The only place to be

So you think Roman should go then?

You could make a case for Fellaini, Toure, maybe Lucas but there is a real dearth of strong defensive midfielders right now in this league. It's why it's a good idea for you to put him in context with the current crop and not compare him to the player we all enjoyed watching just a few years ago - Makelele. Maybe that's why he's struggled to convince the supporters who loved Claude, because they have such fond memories of watching him dominate midfields. I think Mikel will be a capable backup player for this club going forward, but after 250+ games for the club I still don't see him an an integral player for us. Every time I see him coming out for the Blues, I think we could do better. I actually think we should seriously look at making Chalobah a DM because he could thrive there for both club and country for the next decade, and I'd start that process ASAP.

No, not like Liverpool. Their problems were and are much worse than our's. Missing out on the CL for one season might not be the worst thing in the world. Going by league form last season, we should've missed out. Maybe this is the wake-up call we need.

I think it's a piss-poor piece of prose if I'm being honest. You can't take a subject like Roman's reign as owner and fail to acknowledge what is being built for the future. If you don't want to give a judgment on that then don't choose a pun-laden title like 'The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire'. If you must persist with that then you have to acknowledge that Rome wasn't built in a day, but our own Roman tried very hard to do that and suffered the inevitable failure less than a decade later. What's reassuring about him is that he's shown signs of trying to rectify his mistakes which is why there is hope for the future. The narrative of Chelsea doesn't begin in 2003 and end in 2013. Also, calling Roman a devil and then asking him to leave so invariably leads to the old idiom of 'better the devil you know' that one can't fail to notice the lack of self-awareness of the author. Like I said I can understand where he's coming from but the conclusions he reaches are so clueless that they have little real value. It's at best a hit piece, if it wasn't so poorly researched.

That sounds like we'd have to give a manager time because there wouldn't be an easy replacement, we'd have to give the young players a chance because we couldn't sign the Falcaos of this world and I completely disagree with the last bit. Missing the UCL might give us a chance to build this club properly rather than signing 30 year olds on big contracts as a short-cut to success.

So farce and Champions League football is preferable? We need to remove the farce altogether and a lack of CL football might enable us to rebuild under slightly less pressure. We need to be a bit honest about ourselves and admit we didn't build this club from the bottom up - we tried to build without solid foundations and then when the walls started crumbling we simply tried to paper over the cracks. Now we're doing the right thing with the academy and transfer dealings, but there's a gap between what we've got at the moment and what we'll have in the future which is a breeding ground for turmoil. In retrospect this clusterfuck was somewhat inevitable.

Last week our youth team beat Barca's 2-0 away. Lukaku scored two goals and looked every inch the beat we thought we'd signed. Courtois is arguably the top young goalkeeper in world football. De Bruyne looked comfortable against the team we faced in last season's CL Final (which we won btw). Chalobah continues to impress at Watford. Hazard, Oscar and Mata are three of the most skillful players we've ever had. Now I understand why the author of that piece might feel the way he does, but it is a kneejerk reaction and nothing more. Football supporters tend to live in the moment because we're emotional beasts and we love the club, and there's no doubt that we're in a bad spot right now but the future is definitely bright. But when this person says this Then replace Emenalo with Hiddink. Then in the summer recruit Mourinho to come back and rebuild the fortress and restore our former formidable reputation. Then sack Gourlay and employ a proper CEO who knows the football business. As in knows football. And also knows business. That Peter Kenyon chap seemed to know a bit about both. Then Roman, walk away. Sell the club. Move away from everything Chelsea. I trust you to sell to the right people but your time is done. You’ve used us to gain the respectability you crave. It’s time to move on and let new money, new ideas and new visions to set the club’s strategy. Yes, Roman, strategy. All top ‘businesses’ have it. Lots of top clubs have it. Even Arsenal have it. You don’t though, and whilst you don’t then neither does the club outside of building the brand and attracting revenue. Then you have to ask 'what the fuck? He doesn't say why we should sack these people or what exactly they've done wrong. It's pathetic. But not as pathetic as calling for Roman to leave. This is where the author goes from 'normal fan despairing' to 'spoilt child trying to walk this club off a cliff'. Roman's tenure has been erratic at times, but its been working towards something bigger than this club ever dreamt of being just 10 years ago. He's made mistakes, but he's not made the same ones and he's trying to give the fans what they want (stability in the managerial position, a younger squad, sustainable success). Yes we're struggling but some people need perspective.

And yet in that game our midfield was poor in the second-half and failed to control the game, so even at his very best you have to wonder whether he is the right player for us. Ramires is great when we play with our backs to the wall. His explosive pace allows us to break with speed against teams in transition. Do you think that anyone connected with the club has any intention of playing like that in the future? If no, where does Ramires fit in the starting XI?

I had a little trouble shifting my tickets for this one. It's one thing to be shit but there's plenty of fans feeling a disconnect with the current regime (Benitez). £60 on a Sunday, plus travel is a lot to be served that.

