Pretty dodgy sources in BBC Sport, but looks increasingly as if the old guard is definitely on the nose with Nero the Roman Emperor. Claims RA is pissed off with them (and Drogba) for not backing AVB. Cole is not seen as a trouble maker apparently, and has been offered a new 1 year deal at much lower salary, which he has rejected. I suspect that Frank and JT would get a 1 year deal too if they'd accept a lower salary, which they won't. Have to say , I think there is fault on all sides, but a dose of reality is needed by Frank, JT and Cole regarding salaries. If they truly "love the Club" "want to finish their careers at CFC " etc etc, then they MUST understand the power base, or better put, the talent base is shifting away from them, and will continue to do so in the coming year. They are all multi multi millionaires already, can't for the life of me understand why egos and greed should even be an issue. Nothing can take away the status they have all achieved at the Club, but please, stop the bleating and hand wringing, and admit that money is more important than loyalty. Deeds mean more than words.
Lamps, JT and Cole are now very well deserved members of the CFC all time heroes club! I am realistic , however, in believing , every dog has his day and that these great guys are in the twilight of their careers! We are very lucky to have such tremendous replacements in the wings! However, it would be very nice to see our club , give them all, at the appropriate time, a golden goodbye and chance for all Blues to say Thanks for the service they have given to us!
I had always suspected that JT's punishment would be that they wouldn't disclose after the FA trial was going to be not getting a new contract. I will be sad to see all 3 gone but Cole for me is the bigger loss of the 3, followed by JT. If we're being honest on form JT and Lampard wouldn't make our strongest XI whereas Cole would with his eyes closed. The board had better be aware of what they are doing because a wrong move here and this could set the club back years p, we would become like Arsenal. My biggest concern is there is no player we have that we can rely upon to stand up and be counted when the going gets tough. Mata is the only one, when we've had set backs or struggled he has been the only player to take his game up another gear and lead by example. This team needs to win a trophy, Carling Cup would be ideal. They need to have that experience of winning together that Mourinho's team had. No Chelsea team will ever be as good as that team but this young team is packed with talent and the PL is nowhere near as strong now as it was back then.
The carling is not a guarantee of immunity against the slide into mediocrity. Look at the scousers. They won the carling and see what happened to them..
Agree with all this DL and also BM2. Cole is still playing at a level Frank can only manage occasionally, and JT is a bit the same. Losing all 3 at once is not likely to happen, though Frank and Cole could both go end of season, Frank even earlier in January. JT will follow end of next season, unless we try and sell him 1 year before his contract expires. We have already seen the folly of letting too many experienced players go close together, even when not at their best. The point though, is why they won't accept a years extension at a reduced salary, when they are rolling in cash and claim to be willing to "die for the Club" !!!!!!!! I don't get it, sure many others don't either. Different if a youngster goes for more money, but with the wealth these blokes already have, it can only be greed. None of them will go to a Club of the level of CFC so all are going backwards career wise.
This is the moot point for me. In all honesty I think that a little bit of FP rules is starting to kick in here - my guess is that greedy players and greedy agents have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. I think that the days of rapidly escalating salaries have gone. BTW I admire Harry Redknapps stance on all this. As much as we love our legends they are greedy *astards pure and simple and for that I despise them. To me if a guy has got maybe £50m or whatever in the bank and he'd 'die for the club' then where is the problem of accepting a 1 year contract and reduced wages? Someone posted the other day that Mata is on £60k a week and to me that is obscene money but the inference that he was hard done by. And then you look at players like Frank on £170k a week - he was never worth that in the real world and I really am not going to shed tears if the poor lamb is offered a half or third of that. The world of football (and many other sports I hasten to add) has lost touch with reality and I am sick of it. Short/reduced contracts for those in their twighlight years or they can do one as far as I am concerned.
I have thought about the effect on the other players at the club when it comes to their next and probably last Chelsea contract. When they understand their Chelsea career has a defined cut off point and that they'll need to look elsewhere at that pre-set time, they will surely want to ramp up their wage claims in any new contract negotiation as there will be no guarantee that they will secure a contract at a similarly prestigious club at age 32. Also the same can be said of any player Chelsea try to sign from now on. Now I know that agents already press for top Dollar for their clients, but the club has some clout so long as it challenges in Europe. An age cap will almost negate that advantage the club has when it comes to and wage demands as agents won't compromise so much knowing their clients will have to move on at a time when their abilities may be waning. Better off maybe getting a cheaper yet longer deal elsewhere.
