Chelsea F.C [2008-2009]

[pede54]

Seems like next in line is Arshavin, which ups the odds of Lampard getting out(Inter). No way that with Deco Lampard Arshavin Ballack Essien and possibly Robinho, Scolari doesn't sell one if he wants to have a solid team.

He'll sell Drogba. As for all those midfielders, rotation comes to mind and also backups. We suffered last season when Lamps and Ballack were both out at the same time. Injuries are a constant worry so this season we have very good cover.

....and if some of those players don't like the fact that they will not get to play every game, then they never should have never signed up. All this would have been clearly explained to anyone who signs for us. As Scolari said, nobody is guaranteed a place.

 

[Filipower]

Yes as I said, that all looks good in paper, but wait until you hear Ballack or Arshavin moaning about not starting more often...

 

[Zakov]

I don't see Ballack moaning tbh, he's quite a professional and he didn't moan when he was left out of the CL group phase squad last season(at least I think he didn't).
I don't know why kind of character Arshavin has. So can't see whether he moans or not if he's not guaranteed a starting place.
But they should know what to expect if they sign for us, competition for places could bring the best out players and in some cases, the worst out of players.

 

[pede54]

Well lets face it, we have constantly been informed over the last 5 years that Chelsea are gonna implode "any day now". We have heard from many sources how difficult it will prove to keep so many top class players happy at the club. How when they grow tired of being rotated or subbed or being left out of the starting 11, that Chelsea will have a full scale players revolt on their hands. We are told that players will demand to be released as they see their chances of playing regularly will be limited.

In the last 5 years I can only remember 2 players who have left us for that reason, Damien Duff and Scott Parker. Now considering how many players we have aquired over the last 5 years, that's not a bad ratio in my opinion. We have had players leave for other reasons of course, but transfers related to playing time have been minimal.

Thats not to say that the situation might not arise in the future though. When players sign for Chelsea, they do so in the knowledge that their place in the team is not guaranteed week in and week out. They sign KNOWING that fact. If they find later on that it's a situation they cannot handle, then they move on, another player of similar ability steps up a place and Chelsea move forward. So in that regard, I think we can live with the occassional player throwing a wobbly, thanks to the luxury of having such a big, talented and dedicated squad.

Wayne Bridge, SWP, Obi, Maka, Ballack, Cudicini, Alex and even Sheva have been constantly been reported to be on the move because of the lack of playing time at Chelsea. Yet they continue to re-sign their contracts and they choose to stay.

Players at Chelsea understand fully that the Club comes first. No room for ego's or bigheads, it's all about the collective effort from everyone in the squad to perform to their very best when called upon, to make the club and the team a sucess.

Oh yeah, and Roman will apparantly get bored with his little toy some day real soon, and walk away from us. He was supposed to have done that some time over the last 5 years, but he hasn't. He's also still here, and going nowhere.

Must be frustrating for some other fans though, to actually realise that all their hopes and wishfull thinking, directed towards the downfall of CFC over the last 5 years have been in vain.

As season after season passes and we see the progression being made by our club, domestically and in Europe, its a pleasure to note that the prophets of doom are now thinner in number than they ever were. One day the rest of them will simply give it up as a lost cause.

Not that the rumour mongering and efforts at de-stabilising the club should bother us. We have always for as long as I can remember, risen above it all and survived it. We are Chelsea, and that's they way it's always been. That's the way it will always be.

 

[newbie original]

“I do not believe that after this acquisition of Deco the club have retained their interest in Arshavin,” Dennis Lachter, player's "consultant for move to foreign league", told Sovetsky Sport.

 

[Zakov]

and just what the fook does Sovetsky Sport stand for?

 

[Mandieta6]

Soviet Sport?

It's looking like none of the transfer targets I was hoping for will come to us. Hope Scolari makes the best out of the squad he has, then.

 

[Zakov]

looks like Inter finally made a real bid for Lamps, 6.5 Mil Quid.....well, I don't think Frank will want to leave us for Inter, even for Jose, but s.hit happens.....

 

[Tiago_10]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4272509.ece

Interesting reading, nothing new I mean for sure Abramovic was involved with the Russia mafia but it's factual information now.

