Phil Driver

Great timing

Mikel was not injured ,Benitez declared him fit for the Villa game in a press conference,perhaps you do not have Chelsea TV? this is a major note in the argument. Make no mistake he was dropped ..

It already happened under Benitez and we went on a great run securing third place when many thought we would not and winning the Europa League ,Rafa embarrased Mikel, to have a kid play in your place in an important game is a big insult , Benitez had made up his mind on Mikel ,even Lampard who we were told could not play 2 games a week was playing three at the end. Luiz,Lampard,Ramires,Ake were all in front of Mikel at the end of the season ,he was dropped.

You do not get it do you . We gave a player a 5 year deal on big wages ,this is a big statement saying here is our future ,our next manager clearly said this player is not good enough to play an important game and a kid played in his place ,Mourinho probably had no say at all in signing a teenager at that time ,true he was managing the club though ,I would suspect it was Arnesen ,so your Mourinho signed him is rubbish .

Who gave Mikel a 5 year deal and who dropped him? Answer 1 Someone at the club . Answer 2 our last manager . Do you think Benitez dropped him because he is Nigerian? strange question . No it was because he was rubbish .

I can see Mikel causing the frist conflict at the club between Jose and Emenalo ,we have a problem here ,at Rafa's first press conference he announced that Mikel had been given a 5 year contract ,Benitez did not give him a five year contract ,by the time Benitez had left he had worked Mikel out and dropped him ,even Ake was playing in front of Mikel v Everton . Now my guess is Emenalo played a big part in Mikel getting a five year deal ,Benitez obviously did not rate Mikel and is a top manager ,what if Jose does not rate Mikel ,will Emenalo like this ? . In my opinion Jose needs to have control of this issue and Emenalo top coach of womans football teams,should continue to work as a scout and leave the team to Jose . Lets hope this has been agreed and Emenalo knows his place as director of football /scout, not manager of the team . Without this having been clarified I can see problems as Emenalo obviously rates Mikel and is his mate, hence the five year contract when we were managerless. If Jose rates Mikel then OK ,no problem. But Rafa obviously did not .

Jose has not written our capt off he knows you cant buy the commitment people like JT and Lamps have for our club they would die for Chelsea fans and Jose will get the best out of JT for sure . My bet is JT will be nack to his best next season and will force his way back into the side as no. 1 choice that is the character of the man.

If 20 million is on the table Mikel will be gone ,Rafa had him worked out and left him out of the team ,Mikel is deluded his comments about being too good for the Europa League were ubelievable considering his useless efforts were a massive factor in us being there in the first place,if Jose is half the manager I know he is he will know the score on Mikel and he will be gone and I will drink a glass of champagne that we are finally rid of this coward of a player .

I know this thread is mostly about transfer targets ,but if it is true that Galatasary are signing Mikel I will be" over the moon" as they say. If he needs a car to the airport I will drive him free of charge . This if true will tell me that Jose is back and in control of the team at the club making the right calls.

This one is a bit of a long shot - Seamus Coleman, Everton (right back) have liked what I have seen from him at Everton this season great going forward and I remember him making a great last ditch tackle on Torres at the Bridge which stopped a certain goal , Dave has not convinced me as yet ,but next season will be the one we can judge him on fully.

Welcome home Jose . Jose and Chelsea go together it is hard to explain but there is something about John Terry ,Peter Osgood and Jose Mourinho that perfectly exemplifies Chelsea . They all just have the Chelsea style and charisma . Jose Mourinho is the only manager for Chelsea there is no other and lets hope he can stay Chelsea manager for longer than the four years of his first contract.

Benitez tried to rest him until he found out he couldnt do without him ,Lampard played every game towards the end (sometimes 3 games a week) and Mikel was the one who was managed,managed to the subs bench . I expect Jose will be using Lampard for all the big games especially in the champions league and v City and Utd in the league. Jose knows how good Lampard is he looked our strongest and fittest player at the end,to me Lampard has shown no signs of slowing down yet.

