The only place to be

It's 18 months down the line and he's only just come back from injury. Let's see how things go but if he plays like the old JT then I can see us offering him an extension, although let's not pretend there aren't a number of factors that might end up seeing us not. To me though, he's Mr Chelsea.

Not a bad idea. It's clear that there's a conversation between the two clubs going on which bodes well. Good loan for the lad too. He's had a taste of what being part of the first team is, he's travelled with the big boys and now he'll get a chance for regular football (fingers crossed) at a good club. If it goes as well as the loans the club has sorted for other players then it could pay off big style.

I'm not a psychiatrist, I just happen to know a lof of humans. Marin was bought as an insurance policy in case we didn't get into the CL (as I've explained). He was relatively cheap too, so not a huge waste of money in the larger scheme of things. I'm not sure if you're aware, but it's not up to Lukaku if he comes back or not. He's a Chelsea fan too, so I'm not in the least bit concerned about him. Also, Chelsea are in the football business, and that includes selling players. I don't think your problem is my answers, I think it's the fact that you need to ask these questions in the first place.

You're talking utter bollocks again. Flair and tricks are great, but they're by no means the be all and end all of how I judge a footballer, and they certainly weren't what defined Zidane's game in my view. If you're reducing him to a glorified futsal player or even a high-class Denilson then you're way off the mark in your assessment of his game. He was just the most beautifully composed footballer I've ever seen, able to move the ball around with such grace and efficiency that he didn't need to jink past 3 players - but he could if he had to. It's got nothing to do with old-school attitudes or any other bull-shit term you'd like to throw in there (I'm in my twenties - old-school for me barely reaches beyond the start of Ryan Giggs career). People seem to want to paint me as a Lampard-hater (and I use a term only twats use intentionally) because I'm not getting too hung up on him leaving. I'll be sad to see him go, because almost every time I've gone to a match in the last decade he's been there. He's part of the furniture, but we're redecorating. In fact we're not just redecorating, we're having the foundations re-done. Now would I like him to be part of the squad next year - selfishly, yes. But do I think that's best for the team going forward when we'll probably have a new manager in trying to build something new? I've got to be honest and say probably not. The one thing we can all agree on is that Lampard is a massive presence and that is both a good thing (countless numbers of examples over the years) but occasionally it's something that can hold you back. People want to talk about Giggs and Scholes but they ignore the fact that Fergie has been a constant there and they haven't really changed the way they play football in 20 years. We are and I think there are players out there better suited to the position. As for my feelings being hurt, that's not the case. I just think what you did was scumbag behaviour and I'd hate for someone to view this forum and this you represent in any way what the average Chelsea supporter is like. I've been going for 20 years and you aren't what I recognise from my time supporting the club. If you think you are then you haven't got the first fucking clue about the greatest football club in the world.

JT's contract is up next year and he's becoming increasingly injury-prone. I think it's likely that the club parts company with a player who has a shit ton of baggage. But if we are talking about Terry, it is perhaps fair to note how the club stood by him when it might have been easier not to. It's been mentioned that the club doesn't respect it's legends and treats them unfairly, but Bruce Buck not only supported JT every day during his trial but also defended the decision to reinstate him as captain (alongside Gourlay) when it might have been easier to sell him down the river.

Piazon hasn't been 'sitting around for some 6 or more months', he's been training with the first-team and learning what it is to be a professional footballer. Now he's got that under his belt, he can go on loan knowing what to expect. Footballers are complicated beings - they're very much like humans in that way. Marin wasn't bought 'hurriedly', he was bought as an insurance policy because of the very real possibility we wouldn't be able to attract a higher calibre player who would've needed CL football. Lukaku could've been brought back, but the club needed to look at what was best for his long-term development and right now that seems to be being the focal point of West Brom's team. At Chelsea he wouldn't get that and it's hard to know exactly how he'd have reacted, so we bought in a proven PL player who is in form, cheap and has a lot of sell-on value if we decide to promote Lukaku to the first-team squad next year. If that sounds like too 'simplified' a response then I'm sorry.