Don't start flamming me, just thought I'd post it since nobody did.

 

[Zakov]

good news, apparently we have rejected the approach from Inter, in fact the club has stated that it will reject any future approaches regarding Frank, which to our relief should indicate that Lamps is very much part of our future plans with Scolari.

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~1340393,00.html

Sorry Jose, yer not getting him or Drogba

 

[Help?]

Didn't Inter offer 8 million pounds though? I mean, i realize the world economy is going to ****ter, but 8 million pounds for Lampard? That's like a slap in the face.

 

[pede54]

Well, the way Franks been behaving over all this, I'm not surprised that Inter think he's interested, and they are obviously trying to get him as cheaply as possible. The way things are looking at the moment, with Frank holding out for a five year deal while Chelsea have offered him a four year deal, I'm not to optimistic about the outcome of all this.

He still has one year to go on his contract. Add to that the 4 years that Chelsea have offered him, and that takes Frank to 35 years old.

On one hand, I agree with the club in as much as, a four year deal for a 30 year old player ( with a year outstanding on his current contract), is a good deal. If Frank is still giving an account of himself at 35 years old, then he will be offered an extension to his contract on a yearly basis. I would hope that Franks forward thinking concerns playing time rather than how much money he could lose out on if he settles for a 4 year deal instead of 5. I think not though, because the stalemate between Frank and the club is not about money at all, its about the length of contract offered.

If Frank loves Chelsea as much as he keeps telling us, then he should sign the contract and prove to those who doubt his lengevity, that in 5 years time he will still be the force he is now, and worth every penny. Perhaps Frank knows as many others suspect, that in 5 years time he will not be dynamic enough to win himself another extension to his contract, and at 35 years old, he will be finished as a player.

I think Frank should just sign up and get on with playing for us for the next 5 years, instead of continuing with this apparant stalemate he has has over the contract.

Frank has given a lot to this club, but the club have also given a lot to Frank too. He would not be the player he is today if he hadn't of come to Chelsea in the first place, and he certainly would not be the multi millionaire that he is today, if he would have stayed at West Ham.

For Frank to demand a guarantee that at 35 years old he will still be given another year on his contract, is I think, unreasonable. By that time he sure won't need the money, so why should the club pay £140,000 a week to a player who will be approaching his 36th year, and perhaps not performing any longer.

I also think it's about damned time that we heard a little something from Frankie boy too. He know very well that this issue is disturbing for all the fans of Chelsea. He has been silent for a long long time, and the fans have happily (mainly), lived with that. Now I think it's time for him to either put pen to paper and sign the new contract, or alternatively dont sign and go.

Lets see how much much Frank really loves Chelsea. Lets see him sign the new deal and get on with playing, because if he is truely quibbling over the fact that he wants ONE SEASON longer than Chelsea want to give him, then I think that is unreasonable on Franks part, and a far cry from the level of loyalty and love of the club, that I have always associated with Frank Lampard.

Sidwell to Villa.....5.5 million. Thanks Stevie and good luck at Villa. Not much fun for a player to come to Chelsea are get ignored almost completely for a season, so I don't blame him at all. Saying that, he never quite made the grade for the squad, so he'll be better off where he is, and playing most weeks.

 

[Filipower]

well reports say that he was angry at Scolari for saying what he did at the press conference, and also that he plans on paying-out the remainder of his contract and signing with Inter...but then again, it's just the press, what the **** do they know? They should all burn in hell...


but it doesn't hurt for me to torment you guys a bit more

 

[Zakov]

Forgive me if I'm wrong but since Frank's been really silent about this, and the only closest we've come to hearing from him is via Scolari.(I don't believe that agent Steve Kuntner)
It could obviously be a case of Lampard making demands that he knows Chelsea will not pander to, thus giving him a valid excuse in his eyes to leave the club. That is why Scolari's comments about the saga were very clever. He has basically put the ball in Frank's court, it is now down to him to come forward and let the fans know exactly what his plans are.

If Frank's contract demands as Pete previously stated are indeed correct then I'm sorry but his demands are ridiculous, especially if he really loves the club.

At the end of the day, nobody is bigger than the club, as Mourinho found out.

