The Mak

I don't think you really get it. The point for some is not just he joined a title rival; he joined a title rival and clearly the only reason is to fill their quota of HG players (goodbye to the 'to prolong his England career' argument eh?). Our legend is on the same level as one of their youth players; I don't know about you, but I think of Frank as much more than that. He being used like a little bitch, a number of a sheet and Frank doesn't care as long as the price is right. What else is he supposed to do? Literally anything else. I'm sure this wasn't the one and only choice. And no, I'm not saying he isn't a legend, I'm not saying his legacy is tarnished, all I'm saying is that I am still very disappointed by his decision. Everyone has different feelings, tolerance levels ect, but I think saying you are 'disappointed' by his actions is more than reasonable.

Hopefully it's nothing...but if it is, Del Bosque is a mug who needs to go into the retirement home.

I'd say that would've been one of, if not, the best attack in the world about 2-3 years ago under Ferguson...but now? I doubt it. Falcao doesn't add much when United can't defend, win the ball, control the game and, subsequently, feed the strikers in the right manner. They are in dire need of experience at the back and a quality, experienced, strong CM. So far they've only signed kids + Di Maria & Falcao. As we saw last season (and as your Smalling comment alluded to), you need a solid defence to build on and they are light-years away from one at the moment. I fully believe they will get murdered by any of the top 4 candidates and Costa will eat their defence alive.

I think now that Suarez is gone the media is desperately looking for a new 'enemy number one' of the PL and because of Costa's temperament they are blatantly forcing it to be him. He started nothing yesterday and he only gave it back as much as he was given, yet he was painted as the villain. As you said, it is so pathetic when the commentators, opposition managers and even the referees get caught up in the narrative that is being forced on Costa. It's "Costa should calm down" instead of "Coleman should stop acting like a bellend" and Coleman as the victim etc. Pathetic pretty much sums it up, but I think it will only motivate Costa even more.

Love this one:

Murderous monster of a man. He's building a serious reputation now. His 3rd PL game and both Distin and Jegielka were sick of the sight of him within 5 minutes. They looked terrified at times and it's because the guy just does not stand still. He even scared Howard into handling the ball outside the box (edit: oh, that was Hazard! Nevermind!). Absolute beast. So happy he's ours.

Wow. Unbelieveable game. Can't really say much at the moment. But I would like to say that Tim Howard is a cunt and deserved 2 reds. The ref and assistants also got waaaaaaay too caught up in the game. We were making some perfectly good challenges that were somehow called as fouls.

Would've preferred Bony (though his price is high) but can't complain about Remy. My Newcastle friend said he basically gave up in the second half of last season as he felt he did enough for a move to a bigger team. Hopefully this move would be enough motivation for him to give 100% for us.

Torres fanboys in this thread:

I'm really hoping Torres reads this thread.

I'm glad he's staying. Now I only hope MVG's development is put ahead of Mikel and his fucking passport.

I thought Oscar in particular was dog shit in the first half. Simple passes intercepted and easily dispossessed at times. Alright in the second half but I thought both Ramires and Willian offered more when they came on. Really nice to see that strength in depth. Matic had a poor game for his standards as well. Andre couldn't seem to get going. Fabregas was solid enough. He's never going to have as good a game as last week every single week remember. Costa did his job. Hazard played better. Hopefully he can kick on. I don't think he'll get as much of the ball as he did last season now with Fabregas and Costa, not to say he won't be as effective. The weight off his shoulders is only positive. Ivan and Courtois were absolutely fantastic. Great job overall. It felt very much like one of those games last season where we dropped silly points. Take nothing away from Leicester though, they played very well, very confident.

I'd rather Mikel's contract was just terminated. Not that it would happen.

If he still acts like a cunt under the likes of Mourinho, Mancini and Seedorf who are all held in high regard in Italian football, imagine him under Rodgers whose only honour in football is the Championship play-off trophy. He'll probably laugh in his face on a daily basis at the bullshit that comes out of his mouth. When Liverpool finish outside the top 4 his attitude will be 10 times worse and they'll be stuck with him.

I don't care if its Heskey involved in the swap, as long as Torres is out the door.

Meh. Makes no difference to me. It's still a make or break season for him. No more excuses kid.

Nah. I like to imagine: Frank signs the NYC contract. Handshakes and smiles all around, photos etc. etc. Frank: "Great! I can't wait to start! So will I just book my flight to Melbourne for the meantime? Or can I train at Chelsea?" Sheik: ".........." *Long pause* Suddenly, Manuel Pellegrini jumps out of a cupboard at the back of the room! He smells of Jack Rodwell's tears and has a mischievous grin...and probably a floppy rubber very real gun. Pellegrini: "Surprise bitch!"

Fair enough man. Let's both agree not to be baited in future. The forum is a much better place for it.