It's not like comparing Bobby Moore and John Terry (I actually think JT was better). One wasn't playing with 2kg footballs on bogs comparable to the Somme (although Upton Park and the surrounding areas do share a passing resemblance with a war zone), whilst the other played on manicured pitches with featherlight balls (coincidentally that's Julian Dicks's nickname). They both played in almost exactly the same era, with the same players in a couple of instances. It's perfectly fair to compare the two. You make a fair point, but I personally don't think losing Frank will have a massive impact on next season. Now that's dependant on us getting the right manager in, and he may think differently (the new guy might want Frank), but if we're looking at signing someone like Modric to play in that DLP role then I think we'll be pushing for the title. Personally I would have loved us to get Dembele in the summer and it's annoying that he's gone to Spurs.

Marin was bought when there was a chance we wouldn't qualify for the Champions League (we only did because we won it and the holders have to be in it the following year). When we did we were able to sign better players, so he's seen as somewhat surplus to requirements especially if we sign another wide player. At the moment they're just sounding out clubs who could take him off the wage bill. Piazon needs playing time and he won't get that here right now. We signed Lukaku because he has massive potential and we're just starting to see it. He simply wasn't ready for Chelsea so he needed to get experience, but also get in the right physical shape. He's still very young. Which other players do you have questions about us signing?

I don't have an anti-Lampard attitude. I was there at his first game, I'll be there at his last game and I've been to hundreds in between. But I'm a Chelsea fan first and foremost and the club's interests will always be more important to me. I've had shit from people on this forum telling me what proper Chelsea fans should think and calling into question my own support. I've had scum like you calling me a paedo and it's quite frankly ridiculous. If I thought people like you represented Chelsea fans in any way, shape or form I would probably chuck it in tomorrow but you don't. Lampard is one of the greatest midfielders in the Premier League, he's responsible for some truly happy times in my life, he has some fantastic statistics and he's a true gentleman to cap it off. He was even one of the best midfielders in the world for a couple of seasons. But Zidane is in my view the greatest player to have ever played the game - he's certainly the greatest player I've ever seen and I've been lucky to have seen the likes of Ronaldinho, Iniesta, Messi, Rivaldo and even the Weah bear. I'm with Makelele on this issue - there is no doubt over who the greatest player of the last 20 years is. That doesn't mean I don't love Lampard, as I'm sure you'll tell me in a long-winded post (you need to learn the power of brevity), but it just shows that I'm capable of being objective.

Thanks for that. I was actually thinking how excited I was about going to this match but you've just created a rather sick feeling in my stomach.

I think this thread has jumped the shark. :confused: :confused: Lampard does have massively impressive stats and he's one of my favourite players of all time. I can't count the number of times he's made me jump out of my seat and hug complete strangers in stadiums all over the country....all over Europe in fact. But Zidane is probably the greatest footballer I've ever seen. He might not have scored 20 goals a season from midfield (which is a magnificent achievement if you do it just once), but he did score the winning goals in both a Champions League Final and a World Cup Final. Lampard will be the first to say that he didn't have 1/10th of Zidane's natural footballing talent but he worked harder at his game than almost any other English footballer in recent times. If you want to argue about who maximised their talents to the fullest then maybe you'd have a case. But beyond that I think you're really on very shaky ground.

The point is that we don't know who the new manager will be, but we can hazard a guess at the type of style he will play You may call it 'written shit' but it's simply the opinion of one Chelsea supporter. I'm sorry that you see that as brainwanking if you need to.

To your first point, I've never heard anyone call it that. It just sounds weird, but it's up to you. Why not simply call it the Bridge like every other fan (it's actually 2 letters shorter)? As to the larger point about Lukaku, I was simply offering my opinion. Like I said, I apologise if you're being sincere. The point that gets overlooked regarding him and other players (like Lampard) is that the new manager (fingers crossed) has to have a say in what he does next season. West Brom might be a great place for him but if the new guy fancies using him next year then that's even better. A lot depends on Ba though, who I've only ever really thought of as a short-term solution. If he continues playing well then maybe he stays. Ultimately there's four months left of this season and a lot of things are still up in the air. All he has to focus on is his next game for West Brom.

