Understanding the lack of departures in recent seasons  Aside
from the brief flirtations that each of our core players have
made with leaving during the past two or three years (John Terry
to Manchester City, Frank Lampard to Inter Milan, Ashley Cole to
Real Madrid, for example) that quickly fizzled out, Chelsea have
avoided the posturing and machinations of star players wanting
to leave that have constantly plagued our EPL rivals. Arsenal
have gone through this repeatedly - most recently with Cesc
Fabregas and Samir Nasri - but also in the past with Kolo Toure,
Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb, Patrick Vieira, and Thierry
Henry.  Despite their wealth, Manchester City have struggled as
well, losing Robinho and now Carlos Tevez. Xabi Alonso, Fernando
Torres, and Javier Mascherano all forced their way out of
Anfield, while Luca Modric may be starting a similar exodus at
Tottenham. Even Manchester United has not been immune, losing
Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, and narrowly avoiding a
similar fate last se