I'd love to dissect this properly, but I have a flight to catch. What I will say that feelings are subjective and often irrational. Sorry, but your 'decades of experience' and 'Chelsea family' amounts to precisely fuck all when it comes to dictating about what a 'proper fan' should feel. There is no such thing as a 'proper fan' anyway, only the wannabe elitist fans think such a thing. Every fan supports Chelsea is his or her own way and no one should tell them which way is right and which is wrong, the same with feelings. See the connection? There is only a very small minority on here anyway who've taken 'extreme' views and I hardly see them posting pictures of them burning shirts or saying he isn't a legend anymore? I didn't see the 'Judas' post, but I imagine it was only 1 random person out of the hundreds who have posted here. You should really stop sensationalising your opposition's views to suit your argument. Simply to say that you are disappointed in Frank's actions is a perfectly reasonable reaction. Adios.

Oh look, it seems like Lamps is taking Rodwell's place on their HG list, a player who played just over 100 minutes of PL football for the entire season. Not to mention his grand total of 3 minutes in the CL. Yeah, some aspirations alright. I'm sure he can't wait to 'push himself' for that 'challenge'. Honestly, now I wouldn't be at all surprised if he stayed there for the entire season. City's CL squad has been trimmed and they'll need decent HG players badly for the knockout stage. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11695/9406394/transfer-news-sunderland-closing-in-on-move-for-manchester-citys-jack-rodwell

Wow, really? I didn't know that. Seriously, are you 5 or something? Pretty weak argument when he only played in the WC when England were already knocked out. I thought Hodgson was investing in youth anyway? He's 36 and moving to the MLS for fuck sake. He would be picked on sentiment only and all for what? To sit on the bench? Carrick has a much better chance of starting ahead of him now with Van Gaal at the helm... Did I say it would? Nope. I really wish people would stop pretending that the people who are disappointed in Lampard are saying his legacy is tarnished. One is not the same, no matter how much you want it to be to suit your argument.

Do not give me the 'aspirations' crap. He is moving to the MLS. He is basically semi-retired already. Anyway, it seems contradictory for those backing Lampard's decision to have the rationale 'he won't play many games' and 'he aspires to be at the top level' while also knowing where he'll be 6 months from now. You saying 'he wants to push himself at the highest level' implies he's actually signed for City and will be playing week in, week out when it couldn't be further from the truth. He is being used, simple as that. Oh wait, I'm sure training with Manchester City makes him sharper or some shit. Yeah, you're right, I'm sure he always 'aspired' to train there to simply fill their HG quota... It's crystal clear that these were the terms of signing for NYC in the first place. I severely doubt they were the only ones in line to pay him top dollar...but he chose them anyway. That is why people are reacting the way they are.

Yes, some people are overreacting a bit (though it's a very small minority), but that's how they feel. It's a touchy subject to be fair. I just don't think anyone can tell someone else how to feel is all. It's a classic heart VS head scenario and I'm afraid your head isn't going to convince their heart to see otherwise, especially at this moment. I don't really see anyone saying he isn't still a Chelsea legend anyway, though those who back Lamps seem to think they said exactly that. The short of it is, people have different tolerance levels. Some higher, some lower. For some a living legend simply putting on another PL team colours is enough; regardless of the reasons, it's still a line that has been crossed in their eyes. He'll probably be doing exclusive interviews with them, he'll get a shirt number etc. It's all a bit too much for some, which is completely fair. Also, for every argument for his decision there is a very simple counter-argument: It's only for fitness VS just go to Melbourne then, he won't be starting VS it's even more pointless for him to be there in that case. At the end of the day, he chose City. I think it's very fair for people to say they're disappointed with Frank. Personally, that's how I feel. The way I see it his quote from last year now looks like this: "I can't imagine playing for anyone else after being at Chelsea for 12 years etc. etc. I'm not sure I could have done that...but if they pay me enough, I'll be City's mascot and do the Poznan!". Our legend is simply being used to fill a HG quota, that's it. He's being treated like their little bitch and he doesn't care as long as the price is right. I don't know about you, but I thought a lot more of Frank the person and player than that.

Nah, not really. Still looking at some of the goals in that video he's still doing things that aren't reminiscent of a killer instinct. For example, his last goal of the season against Cardiff (at 7:07): why the fuck is he taking that extra touch? Why isn't he just chesting it and smashing it first time? He does that the majority of time (overcomplicates the simplest of things) and either ends up fucking it up or getting tackled/blocked. It's the same for his second at Schalke (at 2:26); on another day he gets tackled at the last second by that defender (who nearly gets him) or his shot gets saved. If this was 2012 I might hold some hope for him on simply eliminating that stuff from his game, but not now unfortunately.

You do realise that isn't really a comfort for some people? Speaking strictly metaphorically, it's like if one of your best mates slept with your other half and trying to take comfort from telling yourself 'well, at least he didn't stick it up her ****'. It's exactly like @Daniel1980 said, everyone has different feelings on the matter and to try and rationalise or convince people to feel otherwise on such an emotional attachment can often be utterly pointless. On my own stance, I didn't want to post in the heat of it and I've calmed down, but I still can't help but feel extremely disappointed in Frank. None of us want to see him in another PL team, that is clear and it seems to be pretty clear to him. He even said he didn't want to be play for another PL team only last year. For this though, it's not like he didn't have a choice. Does he not have a mouth? José said he was offered an extension and it obviously wasn't good enough for him, because of that, I have this niggling thought in the back of my head that at the end of the day it all came down to $$$$$$$. And that niggling thought makes me very sad, because somethings are priceless. Like respect for the fans and keeping your word.