There have been many rumours about Frank Lampard leaving for Inter Milan to join former boss Jose Mourinho. Now there are mounting rumours that Chelsea are about to offer him the contract he wants. Lampard has made it clear that he would stay for Chelsea if he would get a 5 year – 150,000 pound contract, making him the highest paid footballer in England. I would agree that he probably deserves around 125,000 for two years tops. I love the guy as a footballer and I used to love him as a person but the way he has handled this situation is very upsetting to a fan. He needs to realize that he is 30 years old and his play will not get better as the years progress. We will be left with a heavy contract. My thoughts are that he is just pushing Chelsea down a road they don’t want to go and probably won’t go just so he can get his wish and go to Milan.

Now I’m sure there are people out there that are thinking, Chelsea has a billionaire Russian owner, just give him the money. This is a road with many bumps further down the line. If you give in to players needs, not only will other players see it, but so will other clubs. This is how you end up with ridiculous debts later on. You’re going to have to give guys like Cech, Carvalho, and Essien the same amount. Then you try to buy players from other clubs. You’re going to be forced to pay such an inflated price that is nowhere near market value just because clubs will think you’ll do anything for the player. Is any player worth more than how much Real Madrid paid for Zidane? No. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Messi; as great as they are, they aren’t worth more than Kaka and will never control a team the way he did. Then you have to sign the player, you’re going to be forced to give them their terms.

You’re players end up becoming mercenaries. You will have people not playing for the club because of their love for the club and success, but for their cheque. We’ve seen it happen for Sheva and there have been claims of that for Deco as well. Chelsea are now an attractive destination. We’ve got a manager who has a World Cup under his title, we recently made it to the Champions League Final, and we’ve either won or been runner-up for the Premier League title for four straight seasons. If there is a club that is up and coming where you can enjoy success, Chelsea is the spot. Even Kaka has said that he thinks ” Chelsea are the club to be at right now”. Although he is not joining Chelsea, that’s great news for us and our development as a big club.

We’ve continuously bought stupidly and this must end. Tal Ben Haim was a pointless buy because he was no better than a young defender and he wasn’t going to get much time anyways. Why not give some youth a chance? We bought Malouda to add flair on our left wing but it is as if no one ever watched him play before he was purchased. Malouda quickly moves right into the centre from the left. It could be argued that Deco was a stupid buy as well but I feel that he is probably Chelsea’s only and best passer. Shevchenko never made sense for us to buy from day one. Pizarro was a free transfer but even as a third choice striker (at the time there was no Anelka), he’s old and was often played as a midfielder. People may say that Nicolas Anelka was a dumb buy as well. I would say that our hands were tied because of the need to have a quality striker during the race for the Premier League title and Champions League fixtures. I just don’t feel we should have bought someone with a bad history like his.

Here’s a couple of positions we obviously need replacements. Drogba may not leave this season but he will eventually, someone of young class will be neeeded. Shevchenko, Anelka, and Pizarro need to all be shown the door. Lucas Podolski should be bought for our second striker as he is obviously out of place with Toni and Klose at Bayern Munich. He also showed he was a very effective winger down the left side. For our number 3 striker, Dani Guiza because he was La Liga’s leading scorer and he was great for Spain in Euro 2008. He could eventually over take Podolski. Di Santo should be our 4th striker. For our winger, Podolski would be able to play the left. Robinho would be a sound winger with great finishing. Robinho would probably cost a lot but would be worth it. How scary is Podolski + Cole, Robinho + Cole, or Podolski + Robinho?

Overall, I just believe Chelsea should be much more careful. The line-up only needs tweaking not a major overhaul. Only our striker position needs an overhaul.