The only place to be

Just a typical Chelsea FA Cup game against weaker opposition. We had our moments in the first-half and they had their's but once we got the breakthrough (no surprise it was Mata) it was easy going. Didn't think the Luiz thing was that bad at first but on reflection he catches him plum on the chin. Now it wasn't nice, but it looked to me like he was just trying to bodycheck him rather than knock him out. It was nasty either way and I like our players to have that about them sometimes but he's got to pick his moments a bit better.

And to think some people thought this loan move was 'baffling'. Starting a game and getting 80 minutes is great for his development and apparently he's done enough to get another chance soon. By my count that's EIGHT promising youngsters out on great loans, which is remarkable work by the board.

Hot dog eating contests? Why don't you just go back to RAWK?

Bit harsh to suggest Chelsea supporters don't have patience given the support they've shown Torres for well over 18 months. With Josh people just want to see progression because he has so much potential, but he's not been showing that grit and determination that you need at this level. He may well need another three years out on loan and I don't think Ferguson could've engineered a better loan for him that the one he's on but Josh's problem will be whether there will be a spot at the club for him in a few year's time. Players like Chalobah and De Bruyne continue to impress and may well compete for the position Josh wants, plus we'll be looking at signing someone in the summer. He's always had the most phenomenal technique but you've got to have the physical tools to use them in the Premier League. He needs to develop his 'man strength' and fast.

I see your Gareth Hall and raise you an Andy Dow - that was the period when we seemed to buy a new left-back every year until we got Soxxy. Then there were a few randoms like Laurent Charvet and Jes Hogh who were just place-fillers.

His use of Etoo at Inter was both novel and mightily effective and his tactics against Barcelona were spot on. It's easy to say 'well Robbie did it', but look at Wenger and Ferguson who were both outplayed by that Barca team. I think by the logic you're using you could diminish any coach's tactical achievements. It happens in every sport. Look at basketball where Phil Jackson has won 11 titles and has received plenty of acclaim for his tactical nous, but there's always people prepared to say 'well he had Jordan' or 'he had Shaq' or 'he had Kobe and Shaq' or 'he had Kobe'.

I'm not saying he's a genius or not, but how many teams struggled to cope with that 433 in his first couple of seasons at the Bridge? In fact how many clubs are now using that formation or variations on it? I'm not going to say he invented it but that tactic was one of the things that won us the titles. Plus there was that beautiful moment before the Barca 2nd leg when he announced the teams in the press conference. That's a tactic of sorts and one could argue it was pretty effective in getting in the Barca players heads.

It's been an amazing thing to watch this player disintegrate, but it's revealed a few things. He was essentially all pace and nothing much else. His positional sense is absolutely appalling. How many times have players put the ball across the six yard box only for Torres to be on the penalty spot (at best)? And yet he'll still try and do things that assume he still has that amazing pace, like knock a ball past a player and run onto it despite it only working about three times in two years. It's the most remarkable thing to have witnessed firsthand - to see a person completely unable to do what they used to, unwilling to adapt and simply fall apart. If you look at someone like Shearer who was robbed of that explosive acceleration by injuries, he was able to change the way he played and still be one of the top strikers around whereas Torres has been shown up to be a one-dimensional, weak-minded coward.

Didn't Van Basten train with our squad for a couple of weeks in the mid-90s. Would've been a few years after he retired. That reminded me that George Weah played for us for a while - might start a new thread with 'players you're surprised you forgot played for us'. Have to throw Paul Parker in there too. That was a random one.

Bigger and stronger? Barely. Mata is deceptively quick too and would be fine in a Mourinho team, although I suspect we're going to have a decision regarding Oscar and Mata in the years to come. He also had Sneijder at Inter albeit in a slightly different role and brought on Modric against United as well.

That's a fair point. I'm hoping Arsenal will feel the effects of their games, whilst Spurs really need to take this competition seriously. If you look at the Europa League it's generally won by teams on the way up as a stepping stone, e.g. Atletico, Porto, Shaktar, Zenit etc. For us it's not something we need in all honesty. The benefits of winning it are outweighed by the short-term cost to the players in terms of fitness and (the much overlooked) preparation time. As for rmpr, I'll let bygones be bygones. I think he's probably just had a bit too much fizzy pop this morning.

So finally we act in a responsible manner, buying a young player to replace a key player and at the first flash of skirt from an expensive foreign striker, we drop our trousers and bend over? Sometimes this club fucks me right off.

If you actually look at the form guide, Spurs are slightly better than us in the last 6 whilst Arsenal are 1 point worse than us. Contrary to what some might believe, I'm not totally against this trophy. It's a bit of a joke but it'd be nice to win under normal circumstances. However in the situation we're in at the moment and with the problems we've shown over the last few months I'd focus everything on the league. It's what's best for this club long-term in my opinion.

In the sense you're using them, they're broadly synonymous although as I pointed out completely meaningless coming from a 'fan' like you.

If Arsenal and Tottenham drop points..... Do you think it's a sensible policy to plan for our future on these grounds? To be quite honest, I'm surprised that this is such a 'controversial' point of view. Most supporters I know see the Europa League as a joke and just want this season over with us securing our Champions League spot for next season.

Dumb and stupid are synonyms in the sense that you're using them in. It's amazing how you seem struck-dumb when I ask you whether we'd be better prepared for tough league games without the pressures of midweek Europa League games. If you want to hurt me with insults though, I'd ask someone else to use them on your behalf. They mean nothing coming from you.

