He was a superstar for us for the last 2 seasons, but hes done nothing this season and Oscar / Hazard / Willian all look better right now.. hes a luxury and if we could get a swap with a striker out of him (i.e. Falcao or Rooney) it would improve our team no end.

I haven't been convinced enough by Willian to feel that we can do without Mata yet. Willian's workrate is decent, but he really does offer us considerably less than Mata in an attacking sense. Mata would find his form if he wasn't in and out of the team all of the time.

What's a superstar in terms of a team game? And what is the point of one who don't play in terms of a team game?

We are in need of a proven Premership striker, someone who could play as a lone striker,someone with experience of winning titles, who fits that criteria?

Mata might be "worth" a 100 Rooneys in you view but we don't need him, Him playing every game this season would have made little or no difference to where we are this season, Rooney would have, Yes in a few seasons time Rooney won't be the player he is but we have a young striker on our books currently on loan to Everton who will be ready to take over.

We have a asset at the moment it is highly unlikely we will need, we are in need of a asset which someone else owns, a swap is logical. All this silly nonsense about what it will do for the other team is rubbish, I have enough faith in Jose and our current player then to worry about what a player not good enough for our team can do for another club.

What kind of treatment? Sitting on the bench is not some form of evil punishment.

It's not an evil punishment, but I still think he has been treated shabbily. However many times Jose says that he continues to rate Mata, it's fairly obvious that he has issues with the player. This was clear before the season had even begun.
I just believe that someone who had been our key player for the two previous season deserved better. If he doesn't fit in with Mourinho's plans, fair enough, let him go. Besides, financially it's not in our interests to leave him sidelined so often, his perceived value must be less now than it was during the summer and probably continues to decrease.

The only value that should come into play is the value he brings on to the pitch for 90 odd minutes every weekend and at the moment compared to other players he has not shown much value, and he has had the chances.

We have been so poor over the last 2 seasons that we only saw Mata's good points and ignored his bad ones.

I don't want to know about a key player from our last two seasons they are gone, I want to know what players provide now, that's why players like Lamps is still getting games for us and Giggs is for Man It's.

We have to get away from just a "monetary values" for players we need to also balance it out with a look what they provide us with from a game point of view, A Chelsea with Mata in the team won't win the title therefore he has little value at the moment

He is where his performance on the pitch and during training merits, Jose is a winner, he needs titles like most people need to breath, he don't have issues with players he has problems with players performances and lack of playing in a certain method, Mata is more of use to us on the bench at the moment and if in the next week or so or end of the season he is more of value being sold or even swapped for x player then so be it. No single player matters. We should only discuss the team, modern football has turned way to much into a individual sport for my liking

You're talking as if we were really piss-poor over those two seasons, we weren't that bad. Mata wasn't just a reasonably decent player in a poor team, he was exceptional player in a good (but not great) team. Far better judges than me were impressed with Mata, and we were playing against the same opposing teams then as we are now.
I'm willing to accept that Mata doesn't fit with Mourinho's playing style, but nothing will convince me that he has become a poor player overnight. The little guy was a joy to watch at times, surely you remember that ?..and he's still only 25.

Mata to Liverpool seemingly.

We finished outside the top 4 and just about scrapped 3rd in a ok league and against ok teams for god sake Spurs finished above us. Before that we was challenging (agree we would not win it) We was that bad.

He is not a poor player and you could argue he is the most talented player on Chelsea's books BUT on the same hand you dont always pick the best players, you pick the team to win games and thus you have to take in account the players weakness, While players that are playing might not have Mata's skill they have certain abilties that Mata at the moment lacks while at the same time having slighty less abilties in those that Mata does have. He might be a joy to watch but we are not Mata F.C, SAF had one mantra during his time at Utd "THE TEAM CAME FIRST" and remember the number of great players he dropped for the good of the team?

Without Mata, we are single points away from the 1st place (first time for two seasons we have been that for most of the season). Do you really think with him playing week in week out the team would be any better off?

Yes people did say how wonderful Mata was during the last two seasons but thats because as i said IMO I think we have become too obsessed with "Superstars" and individual when it comes to the top teams. Everyone wants to see "the player" but what we should be thinking about is the team performance and this is something I think we have seen from Chelsea the last few games then we have in the last few seasons. Even at the start of the season when the goals were not coming and our defending was suspect I could see the bones of what we was trying to do and had more confidance it would work then anything from the past two seasons. It what got us into the Champions League before Roman bought us and what won us League Titles.

If we was a Spurs or a Liverpool then yes Mata should play because they need a "superstar" and a individual player to make them tick etc, We are not those teams thank the lord. We have a manager who puts the team first and thats what Sir Alex did and thats what we need to copy

I don't think you can just blame the players for those league finishes, we were significantly worse off in the managerial department back then too. That's a massive factor that can't be underestimated, as evidenced by Man U's current plight.

While I would agree the management he had at the time was not quite in the class we have now (will sit here and wait for the Rafa is god and the greatest manager in the world blah blah blah) but the players still did not perform. Quite a few of them were on par with the years before Roman.

We still should have done better then we did, Even when Jose left it did not create the hole that SAF did when he left Utd. Am not saying we should have been possible title winners during those years (and dont think we are this year) but am saying with the level of the league we should have been better off then we were with regards to points.

Liverpool can dream but it's never going to happen.

Am so excited flights booked and tickets got (well not got yet but my friend has got them for me) for the Newcastle Match on the 8.2.14. It's my son's birthday pressie and of course his mother has to go with him.
It will be a long day but am so looking forward to the Bridge with Jose back. And of course to see all the lads as well,and to visit the Mega Store and to see the buzz on match day.

Omeruro gone on loan to Middlesbrough. Seems all our players who done well on loan last year have either stood still or gone backwards.

Latest Matic rumours say Benfica will listen for offers after they play Porto on the 12th.

Our FA Cup fourth round match at home to Stoke City will take place on Sunday 26 January, kick-off 3.30pm.

The game will be broadcast live on ITV.

If its on ITV thank the lord its a home game so i wont have to suffer watching the worst broadcaster of tv ever.

The only thing I seen any good of ITV's broadcasting of football was the kid crying during the West Ham game, The poor kid now has to suffer the same fate but next time in the posh seats

We can all breathe a sigh of relief, Mario Balotelli has rejected the idea of a move to Chelsea.

I be more worred if we even thought about going after him for more then a second

Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, David Luiz; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Torres

Subs: Schwarzer, Bertrand, Mikel, Essien, Schurrle, Mata, Eto'o

Nice to see Luiz in midfield again

Very nice. And partnering Ramires. Have high hopes for those two combining.

Tuned in just as Oscar missed an easy chance. That kind of game?

Other than the Luiz free-kick just now, it's the only save their keeper has had to make so far. We've created next to nothing. Pretty frustrating first half again.

No were doing our usual strolling around.

Hazard! Great goal!

Hazard spent the week practising shooting from different angles after training.

I bet none of our strikers stayed behind with him.