The club will want maximum exposure for the announcement and the day of an England game is not that day ,expect a midweek press conference where Jose will tell the world how after managing Inter and Real and turning down Man Utd , Chelsea is the place where he wants to be and he will be comitted to bringing Premier League titles and Champions Leagues to West London !!!!!

Jose is 50 he is a baby ,I bet you if he stays for 10 years we will be most succesful English club if he stays untill he is 60 . We need to make this long term and let him build Chelsea,he is the best manger out there ,lets keep him this time . The board need to ensure the relationship between Jose and Roman is strong and nobody at the club should be undermining that relationship by interfering.

If we win nothing next season (which we may not) we need to stick with Jose and let him build something,he has a four year contract and we need a manager to stay and have some stability at the club. Jose is the choice ,Jose is the manager we trust,Jose has proved he is one of the best in the world,he is still young and Jose it the manager we want and he is Chelsea, wait for his press conference. The board need to give him time and to back him like Utd did with Fergie and Arsenal with Wenger ,Jose is the right manager for us and he will be doing everything he can to make us the most succesful club in the world,of that you can be sure.

I do not see him slowing down yet ,to me he is still amongst the fittest players in the league ,the well timed runs are still there and he recovers his position as well as anyone ,we should all enjoy Lamps for as long as possible because he is a special player and amongst the best in the world ,ever as a goalscoring midfielder ,still able to play in a more forward role in my opinion and he will slot into the playmaking role with his eyes closed when he slows down ,there is no substitute for class and Lamps is top class,the best Chelsea player I have ever seen .

The best thing about Jose coming back is we all? ( I do ) trust him and have complete confidence in him ,I have opinions on players as does everybody but I trust Jose to know what is best for Chelsea. With somebody like Luiz if Jose thinks he can coach him to be better than I will go with that and if Jose thinks £35 million is a good deal and Jose has other players in mind I will go with that. Jose may see selling Luiz and signing Varane as the best deal .

Yep as our defensive midfielder he filled all those gaps and protected the back four in a masterful way !! That is what we are told he is so good at?

Technical ability = control of the ball and the ability to play and pass off of both feet ,Mata is not strong on his right foot but his balance is such he can compensate and manoeuvre the ball on to his left side ,Terry ,Lampard and Hazard are the others who have great technique in our side . The greatest technique of all was Zola great balance ,control and a deft touch.

Are you getting Mikel and Emenalo's relationship mixed up with Jose and Lamps? We are all laughing because the waiter was picking Lampard as first choice on ability alone ,do you think Jose will pick him because he is his mate? As I said expect Jose to pick him sometimes in front of one of MaZaCar as well as in the pivot where he was first choice over the woeful Mikel as judged by the waiter.

You are right it was political as well as Casiilas failing to cut out a cross in the game v Dortmund when a row developed between the two ,Mourinho will not be picking Lampard for what he used to be ,he will be picking him ( as the waiter did in front of Mikel) for what he is ,you think his first signing was Lampard out of nostalgia? You are answering your own argument here.

All good views chaps ,but you do realise who the new manager will be? do not count out Jose using Lampard instead of one of the three ,because Jose is Lampard's greatest fan ,so if Lampard can show the waiter he is first choice still (as he did) despite the suits trying to force him out, Jose will not be a problem. As I said expect Lampard to be rested for the big games that really matta and not being used as a fill in under Jose ,because Jose appreciates class.

Yes and having to play with Mikel directly effects whoever has the misfortune to partner him ,look at the stats when Lampard plays and Mikel plays. The waiter may have been told when he joined the club that Lampard was leaving and Mikel had a new 5 year contract ,but by the end of his tenure he hasd worked out who was the better pivot ,oh and add the goals ,such a precious commodity in the game of football .

The team with the three( who will be tracking back under Jose) and with Mikel in there, offering next to nothing in the midfield battle, this almost leaves us with one proper midfielder when Mikel and the three play ,this usually leaves Lampard,Luiz or Ramires totally outnumbered in there ,I cant believe Jose has not seen that.

I think Jose is more likely to address this problem ,well said .