Corner

Well, it's hard to tell whether he had the ability to do so all along or not as he was playing in a different role. All we can do is speculate about that. Either Mikel had the passing ability he has shown this season all along but was simply restricted by the role he was playing, or he has had to adjust to playing a new role in the team and improve his passing range and abilities. It's hard to differentiate between the two really. Either way, Mikel is showing more vision this season and his passing range is a lot longer than before. And yes, of course there's a massive difference between the role and someone's abilities, I never said otherwise. That's just common sense.

I actually would have agreed with you on this last season, but I think he has made massive improvements this season with his passing and vision. His role in the team has changed and he has adapted really well, in my opinion anyway. Didn't Di Matteo actually start with Mikel + Romeu alongside each other against Swansea? It didn't seem to work well in that game, but the whole team played fairly badly that day. It might be worth another shot.

Okay, just to clear things up. If you don't have BBC HD, can you press the red button on BBC one to watch the game live?

Oscar looks terrified in that photo. You can just imagine him calling out "Where's David Luiz? Help me!"

I don't think he was replying to what was already being said. Think he was just making a random point mate.

Even if Torres scores 30 goals in the next 25 games, we still need another strikers regardless. Sturridge has been injured almost all of this season and is pretty much out of favour for the role as a lone striker and we need AT LEAST one back-up striker. Like you said, it doesn't have to be a megastar. Just someone who can link up with our play and put the ball in the back of the net.

Over the years, England and English teams have depending much more on wingers as a lot of the game involved crossing the ball from the wings. Football is played differently in every country and that's because when players are young they are taught to play a certain way. In Spain, young players are coached to play with the ball on the ground which is why they have a lot of great playmakers. In England, players are taught to use their strength more and to play a more direct style of play. Football in England is changing a lot as more and more teams in the Premier League prefer to play with the ball on the ground and a less direct and shorter passing game. So, eventually English youngsters will be taught to play that way (I'm guessing). IIRC, under 50 per cent of players playing in the Premier League are English. That suggests two things. That more and more English teams are depending more on players who can play a less direct style, and that English most players are just not capable of playing this way.

I would take Higuain over Falcao to be honest.

Exactly. I'm so sick of hearing boos from the crowd. A lot of our players probably came to Chelsea because of the support is has and the atmosphere in the Premier League. Does no one stop to think how booing even affects them? I was especially sick of it when we were 3-0 up against Sunderland and it started then. We don't have to love Benitez, but we should support him and the team for the rest of the season.

Well, at least he's trying.

This is terrible news. Who's on the potential DM list for January then?

Mata will eventually go down in Chelsea history with names like Zola, Gullit, Drogba, Vialli, Terry and Osgood.

Fuck sake. I can't wait till he fucks off, the hypocritical old twat. What did Ferdinand expect? He celebrating right in front of the City fans. Idiot.

Neither Mascherano or Song perform the role as well as Busquets, which is why he starts almost all of their games. Mascherano is mostly used as a centre-back and Song was bought as a back-up to Busquets but still hasn't quite settled in well. All of the other players you mentioned have completely different roles in the team. No way would Barcelona sell him.

There will probably never even be another player like that. Just watch as many Barca games as you can and admire his brilliance.

I couldn't be more delighted for him. Fully deserved.

This isn't about sentimentality. This is about what's good for our club. Mourinho has nothing to do with Chelsea anymore. So yes, I want City to win because I'm looking ahead to what could happen during the summer and next season regarding the manager situation.

I have the same feeling. Tevez has to come on at half time though.

He would probably cost us +30 million. No way would I like to see us splashing out that amount of money on a defensive midfielder. City and Chelsea have different philosophies when it comes to transfers. City seem to buy players already in their prime and Chelsea seem to be more focused on youth. There's no point in spending A LOT of money on players in January because whichever manager takes over in the summer, he might not want those players. I would also bet that Roman and the board are looking at players that Guardiola would probably want in his team. And buying a player just so another club won't be able to is a ridiculous notion.

What game were you watching?

This could be true. As much as I would love for us to buy him, I really can't imagine Barca selling Busquets. He's way too vital to the way they play, and Song still hasn't exactly settled in there yet.

I'm a big fan of Oscar but I don't see how you can deny that Moses is a quality player. He has a great attitude and brings something else to the table for us, which makes us less predictable and harder to defend against. Plus, Moses is getting better and better with each start.

Spot on mate. I couldn't agree more.

Congrats Rmpr Always enjoy reading your posts.

Delighted with the win. A lot of positives to take from the game, even if it was only against Sunderland. We looked comfortable on the ball, put the game to bed after fifty minutes, Luiz and Cahill worked well together for a change, Lampard is back, Moses looked good again and Torres scored two once again and looks confident. Not sure whether Ivanovic was tired or just had an off game or both but I think Azpilicueta is our best right-back at the moment, and Ivanovic is much better at centre-back. Ramires' fifth booking, damn. Luiz as DM?