EskWeston

Time to get this sorted once and for all. It has gone on FAR too long!!!!! Lampard has said he wants to stay at Chelsea - Great! Chelsea say that want to extend Lampards contract - Great! So lets get this sorted and get Lamps tied into the club. To lose him this season or next would be a massive shame. Everyone wants Lamps to finish playing football with us.

I don't think that he is after £200k per week, that is what city are looking to pay so that they can convince him to go to a mid table Prem team and play in the UEFA cup. At the moment Ronaldinho wants to go the best club possible. IF we are interested and we do go in for him i would doubt that we would have to pay £200k per week. But at the same time it most certainly won't be £80k a week either. Robinho for me if we could get him would be a massive signing and one we wouldn't be able to top. Our team would look very very impressive if we could get both Ronaldinho and Robinho: ........................Cech..................... Bosingwa....Carvalho....Terry....A.Cole ................Essien.......Ballack........... ........................Deco..................... Ronaldinho...........................Robinho .......................Drogba...................

Sign em' both up i what i say. Both are looking likely, especially Robinho the Ronaldinho one depends entirely on Scolari, does he want him? We only know speculation at the moment. I would definately have both in an instant, but if i was forced to pick one i would go for Robinho.

I don't think many people are suprised we have signed Deco, it was clear from the stories that were comming out that it was very much on the cards. And at around £7m i think we have the perfect deal, Deco has just shown at the Euros that he can still hack it at the top level for at least the 2 years we have given to him. And he is the exact sort of player that we have needed for some time..... Overall a good signing. Lets hope he can settle in quickly and start to perform immediately.

Bertrand certainly won't be sold. One of our young players who has a real chance of playing for us on a regular basis. A premier league loan would be great for him and i think he would handle it very well too.

We have a LOT of centre backs at the moment, i think another season on loan will be the best thing for him at the moment.

Well that wouldn't shock many people Will just be good to put all the speculation to bed and start organising for next season. Scolari will have a week from when he starts to the start of pre season training.

He is a big lad thats for sure!! I would really like this to be the big season for him to step up! His first season was a lot better than most expected. I don't feel he was used enough or properly last season. He is a big talent and we need to get the best out of him now.

I like mikel a lot, would like to see him come into his own a bit more this season under Scolari, i think he has a lot more to offer us in an attacking sense and it would be great for us to see that side of him. I like his attitude too.

The sooner the better, most of the players have had a lot of time off now, and the sooner we get started on Pre Season the better, especially with a new manager in charge. There are plenty of things to get sorted, contracts, players leaving ect.... It will be good for them to get back and to get things moving finally.

Yup, that is probably what happened. Even though Cech is probably more than happy to work with Lollichon still, this is the way it happens. The new manager brings in the people he trusts to bring the best out of his players. Still suprises over the silence regarding Clarke. Will be itneresting to finally get some information come the 1st July!!!

2 more years which will take him to 37! That is quite a bold move. It has been mentioned before but it would be great to get Maka involved in coaching with the youth teams after he retires. We are really going to have to look at our midfield hard in the next year or so, with Maka seemingly on a new contract to take him to 37, Ballack it is said is going to sign a new contract to take him to 35 and Lampard wanting a new contract which could take him to 34/35 we need to be looking what to do after these.

John Obi Mikel is aware of the speculation linking several top players with moves to Chelsea, but is ready to fight for his place in the side. Luiz Felipe Scolari has been appointed as manager at Stamford Bridge and the Brazilian is expected to make a number of signings before the start of the new season. The likes of Ronaldinho, Deco, Rafael van der Vaart and Ricardo Quaresma have all been mentioned as possible transfer targets. There is already fierce competition for places in midfield but Mikel is not worried about who may or may not arrive. "I am not afraid to hear about one player or another coming to Chelsea," Mikel told brilafm.net. "It's something that makes me stronger. You should know that I would have left Chelsea long ago if I had been scared or something like a chicken-hearted player." Mikel has never had any dealings with Scolari and is unsure what he will bring to the club. He said: "I don't know him and I have not met him before. "I don't even know what to expect from the coach because we have not spoken yet. I will only be able to know something about him when we meet during pre-season." Mikel has also praised Blues team-mate Michael Ballack for leading Germany to the final of Euro 2008. "Ballack is a top player, I am always learning things from him," he said. "He is a top, top player, he can do everything. I am not too far from his level and when I reach there I will be very proud." Source: Sky Sports

