I'd imagine there would be absolutely no chance of that happening, to be perfectly honest!

Chelsea's biggest strength in the summer of 2014 was their effectiveness in the transfer market. They had Diego Costa and Filipe Luis lined up from Atletico Madrid very early on. They moved swiftly to secure Cesc Fabregas the moment they were aware he was available at Barcelona. Even when interest surfaced from Milan in Fernando Torres, they purchased a replacement of quality in Loic Remy very, very efficiently. And yet the contrast could not have been more stark in the summer of 2015. The additions they made were largely replacements: Begovic for Cech; Rahman for Luis; Falcao for Drogba. Kenedy was a kid who was going to be given time to develop. It was as if they realised very late on that more competition was needed, hence the urgent move to secure Pedro from Barca to add to their forward ranks. I know Mourinho has suggested publicly that he has been happy with the recruitment this season, but I'd imagine, privately, there was some real frustration there that more new faces were not brought in earlier in the summer to speed proper integration and adaptation, and simply ensure more competition for places.

Just glancing up to the screen here in the hotel and Chelsea's U19s are currently winning 3-1 against Porto in the Uefa youth league. There is so much talent there in the system, and they have 33 other players (most of them youngsters) out on loan. The difficult thing is to try and integrate those kids into the first-team at a club where every defeat is unexpected and almost unacceptable.

I do think Mourinho is a master of deflecting issues, yes. And he uses that siege mentality time and time again to get the best from his squad, whichever club he is coaching at the time.

I do think Mourinho is a master of deflecting issues, yes. And he uses that siege mentality time and time again to get the best from his squad, whichever club he is coaching at the time.

I think he is still hugely appreciated in Porto (not as a local, given his connections with Setabul, but as a former Porto manager who enjoyed huge success here), though perhaps not as much as he is at Chelsea or even, maybe, with Inter. There is pride, though. What was achieved in 2003 and 2004 was phenomenal.

I wonder whether he was one of the six players Mourinho dug out (without naming) this morning, suggesting it was down to "attitude". He clearly revived in the second half on Tyneside, but the frustration remains that he is only turning it on for periods in games. Mourinho spoke earlier this season about the responsibility now on Hazard to follow up on last year's success: as a reigning footballer of the year, he has set a standard he must now maintain. He has the lofty reputation now. But he still has to justify it every week.

A diamond would be interesting, possibly with Hazard at its tip and Diego Costa (once the ban is served) partnered with either Falcao or Remy? Generally, Mourinho has stuck with his variations of 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 etc. I can't see him changing to much. He suggested yesterday that "tactics" aren't the problem. It is more down to "attitude".

The team I went with in this morning's paper was...
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa.
The city is fantastic, thanks. A beautiful place.

I'm inclined to think Terry will start at Zouma's expense, not least because the young Frenchman has made a few errors of his own of late (partly down to inexperience, I'd imagine). He is generally very good at recovering those mistakes - that is where his burst of pace is properly useful - but this may be an occasion to rely on some wiser old heads in Cahill and Terry.
I do wonder if there might be a surprise selection in there somewhere. You'd imagine Ramires and Willian are worth starts given the impact they made when coming off the bench on Saturday. But Kenedy might add a bit more forward thrust, and Loftus-Cheek has done well on the occasions he has started (albeit only against Tel Aviv and Walsall of late). He might be best utilised in a midfield three, possibly alongside Matic and Fabregas, though that would have implications for Oscar. We will see.

And Chelsea don't have a particularly staggering away record in European competition in recent years. Can see this ending in a draw tonight, which would constitute a pretty good result. Actually, a very good one.

Exhaustion, definitely, has played a part. Chelsea had one of the smaller "senior" squads last season (albeit they loan so many of their fringe and young players out - 33 this year alone) which placed even more onus on key figures featuring every week. The fact they began the campaign so well also meant Mourinho was reluctant to "change a winning formula" etc until it all became a bit of a slog over the run-in. I suspect we are still witnessing the hangover from that now: Terry played every in the Premier League last season; Ivanovic featured in every game. That has taken its toll. But I don't think Mourinho is in danger of losing the dressing-room. Not at present, anyway. The comments yesterday, while inflammatory, were tactical and aimed at coaxing more from his players. Cesc Fabregas in many way reiterated those sentiments when he faced the media last night.

He hasn't been shown a red card since 2010. Though I do think that, given he has now twice been sanctioned retrospectively, there will inevitably be even more scrutiny on his every move once he returns from this latest three-match absence. Tonight should be interesting. You'd imagine he'd be raring to tear into Porto given he's had to sit out the last two games. Could be explosive...

I think they do care, quite a bit. Massively, in fact.

Good question. I guess Terry is in a more exposed position in the centre, particularly against raw pace, and Chelsea have other options in the middle with Zouma and Cahill. Their options at right-back are slightly more limited, even if Cesar Azpilicueta is a natural on that side. The problem is, playing the Spaniard there would mean using Baba Rahman from the current squad at left-back and, while there has been promise in his performances so far, he still looks as if he has a mistake or two defensively in him while he adjusts to a new league etc.
All that said, I agree that Ivanovic has been uncharacteristically error-prone this season. Actually, it might go back as far as the Spring when a long season appeared to take its toll on him and wingers started having a bit more joy on his side of the pitch. I thought he was snapping out of it when he looked a bit more impressive - and aggressive - against (a very poor) Maccabi Tel Aviv and Arsenal, but Newcastle seemed to exploit him on Saturday again.
Mourinho suggested up to six players were not performing up to scratch on Saturday, and I'd imagine Ivanovic was probably one of them. The manager considers him a leader, someone who should inspire the younger players in the set-up, but his form has been dismal to date. Terry, I'd imagine, would return this evening. I was surprised he wasn't selected up against Mitrovic on Saturday, but it would constitute more of a shock if he didn't start tonight in what is Chelsea's most daunting fixture in Group G.

