Corner

Every point you listed for Mikel there is basically what a DM is supposed to do. Sometimes I'm confused as to what people actually expect Mikel to do. I also think Mikel's passing has massively improved this season. He doesn't just pass to the side anymore. What we needed from a DM this season with the three attacking midfielders being so adventurous was someone like Busquets, and Mikel performs the role perfectly. Just because Fellaini says DM is his favourite position it doesn't mean it's his best one. I just don't think he has the discipline or the intelligence to play as our DM. We don't need someone to replace Mikel, we need a back-up. Although I would prefer to see Romeu get more chances to play rather than us signing someon else.

Strangely, I feel the same way.

That's not really Torres' fault though. But it is disgusting that Drogba was booed, that should never have happened.

Seriously? Booing is not the solution to everything, you know. Look how booing Benitez has affected the team so far, can you imagine how it would negatively affect the team if we booed one of our own players?

If we finish in 3rd in the group stage we will go into the Europa League.

He seems like a really good guy. Being ambitious doesn't make you a bad person. I just think his ambition outweighs his loyalty.

Even if he was fit, he hasn't been registered to play in the Premiership. We wouldn't be able to register him until January, for the second half of the season.

I can't but wonder how many and which of them will someday be a regular in the first team though.

We just care too much.

Your optimism is overwhelming.

I wouldn't worry about Mata or Oscar leaving. Mata seems to already be a blue at heart. You can easily tell that he loves the club. He has even stepped up as our leader on the pitch this season. And when Oscar first signed for us and since then he seems to mention in every interview how he is enjoying life in London and is settling down, making friends etc. He doesn't seem like the type who's going to move country constantly. And he seems very loyal too. I've always got that impression of him. However, I would worry about Hazard. Ever since he signed for us I've been thinking he's just to move on to Barcelona or Real Madrid eventually. Fantastic player and great prospect, yes. But his ambition seems to overcome his loyalty. Oscar and Mara seem to have more of a balance between those two traits.

WE SHOULD ALL RALLY TOGETHER AND SHOUT, SHOUT, SHOUT!!!!! I do agree though.

Welcome!

Well, it was Guardiola who helped Messi to do that, so let's hope he comes here in the summer!

Sky Sports really do twist things with their headlines don't they.

It's not really of a surprise though, is it?

That's true, I can't really disagree with any of that really. But I'm willing to bet that he's being instructed to dribble the ball out of defence. It needs to be done every now and again if you want to keep possession. And since the second half of last season, he's shown that he can be great at no nonsense defending if he's asked to do that. As you pointed out, his instincts let him down every now and again. It's those same instincts that could make him a world-class defenders in a team that keeps possession for most of the game. So unless Chelsea make more advancements with possession football, then Luiz will remain the same. However, let's say Pep does take over next season, I have a feeling Luiz will go on to be one of the best defenders in the world. He just needs a coach who understands possession football to teach him to rights and wrongs of it. I don't think anyone has ever question Luiz's footballing ability, after all. It's just that in the Premiership being a 'defender' and being a 'footballer' are two very different things sometimes.

To be honest, he's showing a lot of ambition and that's a good thing.

I agree. But you can't blame Luiz if he is being instructed to do otherwise. If we could recreate the relationship Terry and Carvalho had with Terry and Luiz that would be fantastic. But the players have to obey the managers' instructions if they want to stay in the team.

If that's your belief, then fine. You're not offending me by having a contrasting belief. But it's not my belief, and not my outlook on life or human nature. When I saw the expressions on the Bayern players' faces I was relieved that I wasn't watching the Chelsea players look like that. But that's not compassion. I felt compassion afterwards when I actually relaxed and thought about how they really felt after working so hard to win. True, some people revel in the pain of others if it means they themselves are successful, but not me. Human nature exists and every human shares a lot of things, but not everyone is the same and feels the same emotions. I admire Barcelona and many of their players, so my feelings of compassion for them were a bit stronger than usual. So it's not easy for me to see those pictures. I certainly don't revel in their pain, whether it is human nature to or not.

Yes, success is pleasurable because it comes as the expense of others, like you said. But to what extent? You can be a success, feel successful and be full of joy without enjoying watching a bunch of people crying and in pain. The way I see it: when Drogba scored the equalizing goal against Bayern from that corner, I was ecstatic. And the disappointment on the Bayern players' faces somehow complimented Chelsea's desire to come back from being a goal down. That's normal. During the game, the players are footballers and that's how wee see them and how they see themselves. But as soon as the match is over, they're people. And I would never get a kick out of looking at pictures of people crying and seeing the pain on their faces. That Barcelona team has many players that I admire just as much as Chelsea players, and to see pictures of them in the dressing room like that, no. It's not going to make me feel 'successful'. And that doesn't make me any less of a Chelsea fan. I've cried many times while watching Chelsea games since the age of eight years old. Sometimes because we won, and sometimes because we lost. Saying someone is not human because they don't feel pleasure while watching those Barca players in pain is just wrong and a ridiculous thing to say. Many things make me feel pleasure, but just because this is not one of them, it makes me no less of a human than you or anyone else. Now I don't mean to attack you personally or anything like that. I just think that because you feel pride or pleasure while looking at those pictures, it's clouding your judgement. You seem to be offended at the thought that someone else might not feel that way. Maybe it makes you think anyone who doesn't feel that way is less of a Chelsea fan and is insulting your club. So I can understand. But not every true Chelsea fan is going to feel that way while looking at those pictures, and it makes them no less of a fan in my eyes. Compassion is a major part of sport, and also of being a human being.

I doubt it mate. But don't worry, Lamps would never do that to us. Although, he did leave West Ham for Chelsea... but that was different.

Hahahaha, after watching the Mourinho documentary I needed this to cheer me up! Brilliant.

I'm not going to join in with people in being cynical just for the sake of it. So a healthy mixture of realism and optimism does me sleep at night indeed.

Couldn't agree more. I've been praying for this to happen for weeks.