The only place to be

Because I had a chat with someone far more familiar with him than me and he gave me an indication of what type of player he is. Okay?

£11 million is the price being reported by Neil Ashton in the Mail. As a player who can compete with Moses on the right and be a third option up front that seems like a decent price.

Well I think you're wrong. There was a Chelsea before Lampard, there will be one after he goes. For me, Chelsea is more than any one player - it's more than this group of players too. Chelsea for me is about walking from the Embankment (when you could still park there) to the Bridge, or hopping off the tube and walking along the Fulham Road bumping into guys you've seen at the club for years. It's about getting your membership in the post when the sun is still shining, or going to the megastore to see the new kit for the first time. If he goes, he goes. We'll wish him well, thank him for his service, shed a few tears and then look to our next hero to take over. The reaction on here reminds me of when Take That broke up and they had to open a crisis line for them.

I'm not saying he'd be a liability, but the club obviously has to put together the best squad it can to achieve success. Is Frank going to be the attacking midfielder we need? No, we have Mata now. Is he going to be the guy who can play the double pivot and dictate the tempo? I don't think so. I think there are potentially better options either in our squad (Oscar and McEachran) and maybe better options in the market. 12 years at one club (in which he's been well remunerated) is amazing in this day and age but it has to end at some point. The media will try to make us look like cunts for this when there's no reason to. I expect to hear 'Scholes and Giggs, Scholes and Giggs' a lot over the next few months when there's plenty of players (Keane, Bruce, Schmeichel, Butt, Neville, Hughes) who were let go despite being 'legends' to varying degrees.

What? You'll stop supporting the club? I agree. It's progress with developing either a time machine or a youth serum is appalling. I blame this man Continued success? Stability?

I'm in the same position. Don't know a huge amount about him, not going to judge him on a youtube vid some 14 year old made (with Coldplay FFS!!) but if the price is right I'm going to give him a chance. Let's be honest - our board might not be perfect but when shopping at the £10 million mark they have a pretty good recent record (Moses,Azpi, Cahill, Courtois, Ba, De Bruyne and even Lukaku's original fee was about £12 million). I think Marin is pretty much written off to be honest. His transfer was based on us not qualifying for the CL and he was fucked the moment we did in all honesty. Taison could be his replacement or simply another player to compete with Moses on the right wing or even a third striker. He seems versatile which is a plus point. Not sure how a 24 year old who hasn't played for his country gets a work permit though.

A lot of that sounds like you just want us to go back in time to 2005 and are ignoring how his tenure ended. I'd say I'm surprised that half of the people voting want Jose back, but I'm not. We've seen from the Lampard situation that people just want to cling on to what is familiar rather than look to the future, and that's a common human feeling. New things bring with them uncertainty and change can scare some people. But if you actually look at the composition of the squad and what we are trying to do in terms of what's on the pitch as well as long-term planning, I don't know how Guardiola isn't the best choice for the club. I suppose Mourinho is like the first love (in fact I'd say he was most people's first Chelsea manager) but with maturity comes the recognition that going back is usually a stupid fucking move.

He has to say shit like that now he's at Liverpool. I hear he's already stocking up on black armbands and learning the dates of Liverpool's league and cup triumphs.

Pretty much this. The club seems to fancy another attacking midfielder and this guy seems like one of the best young guys out there, and the price (if even remotely correct) is a no-brainer.

Every game until the end of the season will be filled with chants for Lampard and against the board if they came out now. The board might be looking for a way to achieve relative peace until then.

HIs wages are important in a post-FFP world. There's no way around it and despite your protestations, wages have been part of the sports discussion for a long time now. If we're spending money in one area, we're not spending it in another - simple as that. He may have a lot to offer, but is that more than what another player might offer if we brought him in or simply gave an existing player a chance in the team? What's amazing to me is that we already seem to have found the man to replace his goals from midfield in Mata.

What a cheating cunt and what a shit ref and linesman.

I think the board do trust young players (Azpi, Moses, Oscar and Hazard are all younger than Sturridge) but there was a feeling that he simply wouldn't be good enough to lead the line for a top club so actually made a fabulous business decision and replaced him whilst making a profit.

I disagree. I think Pep would get longer than any other manager because of his track record and the fact that Roman views him as the guy to take us forward. He's arguably the best manager in the world right now, and definitely the most in demand so there's a sense that there's no-one bigger to go for if things aren't working out. Plus there's so much in place with regards the type of players we're signing for the first-team, and even at the younger levels, that to sack him would mean a massive sea-change in terms of everything you're trying to do as a club. I think Roman desperately wants a guy to provide stability for the next 3-4 years whilst things happen around the club, primarily the stadium issue.

Why would you want that? You realise the guy we bought to replace him scored twice yesterday against Premier League opposition?

He's Jose Mourinho, the guy we sacked, the guy who had a tumultuous relationship with the owner (but they've made up.....try being friends with an ex. Sure it's great. Now try sleeping with her and see how long before the first argument and you dredge up old shit) and works best in teams ready to win rather than building something new. How many years do people expect it to last if he did come back? 1? 2 maybe? And then what?

What are the obvious reasons for Jose? He had a bad working relationship with Roman, doesn't want to work with a DoF, we don't have the type of squad that plays to his strengths (Guardiola is the obvious choice looking at our squad), going back is usually a shit idea in sport and the main reason he might be available is because he's doing such a bad job at Madrid that he's likely to get sacked. Guardiola on the other hand seems the best fit for our squad, our academy and would be a case of looking forward rather than looking back. The fact he's behind Benitez in the voting is terrifying.

No. I want us to focus on the league games.

I actually think the club would like a long-term option, but none of them have worked out. It's why I think Pep is the best choice, because there would be a dedication to his appointment (based on his track record) that simply wasn't there with past appointments. Roman sees him as 'his guy' so he won't ditch him so quickly. Rafa is an interim. That's the only reason some of the fans aren't calling for his head, but there's simply no way many of them would want him as the long-term manager. Jose is only an option because he's doing so shit right now - 16 points off Barca after only 17 games. I also don't think he's a good bet for a long-term choice because he specialises in building teams for right now. The club wants a guy who can instil an ethos into the club and become something self-sustaining, like Pep did at Barca. We also have a director of football, something Pep's fine with and Jose isn't. For me, there's only one choice and if we can't get him then we're fucked for a few seasons.

His contract allows for a break in the summer. I don't think anyone really wants him to stay beyond that but it isn't impossible.

That is a point few people raise - what if the new guy doesn't want him? It's a different situation with Cole because he's still the best guy in his position but signing such a 'big personality' to another 12 months is totally different and the new guy should be included in the conversation.

Simple question. At the end of this season, who do you want to be the next guy in charge? My preference is Guardiola and he seems to be the club's first choice too. Looking at where we are and where we're looking to go, he seems to be the best choice and he's available......kinda.

We're still in the FA Cup and Europa League, plus we need to finish top four. Those need to be the priorities, not the Coca-Cola Cup. Forgot about the FA Cup 4th round. Hopefully a non-league team at home.

It's still the League Cup - right now the priority has to be the league. Look what happened after the United game when we played our most important players and then struggled against Swansea.

Honestly, if we need to rest players then I'd do it in this match. We've got three big league games coming up which we need to be at full strength for and the second leg comes before a six day break before the next game.