The only place to be

Everything about him apparently is. Mikel is just a very average, unexceptional player. If we play unadventurous, unambitious, stifling football then he won't let you down. I've never seen him step-up and take control of a game. I've never seen him stick his neck on the line for the team or be the one to put his hand up and give us some impetus. It's why that interview he gave made me laugh. I think the only knowledge he could pass on to players like Costa and Matic is where the toilets are.

Not when you've been replaced by Matic. Here's the thing though. How is it that Matic is already a firm favourite with the Chelsea support and has garnered praise from all corners, rather than being 'under-appreciated' or 'misunderstood' like Mikel apparently was/is? Why is it that both Matic and Makelele have been roundly applauded for their performances when Mikel simply wasn't? Are Chelsea supporters smarter than they used to be or is it simply that Matic and Makelele are far better players than Mikel? Funny thing....that French boy who used to post all those pictures showing just how great Mikel was....well his last post was on the day we signed Matic.

But that's what comes with being an 'international top team' who needs top players. You can't expect to employ these players and then get uppity when they join other 'international top teams'. That's just something you have to live with if you're a fan of an 'international top team'.

Rodriguez is out injured until at least October in all likelihood. Schneiderlin has handed in a transfer request and Fonte is wanted by Cardiff. The club is being torn apart not just on the pitch but also in the boardroom. On paper they have a decent team but there's so much turmoil at that club that you can't help but think they're going to be in trouble.

Can't we just re-sign Flo? Never really minded being on the bench, a real game-changer, started some games and didn't disappoint and we made a huge profit on him when we flogged him. Think we only signed him a few days before the season opener at Coventry so there's still time for us to do something now.

Rodriguez is out for a few more months but he's HG. Remy and Hernandez are both poachers like Costa and Lukaku so I'd like Benteke. A real target man, at his best he's up there with Drogba in terms of being unplayable but he's still injured too. Slim pickings at the moment.

One thing about Bony....he's probably going to the African Cup of Nations (with Drogba) which means he'll miss these games Swansea AWAY Man City HOME Villa AWAY Everton HOME Would rather we went for a striker who is there when WE need him.

Possibly. I just think it's hard to expect either Cavani or Costa to be happy on the bench so that probably means Cavani on the wing which is apparently why he's not too happy at PSG. It'd be a juggling act and I personally think Schurrle can play that second-striker role on the pitch effectively for us.

Hard to say if they could keep all those strikers happy when they're all fit, because they've missed a ton of matches between them. Maybe our two striker system in the last couple of games could be used more but it's too early to say. This move seems dependent on us moving on either Torres or Cech though.

He deleted his account

That's actually a fair point but it's just the reality of the modern age where those prepared to say the most outrageous things garner the most attention which implies a standing they simply don't have. To use Terminator X's Fox News analogy once again (correctly) they have commentators who will say outrageous things simply to get attention in the next day's news cycle. I'm guilty of reacting to his comments when the mature thing would simply be to ignore these 'extreme' views. As for the first bit of your post, we've been over it before and it's not worth rehashing it. Good points though.

There's no reason to change it. That's one of the greatest moments in our history, featuring one of the greatest players in our history. That hasn't changed.

Just to correct you on this, I'm not sure if you're actually familiar with the Fox News Channel (maybe you've just heard of it in connection to Russell Brand) but their success has come from presenting emotive 'commentary' rather than reasoned, insightful analysis. If you must shoehorn that into this debate then it's actually you who is closer in tone to them, using overtly emotional, over-the-top language rather than actually presenting both sides of the argument in a reasoned manner (which you clearly haven't done). You've even gone so far as to use reductive photoshops to get a response. So do you understand now how that comparison you used was not just a little hokey but also used completely the wrong way round? Ever heard the phrase 'hoisted by one's own petard'?

And yet you suggested he goes to QPR....none of those books tell you that they're a West London rival? You're contradicting yourself there mate, you're all over the place. It's the classic sign of a kneejerk response. In fact you say he's legacy has been torn down, immediately contradicting yourself by saying what he has done won't be forgotten. His legacy is intact after this. Anyone who suggests otherwise simply doesn't represent the Chelsea supporters that I know. But just to make it clear, I doubt anyone is happy that this has happened but most can understand the move. BTW, you still haven't changed your pic.