Claude Makelele is staying at Chelsea having signed a one-year extension to his contract which will keep him at the club until 2010. The French midfielder had been widely expected to leave Stamford Bridge to spend the remainder of his career at French club Paris St-Germain. But new manager Luis Felipe Scolari had insisted that the club keep the experienced player for at least another year. Makelele joined Chelsea in 2003 from Real Madrid for £16.8 million and has since made 144 appearances for them. The 35-year-old will now be able to focus all his attention on his Chelsea duties following his retirement from international football last week. Makelele was involved in every minute of France's Euro 2008 campaign, which ended after the group stages following their 2-0 defeat to Italy. It is the third time he has announced his international retirement - and it is thought that Chelsea wanted to know for sure before offering him an extension. He first made the decision to retire in 2004 but later changed his mind deciding that he would help his country qualify for the 2006 World Cup. After losing to Italy on penalties in the World Cup final, Makelele again hinted that international retirement was what he wanted but he was still playing for France until last week. He retires with 71 international caps. Ex-Chelsea manager Avram Grant revealed last night that his former club are tracking Russian midfielder Yuri Zhirkov. Grant was commenting on the Euro 2008 semi-final between Russian and Spain for Israeli TV when he made the revelation. It was previously believed that Chelsea were eyeing Andrei Arshavin but Grant corrected rumours stating that the interest was in fact in Zhirkov. Source: Telegraph

Luiz Felipe Scolari has written to his Chelsea stars telling them to cut short their holidays - because he is starting work a week early.Scolari issued the shock demand to the players not involved in Euro 2008 and expects them in for pre-season training on Monday, July 7. He only finished his involvement with Portugal last week but is keen to crack on with his new job. Because Chelsea did not get a new manager until recently they had been planning to return later than their rivals. But Scolari is refreshed after a swift break and wants to get back into action sooner. Source: The Mirror

There is no possible way that losing Lampard would be anything other than a bad thing. Frank could play in any formation we could think of and do it well, there is no midfielder who can do what he does. Yes we would cope without him, we would never find an exact replacement though. If Lampard should leave it would only be a bad thing for Chelsea.

It's not very clear is it? Assuming that Pracidelli is being brought in as a goalkeeper coach then yes it would be the end of Lollichon. Which is no big suprise, all managers like to have their own team of staff in place.

Goalkeeper coach Carlos Pracidelli has confirmed he has accepted an offer to link up with Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea. The Palmeiras backroom team member is parting from the Brazilian club on amicable terms as they appreciate it was a move he could not refuse. Having worked with Scolari in the past, the switch to London appeals to the South American who will form part of a new-look line-up behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge. "He said I could count on being on the technical committee and asked if I would accept the invitation," he told Futebol Interior. "Immediately, I accepted because I know Felipao. I know how he works because we were together here at Palmeiras and the Brazilian national team. "For this reason, I did not comment with anyone [at first, due to secrecy]. When Felipao let me know that everything was right and the names proposed were accepted, I informed the board of Palmeiras. "The directors of Palmeiras shook my hand. They know this is a rare opportunity in a professional career and are releasing me without any resentment." A three-year deal awaits Pracidelli at Stamford Bridge where he will reportedly join Flavio Teixeira and Darlan Schneider on the technical team. Source: Setanta Sports

The fact that whenever we were short of numbers in midfield we played SWP instead of Sidwell shows that there is just no point in him hanging around, for himself more than anything else.

Aston Villa target Steve Sidwell will hold talks with Luiz Felipe Scolari before deciding whether or not he will leave Chelsea. Sidwell's future at Stamford Bridge has been the subject of intense speculation all summer after he failed to hold down a place in the Chelsea side last season. Aston Villa are thought to be leading the chase for the former Reading star with a host of other Premier League clubs also monitoring his situation. Sidwell's agent Eric Walters says the player wants to talk with new Chelsea boss Scolari before making a decision on his future and he would be entitled to a pay-off if he does leave Stamford Bridge just one year after arriving on a free transfer. "Steve feels Villa are a very, very good club and would offer a very good future for him," Walters told the Daily Mail. "But he is in no rush to leave Chelsea. There is a new manager coming in and he would at least like to meet with him over the next couple of weeks to discuss his future in person. "He is entitled to some compensation if Chelsea agree to part with him." Source: Sky Sports

Well the Sun have brought this story back again today. Saying that Scolari has spoken with Ronaldinho and that he has assured Scolari that he will be fit and ready for the new season and that Scolari is ready to bring him to Chelsea....

It looks like everything has been on hold until Scolari officially joins the club, which is only a matter of days away now. I am sure that the club are working on transfers still though, just because nothing has been announced doesn't mean that nothing has happened.

I may be wrong on this. But i am pretty sure that it is not the sort of thing you can order to get sent to you. The names, numbers and PL badges are pressed on, most Sports shops over here do it and you can have them put on when you order your shirt on the CFC Megastore. But living in Melbourne and already having the shirt i am not sure how you can do it.

So let me get this right? He was offered a contract, which he turned down hoping for more! He never got it and never signed a contract and was then let go by the club! Surely without a contract he doesn't have a leg to stand on, and he was very stupid not to have one in the first place.

Absolutely not, but you can understand a clubs reluctance to offer anything over a 1 year extension on a contract at this stage. Aparently also the reason the Lampard contract is being held up. The Arse have their policy of no longer than 1 year contracts for over 30's, and at times it has cost them, but other times they have been right to do so. Like you say it is impossible to judge, both parties would push for the option that suits them best.