us having businessmen on the board. I'm also going to defend myself against a couple of accusations made my some yappy little dog on this thread. Firstly, I'm not 40. Secondly, I haven't been constantly quoting him - I think I've quoted him twice in the last fortnight one of which was a comment he made about Lukaku in June as an example of the way some people perceived him. Obviously little Cujo has a problem with sticking by his words, but no problem with insulting people that he wishes to ignore. I'd prefer he didn't lie about me in future. There's a good boy.

We have him under contract. I doubt very much he's going to kick up a fuss when we decide to make the change but I agree he's too good to stick on the bench.

I'm not sure City offer that much more stability than us. The job only become available if they sack their manager who won them the league last year. Mancini has also complained about the players who were bought in and I can only see Begiristain's role increasing. Mourinho is ambitious. If he goes to City, the best he can make them is the second biggest club in Manchester. If he comes here, then the sky is the limit over the next decade.

And everyone agrees that we need a playmaker in that position too. If we're going to play with a two-man midfield, then one will need to hold and one will dictate the play. The latter needs to be bought, the former will be one of Mikel, Romeu or Chalobah. If you include Ramires then you are basically saying that you're going to let the other team dictate the play and we'll try and hit you on the break. That may well have it's place in certain games, but I don't think he'll play the majority of games if things go to plan. As I've said, I think you can win cups with a player like Ramires playing consistently but I don't think you can win leagues like that. You can't rely on teams attacking you and you hitting them on the break. Too many teams will sit back and you have to be perfect in your execution which is impossible 100% of the time.

I've mentioned it elsewhere, but Lukaku has already scored more goals this season (13) than Drogba did in all but two of his seasons for us. That includes the two league wins under Mourinho (10, 12). What's impressive about Lukaku's goals (7 of which came since the 1st of January) is that they've been key goals for his club. The goal at the weekend was the equaliser, as was his first against Sunderland. His first goal against Reading was the first in the match and the one against Liverpool was the one that secured the win for the Baggies. Saying we can't win the league with that strikeforce is unfair. I think we're always going to be a team that needs the whole team to contribute goals and we're fortunate in that we have the likes of Mata, Hazard and Oscar. What we need is someone who can lead the line, score the odd goal and create space for the players behind him. The Manchester clubs are nowhere near as far away from us as some people think.

Not sure if I agree that we don't have an ethos or formation. If you look at age group teams then they all play either 433 or increasingly 4231. If you look at our players out on loan a few of them have gone to teams who also play those formations at least some of the time, e.g. Lukaku at West Brom or Chalobah at Watford. The younger teams have tended to reflect Mourinho's formation since he left as well, which means they've played in 433 but with a greater emphasis on breaking with speed. In fact it's interesting to see that in the last couple of years both our club and Mourinho's Madrid have moved to a 4231 although there are subtle differences in the way each play. Our problem has been defensive stability - that's essential to the formation working because you do give your attacking 4 a lot of freedom and you also need width from your full-backs. Possession retention and transitioning into defence quickly are the most important things in this formation and it's something that Mourinho could probably be very useful instilling in our squad. It's part of the reason why I think he could be ideal for us - his ethos informed our youth development over the last 7 years and he could come back and 'upgrade' it, so to speak.

Bringing on Mikel for Lampard? That's an attacking change? I know they're both chasing the club goalscoring record but I really think that Lampard's lead of 197 goals might see him edge out Mikel. But who knows? Mikel has age on his side.

It's a but unfair to compare Kagawa and Hazard when Kagawa wasn't even playing. EDIT: Oh, apparently he was. I just assumed that was one of United's fans running around trying to get Chelsea players' autographs.

I hope that him and Chalobah get some time together in the summer so they can share experiences, discuss the game and in particular the attitude to the game. That would surely be beneficial for Mikel. :eyebrows:

I'm pretty sure that the player of the year ballots go out this week. Not a bad performance to put in and remind people just how good he is.