Or we were chasing the game. I like how you've gone from suggesting it's absurd to point him out for the first goal to acknowledging he 'could have done better'. I'm glad you threw in his passing completion stats too - it wouldn't be a Mikel thread without one. 90% pass completion today. Like I said, he very rarely makes the team worse but he also rarely makes it better. He's a shirt-filler, and very little more. It's not urgent that we replace him because we have other areas we need to invest him but when Chalobah does take over from him (as I hope he does) you'll find very few fans shedding a tear when he leaves.

A 'very good game'? I don't think anyone had a very good game. He did give the ball away in the first-half which led to a chance for Rodwell, which forced a save from Cech. And why is it absurd to point him out for the first goal? I actually praised his shielding in this game, but he messed up there. He wasn't the worst player on the pitch today and he only messed up twice, but to say he was very good is absurd.

Whilst I think we need to make the top four, finishing outside might not be the worst thing in the world. It would give us a chance to restart and build things properly. What we have at the moment is a result of spending money on the wrong players for about three years. It might force us to give the youngsters we have a chance in the first team rather than looking at the likes of Falcao. Financially it would be bad but the Premier League tv revenue is increasing from next year and we'd have a season without the pressure of winning the Champions League. It might also give a manager the chance to build something as well. Long-term I don't know if it wouldn't be exactly what we need.

Josh won't be playing in this, which is a bit of a shame considering his performance the other day. They'll try and play nice football which should play into our hands. Should win by about 3.

No, because that would be an idiotic thing to say. Ramires on the other hand.....

OMFG.....we need to close these threads after players have one bad game etc. Thought Luiz had an okay game today. Didn't think he was any worse than anyone else on the pitch and I still think it's him and one other as the centre-back pairing going forward. I've had reservations about him in the past but he's been a solid performer over the last few months and become someone fairly dependable. Do you often come away from games thinking that? Most times centre-backs go somewhat unnoticed and it's only their fuck-ups that draw attention. I've probably come away thinking that Cech was a 'really good goalkeeper' less than 100 times, but I know that's a problem with my assessment of him and has very little to do with him.

Look, there isn't a player easier to like than Rami and I know that for some the suggestion he should be dropped is like throwing a bag of kittens into a canal, but we can't be the side we want him to be with him in the first eleven. Can he be someone who comes off the bench and runs-around closing the opposition down? Sure. Why not? But we need someone better than him.

No-one is saying he should be Xavi. He should just be better than he is. Admiring a lack of refinement is fine in an artist. I've got a 6 year old cousin who can do these finger paintings. Do I want to put them up in my home because she's had no formal training? No fucking chance. But I agree. I would love to see what he'd be like if he could have a reliable first-touch coached into him but I think our priorities should be different.

Was at fault for Toure's goal and gave away the ball in the first-half which nearly led to a City goal. He shields play well, but he reminds me of Joe Cole in his final season with us in that the ball slows down whenever it gets to him. Teams give him time and space because they know he can't hurt them and his passing completion percentage is so high because he is so ponderous. But there are at least three positions we need to upgrade first in the summer, including the playmaking position beside him. I think we could still contend for trophies next year with Mikel in the side but long-term I think Chalobah could be the answer. But for now, Mikel doesn't make the team worse (most of the time).....he just doesn't make it any better.

Provide cover for Ivanovic, run all day, try and hit Man City on the fast break.

I'm never going to suggest that he doesn't work hard, but I'd rather have someone with better technical skills who can keep the ball moving accurately and efficiently rather than someone who can run around all day. So where do you have him pencilled into the team next year? Because I've got a playmaker like Modric alongside Mikel in the double-pivot, and Moses on the right-wing. So he's good enough because we're shit? Fair enough, at least you're honest. For me, I'd sell him in the summer and get a proper playmaker in to play alongside Mikel and I'd probably put Chalobah in the squad too.

He offers speed and energy when we're chasing the ball. How about, we try and get a midfielder who can control the tempo of games too? Should I start getting medical training so I know how to sow fingers back on, or should I take lessons to improve my sword-juggling skills first?

Why not lock the threads of players you like when they have bad games? What position do you have him pencilled in for next year by the way? Right-wing or midfield? I've said for a long-time that he has an inconsistent first-touch and we can't build a team with him in the midfield, if we plan on controlling games. People like you will always bring up the Barca goal. Fair enough. Torres should be kept around because he scored against them then? Wait, no?? But how can that be? He was piss poor today but not for the first-time. But if you can honestly say he's in your first XI next year, then fair enough.

He's only a luxury player in the sense that he needs the midfield behind him to do their job, which they simply haven't. How many games has he scored key goals in? Was he a luxury against Norwich? What about away to Leeds? He's been our best player this season. We're going to have to agree to disagree because I'm simply not used to having to defend Mata to other Chelsea supporters and I really don't think it's a skill I'm going to need to pick up anytime soon.

He's a good player who was bought for a good price and will be a great 3rd choice centre-back for us.

Azpi, Moses, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Ba, Mata....our board makes plenty of correct decisions. But who exactly on 'the board' would you like to see out? City were beatable today. They've been beatable for a while and were missing Kompany. Anyone who thinks we were beaten by a team who were that much better really needs to have their eyes tested. It might be simplistic but at key points, their midfield stepped up and our's didn't. But we still could've won that game.