Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba claims only star players were picked by Jose Mourinho

Demba Ba said not being a big name hindered his chances at Chelsea

As with any player that leaves Chelsea, they are often asked of their time at the club. Demba Ba has made a statement claiming that under Jose Mourinho, he wasn't selected because of the bigger names ahead of him. I just wondered what you think of the claim he has made?When asked of his time at Chelsea and his frustrations at the lack of first team opportunities, he said, “Sometimes when you are at a club with a lot of big stars, the name counts for more than the statistics. Unfortunately, it was like that in my case. But I am happy I moved from Newcastle to Chelsea and achieved what I did. I have lots of friends there. Eden Hazard is one of my best friends, I am close to Branislav Ivanovic, too. All my wishes are for them to win the league.’”

Is he right? Does Demba Ba have a valid point?Brought into the club during the January transfer window by Rafa Benitez, Ba made a real good start to his Chelsea career and gave us a lift when we needed it. We had become frustrated with injuries and suspensions, in addition to Fernando Torres' continued struggle for goals up until that point and he came in for £7m and impressed from he beginning.Over time, Fernando Torres found his scoring boots with over 20 goals that season, Ba continued to contribute and then came Jose Mourinho, back to club for his second spell in charge and things changed for Ba.With the arrival of Samuel Eto'o at the club, Ba found himself in a three way battle for the start along with Torres and we sit here, one year on, knowing the struggles we had that eventually cost us the title.Don't get me wrong, Demba Ba still made an important contribution to our season with important goals when he was called upon but, despite that, you need to look at the bigger picture. Who are we or anyone for that matter to question Jose Mourinho. He knows exactly what it takes to win titles and trophies and knows how to build a squad to do so. He consistently moaned about the lack of goals from his strikers last season and has been cut throat this summer to get the forwards he wanted here.We look at the options we had last season - Ba, Eto'o and Torres, to what we have now - Costa, Drogba and Torres and we already look far better and stronger than last season.I honestly do not believe for one second that Jose Mourinho picks the stars or the bigger names ahead of anyone else. It's a shame that Ba feels that way. I wish Ba luck with Besiktas and would like to thank him for his contribution in those important moments over the last few seasons.