Phil Driver

That is the issue ,how does the above help us to win a game? Anyone can play there and play 90% pass success rate in any game slow, sideways and backwards and that is all he can do. In that role you need quick one and two touch and a very good defender whe reads the game ,Mikel does neither.

Very sound and dependable ,no blame on him tonight at all .

Only problem is I like him in the No 10 role ,same as Mata and Oscar .

Like him in recent weeks and with him and Hazard at the club when we get a centre forward we are going to give some teams real beatings ,it is not all doom and gloom as they say .

He played well and hit some brilliant passes ,but .....................................how the **** does he let the goal through his legs on the line? Over all did very well though and I saw him play it safe on one occasion and put the ball out for a throw in when he may have played a dodgy pass back to Schwarzer. Honestly Mikel really does him no favours when they play together.

It hurts to lose,but that is the best thing for us to be out of that Cup ,we are not strong enough to compete on four fronts and we need to concentrate on the League as top four is a must and our weaknesses are plain for all to see ,we do not need any more proof , a centre forward ,a new midfielder to replace Mikel and ball playing full backs are badly needed for us to be a top team again.

Man of the match for sideways passing once again ,but our counters are oh so slow ,he plays we lose ,again. The theme is continuing.

That is a vital part of transition . Players who have been there and done it teach the younger players how to win and play for Chelsea.

I want to see him and Cahill play against Sunderland without the security of having JT next to them, they both need to show who deserves the position, if Mikel is in front of them it could be a long night with a lot of confusion. But one or both of them need to start taking responsibilty and David needs to be concentrated for 95 mins ,everybody can make an error but sloppiness is unforgiveable and that is all that is holding him back,as we all know he has the ability to be a Chelsea great and a Chelsea captain one day, with the right focus.

No but those two strikes at Stoke do ........................................

93% pass completion rate and offered much more than Mikel ever does and it can be taken for granted that his passing will have been more penetrating and quicker than Mikel and he reads the game much better ,better tackler ,more stamina and much tougher competitor ,he should be our back up to the established Rammy/Lampard pairing now . He may not be the player he was but is still our best back up by a long way . Jose has given up on Mikel now and sent him shopping yesterday,he cant complain after his efforts? against Stoke and Steau and the exit door surely looms.

Looked very nervy ,needs to get his head back together ,Palace was a good game for him but he still needed JT to bail him out ,Cahill was injured and needed a rest but he and JT still look our most secure until David gets some confidence back ,this league does nobody any favours and any weakness is pounced on unlike Portugal.

Drogba should still be at Chelsea with Lukaku and it was not Jose who got rid of Drogba I doubt he would have , we could have had a scenario where Lukaku would have stayed and worked with Drogba and Jose ,instead of Torres who needed to know he was the main striker and Ba ,Eto'o.. So what benefit did Chelsea gain by moving Drogba on before his time was up? as he is by far a better player than the three we have . Any failings and imbalances in the squad are down to the men who have been dictating transfer policy up to now and one of those is Emenalo ,Jose will have this all sorted out after next summer ,then will be the time to start judging him and it will be favourable.

No we have sanctioned a 75k a week four year contract for Mikel so that he can go shopping while we play a match in the premier league and Jose didnt/wouldnt have approved that (the contract not the shopping). Players like Lampard and JT have huge roles to play at the club , many were saying JT was finished last season ,Jose did not.

Mikel is 76.

Is that a question? Lamps and JT will probably be here the season after next as well . This is widely reported, Jose is not going to see the heart of Chelsea thrown out of the club before their time is up it really is a no brainer . That is why Jose is a the best manager in the world and forums are for gossip .

It was Rammy who suffered when playing with Mikel at Stoke, v Steau it was Frank ,whoever partners him is left to do all the work and struggles as a result . Rammy and Frank are a cert to start v Palace .

Jose is realising the extent of his task at Chelsea years of mismanagement since he left with manager after manager undermined and dictated to by suits,he needs to and will start clearing out the rubbish and he will structure the playing staff to win Premier League titles not football manager fantasy games with teams and players picked by people who do not have a clue and are better off managing girls teams . Time for Jose to get to work and be left to get on with it .

I Do you really believe the stuff you right ?

All of them . And awful again last night and hauled off once again.

He is too expensive with FFP around the corner it will have to be Lukaku and Lewandowski or just Lukaku with Torres and Ba . Do not see this happening for financial reasons unless Torres plus 30 million is a deal ,which I doubt is.

30 million is a lot ,but he is 17 and would to be the soloution for 10 years and longer ,we could have three left backs come to the club signed by Emenalo for 15 million each and all are failures during this time, if that is what it takes pay it ,this kid is that good and is no mercenary,not his fault that we failed to get him before he signed a new contract with Southampton. If we make a move in the summer and he turns us down (i doubt he will) good luck to him. I think Jose can take this out of Emenalo's hands and seal the deal ,if Emenalo is not up to it .

He was taken off because he had crumbled and lost Ireland . Press him as Stoke did second half and we are feeble ,every opposition manager should be doing it ,he was lost. Another game where a holding midfielder who is good would be the last player you take off and as soon as Ireland came on (who is a journeyman) and Obi was running in sand when we needed him to secure the game,it was the same at Sunderland when they pushed up on him and they very nearly equalised,the question remains ,what does he do again? Protect the back four -- I dont think so .

The team needs to be selected with our recent good performances in mind if Jose is fair (West Ham,Southampton,Sunderland) and that will be............... ...............Cech.............. Ivan....Terry...Cahill...Cole (Dave was exposed yesterday) out of position. .......Ramires....Lampard.......... ..xxx..Oscar or Mata...Hazard.... ................Pass................. The rest all have a bit to prove and need to start proving it,Oscar and Mata in the ten role is a toss up but they should never start together unless it is an easy home game like Palace.