The only place to be

We aren't becoming Arsenal if we let him go. You realise we'll still have experienced players all over the pitch don't you? Plus the problem at Arsenal wasn't as simple as you suggest it was. They let their best players leave without replacing them, and under-invested in the first-team. We don't show any signs of doing that. We're actually looking to replace him with players who are better suited to the position he plays.

Firstly, it's Stamford Bridge. Stamford is a place in Lincolnshire I think, so were you referring to them? The abbreviation of Stamford Bridge is simply 'the Bridge'. Secondly, the people booing aren't a 'bunch of drunkards'. They're by and large decent people who have paid a not-insubstantial amount of money to support the club and may have been doing so for a long time. Have a bit of respect, even if you like I don't particularly agree with what they're doing.

Calling people who support the club 'twats' for disagreeing on the contract status of a player after he has a pretty good game isn't the way Chelsea supporters tend to treat one another.

That's an overly simplistic way of dismissing a lot of decent Chelsea supporters' views that the club aren't doing the wrong thing in allowing Frank to leave. It would be akin to me suggesting that certain 'fans' are fetishising individual players because they haven't got a fucking clue what properly supporting a football club is. Maybe it's my age, or maybe it's the fact that I actually supported this team before Lamps was signed and have a sense of perspective on things but this whole debate is getting ridiculous. He had a decent game yesterday but we struggled for the first half hour because no-one put their foot on the ball and took control. The same thing happened at Everton. Is this honestly how we want to play against weaker opposition? The same type of performance that we had against QPR? Nice stats by the way.

I don't know what your problem is but calling people twats because they disagree with you isn't the most gracious of behaviour. Stop trying so hard.

All this shit about disrespecting him or screwing him or even 'sacking' him is just hysterical. He's simply come to the end of a contract - a well-paid contract that he got in no small part by refusing to rule out a move to Inter Milan. Now that's fair enough. In business you play sides off against one another to secure the best price for your services. Well this is business too. We're moving on to something different as well.

This is Stamford Bridge in 1998, three years before Frank Lampard signed. Just trying to show some people that the club did exist before he came along, and it will exist after he's gone. We'll win titles after he's gone and will sign amazing new players and we'll even probably move from this stadium one day. But Lamps will go down as one of our greats and we'll tell stories of his exploits like our dads told us stories of Chopper Harris and Peter Osgood and Peter Bonetti. But as time passes, things change. It's painful sometimes, but it's necessary for us to move on. The team that we were and what we are going to be are two different things and that means personnel will change. But the club will stay the same. The amount of tedious shit being written about us falling apart is absurd.

It's all getting a bit tedious to be honest. Part of me would be relieved if we'd just sell him to the LA Galaxy to have one less storyline repeated every time he has an average/above-average game or even just comes on in the last 10 minutes and scores a penalty. The one good thing about the shitty QPR result is that we had a break from the same mewling and bleating for a few days. :banghead:

But Benat's stats don't suggest he is the 'possession guy' we need, and to say that Mata and Oscar aren't playmakers is either completely fucking ridiculous or simply you using a very, very specific meaning of the word 'playmaker'. I agree we need a deep-lying playmaker but this Benat guy (always nice to learn the phrase 'flavour of the month' in a new language) doesn't seem to be the guy we need. I'd rather us pay more and get Modric, or simply try someone like Oscar there when he has every single tool that you'd want.

He's not replaceable as a person because he's unique. But there are possibly options out there (and at the club) who can be better in the style of football we're going to play going forward.

The only reason I don't think Lamps deserves MOTM is the same reason I don't think he deserved it against Everton - for the first half-hour we were pretty awful and kept losing the ball from midfield. Luis did a great job marshalling the defence and made some Terry-esque front post clearances. He was the one playing it out of defence with a sense of calm. Frank worked his socks off though and it was good to see him score his goal. I just don't know if we can be so loose in the first 30 minutes of games.

He's also criminally underrated at times too. He's a young player in his first season in a new league learning a whole new game. Today he played well, but he also gave the ball up a couple of times. He gave Wilkinson a torrid time in the first half, set up Azpi beautifully for his cross for the first and killed the game with the third. Personally I thought Luiz was the most important player on the pitch today but I have no problem with Hazard getting some votes.

Tone it down a little.

Another dodgy start but ended up being a very comfortable win. Easier to say who didn't have a particularly good game, and that's Bertrand. Not his fault because it's not his position but he was the weak link in an otherwise great team performance. Lamps had a good game after a dodgy start, Ba did exactly what he was asked to, Azpi continues to impress in defence and attack and Ivanovic came back well from his game against Swansea. Hazard kept up his brilliant form too and what can you say about Jon Walters? But MOTM was Luiz for me. Brilliant performance from the newly shorn defender and he kept us in it during the rocky periods, didn't take any stupid chances and was cool and composed throughout.

We need a Jon Walters option in the MOTM poll.

Phil Dowd's are bigger

TEK A BOO SON

LET WALTERS TAKE IT. HE'S ON A HAT-TRICK!!!!

I'd love him just to spend the next 45 minutes running at Wilkinson

I told you Azpi's crossing is great when he has a specific target to aim for. :blue scalf: :blue scalf: Great work by Lamps earlier on to keep the pressure on and lovely vision by Hazard.

Bertrand isn't a left-winger. Utterly pointless having him on is this match.

Seems to be the flavour of the month.

Everton game all over again. No-one in midfield to hold onto the ball and take control.

Which is what you'd expect from a young player in a new league who has been asked to do different things under different managers.

How many assists? It's his first season and he had a blinding start.