To be honest, I can't really see any of the English clubs winning the trophy this season. Can you? Given how well the first round of matches went, the priority for all four should be to qualify from the groups and then see what happens. Mourinho himself was rather sceptical of his team's chances last night: "We're favourites for the group but, in the last 16, we'll see what happens." I suspect events against Paris Saint-Germain last year troubled him significantly. I think I suggested Bayern Munich might win it when we did our pre-tournament predictions, which means Pep Guardiola and his side have absolutely no chance. Clearly.

Mourinho gave that issue very short shrift last night at his press conference. The first journalist who asked a question and identified himself as from Spain was cut short with the Chelsea manager saying: "If you're going to ask me about Casillas, I'm going to greet him at the beginning and the end. No more questions about it.” And that was it. The local national broadcaster's coverage of tonight's game has already included a lengthy feature on the whole issue. Yet another "handshake watch" awaits, I fear.

Interesting point, that. Casting an eye over Uefa's statistics, he has played eight games in the Champions League and scored four goals, which is surprisingly few for a player who was considered, prior to the knee injury, as one of the best forwards on the planet. I guess it has been about when opportunities arose for him: he has quite an active agent in Jorge Mendes, after all. To move from Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco constituted a surprise, although at that stage Dmitry Rybolovlev was spending millions to kick-start his club's challenge having taken them out of Ligue 2. Bottom line, unfortunately, is that the knee injury has wrecked the player's progress. I'm not sure we'll ever see him at his rampaging best again (watching him tear Chelsea to pieces in the 2012 SuperCup was something else), which is cruel. Jose Mourinho clearly thought he could restore him to the pinnacle but, given how he has been used to date, I wonder whether reality is sinking in once again...

The failure to sign Stones, who Chelsea clearly thought they could secure, did set them back significantly in their summer strengthening. Everton's resistance, though, was admirable and completely justified: Premier League clubs boast that clout these days with the revenues they are generating through broadcast rights etc. They have their own ambitions and targets. And now Stones' development will continue with regular involvement at centre-half at Everton for the foreseeable future.
I imagine, at some stage, Chelsea will revisit the issue and try to prise him away again but Everton have made clear they will only countenance his departure when it suits them. And quite right too.

I do think it's a new experience for him, yes. He hasn't endured anything like this at any of his "elite" clubs, and there is an awareness that he cannot be seen simply to allow the situation to drift. Carlo Ancelotti, during the prolonged "difficult moment" he suffered from November 2010, could offer no real explanation for why things were unravelling, which simply suggested he was a manager unable to arrest the decline. Mourinho will be keen to illustrate he is not in the same position: he is being proactive, trying to eke out more from his players in any way he can. That manifested itself yesterday in some pretty strong criticisms, and a warning that he will simply "go with the kids" if it gets to the point where Chelsea are out of the running for major honours this season.

I would be surprised to see Mourinho return to Porto, to be honest. He has suggested in the past his career may take him into international management - he has spoken of coaching Portugal on numerous occasions - when he does, eventually, leave Chelsea for a second time. Talking to local journalists at the Dragao last night, the suggestion was that, while Mourinho is still hugely respected here for what he achieved with the Uefa Cup in 2003 and the European Cup a year later, Andre Villas-Boas is almost revered more in these parts. AVB was a Porto supporter, I suppose, while Mourinho is from Setubal, but that still surprised me a bit...
As for a legacy, that is his great task at Chelsea this time around. He would argue it was "his team" which went on to claim the Premier League under Carlo Ancelotti, and even the European Cup under Roberto di Matteo. The core of those sides had been shaped (if not necessarily all bought) during his successful first spell at Stamford Bridge. In his eyes, therefore, he did leave a legacy last time around. But this is a different type of side, a different type of "project", and he recognises it as a very new kind of challenge for him. Something he's not done before.
Indeed, in a press conference the other day, he was asked about why things tend to go awry in his third seasons at clubs (when, indeed, he enjoys a third season). His initial response was rather angry and dismissive before the question was rephrased to "how important, then, is it to build a dynasty at a club beyond three or four seasons?"
His response: "I haven't done that. This is the first time I'm going for that, and I don't have experience of it in the past.” i.e. this is very much uncharted territory, which actually makes the day-to-day development of this team (whether progress or set-backs) all the more interesting.

This webchat, you mean? Or Mourinho's pre-match comments questioning his players' "motivation, desire and commitment"? I think the latter reflected his deep-lying frustrations at the way in which his team have performed to date this season. He is seeking a response, as Cesc Fabregas also suggested last night at his own media conference, starting this evening at the Dragao. Too much of this team's season has been inconsistent to date: lethargy in long periods of games; a lack of urgency and invention going forward; defensive frailties. All very un-Chelsea-like, under Mourinho at least.

Hello all from Oporto. Jose Mourinho confronts his former club here tonight. He was pottering around the (very impressive) Porto museum at the Dragao last night ahead of his pre-match press conference looking fairly relaxed for someone who is clearly dissatisfied with the way his team is currently performing. Tonight should be a real test. Right...