If we start dropping points, then we're in danger of losing our top-four spot. Arsenal are only 5 points behind whilst Spurs are 1 point behind. We draw a game and we're in trouble, that's how serious the situation is right now. I know that the people disagreeing with me are well-intentioned and respectful (in the majority) but pragmatism in a tough situation is not a bad thing. Going without a trophy for one season to secure greater opportunities next season isn't a bad thing. It's possible that we could finish top four and win this trophy, and I'd be happy if we did but you have to play the percentages and acknowledge not just what is possible but what is likely from what has occurred before. Yes we're Chelsea, but we're Chelsea 2013 not Chelsea 2006. Losing at home to QPR is something that can happen now. Throwing away 2 goal leads is something we're capable of doing now. This is who we are at this moment in time. You need to start from a position where you acknowledge these basic facts before you plan anything else.

Neither. I'm just a Chelsea supporter trying to be realistic about the situation we'll face. You're the one saying we'll win (or should) against teams not dissimilar from Southampton, Reading and QPR. Shouldn't we have won those games as well? In fact do you know teams who are quite similar to Fulham, West Hame and Swansea? Fulham, West Ham and Swansea. We've failed to beat these teams FIVE times already this season. So before you get into what we should have done, why don't you try looking at what we have done. Ignore the naive fantasy you're living in and look at the reality, okay?

You recognise the reality of the situation and act accordingly. Let's walk through this slowly. Do you accept that top four is all that matters this season? I do. Do you think we're best prepared to play Fulham with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play West Ham with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play Sunderland with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play Spurs with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play Swansea with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play Man United with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play Villa with a week's rest or 3 days? Do you think we're best prepared to play Everton with a week's rest or 3 days? Now some of these might not be a week because of Cup games and others being rescheduled, but if more than half of those answers were 'YES' then maybe we should recognise that the Europa League is nothing more than an inconvenience and that the long-term future of this club is best served by Champions League qualification and not the Europa League, shiny trophy that it may well be. Finishing this season without trophies isn't the worst thing in the world considering all the tumult and turmoil we've faced. We have to make sure we're in the best position possible for next season.

I think we have the squad....but not with these extra games. How many points have we dropped in midweek games because we've look underprepared or tired? Either way, surely we should be playing the percentages and focusing on what's important. People say we'd be acting like Arsenal to accept just a top-four spot but this season has been a clusterfuck of epic proportions and if you offered me third spot and nothing else I'd take it in a heartbeat, so why don't we simply focus on the league and ignore this competition? Oh right, because of a coefficient which you readily admit pertains to a competition that is becoming more competitive across the boad. Well the FACT is that to be the best you have to beat the best. But first you have to play the best and that should be our only focus this season. So we wait until we're in a tough spot before acting? It should be reserves from this point on. Ferreira, Saville, Ake, Turnbull, Bertrand, Benayoun etc.

You're just not addressing it. If you believe that we can finish top four with these extra games despite us struggling with short turnarounds then fine. Take that position and defend it. I don't though. I think it's going to be tough as it is without these extra games. So I would field weaker teams and not worry too much about being eliminated because long-term it's going to be better for us.

Again, completely missing the point. We don't automatically qualify for this competition. We do actually have to finish in the top four and last year we finished SIXTH. We've shown an inability to beat weaker teams like QPR, Southampton and Reading on 3-4 days rest and you're talking about the benefits of a cup run that adds up to SEVEN extra games? Have you even bothered to look at when the next rounds' ties are scheduled for? Round of 16 - 1st leg is 3 days before FULHAM (away). 2nd leg is 3 days before WEST HAM (home). We've already dropped 5 points to these teams. Quarters - 1st leg is 3 days before SUNDERLAND (home). 2nd leg is 3 days before SPURS (home). Spurs is arguably the biggest game we have remaining. Semis - 1st leg is 3 days before SWANSEA (home). 2nd leg is 3 days before MANCHESTER UNITED (away). Again, 5 points dropped against these teams and the draw against Swansea came after the league cup game with United where we played our key players. Final - Comes in between a game away to VILLA who will be fighting relegation and the last game at home to EVERTON. So you can talk about coefficients as much as you want but they're simply a problem we don't have the luxury of worrying about right now.

It's akin to worrying about what shirt you should wear on a date with Angelina Jolie - maybe you should focus on getting the date in the first place. And how exactly did that seeding work for us this year? The FACT is that the Champions League is getting more competitive and there are more teams capable of beating us than ever before which means seeding isn't something I'm particularly worried about at this time. We have a small squad who has struggled to beat teams like QPR, Reading and Southampton with 3-4 days rest. Now we're talking about going on a run in a competition that gives us more fixtures less than 3 days before tough league games????

Normally I'd say I disagree. This time I'm just going to say you're wrong. He worked with Robben at Chelsea, Etoo at Inter and now Ronaldo at Madrid. None of these players are hard workers in defence, yet his system worked and just look at how far Hazard has come in less than ONE season. The systems match, and more importantly they match throughout the club. There are objections to be made to Mourinho coming back but this simply isn't one of them.

So you think we should take this competition seriously for our CL ranking when there's absolutely no guarantee that we'll be in the CL next season??? You want a game 3 days before we face Spurs in the League? You think a final in Amsterdam 3 days before we play Everton in the league is a good thing?