The only place to be

That 45 minutes was so important on so many levels. We've burst this myth of City as some unstoppable behemoth. They're good but they leave so much space behind them because of their high press. If you can disrupt them then the gaps behind the midfield and full-backs just explode. They're just another football team at the end of the day. Jose must surely have silenced any of the doubters out there. Is anyone missing Mata at the moment? We're creating chances and working as a team and it's beautiful to see. Anyone who was scared of this match....have faith in future. And Ivanovic....be careful in the second-half but if anyone needs to ask why he plays, watch where EVERY goal-kick goes and how often he either wins the ball or disrupts his opponent so Ramires can pick it up behind. Lovely finish too. Anyway....big second-half but we've sent a fucking message with that 45 minutes. They can moan about our football all they want but fuck me if pushing it wide to Kolorov every single time isn't just as boring. I love having Jose back.

Not surprised Luiz is playing in midfield. He actually presses pretty well but it's his stamina that might let him down over the course of the 90. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a straight 433 too. When Mourinho first came to England the three man midfield immediately gave us the edge over teams who went with 442 and maybe he thinks it will do the same again. Hazard and Willian need to stay wide though and make that pitch massive. Willian in particular might find a bit of luck with Kolarov pushing on and Silva tucking in. No Fernandinho or Aguero is a big lift for us though. Can't be afraid of these guys....need to front up from the off and not do what Spurs did when they just invited pressure on themselves. Time to break out the big guns....

He shouldn't bitch too much about the wind. It moved the ball better than his teammates.

Superbowl, best offence vs best defence. Defence wins. Look, I don't think this is going to be an enjoyable experience. I don't think it's going to be an instant classic, but I think it will be a test of character and I trust the guy in charge. Spurs went into both games scared and they got whooped. Newcastle stood firm, held their own and but for a linesman's 'error' they were well in contention. We need to be fearless going into this game which is why some of the defeatist comments are really rather annoying. Thats how other teams approach matches like this, not us. Win, lose or draw I expect us to give a good account of ourselves.

If he is coming back, I'm not sure how we keep two top class keepers happy. I'm also unsure how we let them 'fight for the shirt' in a realistic way. In that spot you want one thing - certainty. The number one needs to be undisputed in my opinion. We talk about spines and keepers are an integral part of that. How many times do you think the cameras would be trained on the keeper who is on the bench waiting for the slightest slip-up from the guy in goal? It's just one more unnecessary narrative we don't need. So who do we go with? Who is the better keeper at this moment in time? A year or so ago it would have been Cech unanimously but now I'm not so sure. Cech's already been dropped once this season and deservedly so. He's made more errors in half a season than I can remember him making in years. My view is that if the talent level is comparable then you probably go with the guy who is 21 and not 31. Keep Schwarzer as back-up, let Cech leave and build for the future. Plus the Cudicini/Cech comparisons aren't fair. Cudicini got injured and Cech has the chance to stake a claim for the shirt without competition. In my view that's what Courtois could probably do with.

Can't believe I'm going to defend Costa, but didn't we sign a player who was about his age around a decade ago who had one solid year under his belt (in the French league no less) and who could be a bit of a twat (diving, and even got himself sent off in the biggest game in our history, when he would've been a penalty taker in the shoot out.....which we lost). Just saying.

You might think it's ridiculous but I don't. And how quickly you forget that we signed Kurt Zouma just a few days ago.

I think he's learnt to be a bit more decisive when clearing the ball and that's about it. I still think he's immature at times and does the stupidest things now and then. Again, big games and small games. Every game is a massive game and this season he's thrown in some of his worst displays in my opinion. I don't see much difference in his individual performances, just the improvement that comes with being in a much more defensively sound system. He doesn't let you down. 2 more in the league than us. I wouldn't have started Mikel. Defence would've stayed exactly the same though. Possibly. But then you've got Cahill's presence at set-pieces that you'd lose out on. Swings and roundabouts. He's made 2 league appearances in defence since November. Barca want different things from their defenders than Jose does. The argument that the number of bids should determine who is better is remarkably facile. No official bids were lodged for Phil Jones but that doesn't mean he doesn't have massive potential. It absolutely is.

Lampard. 12 yards out. Centre of goal. If you're not scoring those goals then it's just not your day.

