Essien in his prime was basically Ramires with less pace, a better shot, equal (probably) stamina, better tackling, better positioning, better strength, better vision I could go on and on. We had Makelele - We now have Mikel (no offence to him). We had Drogba - now Torres. Carvalho and now Cahill. Just... does anyone see how massively we've downgraded our spine? It's awful.