Please Frank, if you want to leave(for a new challenge) just say so, don't let this turn sour like Gallas.

 

[Yossarian]

Is Essien your most priceless player? His value must be incalculable, eh?

I'd pay anything up to 70million euros for 'em without even blinking.

 

[dipset]

Im going to be COMPLETELY honest, and im gonna say what i feel. Pede I do agree with ya in parts but we can say the same thing with Terry, Terry's contract is ridiculous he is the highest paid player and his contract holds to him that he remains the highest paid until his end of Chelsea, in addition he has a clause that adheres to managing guarantees if he were to go to that route in the future. Terry is basically the face of Chelsea I means hes come from our youth system and gives the locals a good feeling but lets admit it he is not our best player nor is he our best defender, nor does he sell the most kits with his name, so I do not know why is contract is so ludicrous? why? is it because coming from Chelsea youth system is added bonus and holds more than performace?

this is what happened with Franks situation, he wants to be on par with Terry and TBH Lamps has contributed to Chelsea's success to same level if not more , but look Frank player efficiency is top of the charts, but I agree he has this one year left and on top of that the 4 yr offered to him, this is a very good deal but he rejected it, but the 4 yr offered is below Terrys wages and slightly more than Ballacks and I believe thats one of the reasons hes rejected it because he feels he deserved to be on the same level as Terry

HOW the hell is BALLACK close to Lamps in wages?? Lamps has been with the club and has FULLY proven himself he can succeed in addition is more efficient than Ballack, Ballack was world class at Bayern, but even Real Madrid and Man Utd werent going to offer him the wages we pay him when he was a free agent and based on his 2 years with the club no way does he represent his wages, and this is what we should of done earlier, and PEDE your right, a player first needs to prove they can succeed at Chelsea and then give him a contract extension with wage increase and this is what should of happened with Ballack, Sheva in fact all of the players, .... SO...THIS comes down to Chelsea screwing up the wage structure, and now we are over paying basically EVERYONE because of this (this includes Terry and Lamps (if new is signed) . Terry is highest earner, but certainly not by performance. And I think Chelsea is now realizing this and starting to rebuild a better equal wage structure. And in my opinion I do no think Ballack will get the extension he desires because his wage bill is pretty astronomical for a player who hasnt FULLY proven himself the way Lamps has.
But also, it can be Lampard rejecting it on purpose just to frustrate management and sell him to Inter where he can reunite with my man Jose.

lastly , the only player in my opinion who is deserving of there wage bill is Essien

 

[Zakov]

I don't think it was about money to begin with, basically I've read(could be true or not) that we're Frank offering 140k a week for 4 years.....the thing is Frank is 30 rite now, and Terry is about 2 years younger, thats why he got a longer contract....
so the concern right now is the length of the contract, apparently Frank's holding out for 5 years, and I reckon that what Inter are offering isn't better than what we're offering. So basically its take or leave as far as the club is concerned, but Frank should just sign or just tell us he's not happy with the contract or wants a new challenge and wants to leave, publicly and not hide behind his greedy agent. Then we can thank him for his contributions and what he done for us, and move on.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm with Chelsea through and through.

here's an interesting post taken from a geezer at cfc.net

"I don't understand Frank's attitude to this whole saga. If we are to believe what we read Frank has been offered a 4 year contract on £140,000 per week. That's over £7,280,000 per annum.

He will be earning this wedge when 33, 34 and 35 years of age, regardless of form, change of manager, injury or just old fashioned fatigue. Surely Frank would like to leave this club as a real legend with the deafening roar of applause ringing in his ears, breaking all records and most possibly winning further medals at domestic and European level. If Frank stays at the club would he not be guaranteed a testimonial/farewell game, which would be packed to the rafters. Maybe donate some money to Clic Sargent.

Has Frank thought about his standing in the game after he leaves? Maybe employed in a coaching capacity at Chelsea, be a representative at the club like Le Saux or go into broadcasting like Jamie Redknapp.

Or does he wish to skulk away from the club with the fans feeling indifferent and resentful at his behaviour. There are no guarantees at Inter, will Jose be there say in a couple of years. Or will Frank have to return to these shores with his tail between his legs with no club willing to touch him or his wage demands with a barge pole. The man needs to take a long look at himself and think about his standing beyond an extra year of contract."