Don't take risks?? We created 39 chances against West Ham and got behind their first bank almost at will. Plus I've never looked at Cahill and Terry and wanted them to help unlock a tight defence. That's the job of the 8 players in front of them. We've beaten Man City, Man United and Liverpool at home without him. If the centre-halves keep it tight then we're always in with a shout. Which skilful forwards are you talking about? That's the thing with skilful forwards though....they're skilful. Phil Jones might yet live up to his potential, but I'm not sure what this has got to do with anything in this thread.

It's not just about raising funds though. It's effective management of assets. If you can get £30 million for a player who isn't an integral part of your starting XI then it makes sense to cash in, especially when you have young players with potential behind players like Terry, Cahill and Ivanovic.

If you can improve the squad by selling him, then that's precisely the reason to let him go.

He hasn't stalled. This is just his ups and downs and the only progress I've seen is that he's more willing to hack the ball clear, almost completely without thought at times. Exactly the type of thinking I hate in David Luiz. Are the prices any cheaper? Are the three points any less 'three pointy'? Do they not count in the league? At the start of that day, David Luiz is given the chance to wear the Blue of Chelsea for the day. The same Blue that hundreds have represented with honour and millions around the world support. Saying it isn't a big game is exactly the problem David Luiz has in my opinion. Now the myth that Gary Cahill has channelled Franco Baresi for the last three months. He hasn't. He's just been fairly solid and not done anything stupid.

There's always money to spend, but Mourinho hasn't been reluctant to strip dead wood and bring in players who are capable of contributing to the way he wants to play.

I haven't forgotten his ability. In fact I've seen it written here a few times that 'we knew what we were signing when we bought Luiz' and 'he is who he is' or words to that effect. I'm not talking about his form. I'm talking about who David Luiz is as a player and that's pretty much the same guy he was at 23. The last time he made a major mistake in a big game off the top of my head was against Cardiff at home. He also had a poor game away to Newcastle. Either way, 2 games at CB since the start of November tells it's own tale.

He's not horrible offensively, and the most important thing he does is consistently get up and down which creates space for Hazard. Cole is massively inconsistent at the moment and it's hard to predict which one we'll get. But with Negredo, Kompany and Toure at set-pieces I think we'll need Ivanovic's presence at set-pieces, plus he's one of our main targets from goal-kicks where he'll probably be up against Clichy. If you want to exploit the wings then you need to win first-phase ball.

I'll probably edit this a few times but let's see. IN - Shaw, Striker (Cavani, Rooney, Costa) OUT - Luiz, Cech, Mikel, Bertrand, Van Aanholt, Moses, Marin, Cole, Ba, Torres (probably dreaming on that one) GOALKEEPERS - Courtois, Schwarzer, Blackman, Hilario's corpse. DEFENDERS - Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Kalas, Terry, Cahill, Zouma, Shaw, Ake DEFENSIVE MIDS - Lampard, Matic, Ramires, Romeu, Chalobah, Van Ginkel ATTACKING MIDS - Oscar, Willian, Hazard, Schurrle, Salah, Piazon STRIKERS - Shiny new one, Lukaku, Etoo Plenty of other youngsters to be decided on (Bamford, McEachran, Kane, Omeruo being the main ones) and could see us getting another DM but that to me a is a squad that can compete.

Aside from his attitude.....It's amazing how people are willing to excuse the most important aspect of a sportsman's makeup. Costa might be a flop but I think he could fit the system. The other option is perhaps Cavani who excelled in a counter-attacking system in Napoli and is not being played in his preferred position in Paris.

Since when does Azpi not contribute anything in offence? Azpi was used against Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal. I think there's a good chance he starts tomorrow.

Roman was one of the biggest supporters of FFP by most accounts and it benefits us to see it implemented so it's unlikely we'll try and undermine it..... And Balotelli???

How? By lowering the expectations of those outside the camp?

Maybe the FA could help us out and let clubs have B teams that play professional football in the lower leagues. A mini-Chelsea playing the same type of football so they can slot seamlessly into the first-team.

1:30 in. Nice ball.

Eventually yes, but it takes time. We completely overhauled the academy upon Roman's arrival so the results will take time to filter through, but a decent comparison might be Barca. Cruyff revolutionised La Masia in 1979 but it was about a decade until Amor made his debut for the first team. Then it was a fairly steady stream, although still rather limited. Manchester's class of '92 is an exception as well, but I think if we can get stability in the managerial position then there's too much talent and too great a will in the club to promote youth for some young players not to make it here.

Ssshhh.....don't tell them that. We want them to keep him.