The only place to be

No, he said this. I think the wind must've changed or something.

Paulinho always had a reputation as being more than simply an athlete. He was supposed to be an all-rounder, good in possession, strong defensively, had a few goals in him and even decent in the air. As a replacement for Mikel and Ramires and a third option behind Matic and hopefully a new signing then I'm not entirely against his signing. For my money he's certainly an upgrade on Ramires if you want to focus on being in possession and not chasing the ball.

Fair enough. I imagine when Jose envisaged his team it didn't have Ramires and Luiz at the heart of it though. He wants players like Matic and maybe even Paulinho who actually have some talent on the ball.

So Mourinho should've been able to institute a counter-attacking philosophy as well as a possession-based plan B in his first season, that can be used even when we're facing the team top of La Liga and have Ramires and Luiz in midfield (pass masters don't you know) and are missing our best midfielder and the number 10 who was carrying us earlier in the season.... oh and Torres and Eto'o as our striking options. Right. Here's a question - there seems to be a few of you who constantly criticise Mourinho. If you don't think he's the man why don't you have the balls (or cojones to use Diego's word) to actually start a thread entitled 'Mourinho Out'. Better yet, bring a banner or start a chant at the next match and see what response you get.

You moan when he goes too defensive or cautious, yet when he picks our most potent attacking threat (who actually didn't seem to be too far off match fitness considering his energy in the latter stages of the match) who we also need for the last two league games of the season, you also moan. Your card is marked son. You're just a miserable person who moans about everything and delights in the team's failure. You're the first to criticise the manager and then the first to moan about our lack of consistency. You want to know the problem at this club over the last few years....you want to know the cancer that needs excising....it's YOU!

I'm not sure if you were unaware about this before last night's game, or if it's just a dig at Mourinho. Simeone has done a fantastic job in his two and a half years at Atletico - in that same time frame we've had FOUR managers. You'd expect any top manager to develop a team to play in their philosophy in that time wouldn't you?

One of those defenders was Luiz, a guy who has played more in midfield than he has in defence. You're just regurgitating the shit other fans throw at Mourinho, but we'll forgive you because all the blood probably rushed from your brain to your cock when you woke up this morning and saw the score. But yeah, he should have chosen Lamps Mikel Matic Oscar Van Ginkel.

Eto'o scored from a corner in our last home match against Sunderland and Ivanovic hit the bar from one in exactly the same game. In fact Luiz hit the post from a free-kick last night as well.

What has that got to do with him tracking a runner? Are you saying that his calf injury meant he couldn't do that, because he made a pretty good fist of tracking the runner for the third goal and is fairly blameless in that instance. He's not. He's judging him fairly.

Time to class this joint up.

The thing is I actually don't think he did much wrong for their third goal. It's a fantastic ball, but he stays with his man about as well as you could ask a winger who isn't the most natural defender to do. The first is just appalling though. He doesn't have to head the ball out or even block it, he's just got to be in Juanfran's line of vision to give him something to think about. The whole match swings on that error and it's unfortunate it was Eden who made it. Having said all that, you've got to give credit to Atletico firstly for Koke's challenge on Luiz to win the ball and then the way they recycled possession. Costa's ball out to the wing turns every defender and he doesn't get enough credit for his ability to create chances that way.

His marking for the first was pathetic. A couple of times before the ball is drifted in he has a look at Juanfran - he knows that his man and losing him has got nothing to do with coming back from an injury. Ashley Cole maybe gets sucked inside a little to easy which leaves JT as the de facto left-back, but Juanfran is Hazard's man all day long. We beat Liverpool because every man did their job. We conceded that goal because Hazard didn't do his.

This. Nail on Head. When he leaves, every fan of this club will breathe a deep sigh of relief. He's a parasite, although I don't mean that in an entirely horrible way. He simply takes more out of this club then he puts back in.

Because if you had asked most fans if they'd have taken a top three finish, a CL semi-final all whilst building a solid foundation for next season then they would've taken it. The atmosphere around the Bridge and amongst PROPER supporters has completely changed from where it was last season. We have a manager we love and believe in who has given us some memorable times and we finally have a decent framework to add to in the summer.

What the fuck is your problem? You're a Torres fanboy and you've done nothing but slate the team. You're a fucking disgrace. When Torres leaves you'd do well to fuck off with him.

It's times like this when people shoe their true colours. They ain't fucking blue....

Um, they looked pretty concerned with scoring when I was watching. They just couldn't because we defended well. You sure you weren't confusing us with them? We were the team in black. We were concerned with not scoring, and we got what we wanted. We did the same on Sunday. I have faith that we have a manager and players who have the strength of character to do the same tonight, but if we don't at least it gives you and lionsden something to moan about.

In his defence, it's tough for a player coming from a foreign, inferior league into a whole new environment, dealing with the Christmas period whilst playing under one poor manager and then having to play under another. Think it's unfair to judge him solely on this season, although he's hardly the most exciting possible signing unless it's a cut-price deal. Reminds me of us being linked to Guarin.

Schurrle didn't get many chances for a while, Bertrand got shipped out and Ashley got the naughty step for a while. Think Ashton is wrong about Azpi's emergence though because he's been arguably the best left-back in the league this season. Cole should've known better though.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2615930/Ashley-Cole-dropped-Chelsea-going-Arsenals-Christmas-not-form-best-left-Englands-game.html His omission has nothing to do with the consistent form of Cesar Azpilicueta at left back or a decline in Cole's performances under Jose Mourinho. He has been punished for attending Arsenal’s Christmas party the night after Chelsea had been beaten in the Capital One Cup at Sunderland.

Apparently Juanfran is one of the players who is a booking away from missing the final, so I'd love for Eden to just run at him at every opportunity. Not really sure what to expect from this match though. When we played Arsenal at home I was actually quite relaxed, whereas I was bricking it on Sunday. Today I just want to get to the match and see what transpires. Tried not to think too much about the final, although I did smile a bit when Alonso picked up his yellow last night. Just hoping for another great European night and reminding myself that whatever happens from this point on, it's been an amazing season.

Bollocks. He was widely acclaimed as the best left-back in the world for a number of years so who are these doubters exactly? The simple fact is that he hasn't been consistently good for a while now and Azpi has been fantastic at left-back. I know it's unfashionable to see the benefits of Ivanovic at right-back but he's been a solid performer and chipped in with important goals in key games. He's also incredibly important as a target man for goal-kicks. James Harden is probably the laziest defender in the NBA. Bit harsh on Ashley considering he's still capable of being solid. Never quite understood his victim complex. There's not been an English footballer in the last 20 years who has been quite so unanimously viewed as world-class as he has, yet he thinks people want him to fail?? Bizarre.

I don't think his versatility is needed anymore if Willian and Salah can do a job on the wings like they did against Liverpool. I'd rather we looked to have quality midfielders who can play a ball rather than an athlete who has an inconsistent touch. Plus the guys received about 4 suspensions in the last 12 months. If Matic gets injured we're in trouble if Ramires is our backup.

Matic, New Midfielder, Van Ginkel, Lamps, Chalobah is a perfect mix for me. Flog Mikel, Luiz and Ramires.

91 chances in 3 games - 1 goal.