The only place to be

He got a chance in the first two games of the season. I don't see why he wouldn't have gotten more, especially considering his competition.

If he leaves, we'll move on. I guarantee that Chelsea will survive without Lukaku. The thing is he probably would've got chances here if he hadn't asked to leave. I don't quite know what that says about his mentality, that when things get tough he quits perhaps?

I actually do think Eden should be POTY but Azpi is an equally good shout for a different reason. Eden's best performances have been better than anyone else's, and they've been match-winning performances in a lot of cases. Against Fulham he took charge and put in probably the best individual performance of this season. Against Man City he was imperious and probably solidified his status as a true top talent. But he's also put in some quieter performances where you wonder why he isn't just driving at defenders and taking shots. He's still good in those games but you want a little more from him, and I suspect that will come in time. Azpi on the other hand has probably been one of the three best players on the pitch in every game he's played. Everything is done with maximum effort and minimal fuss, despite him still being played out of position (although there's a good case to be made that he's very much a left-back now). I actually think it would be right for him to be players' player (something which typically rewards hard-work and consistency) rather than POTY (which is usually a bit more about the 'star' players). But if the fans want to reward the most consistent, hard-working player then I'm not going to find fault with that. Eden will probably have many more chances to win POTY and it's actually a nice problem to have.

It's a real tough one for me. If Liverpool win then it could all be in our hands, but if we don't get a result at Anfield then Liverpool probably win the league. Honestly I'm shitting it. City winning I could deal with. A draw would probably be the best result though.

There's always the chance that Courtois does a WWF-style move in the 90th minute of the second leg. Score is 0-0, extra time is looming, Torres takes a shot from 12 yards which eventually reaches Courtois's hands....the players move up the field, Courtois looks long then all of a sudden drops the ball to his feet, turns towards the Matthew Harding stand and kicks the ball high into the net. The crowd goes wild, the Atletico players are bemused and Courtois runs to the corner flag, tears off his Atletico shirt and reveals...... a Chelsea shirt!!!! Platini runs to the pitch remonstrating with the ref when all of a sudden Bruce Buck chair-shots him to the back of the head and Ron Gourlay belly-flops him, all the while Mourinho just nodding his head and smiling. Then Simeone puts on one of those Mexican wrestling masks and everything gets a bit weird..... This is why he can't play against us....it's so obvious when you think about it.

I know you're joking.....but the black armbands and justice for StevieG banners are being readied. If they win it, it'll be unbearable.

Damn right it is. Courtois is a great keeper and I'd rather have less great players playing against us. I'll also be hoping Gerrard picks up a booking on Sunday so he's suspended for the game against us.

I think I'm right in saying that if Gerrard gets booked this weekend, he misses two games - one of which would be against us at present.

No, the board have said he can play. They haven't referred to the clause at all, although the clause also allows him to play so long as they pay the pre-arranged fee. You may think it's a dumb analogy but I'm just pointing out that in the grown-up world contracts should be adhered to otherwise what's the point in signing them in the first place? Atletico gained access to a top keeper and all they had to do was agree to this one clause. It may not be romantic but if it helps us advance and win a trophy like this then why on Earth wouldn't we enforce it? If they decide to play him then we should declare the contract null and void and bring him back immediately, hopefully fucking up Atletico's chances in the league as well. But I'm a malicious cunt sometimes.

£5 million apparently. And that is something club president Enrique Cerezo maintains they cannot do. “It’s a number we can’t afford to pay,” he said. “The problem is whether he can play or not if we come up against Chelsea. It could be that he cannot, the contract is the contract.” In your opinion. Say tomorrow Eden Hazard decided he wanted to play in Paris. It would make him happy. Should we just release him because it would be a nice thing to do? Or should we, I don't know, enforce contracts and keep grown men to their words?

If the clause was in the contract and Atletico (and Courtois/his advisors) were happy to sign it then we should do everything in our power to enforce it. It's no more unsporting than if we were to win the league at the end of the season from Liverpool by one point when they dropped two points against Everton in a game in which Lukaku scored twice.

No comment on the clause yet. Both Buck and Gourlay have said he can play.....if they pay the pre-agreed fee???

And we've said "Regarding the Uefa statement, we'll evaluate it over the next 24 to 48 hours. As far as we're concerned we complied with loan rules. He can play against Chelsea - if selected."

He said he CAN play didn't he? As in if Atletico pay the fee then we can't stop them. Would prefer if he didn't play but if he does then we'll just adjust.