Yes or No - Did Robbie get credit for the adjustments made in the home league game against United? Whether people like Rafa or not, he came within a toenail's length of becoming the first coach to come back from 2-0 at United and win. I agree with most of the criticism that he gets, but you have to also give credit where it's due or you don't look that grown-up.

Running in a straight line is his best asset? I'm kidding. I agree though that it pretty much summed up what he can bring to the team. Unfortunately it's a risky tactic to play. You invite pressure on yourself by giving up possession and then have to be perfect in winning the ball from the opposition, hope they have over-committed and then fail to get back properly. It's a high risk, high reward strategy which is why I don't believe you can rely on it week-in and week-out to win a league. His presence in the squad would offer versatility for games away to teams who will dominate possession.

Deserves some credit for yesterday. He might have made the wrong choices with the starting line-up but he made adjustments and nearly became the first coach to bring his team back from two goals down and win at OT. I wasn't around here then, but i expect RDM got credit for the adjustments he made in the home league game when we went two down after some tactical mistakes so it only seems fair to treat Benitez the same. Plus he once again reminded us all what a classless cunt Fergie....sorry, Sir Fergie can be. Twice in one week.

Conversely, he could have the perfect game and you'd criticise him. The truth is that he isn't as bad as you make out and he isn't as good as others suggest. He's in between and yesterday he had one of his better games so he deserves praise for that whilst bearing in mind that he doesn't do it consistently enough.

Against teams like this he can shine, but I still think we need to replace him in the team with someone able to control the tempo of the game better. That is not, and will never be his game. He has a particularly skill set and that can garner results in games like yesterday's where teams put pressure on you and leave gaps when they transition into defence. That's EXACTLY how he scored his goal and was also how he scored against Barcelona and Tottenham. I like the guy, I like his commitment and I like his engine. He's like a terrier who will chase the other team all day and you can certainly win cups doing that. But my opinion is that to win the league you need someone who controls the game and forces the opposition to run around for 90 minutes. That isn't Rami and we knew that when we bought him. So he may well have a place in the squad but if we're going to challenge for the league I think we need someone else to play the majority of games.

