Strike

I'm free but if anyone is doing it, go ahead

wouldn't mind having him around if he can do as well as last season but wages are a problem. can't have a backup player pulling 80k p/w

Jose Mourinho has admitted that Frank Lampard may not be first-choice at Chelsea anymore but still thinks he can play a significant part in the upcoming season. Lampard, who was an ever-present part of the Chelsea team in Mourinho's first stint in charge, played a part in 50 games last season but with increased competition for the midfield positions (with the arrival of Marco van Ginkel and the loan return of Michael Essien), Mourinho expects Lampard to be a bit-part player at the club. "In this moment we have just to analyse competition and make some choices, because I believe he is the same player, with the difference that he is 35 and the time [needed] to recover from match to match is not the same for a man of 35 to a man of 25. That's the only point. Now we have to analyse the fixtures, analyse the matches, analyse the week we have and to make a few choices." "Frank can't play 60 matches like he did before, but the quality of the player and what he represents for the way I like to play football is exactly the same, He's intelligent, he's open, he has a very good relationship with me. He knows that I'm very experienced and he knows what I did, for example, with Makelele here in the last two years of Makelele [when the Frenchman played 87 times for the club as he approached his mid-30s]. He knows I know how to do it with players of his age, because at the end of the day we have to be just clever, because the player is the same." Lampard, who enjoyed a prolific campaign last season, culminating with the double salvo at Villa Park, which not only broke Bobby Tambling's Chelsea goal-scoring record but also confirmed Chelsea's participation in the UEFA Champions League this year. But age has caught up with Frank and he is currently recovering from a minor achilles injury and will most likely miss Chelsea's final pre-season game in Asia. Jose is no stranger to getting the best out of ageing players. He used Makelele to great effect back in 2005 and also won the Champions League with a Inter side consisting of several players well into their 30's including captain Javier Zanetti and vice-captain Marco Materazzi, both 39 at that point Using Frank judiciously maybe the best move for all concerned and it may help him prolong his sensational career. Click here to view article

are we back online now?

Happy Birthday!

not to mention 2 of Jose's backroom - Steve Jobs and Brendan Rodgers managing in the Premier League

united make another bid for cesc. they're wasting their time really

i think city will burst out of the blocks like 2011-12. they have an easy start and with all the focus on united and chelsea, they will be under much less pressure

Gotta give it to Thailand. Great support

United may need the money for Fabregas or any other cunt they want to sign

Jose knows exactly what to give to the media to take full advantage of them and the best part about this is that Moyes is under-pressure and we're still a month away from the season opener

i'm not worried. this is all smoke-and-mirrors to sign Papiss Cisse later in the window

Jamal as 3rd choice instead of Hilario saves a squad space as he's U-21

Hilario hasn't been retained just yet. I'd chuck him out and keep Blackman instead

Arsenal in for Mata Someone should bomb the headquarters of the Daily Mail

exactly. they'll make a big goof up on Barca

Currently there's only 1 space in the squad. More signings will have to be balanced by sales Home-Grown U-21 source: WAGNH

i hope they hire Rijkaard or Mancini

yeah. this is a bit late in the summer. most coaches are already preparing their clubs for next season. barca may promote someone internal or go for a former coach/player

Yilmaz is hardly Neymar and Rooney is hardly Downing though. Contradictions prove nothing. For every Torres/SWP that didn't work, there is a Aquilani/Shevchencko. Anyone with PL experience will know the pace/style of the game here and takes less adapting. Signing a PL-proven player doesn't involve as much risk as signing a good player from Turkey

Villy Billy better be careful here. He's doing well at Spurs.

Sad stuff about Tito.

Gotta love Arsenal transfer policy. Look around, identify targets, lengthy negotiation,fail and settle for cheap alternative Wait and watch Wenger snap up Franco di Santo on a free later in the window

happy birthday! have a blast