Df --spot on! I know we have FFP to get to grips with and this will help put things on a better level, but I'd be curious to know if Lamps would have accepted a much lower salary, if as he claims, he pasionately wanted to see out his career at Chelsea!
I think they all have a part to play. With Lamps I think it's worth having him around the place just to help some of the youngsters. Will be sad to see them go though. Still we knew that this has been coming for a while now. RA told the players that he held them as responsible as AVB last season. He also said that a new Chelsea would be built. This is what's happening now.
I think it would be a mistake letting Lampard go above all, though we have to accept if RA genuinely thinks Lampard is too powerful he's going to do what he wants.
Again this just shows how footballers have no grip on reality, how can they expect to receive huge salaries when they will inevitably play less as they get older. Dennis bergkamp accepted a substantial pat cut when he got older, and he was still the best player at arsenal even in his mid 30s, but these types of players are few and far between. Lampard will probably end up in the US or china.
All valid points , especially the one about the difference in wages between Lamps and Mata ! If true, how can Lamps look in the mirror and see himself as worth £110,000 per WEEK more than Mata !!!!!!!! Frank, JT and Ashley really need to do a bit of soul searching.
OK hold on a second, there is not a single source for any of of the accusions on this thread, so how about winding your necks in! Lamps is coming to the end of his Career, but JT is 31 last time i checked for a defender thats a good what 3 more years left in his legs, and apart from squarez dropping on his knee, he's been in pretty good shape. I know for a fact he's still the best defender we have in the team central wise. Cole is still are best left back and has got better, no more diving scissor kicks!
There is a source, in fact several have reported the same stories. 1. Frank has been told no extension, see you later, maybe even in January. 2. Cole has rejected an extension because it does not meet his wage demands, and he has had talks with PSG. 3. Terry has asked for talks for a contract extension, which have been denied.He will be 33 when his current contract expires. None of it may be true, but all have been widely reported.
As young players at the beginning of their career become better and better their value goes up as do their wages etc, perhaps they should also accept a sliding scale back downwards as they start to come to the end of their career's. I think a huge decrease in their wages in one swoop is unfair, especially if these players wish to stay with the teams they have been with for many years. How many of us would accept a huge drop or even half our salaries in our workplace because we are becoming more forgetful, or less strong as we get older, or whatever criteria your job needs. I know its different as age and health play a big part in football but I think a lot of teams would snap up the likes of J T or Cole and this is what should dictate how much they are worth in the job market. My opinion is we still need the likes of these older players and what they can pass on in experience to the younger players is now worth a few quid as well, perhaps look at it as a training fee
Thats precisely the point most of us are trying to make, especially relevant the drop in salary as your input lessens towards the end of your career. Why can't the players understand that's what needs to happen ???? In the case of Cole, he of all 3 is still the player most likely to play on at top level, which is why he is the only one offered an extension, which he declined. Would love to see them play on in some capacity, but we can't afford the obscene salaries as opposed to our real talent ,like Mata etc. The gravy train has pulled into the depot.
Joe Cole was the example he was on £90,000 at Chelsea. Despite More than one long term injury, he and no doubt his agent would only re-sign if his wages were increased. A ludicrous demand given how fragile he had become. He hawked himself around at his new self wage valuation making noises about new challenges and how Chelsea didn't value him. He got nothing, nada, zilch. Until Liverpool with a wafer thin squad and prospect of signing someone, anyone available, took Joey on for £90,000 a week, which is what Chelsea had already offered him (parity with his previous contract). Even they sent him on loan and now we hear he'll take three and half million if Liverpool will drop his registration and get him off their wage bill. No one can tell me that Joe Cole didn't do what he did for footballing reasons, it was all pure greed. Now I have nothing against people being paid what I consider a ludicrous sum of money each week providing they are value for it. The trouble with JT, Lamps, Ash and indeed many players from every club is that themselves and their agents have no idea what there intrinsic value to a club is, whereas I pretty sure the club chairmen (and women) do. Us fans just want our favourite players to play for our team and we are stupidly loyal to our club and expect they players to be so to. Of course they don't have to be as loyal as the fans, they are professional sportsmen with families (some times several) (and the odd race horse) to support, but there is such a thing as taking the piss.
Good than name me a single source, not a paper, and actual person willing to put their names from Chelsea otherwise its all bollocks! Jesus Christ Drogba according to sources was supposed to have been sold every year for 5 years before he actually left ffs!
Better off with Lamps in the squad if he is not demanding to play every week, Everton showed he still has something to offer. That was a good win. RA will only be peeved about AVB because of how he is doing when players support him, he's getting more out of Spuds than Arry did after the initial soft start as it were. The media went out of their way to make AVB look inept
