Juan Mata: The Starting 11 That Chelsea Must Use to Be Champions

Special 1 TV's José always ends the show with the signatory line: "Be champions."

Now his protegee André Villas-Boas will be mulling over which tactics and which formations to use to ensure Chelsea become champions.

The signings of Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku have given Chelsea supporters a more optimistic outlook, and perhaps the Blues can play some more attacking football.  

Presuming they don't buy anyone else, here is the predominant starting 11 that Villas-Boas must use to ensure success for Chelsea.

Goalkeeper: Petr Čech

Petr Čech should be sidelined against Norwich City and Sunderland, though neither games are of the utmost importance. 

Hopefully he can return by September 18 to face Manchester United. 

In recent seasons since his horrific and untimely injury, his form has been questionable, though last season he was excellent. 

With Thibaut Courtois positioning himself as a potential successor, Čech needs to ensure his performances are consistently world class.

Right Back: José Bosingwa

Whatever André Villas-Boas told José Bosingwa during preseason has worked wonders, because the Portuguese road-runner has been superb so far. 

This is the Bosingwa we wanted, the Bosingwa we liked so much that we spent £16.3 million on him. 

With Ashley Cole on the opposite flank, we have potentially the best wingback combination in the league.

Centre Back: John Terry

The captain, the longest serving player and the heart of the team. 

From time to time, John Terry's defending leaves you thinking if assault is a more accurate description than tackle. 

Nonetheless, it doesn't seem anything is slowing down the English stalwart. 

Centre Back: Branislav Ivanović

Assuming José Bosingwa continues his stellar form and remains injury-free, Branislav Ivanović won't get a look in at right back, which is fine given he is a natural centre back. 

What about David Luiz? 

The flamboyant Brazilian reminds me a lot of Martín Demichelis: loves to dribble but is prone to regular mishaps. 

Ivanović is more solid, more dependable and a better defender then Luiz. 

If Bosingwa loses form or gets injured, Ivanović can move to right back, thus allowing Luiz the centre back position.

Left Back: Ashley Cole

He just keeps going, going and going.

Ashley Cole is always a threat down the left flank, but his offensive efficiency has left a lot to be desired of last season.

That being said, the presence of him bombarding down that left flank will continue to draw attention away from other Chelsea players.  

He had 73 passes attempted at a 92 percent success rate against West Bromwich Albion.

His combination with José Bosingwa is pivotal to Chelsea's offensive game.  

Defensive Midfielder: Ramires

I don't understand why people want to see Ramires in a box-to-box mode. 

Yes, he can run a lot (hence why he's called the Blue Kenyan), but box-to-box midfielders have to be also competent in attack to merit running from box to box and Ramires isn't that. 

Rather then have a stagnant, unimaginative and defensively inept John Obi Mikel, having an all-action pest like Ramires protecting the back four is better.

Centre Midfielder: Josh McEachran

A real classy midfielder, he's also our best homegrown talent, and we have to nurture Josh McEachran to become a class player for the future. By throwing him into games right now, we'll see how good he is.

Look at other clubs around us.

Arsenal gave Jack Wilshere a chance and he's developed into a fine player so far. They're now giving Aaron Ramsey a chance.

Manchester United are giving Tom Cleverley a chance. 

Everton have given 17-year-old Ross Barkley a chance. 

C'mon, it's a no-brainer: We have to give McEachran a chance. 

What's the point in having an academy when we aren't going to give our best youth players a chance?   

Centre Midfielder: Frank Lampard

In the past two games, Frank Lampard has been playing too deep and that's not his best position. 

He needs to be bombing forward and scoring goals for us. 

Did you know he didn't a register a single shot against Stoke City? 

You don't get many midfielders scoring 20-plus goals in a season, so André Villas-Boas, please give Lampard a free role in midfield.

Left Forward: Juan Mata

He played 22 games as a left-sided midfielder for Valencia and had a terrific game against Villarreal.

People don't talk about the Levante game which Juan Mata's heroics stole three points from the unlucky rag-tagged neighbors.

Some of you may want to know if he is comfortable playing in a 4-3-3?

Yes, because he played there for the Spanish Under-21 team. In a game against Ukraine, he just played like a boss and gave the Ukrainians a good footballing lesson.

I'm very happy with this signing. He's what we need.

Centre Forward: Romelu Lukaku

To the detractors; have you watched this kid play? If so, have you watched him to the extent I have?

I've followed Lukaku since he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old. 

I watched a schoolboy rip apart Beerschot with two goals and two assists. 

Consistently coming off the bench and scoring, his enthusiasm, the look in his eyes, the pace and power conjured up from just a teenager was a sight to behold.

This kid was making seasoned professionals fear him.

My only concern is that he'll be a good player as opposed to be one of the greatest ever.

I am convinced I'm watching someone special, like I watched Sergio Agüero single-handily defeat Barcelona in 2008, I know it when I see it.

Lukaku is destined for greatness.

Bravo Chelsea for making the bold move in buying him, even though we didn't need a forward.       

Withdrawn Forward: Fernando Torres

People who are familiar with my articles know my detestation to us buying Fernando Torres for £50 million.

They know I'm generally always the first to jump on El Niño's back when he fails, which is pretty much his entire Chelsea career so far. 

I've had a slight change of heart.

If we're going to change so much and give guys like Josh McEachran, Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku a chance—we have to help our £50 million forward as much as possible.

Rather then stick him out on the flanks as a right-sided forward, play him as a withdrawn forward with more license to roam. 

At least if he fails, he can't have the excuse that he didn't have an adequate support cast.

Good luck Torres, and I mean it sincerely because you'll need every bit of it if you're going to live up to your transfer fee.

Final Formation

You look at Barcelona and they launch a blitzkrieg on opposing defences by piercing them through the centre, and when the opposing defence decides to tuck in more, Dani Alves comes into the game by raiding the vacant flank.

Forget about width in our midfield or forward line, our width will be manufactured by José Bosingwa and Ashley Cole. 

Juan Mata will be twisting and turning defenders inside out and producing clever incisive passes. Hopefully defenders also turn their attention to Romelu Lukaku, therefore giving Fernando Torres some space. 

In an ideal world, this is what I want André Villas-Boas to implement but I know it's too quick, it's too radical and too unorthodox in that the opposing left back has free reign because there's no one to pressure him.

Villas-Boas, you promised us attacking football; now walk the walk. 

Please also read Premier League: Worst 11 of the Week  and EPL Transfer News: 21 Deadline Deals That May Happen.