 

[newbie original]

He won't do much at Inter....he's just kidding himself into believing that he would make a difference there.

 

[pede54]

In an interview with Sport CZ today, Petr Cech gave his insight regarding the Lamps situation. Talking about Scolari's plans for next term, he told the website, "To be honest, I don't have much information about changes in the squad. Of course, I know about coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, Deco and I know that Chelsea have succeeded in keeping Frank Lampard, which is extremely important".

Interesting stuff if it's genuine.

It looks as if Frank's gonna see out the end of his existing contract, and possibly leave on a free next season.

Or perhaps he has agreed to sign the contract extension that was offered by Chelsea. I doubt that. Anyhow still nothing from the club or Lamps, so its still "Watch this space" unforunately.

I have to admit that I'm not impressed with the way Frank, and his shyster agent Kutner (obviously an anagram), have handled this contract renewel. If Frank wants to leave then let him put in a transfer request, and we'll sell him, if the buying club are happy to cough up the fee then fine. If he really does want to end his career as a Chelsea player, then he should sign up now, and stop all this crap, because slowly but surely the mood of the Chelsea fan is changing, simply because of the way this situation has been handled by Lamps and his agent.

If a 30 year old player is not happy with a four year contract, which lets face it, is not a common thing to see in football, and also is not happy with being the highest paid Premiership player to date at £140,000 A WEEK, then either that player is living on another planet to me, or he is the most unreasonable, ungrateful and greedy bastard that I have ever seen in a Chelsea kit.

FFS, if Frank is still worth all that money in five years time, then I'm sure that he will be offered another extension to give him the 5 years in total that he wants.

What Frank fears though is that there is a very huge chance that at 35 years of age he will be pretty much finished as a player, thereby at that time, he would not warrant a one year extension to his contract. That means Frank would stand to lose about 10 million pounds if he fails to win a contract for that 5th year. Surely the 40 million or so he will make in the first 4 years should pretty much ensure that he has a little bit of cash to spend in his old age.

I know it'll be hard trying to survive with a paltry 100 million quid in your bank account, but the Lampards will just have to struggle like the rest of us have to struggle, and if things get difficult then I'm sure the club would welcome him back, and he could do some PR on matchdays, like quite a few of our past Chelsea heroes have to do to survive these days.

I don't think our Frank even realises how damn fortunate he is. I am happy that the club are not giving in to his demands too. He'll always be a Legend to me of course, but as every day passes with this sh!t going on, his status in my eyes is becoming tarnished somewhat.

 

[Zakov]

I don't think our Frank even realises how damn fortunate he is. I am happy that the club are not giving in to his demands too. He'll always be a Legend to me of course, but as every day passes with this sh!t going on, his status in my eyes is becoming tarnished somewhat.

Can't agree with yer more, its sickening the way its gone on, because the way things have turned out, most of us feel let down, I mean, I'll work my arse off with part-time jobs on top of my current job and still wouldn't make even half of what these footballers are making week after week.
Yet, I still pay for matches, jerseys and other club merchandise which supposedly are a part of these player's wages.
Its really pisses me arse off if Frank's using the contract length as an excuse just so that he could have a reason for leaving.

I'd always thought Frank was a decent bloke, and with all that happened to him recently I really don't want to this to end on a sour note.
Sure its not the end of the world if Frank leaves, but after all that badge-kissing and "I love this club and want to end my career here" being said countless of times, it'll be quite laughable really if yer look back.

I just hope Frank has the guts to explain what is really going on here, because this has gone on too long(less drama in the chelsea camp please, ala Cristina). Of course, we want to remember Frank as a Chelsea hero or summat, but with all the shenanigans and bollocks surrounding this, I can't help but feel sort disappointed with him, even somewhat disgusted to some extent. Once again, he needs to come out and be honest, if not, he'll only prove what the rest of England(the boo-boys) think of him is right.

Btw, I've also heard that Adriano might be offered plus 12 Mil Quid for Frank, if Frank wants to leave, I don't see this as a bad deal at all, if it is proven to be true, although we don't know whether Inter or Jose are that desperate to have him.