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Transitional Chelsea will miss the man they named a position after

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Ralph Ellis reckons Chelsea might be feeling blue at the departure of Mr Noemi Lenoir.

As Joni Mitchell sang: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone". You wonder whether Chelsea will come to pick up that as a theme tune this season after letting Claude Makelele go to Paris St Germain yesterday.

Okay, so he is now 35 and was being picked for less and less of Chelsea's fixtures last season. And new boss "Don't call me Big Phil" Scolari is trying to create a more exciting style of play by chasing the likes of Kaka and Robinho. But whenever Chelsea played their biggest games in the Champions League he was always on the team sheet - including in the final where he was fresh enough for 119 minutes. And in European football, which requires a more cautious approach, his contribution as the holding midfield man was vital.

Certainly Real Madrid could tell you all about the "Joni Mitchell" effect of under valuing Makelele. They lost him to Chelsea in 2003 because they were paying him a fraction of the wages being given to the Galacticos. Without him they may have had the stars but they stopped winning trophies. You maybe don't always get the sense on TV of his contribution, but watch Chelsea live and you could always see the ground he covered, the tackles he won, and the neat passes he played.

It's curious that only the Daily Mail this morning takes any real notice of his departure, but they at least do him justice. Columnist Jamie Redknapp brings the same sort of insight to the Mail that he displays as a pundit on Sky TV, and as he says Makelele was "so good, they named a position after him".

Redknapp says: "I first played against him for Liverpool in a European tie against Celta Vigo when he was more adventurous, would carry the ball forward and attack the heart of the opposition. I remember then speaking to Steve McManaman about him and he said Makelele had come to Madrid, taken one look at the quality of the offensive midfielders, and knew he had to reinvent himself to make the team. Makelele taught himself the role, won caps, trophies, medals and respect as the best of his kind in world football. I met him a few times after he came to England and he's an absolute gentleman, too."

The Mail also lists the trophies he won during his time at Stamford Bridge - two League titles, the Community Shield, the Carling Cup twice and the FA Cup. And there's also a glamorous pic of his trophy wife, model Noemi Lenoir!

So can Makelele win more silverware now he's gone home to France? PSG are an appealing [10.5] to win the Ligue 1 Orange title this season, and [3.05] to finish in the top three and break up the dominance of Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux. Just as interesting will be the effect his loss has on Chelsea, who are [2.9] joint favourites with Manchester United to win the Premier League. At the very least it means Scolari's team will be in transition at the start of the season and maybe waiting to bed down new players. Perhaps that's why they are as long as [5.8] to be top of the table at the end of August, with Arsenal - who have a kind first few fixtures - favourites at [3.5]

Five things you might not know about Claude Makelele

1. He was born in Kinshasa, Zaire, now part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and moved to Paris when he was four years old

2. His dad, Andre-Joseph, was also a footballer and played for the Congo, ending his career in the Belgian first division

3. He went on strike to force through his move from Celta Vigo to Real Madrid, refusing to train

4. When Madrid sold him to Chelsea and bought David Beckham in his place, Zinedine Zidane said: "why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?"

5. He and his glamorous wife have a three-year-old son, called Kelyan. He also has two boys from a previous relationship.