The Frank Lampard Conundrum

If Frank Lampard does depart for Inter Milan this summer, then Chelsea are faced with a problem.

For each of the past four seasons, Lampard has scored 20 or more goals and has played a key part in the club winning six trophies since 2005. No other midfielder at the club comes close to matching Lampard’s contribution.

Players like Essien, Mikel and Deco will have to chip in with their fair share next season, but they aren’t as prolific as Lampard. Lampard scored more goals last season than Deco did in his entire four year spell at Barcelona.

Deco will definitely bring more creativity to Chelsea’s midfield, but not a huge amount of goals. The highest amount of goals he has scored in a season is 13, which is a decent total, and if he chalks up a similar total next season then the blow inflicted by Lampard’s departure will be softened.

A goal from John Obi Mikel or Claude Makelele is about as common as a lunar eclipse. Makelele might not even be at the club next season, with rumours floating around that he is on the verge of a move to PSG. Of course, Makelele’s role is not to score goals, but to act as a shield between the defence and midfield, allowing Lampard to get forward to such devastating effect.

There is potential for Mikel to play a much more attacking role next season under Scolari. Mourinho chose to mould Mikel as the successor to Makelele, and his calmness on the ball and accurate distribution does mean he can play the role effectively.

But, at the start of his career, he played much higher up the pitch and it was in this role that he came to the attention of a number of clubs in Europe while playing for Nigeria in the 2006 African Cup of Nations.

Michael Essien can be relied upon to grab a few goals each season, but scoring goals is not his strong point. That brilliant goal against Arsenal aside, his shooting is pretty poor. His strength and limitless energy is what makes him such a great player.

The one player currently at the club who can step up and fill the void Frank Lampard’s departure would cause is Michael Ballack. Despite not making his first appearance until December, Ballack scored nine goals and was one of Chelsea’s most impressive performers. If he can play like that next season, then Lampard might not be missed quite so much.

The solution could be to go out and buy a midfielder to replace Lampard, but there’s not many like him. One name that has been linked with the club repeatedly is Rafael van der Vaart. His goal scoring record is quite impressive. He has 106 goals in 241 games at club level and 12 in 57 appearances for Holland. But as Dakota Rubin reported a few days ago, it appears he is on his way to Real Madrid.

One aspect of Chelsea’s play would definitely improve if Lampard left; free-kicks. Every time I see Lampard line up a free-kick my first thought is "this is going to hit the wall." More often than not I’m right. Ballack would be the likeliest candidate to take over on free-kicks, and as he demonstrated against Austria at Euro 2008, he’s not half bad at them.

A midfield of Deco, Ballack and Essien is hardly a nightmare and the club won't fall apart without Lampard. Scolari seems to favour a 4-2-3-1 formation and has talked about playing attacking football, and a change of style could lead to the goal scoring burden left by Lampard’s departure being fulfilled by a number of different players.

If Didier Drogba hits the sort of goal scoring form he did in the 2006/2007 season then we’ll be laughing. Despite missing a large chunk of the season due to injury and the African Cup of Nations, he managed to score 15 goals. The thought of him staying fit for most of the season should make Chelsea fans smile.

Joe Cole managed to get 10 goals despite his form taking a nose dive in the last quarter of the season, and if a new winger is brought in (Robinho perhaps) goals could be in plentiful supply from the wing.

Frank Lampard's departure would be a sad day for the club, but not a complete disaster. He is approaching the end of his career and he won't be able to score 20 goals a season forever.

No player is bigger than the club and Chelsea will move on, leaving the fans the opportunity to thank a true Chelsea legend.