That was probably our fault for grooming him as the next Makelele when football moved away from that type of player. As a one-dimensional guy who can come on in the last 30 minutes of a game we're winning and kill the flow of the game he's probably fine....because he kills BOTH teams flow. But as a proper replacement for Matic who might start games, urgh.

Decades of experience? It seems ok for people on here to dictate what Frank Lampard should've felt and considered whilst doing his job, yet no-one here knows him on a personal level. I at least can base my assertions on what Chelsea supporters should feel on the decades of going to Chelsea matches both home and away, growing up around Chelsea supporters and coming from a family who have supported the club for years before me. We're simply not the type of supporters who label legends like Frank a Judas. That's a Spurs mentality for fuck's sake. The reason I have got slightly fucked off with certain members in this thread is that the Internet age gives them a voice they simply don't deserve, so if one fan calls him a Judas or burns a shirt then people might assume we're all like that. I probably should apologise if certain members feel I've gone overboard....so yeah, soz. But I don't want to be associated with that type of trash and neither does anyone else who actually supports this club which is why I try to make it so clear that you won't hear ANY crap like that at ANY of our matches and that really should be the only measure by which our support is judged.

They've lost the spine of their team, they've lost their manager and they haven't replaced them adequately whilst they could still lose Schneiderlin and Rodriguez (who is going to miss the first couple of months of the season anyway). They have lost their Chief Exec who was key to much of what they are doing, there's rumours of discontent amongst the academy and despite comments to the contrary they have an owner who looks like she's liquidising the assets before selling what's left. If they're not in a relegation fight next season then Koeman deserves manager of the season....but my feeling is that they're in trouble.

No he hasn't. You're wrong. Proper Chelsea supporters will not feel that. His legacy is untarnished, he will not be called a Judas by a single proper Chelsea supporter. For the final time, QPR are a much bigger rival to us than City. For all you fans who aren't aware, we dislike QPR quite a bit. City are only a title rival. To me there's a massive disaparity between fans who have fuck all clue about geographic and historical rivalries and those whose only sense of what a rival is comes from a Sky Sports promo film. Now I await someone saying he should've gone to Leeds United.

No. Liverpool would be far, far worse. Do I really need to explain why? Personally I'd also dislike him going to United but that's probably got more to do with David Ellery than them. Arsenal...meh. There's a massive difference between training and match fitness. Either way, Lamps hasn't retired from international football so clearly still has plans to feature for England. Simple fact is that he's going to feature in the Champions League shop window this season. That is a massive thing for any footballer. Again, I wouldn't want him at QPR but that's because A. I support Chelsea and B. It's QPR. La Galaxy already had three designated players on their books in Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Omar Gonzalez so couldn't register Lampard as a third without moving one on, which they didn't. So your point is either deliberately misleading or you simply aren't aware of the situation in the MLS and with the Galaxy in particular. My guess is it's the latter isn't it .

This one? Did we now also not win the Champions League? Aw man, that sucks.

Why does this clip come to mind when I read certain comments on this thread?

One could if one wanted to look like a mug. I'm not. I think it's a shitty situation but what he's done is nothing compared to the cunts calling him a Judas. He was loyal to us and this changes nothing and no-one worth a shit will say otherwise. Oh, and Terminator X it seems like everyone is tired of your attention seeking posts and images. This is why you never go full ....... because people get tired of it Mr 'Entrepreneur

Beating out Vienna, Vancouver and Toronto.....and that's got the square root of fuck all to do with how big a media and sports market it is. I'm sure it's a lovely city to live in, but you do understand that there New York is a bigger potential market for someone in Lampard's field right? He's in the entertainment business, so it's the equivalent of a show being on Broadway and being on a cruise ship. At sea you get all that fresh air and a lovely tan, but really who gives a fuck. You're still on a cruise ship.

As I stated earlier, there's a vast difference between commuting from the UK to New York and Melbourne. As for cities to live in and work in, New York is the media capital of the world. I'm not having a pop at Melbourne but it doesn't even come close to New York in terms of opportunities for a person of Frank's standing.

The thing is how many 'pure cdms' are the actually playing at the moment? Most aren't as limited as Mikel, so in that sense he's one of the best of a small pool of mediocre players. Teams simply don't use players like Mikel anymore.