Have no idea.

In my opinion Makelele set the standard for anyone playing in that position. Kante is the nearest we've had to Makelele, but I think it's too early to say if he's as good, let alone better, than the great man.
Essien was a different type of player. He could play that holding role in front of the back four but he was happier driving forward with the ball. Always loved watching him play, always had a smile on his face. But he was a frightening opponent, even in training games apparently..he didn't seem to know his own strength.

At one point I thought Essien was well on his way to being the best midfielder on the planet. Did he have injury problems or just tail off?

Yeah, Essien did seem to fall from that very high level and went from being a regular to not, to being shipped out fairly quickly...

He had a series of bad injuries though, and was never quite the same afterwards.

Essien. We never did replace him, although Matic is close, and is effective getting forward. It does pose the question, is the m/f a bit lightweight?

Very fine player but not sure he was ever going to be the best in the world. For a start, how could he be better than Lampard, a 20 goals + assists midfielder?
Sadly, as others have said, his career went downhill due to injuries. Lost a yard of pace and never had that great allround level of fitness and ability to get around the pitch the way he once could.
As Richmond said, always had a smile on his face, which was lovely to see.

They're different types of player. Lampard was one of the best attacking midfielders around, but Essien had the potential to be one of those players who absolutely dominated games. Like if Yaya Toure wasn't a lazy arse, say.

Yeah it all started with his cruciate ligament injury in 2008 and although he came back from it and played well again the recurring injuries eventually seemed to take their toll on him. In his prime he was immense, that midfield with him, Lamps, Ballack and Makelele really was great.

Essien at his peak was the one PL player above any other that I'd have had at United.

Wasn't he on the target list that Kenyon traded with the enemy?

Yeah, without getting carried away, Essien was very good at his best, but you can't beat Lampard for consistency. The amount of matches we won due to a Lampard goal is very high. He had that ability that was probably honed by his Dad when he was developing, to get the ball to bounce just before the keeper. Placing the ball just out of reach of the keeper. Now if Willian could watch some of those vids.. Hazard is already there with that technique and those goals are not flukes. Essien was more of a powerhouse, and the team still needs those players.

Kenyon switched clubs a couple of years before we signed Essien.

I'm sure he was on a list of targets we had before Kenyon moved over to you.

I think the Ronaldinhio deal collapse was credited to him before he left too.

A life long Utd fan apparently.

In todays era, a peaktime midfielder who scored 20 a season plus assists, would be worth £100 million.
If the current Chelsea team him now at his peak we would win the title.

I'm not sure if you think I'm slagging Lampard off somewhere.

Not at all!
All I'm saying is Lampard was the more valuable player of the two. Imho, he was Chelsea's greatest ever player.

Lampard absolutely was, he's a model of consistency who got the very best out of his career. My point with Essien is that by comparison he gave a brief glimpse of what could have been, which should have been a player with no equal. It's quite sad that he faded.

If there's anyone who can answer that quiz question it would be helpful. 'What is the origin of the Chelsea chant, 'Five men went to mow..'?'

These are the lyrics:

One man went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
One man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Two men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Three men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Four men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Five men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Five men, four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Six men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Six men, five men, four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Seven men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Seven men, six men, five men, four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Eight men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Eight men, seven men, six men, five men, four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Nine men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Nine men, eight men, seven men, six men, five men, four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

Ten men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Ten men, nine men, eight men, seven men, six men, five men, four men, three men, two men, one man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow

How would it go if twenty men went to mow, one wonders.

According to online sources it was originated by Mick Greenaway, a famous Chelsea fan who was always prominent at games and led a lot of the chants and songs. I don't think there was any particular reason behind the choice of the children's song (a bit like 10 green bottles really) it just caught on and bits were added, Including the words " and my dog Spot" with arm gestures. Legend says it started in an away game in Sweden in 1981.

I'd like to know who tickled their girlfriends bum with a lump of celery and turned into a song?

According to an article in "Spiked" from 2007 it comes from an old Chas and Dave song..


"Until this week the origins of the chant were a mystery to me. However, after trawling football websites, I came across the theory that the chant is based on a Chas and Dave recording of a traditional cockney singalong called ‘Ask Old Brown To Tea’. Not being particularly familiar with the Chas and Dave canon, I consulted my friend Ed, a self-confessed aficionado of the London pub rockers. He confirmed that the Chas and Dave connection was correct. The original lyric was, ‘Ask Old Brown to tea, and his family, if he don’t come, I’ll tickle his bum, with a lump-a celery’. Chas and Dave recorded a version on an old Christmas album, which then became a hit among travelling Chelsea fans on a tour of Sweden in 1981, and a tradition was born."

Again the 1981 tour to Sweden, that must have been a fun trip ?

Nice to see a youngster added to the squad, and we needed a third striker. Some people say that Abraham and Brown are better strikers, and these days strikers need to do a lot more than just score.

http://www.chelseafc.com/teams/first-team.html

Just about to say I don't like the look of this.
Cannot defend to save our lives and looking completely outclassed. Bite your hand off for a draw but could easily be on for another hammering like last season .