venom2011

Yes...in the first half. And doing more work in advanced areas. The pressure can change on a dime in the second. Matic is much better equipped to deal with that and we needed solidity deeper in midfield. There was a period in the second where Villa had some of the ball and we were sloppy - But we looked like the Chelsea of old in how tight the lines were and players covering for each other.

I'd like him to call the ref naive just before a league cup fixture. Just use the exact same words that Wenger used and highlight the FA's bias.

Well...if you can only manage to repeat yourself after saying your initial piece then for sure it is probably best.

I'd prefer a nice discussion, which is the basis of a forum, but if it must be so...

He could hold on to the ball? Are we still speaking about 2014-2015 Drogba? The only areas Falcao loses out to Remy is in pace and finishing. Everything else is superior. And I'm not a big fan of the guy, but it is easy to see why he starts ahead of Remy and would have started ahead of Drogba if he were still here.

Never. Even this version of Falcao has a better all-round game than last season's Drogba. He was downright painful to watch at times. And Jose must think the same as Falcao has the 2nd spot above Remy.

Matic and Costa aren't great by any means. There are quite a few teams when looking at a complete first XI.

He speaks about height but he means aerial ability. Kenedy and Traore were never going to be serious candidates for those roles. The rules go out of the window when you're going balls-to-the-wall in chasing a game. 100%. As a unit, this is probably the weakest we've had in terms of aerial ability. Costa, Falcao, Terry, Iva, Cahill, Zouma are good. As you've mentioned, everyone else is decidedly weak in comparison. Matic only last season started making strides in his aerial game and became more aggressive.

Countless times, as I've said. Surely having Fabregas as your DM is the very definition of throwing caution to the wind? Ha! How I wish I could pass that well... Either way, it's very easy to be critical of Mourinho's decisions in this moment. No fan or critic is taking any risk by doing that because they simply use the result as the ultimate justification for every argument made. I find it lazy and ignorant. Mourinho takes off Willian - boooo! What is he doing? (Willian is sick) Mourinho takes off Matic - booo! That is disrespectful! (A tactic Mourinho himself has used countless times when chasing a game but right now some choose to have a problem with it) It annoys me just a little... :)

Was today your first time watching a Chelsea game?I'm of course only teasing, but taking off your DM is standard fare when throwing caution to the wind. What I said was that this has happened to Mikel many times over the course of his career. Bringing Matic on was tactical decision, with Ramires on a yellow and the game in delicate balance. And taking him off was again a tactical decision.

Which other comments are you referring to? As far as I understood the game, it was a tactical decision to remove Matic. It has happened to Mikel more times than I could care to remember.

I'm not sure he has been WORSE. He always puts in a shift and has some sort of impact. But definitely a poor start from him.

100% I don't know where some of these guys come up with the 4-2-3-1 being 'rigid' or wanting to 'go back' to the 4-3-3. The reason the 4-2-3-1 is very popular and a favourite of Jose's, is because it is a hybrid system. The personnel and instructions are key to determining how the tactic is carried out. Make Hazard the 10, use Ramires and Oscar on the flanks - and it becomes a 4-4-2. Use Oscar as the 10, play Matic and Mikel/Ramires/RLC and it's a 4-3-3. The reason why the old system worked so well is because we had experienced players who were interchangeable in the system. Fabregas is playing the position of what would traditionally be the box-to-box role, but he does't play that way. He generally plays in the final two-thirds. He played more passes in the final third last night than any other player in this round of CL games. This is a problem if we have any other no.10 than Oscar in the team, as he is the most tactically astute of all the AMs. Fab touches last night: If we lose Fabregas in deeper midfield, our distribution suffers massively. If we use him and don't have Oscar, our defensive organisation suffers. We are on a tightrope tactically because of the qualities of our first-choice players, and the lack of quality in our squad players. Jose of course knows this, and I'm sure we'll see it addressed as and when suitable players become available in the market. Solution - Pogba or Koke

This, for me, is just icing on the cake, but it's the other things that make me feel similarly.

It's well documented that Jose likes a small squad, but even so we were still 1 defensive player short last season. At least we have the numbers now. Agreed that the window has been quite decent. But I don't think our squad is necessarily stronger. Strikers are improved a bit - I'd have Falcao over Old Didier any day. Attacking Midfield for sure - Pedro, Kenedy, Traore as you've mentioned. Midfield is the same. Defence is tricky because we lost one of the best left-backs going, replaced him with a somewhat unknown quantity in Baba, and added Papy. Then factor in the inevitable decline of Ivanovic and Terry. And also the growth in Zouma, who's looking more beastly by the game. The squad is therefore well balanced. It would have been nice to improve the quality, but these guys, on paper, are most definitely capable of retaining the title.

City. The money has no bearing. They have strengthened creatively, at the back and have not lost anything significant. I have no problem with our window though. We have done well, considering the players available.

I don't think fans overrate him. He is more gifted than any single player in this league, in fact, in most leagues. If you look at a number of players in the top bracket, he can do everything they can do, plus things they can't. What fans have to manage though, are their expectations. He simply does not have the drive of Messi, Ronaldo, Suarez etc. That will to change a game consistently. By all accounts he is an easy going guy, who used to be a poor trainer, but now probably just about does enough. He takes our penalties, and he's great, but never practices it. That tells you all you need to know about his character. And he actually wasn't great in the last half of the season. Willian took over as our best outlet from about Feb. He has disappointed more than anyone this season. I expect some of the players to play badly. But he should be held to a higher standard.

No. Paying 60m for Stones would be a panic buy. We are short at the back and I'd rather the club wait for their real targets next season and get a temp solution now.

Quote?Traore last year had a free role upfront with very little defensive responsibility. It's a big step up now for the boy and only the training staff will know how close he is to realistically challenging.

I can understand the frustration given his performance last season but playing for Chelsea is a big step up. Jose gets to compare the two of them (Kenedy and Traore) on a daily basis. You have to trust that he knows what is best despite your misgivings.

No one was good and that's the problem. But he wasn't bad. He requires service even more than a striker like Aguero. But right now neither Fabregas nor Hazard are looking like they give a damn. When the team is playing this poorly you can nitpick ad nauseam but the focus should be on the really poor performers.

He has been atrocious but to be fair the right side is frail not just because of him. Fabregas is the covering midfielder for that side which is basically like having no covering midfielder.

I think the answer to that is a firm Yes!

It's still early so no need to panic but things must change. Fabregas and Ivanovic need to be dropped. And Hazard needs a shake-up for sure.

Hazard still playing as deep midfield distributor I see.