All of a sudden it's hit me that we could reach another Champions League Final. A very interesting draw and I've got a lot of respect for what Simeone has achieved, so you'll hear very little of the type of stuff I was saying about PSG and Ligue 1. This is a tough opponent who have proven themselves every week of this season, they've got quality all over the pitch and they match up well with us. Down to us to carry the flag for the EPL again.

The point is that at the time, Torres was valued by the market as being worth £50 million. That proved wrong much like Shvchenko's valuation and Sutton's valuation. We can talk about systems, we can talk about valuations made by other clubs, we can talk about performances for Brazil....all so we can avoid talking about his performances for Chelsea in defence.

So David Luiz is valued by a club at £30 million, ergo your opinion is corroborated? Tremendous logic there except we valued Fernando Torres at £50 million. You see the point I'm making right - sometimes the market is very wrong. To Barcelona, he may well be a £30 million defender. To Chelsea, he's not even considered a defender (oh, for corroboration look at the number of times he's played for us in defence since November 2nd).

Didn't realise the poll was going to close so soon. I would've actually voted for Hazard because he's been the best player for us. Azpi has been fantastic but in terms of the person who probably helped shape this season then Eden is that guy.

No he gets criticised for not being able to concentrate for 90 minutes on defending. I don't think that's an especially English requirement for defenders. There's also a school of thought that says that things move in cycles and that the Premier League was always going to have a downswing after a tremendous upswing, and that the same thing will happen to the other leagues. David Luiz is probably worth £30 million to someone like Barca because he fits their style better - a style that has seen them use Mascherano in defence for the last few seasons. For us though he's somewhat untrustworthy in defence. That has nothing to do with his nationality and everything to do with his mental approach to football. International football is not a genuine yardstick in my opinion. It's several levels below Champions League and Premier League football.

Who cares who we get? No-one will want to face us and for me that shows just how far we've come this season already. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing us play Real Madrid because I'm getting a bit bored of playing Bayern (I'm fantastically spoiled by this club) but I'm just relieved that we're back where we belong and deservedly so.

Shit defending but a very intelligent run and that little burst of pace without going offside....the kid is a natural. I'd back him to score a goal at any level because he's just got that knack of finding space in the box. Just compare that run he made there for the run that Torres consistently FAILS to make, most recently against Palace when Azpi put the ball in almost exactly the same place.

We also have an amazing defensive system. We haven't conceded at home this year in fact, but that's besides the point - your argument is nonsense and full of holes. You say that Courtois (not Curtois ) is part of a great defensive system, yet he's still called on to make a lot of saves. Surely you have to recognise his part in that - in fact there are a number of great saves he's made that have gotten them to where they are in the league right now, not least the one against Bilbao. You don't seem to have a problem recalling the 'insane saves' Cech used to have to make under our similarly awesome defensive system so why not acknowledge Courtois's importance to Atletico? It's telling that you say Cech used to make insane saves as well. The honest truth of the matter is that Cech is still our number one only because Courtois is in Spain. If he was part of the club this season then there are a couple of occasions he would've got a chance simply because for the first time in a long time, Cech deserved to be dropped (most likely after the Sunderland defeat). The funny thing is it isn't the shot-stopping part of Courtois's game that would've probably have seen him installed as number one. That's generally something based on reflexes and agility, something you would expect to be better in a younger man. No, what is most desirable right now is his decisiveness at coming for crosses. Cech has all of a sudden become nervous at coming for the ball which is extremely bizarre, and the most worrying this is that it's actually cost us goals and it's cost us points.

Bit harsh when we have no idea if he's parked in a disabled spot before. And urinating into a pint glass... is that better or worse than throwing up in one because I need to know how much of a cunt I am. Lionsden is the type of guy who probably thinks Dean Saunders is alright and Paul Elliott deserved it.

Oh do fuck off. Pissed in a pint glass. Oh my god....what a cunt. Parked in a disabled spot. Try better. He's a human. He's made mistakes, as have most of us who have ventured out of our mother's basements. If you want to label him a cunt for being fallible then go ahead but you might want to have a word with yourself especially considering the way he's conducted himself this season and taken his game to a whole new level.

It's the modern goalkeeping style. Balls are more unpredictable so there's a greater emphasis on turning the ball away from trouble. Cech has been an expert at re-directing shots and Courtois is very much in the same vein. Usually is.