This is one of those games that just confirmed a few things for me. Firstly, we aren't as bad as some people, even on here, think. Football fans can be prisoners of the moment and will take the last game's performance as the ultimate measure for how good a team is. We were appalling against Steaua but clearly the players weren't up for it which reflects badly on their attitude, Benitez's skills but most worryingly, the influence of two men - Lampard and Terry. We espouse their experience and influence, but do we sometimes overstate that? On the evidence of this season, there's certainly a case for it. Anyway, we're not the team who played against Steaua - we're closer to the team that played West Brom and yesterday. What we have is a good team in the making who just need a good manager to organise them. The amount of times Mata, Oscar and Hazard drifted into the same 20 square foot of pitch space robbed us of width which wasn't helped by Ashley Cole at times. Not as bad as some people might suggest, but not as good as he once was. Luke Shaw, start packing. In the first 20 minutes we lost the midfield battle. Carrick was dictating the play but then United sat back. Maybe it was complacency or maybe it's just that they're not a very good team but what this again showed is that we're not that far behind the top teams - games like this come down to 1-2% extra in a couple of areas and that's something we can surmount next season. Ba made a difference. He was by no-means perfect, but simply having a striker who does the right things enables the trio of Hazard, Mata and Oscar the space to do their thing by keeping the defenders honest. Bringing on Mikel behind them does the same but I still don't think he's got the right intangibles to be the guy for us long-term (Chalobah, dat's you bro). He does have a skill set that no-one else at the club (currently fit, Romeu) does though and for that reason he's important. Hopefully his recent benching has opened his eyes a little. This was also the type of game Ramires can excel in, where we can exploit teams on the break who don't transition from defence to attack fast enough. His finish was sublime, but if you look at the goal he essentially outruns Cleverley and Carrick when we break from defence. It's simple and that's when he's at his best. You can win cups with that technique, but I don't think you can win leagues like that simply because a lot of teams will defend first and look for you to break them down. That type of game constitutes about 75% of domestic fixtures, which is why we need a playmaker in that position. Cahil is a good third-choice centre-back - unfortunately so is Ivanovic and increasingly JT. What we need is a first-choice centre-back to go alongside Luiz, ideally someone less adventurous than him and closer to JT. I don't know who that is, but he's becoming something of a priority next season. So all in all, not bad. A game that highlighted the green shoots of recovery that I've been talking about for a while now. It's easy to become pessimistic but I always thought we could get something from this game simply because I knew that we weren't the team who travelled to Romania on Thursday. Sometimes we focus too much on our weaknesses and need to get an outsider's perspective on where our team is. Just talking to some United and City fans made me re-think just how good/bad we actually are as a team. Sometimes you forget just how good Mata is (player of the year is never to far from any discussion about him) or how unique Hazard's talent is (yes there are United fans still gutted about not getting him and he gave them another reminder why yesterday). I started a thread about us giving the youth a chance and the need to move on was re-confirmed for me yesterday. Seeing Lamps taken off was a sad sight. The fans chanting 'you don't know what you're doing' was misguided in my opinion because this isn't the Frank Lampard of three years ago anymore. He may well have a role to play in the future but he's loved at this club and there's always going to be murmurs from the crowd when he's not in the team. The practical reality of keeping him is the chants everytime he warms up during a match - it's got to be the new manager's decision whether or not he can live with someone held so warmly in the fans' hearts which is why the contract situation probably can't be resolved until he's appointed. So am I disappointed that we didn't win the game? Sure. But what we showed yesterday was more important than a win or a loss. We showed character on the toughest stage and it wasn't coming from the old guys but from the young bucks who will be the future of this club for (hopefully) many a year. There is something special bubbling under the surface of this club, waiting to be unleashed by the right man. We need to support that, not just when it's going smoothly but when there are stumbles on the way. 'We want our Chelsea back' was the cry yesterday - that Chelsea is gone. What we're getting is hopefully something better. :blue scalf: Oh, and I thought Webb handled the game perfectly yesterday. Saw a few people moaning about his appointment but he can be one of the best refs on his day because he let's the game flow. The fact there were more people bitching before the game than after it suggests he was impeccable.

I'm of a different opinion. I have faith in this kid and I think they are good enough for us to fulfil our aims of winning the league next season. We showed today that we're a good team with goals in the team. What this comes down to is needs and money - we need a midfielder desperately. Spending £50 million on a striker when we have Lukaku seems like a reckless use of what are now limited funds. So you're not saying that Cavani is this 'proven striker' (because he isn't proven in the PL and that is our bread and butter), so who is? Who is the mystery man that we should sign? Has he scored more goals than Lukaku this season? Hasn't Lukaku proven himself yet? I've said that we should get a third in, but that it should be a versatile option like Kalou was. What I don't want is this club putting a massive price tag in front of a player who has done exactly the right thing, with the right attitude this year. I think he's earned a shot. I think it's the fair thing to do, I think it's the right thing to do and I think there's something pernicious about the desire to go out and buy a big name guy who probably isn't going to be proven in this league. But if you're saying that we should sign someone like Cavani and loan him out for a year to a club like West Brom so he can prove himself, then you may have a point.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I think we can win leagues with Mikel and a deep-lying playmaker alongside him, but I don't think we can win one of Ramires is playing regularly. I don't dislike the guy, i just don't think he's that good. It's not his fault and I admire his tenacity and workrate and that could be something we utilise from the bench of against weaker teams. I just think we need more quality, more composure and more control in our midfield.

Normally I'd be a little frustrated at the performance he put in today. Instead I just felt sad. I love this guy, but something's just not the same anymore.