The only place to be

Against City he moved inside after the first couple of subs, and wasn't that good. I like the guy. I like his attitude, but I think he's technically weak. I know he's chipped Valdes at the Nou Camp but I think he's at best inconsistent. He's perfect for these types of games where you're under pressure and counter-attacking. I just don't think you can win leagues playing that style of football. What you need is someone composed on the ball who can dictate the tempo to the other team rather than reacting to them. He probably has a place in the squad but I'd still be looking for us to sign someone to play alongside Mikel/Romeu/Chalobah next season.

He was good, but let's not go overboard. His goal was classic Ramires - us under pressure, breaking and him busting a lung to get forward. It was a great performance and we all know he's capable of doing that once in a while. The problem is he's equally likely to put in a performance like the one against the other Manchester club and we still need to buy someone who can orchestrate the play better from the double pivot.

Footballers never stop developing. What we have here is a full international with 19 caps who has scored 13 goals in the Premier League in his first proper season. He's got 10 more games this season so he could end up on 20 goals if things go his way. I'd love for this kid to come back because I love his attitude and his attributes. We're going to have to agree to disagree because there's no way I'm not going to back this kid. I love that he cried when he first came here because that's what I've done many a time. I love that he didn't take so much joy in last year's Champions League win because he didn't feel he earned it. I love that he gave the finger to all his detractors both here and elsewhere with his performances for West Brom. And I'm going to love it when he does that again next season at this club. I see no reason not to back this guy. He might not sell as many shirts as other players but he'll be proud wearing the one fucking shirt that matters. Every one of us that went to the Bridge in our kits because we thought we might get a game - this is your guy. Start backing him.

Same here. Let's put his performance in context - United in the second half were poor and didn't put any pressure on our midfield. But Mikel did come on and he did do fairly well (although he still had moments of dilly-dallying). Comments like 'he's the best midfielder we have' do carry water, but a more accurate description would be that he's the only midfielder we have who has his particular skill set. He's not an exceptional player by any means, but he is essential to the way we want to play football. I'd like to think that the shift he put in today was a reaction to his benching in the last few games and that he's realised he can't become complacent simply because we're so poor in that area. I hope he continues to buck up his ideas but I still think he's on the clock with Chalobah coming along nicely.

Not going to make a long post because I don't have time, but we don't have to do things the way other clubs do. We have goals from around the front four like we did 8 years ago. Then our main contributor was Lamps, yet it worked. What Drogba did was bring other people into the game and made them better players and we can do that again. Hazard, Moses and even Oscar are capable of contributing goals whilst Lukaku has shown a knack of scoring goals too. People keep saying we need a proven striker, and then thrown in names like Falcao and Cavani who ARE NOT proven in the Premier League. Yesterday Lukaku made Ashley Williams his bitch - this is a guy Arsenal are seriously looking at and who has been a form player all season. Lukaku has done exactly what was asked of him and I don't see a single reason why he can't be our main guy next season. I want this guy to succeed, I'd be excited turning up to see him play every week because he loves this club like every single supporter in the ground does. He's stepped up and met every challenge thrown at him with an impeccable attitude and amazing results. He deserves a chance, he deserves us supporting him. What he doesn't deserve is people saying he isn't good enough before he's had the chance to prove it. That's not supporting him.

Well apparently we're going to go after Falcao using Courtois as bait. Great. Put a high-priced striker in front of a young man who has done well, loves Chelsea but unfortunately won't sell as many shirts to people who couldn't find Stamford Bridge with Google fucking Maps helping them whilst also cashing in on someone who could live between the sticks for the next decade and a half. Fucking ridiculous.

Lukaku has scored 13 league goals this season. When we won the League in 2005, Drogba scored 10 league goals. When we won the League in 2006, Drogba scored 12 league goals. Now he did score 29 in 2010, but that was only the second time in 8 seasons at this club that he got more than the 13 league goals Lukaku has already scored this season. And let's also remember Demba Ba has scored 15 or more goals in both of his last two seasons in the Premier League which isn't bad for a stop-gap.

Spot fucking on! This kid is a scary talent, yet there are people who are still scared to give him a shot next season. Apparently he's not good enough to lead us to trophies. He'll have played 150 professional games by the end of the season. He's got 19 international caps. He's got 13 league goals in 26 appearances. He's a model pro who loves the game and cried when he first came to Stamford Bridge. In sport, in life, there are people who come along and you have to have a bit of faith in them. I understand the trepidation some might have in doing that with this kid.....no, this man, but isn't that what sport is? Isn't that why we like it? This kid feels like one of us, he loves the club like one of us and he's done more than anyone expected to achieve his stated goal....to come home. He's saying the right things and he's doing the right things.....all he deserves is for us, the club and the supporters, to do the same thing. And he might start slow...that's when we support him. He might fall....that's when we support him. And he might lead us to new glories....that's when we support him. That last one is easy, it's the first two that take character.

So signing an expensive striker is going to be the solution? Lukaku did cost £18 million by the way. We've seen what happened with Torres - the price tage guarantees him TWO FUCKING YEARS in the starting line-up whilst we sell promising youngsters. Discussions like this add validity to your signature.

How many Premier League goals has Cavani scored? Ba is a stop gap who has scored 15 league goals this season. Lukaku has scored 12. The truth is you don't know how good this kid could be, but right now he's surpassing everyone's expectations and we have other areas we need to fill. But you may have a point that Roman won't be willing to change his ways. Yay. There was this other successful team by the way - Chelsea 2005. Drogba scored 16 goals that season but he was a facilitator - he brought other players into the game because we had goals from the likes of Lamps and Duff. We could have that next season with Mata, Hazard and Oscar getting goals elsewhere whilst Lukaku creates space and chances for them. It's very easy to say we should spend £50 million on a striker like Cavani because he's proven but he's still a risk. We did that before when we signed someone called Fernando Torres and Lukaku has done everything asked of him. People willing to write him off using jaundiced logic when they won't apply it to their own suggestions really does piss me off.

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.