Good Googling skills there, completely missing the point but okay. My point was that no-one calls the Bridge 'Stamford'. But if you think that confusion over the use of Stamford Bridge on this forum is something real then I apologise. Maybe I should stop referring to it as the Bridge in case people think I'm talking about Prince Albert or the Golden Gate.

Because everything I've read and heard about him makes him sound like the best choice for us going forward. It's one thing to have a good squad, but getting them playing good football and working hard is another thing, plus he's a great tactician in my opinion. Look at the Champions League Final against United where he completely outwitted Ferguson. He's not perfect by any means but I like his view on football and on life in general. Plus I've said this before, but I think he's one of the few managers out there that Roman would give enough time to. The other guy I'd personally like is Klopp but I can't see him coming here any time soon. I think what the poll shows is people like what's familiar and are prepared to ignore Mourinho's last days at the Bridge, the fact he doesn't work well with Roman, that he doesn't want to work under a DoF, that some of his behaviour has been pathetic (gouging a guy's eye is what cunts do I'm afraid) and that his Madrid team (with the second best player in the world and millions of pounds worth of talent) are languishing in 3rd place behind their neighbours. Plus there's the old sporting (and shagging) adage of 'never go back'.

I've been saying this about FFP for a while now. It's basically designed to protect those clubs who have big existing revenue streams from the competition of a club who receives outside investment DESPITE these big clubs like United having received massive investment decades ago. It's massively unfair all round and designed to create a closed shop at the top of the game. I don't particularly like Samuel but I'm glad he's broken this story.

Does anyone else get the feeling there's a few posters in this thread who can't wait to say 'I told you so' about Sturridge. I get the feeling they'd be delighted if he scored a couple of goals against us in the next league game.

First off, I'm starting to wonder whether you are a Chelsea fan or simply someone trying to stir up shit. Apologies if you're sincere (also, it's Stamford Bridge - Stamford is a place in Lincolnshire I think). As for Lukaku, the kid got mightily fucked around last year but he still wants to play for the club. His attitude is fine - he needs to focus on what he's doing for West Brom rather than distracting himself with the soap opera at the Bridge. We bought him because he's one of the best young strikers in world football, something is going some way to showing at West Brom. He'll need to sort out next season as soon as possible so that he knows what he'll be doing in pre-season. Personally I'd want every player on loan to get together and be assessed by our new manager (hopefully) and go from there.

The one thing I've learnt about Chelsea fans is there's very rarely 'one side' to things.

With regards AVB, they didn't sack him because the fans didn't like him. If that was the case, Rafa would be gone. The problem with AVB is he lost the staff's respect and he became a joke figure. I thought it was out of order to boo Bruce Buck because he's a proper Chelsea fan, but it's part of the pantomime of the whole thing. It's like politicians getting booed at the Olympics. Getting back on track, if his contract wasn't ending I think he'd still be here next season but it's coming to an end so there's a sense this is the natural time for it to end. For me it simply comes down to what he offers the club next season and whether there are better options out there. I thought he had a great game yesterday after a dodgy first 30, and I will miss seeing him on the pitch. But I don't think we'll be any worse off as a team without him - ultimately that's what it comes down to for me. It's not all about his age either, as I'd love for Ashley Cole to be given an extension to his contract because he's quite simply the best in the world at what he does. There's no-one else I'd want at that position. But purely from a tactical point of view, there are a number of players I'd love to have ahead of Lamps in that DLP position, e.g. Alonso, Wilshere, Modric, Schweinsteiger, Pirlo, maybe Gundogan and I'd like to see Oscar, KDB and Josh given a chance there.

Blimey.....fair play to Mike Dean. No-one seemed to see that except him, but it looked like a nailed-on penalty.

Would prefer City win the title so looking for them to win today. Finishing second or third doesn't bother me - the higher we finish the bigger the chance Benitez gets kept on.

Yes that's right. No-one will say he isn't a good player. They just don't think he (and his attitude in particular) is right for us.

Yes, that's exactly what I said. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: I don't think Sturridge was good enough, ergo Torres is. I don't like the taste of aniseed ergo I like the works of Dan Brown. #blindinglogicson

So you mean when Liverpool came to us and said we'd like a striker, we should have sold them Torres instead of Sturridge. Buck and Gourlay.