Either I’m psychic or I’ve just been supporting Chelsea too long, because a mere 24 hours ago, on this blog, I predicted the club would give in to Frank Lampard’s ridiculous demands. With new deals hurriedly arranged and the club confident Lampard would be staying, even with him continuing to refuse the offer on the table, it just seemed inevitable that despite the previous ‘take it or leave it’ stance, this turnaround was always on the cards.
So, when The Telegraph ran a story last night suggesting Chelsea had indeed offered Lampard an obscene amount of money, which would not only see him become the highest paid player in Britain, but also the biggest piss-taker, I read it with the sort of resigned disappointment the club induce in me all too often these days.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Lampard has made a significant contribution to Chelsea over the past seven years and I’m sure the club feel their efforts to keep him are in the best interests of both the team and supporters, the problem I have with it, is the message it sends out. Whatever happened to nobody being bigger than the club?
In making Frank Lampard the highest paid player inside the club, never mind the country, what does that say to the other players? Is he really the most important player at the club? Is he so spectacular that at 30 years of age he warrants guaranteed earnings to the tune of £150,000 a week? And what about the other players? What about the likes of Cech and Essien, both absolutely vital to the team and yet it looks as if the club pulled a fast one, getting them to sign long-term contracts (for what we know is significantly less than Lampard) before Frank’s offer goes public. Add to that the knock on effect in the transfer market and is it any wonder we result to bringing in even more 30 year olds when any young prospects available out there are going to put their own value considerably higher than an ageing midfielder when it comes to negotiations?
The fact is, Frank Lampard dug the club a hole and they jumped in without even looking.
Reports suggest that after offering the £140,000 four year ‘take it or leave it’ deal, which resulted in much stamping of feet but not a lot else, Lampard was told he would be expected to see out the final year of his contract before joining Mourinho at Inter. According to the player’s ‘friends’, this went down like a lead balloon, with the midfielder more determined than ever to walk away from ‘his people’ and the club he ‘loves’.
However, it now appears the club are so desperate to keep him away from his former boss, they’ve given in to Lampard’s outrageous demands and are waiting anxiously to see if he’ll put pen to paper.
The question is, will he sign?
Blue is the colour
