Blue Armour

Not sure why he couldn't play him in a more central role against Arsenal, especially with CHO returning. Now with fully fit wide players, he should do it (or if not drop him from the starting 11). Unless he plans to give Pulisic a breather, in which case,...shit.

I wish I could know what he says to the team behind close doors too, about that, and other things. Like, regarding why we seem to press with high intensity in some games, and look absolutely lethargic in others. This has become a feature of his Chelsea tenure.

Hmm., but wasn't that your point regarding Lampard's response to Klopp (that this side is not a title favorite)? That the squad could take comments like that from Lampard in the wrong way, and see it as lowering estimations of themselves?

Sigh...not even sure what team is going to take to the field. Is Silva going to start again? If the team was below par and ragged against Arsenal, how are they going to perform with just 1 day of rest? If both full backs were fit, I wish Lampard had rested either James or Chillwell. (The former could have used some rest, considering how rusty he looked) Not comfortable with Emerson and Azpi starting together again. Not against a team like Villa.

Hope CHO can finally deliver a good WC performance when starting against a good team. Too many times we've seen him do fine in a cup game or as a sub, but then perform below par when starting against a top side.

When do you realistically think the board will even think of giving Lampard the boot? IMO it will depend on how far we are away from top 4 when we arrive close to the midway point of the season. Basically by the time we play Leicester or Fulham., meaning the results of the Villa and City games will dictate that. At this point in this season, you cannot rule out top 4. We went on a 17 game unbeaten run before the Everton defeat, at a time when United could not buy a home win, and Everton were lagging in 10th place. The club does not care how great or how poor we were in individual matches as long as the points are on the board. That's for mid-season. Now what about end season? I don't think a simple top 4 objective would be sufficient there. If we scrape through like we did last season, the board won't be happy. They clearly invested in the team to cement our place in the top 4 this season. If the likes of Leicester or Everton or even Tottenham come close to preventing a top 4 finish, that will be it.

That is an interesting point, and I don't have a good answer to that. That comment from Lampard about tempering expectations came right after Klopp's comment, and we've been a shitty side ever since then. I think the squad have given up on chasing for the title, and it shows in the lack of intensity on the pitch. And so far, Lampard is struggling to give them additional motivation (besides winning the title) to do better.

Its like trying to build a plane while its in the air. Its tempting to think that all will work in harmony eventually, but there's only so much time allowed until disaster hits. Like Tomo said, we've entered the sink or swim period, where a few bad games on the trot will convince the board to pull the trigger. The Chelsea team might be merciful, but the Chelsea board isn't. For Lampard's sake, you would hope he would make the most of the next few games. Unfortunately he looks to be facing the worst opponents possible. An in form Villa in less than 2 days, and an in form City. Backs to the wall stuff. If there was ever a time for him to flex his skills as a coach, now would be it.

Yep, can't put my finger on it. Lampard keeps bringing it up when it fails, just like he did today. At this point, you have to ask why he's letting that happen in so many games. Its not just 1-2 players either, its the whole team. That is one area he needs to shore up fast.

No, it won't make him a good manager. Also, my comment about Ziyech was not meant to defend Lampard. Jason had asked about what we could change to turn things for the better. I just remarked that Ziyech coming in could result in a turnaround. To me, Ziyech returning is not even that important, because the biggest problem in my IMO, is our complete lack of intensity & coordination in pressing. That's one of the things that Lampard is at fault for.

Regardless of the form of the team in front of him. He has been poor this month. Not a fan of his performances for penalties either. I don't think GK is a big problem area for now, but moving forward, would it make sense to invest in a proven GK? I think Mendy is good, but not sure of his ceiling.

Not sure, but some things I would like to see: Better press from our forwards and midfield. If some players are tired, drop them for others who can put in the effort. CHO replacing Werner on the wing. Werner needs to be dropped period, and return as sub. Or, if he must start, start in a more central role (either in a 3-4-3 or ST role) Short term turnaround could be achieved simply by having Ziyech return. His range of passing covers up for several deficiencies in Lampard's team.

Unrelated, but I miss the times from seasons gone-by when he used to visit the dressing room whenever the team was on a bad run of results. Used to really put a rocket up the team's arse. Recent Chelsea teams have been missing that bit of motivation or fear.

Not sure if stubborn is the word I would choose, but I see your point, and its something I mentioned in the Giroud thread. He becomes too comfortable with a tactic and beats it to death through overuse. In this match, I don't think it was as simple as formation change though. The team was very poor with the press, and allowed Arsenal into our final third too many times within a short span of time in that first half. In our best run of form this season, what was the most noteworthy aspect of our team? It was not really the 4-3-3, but more to do with the way our forwards and midfield did a coordinated press on the opposition. That's also the main reason why we shipped very few goals in that period. That kind of intensity, which Lampard talked about, SHOULD come from the manager. You can blame 1 or 2 players for being guilty, but when the bulk of the team fails, he should be pushing them a lot harder. Its happened many times, not just this season, under Lampard. This is one area, among others, that I would like to see more improvement (in terms of consistency)

Tbf, throwing players under the bus isn't anything unique. Even Klopp did it after the Fulham game. BUT,..the manager's standing in the team and the mental makeup of the squad will the affect the reaction. Klopp has a lot of clout within the team, and has churned out champions, so he will get more leeway. Also it depends on how often he pulls this card (of throwing the players under the bus). Perfectly fine for one-off games. But if the team enters a rut in form, and he uses this as his standard response, that's going to be trouble. If the team strongly disagrees with Lampard's selections and tactics, it will eventually rub them the wrong way. Players that are frequently alienated could sow discontent. To be honest, I prefer to see some kind of reaction from the manager, whether its directed at himself or the players, instead of someone being diplomatic like Arteta and letting one bad result lead to another. Just wouldn't want to see it after a long run of poor games (although with this result, we have officially entered into that kind of form).

Well, if its any consolation. Arsenal beat United at Old Trafford a few weeks ago by 3 goals., only for Arsenal to end up 15th in the following weeks and United ending up vying for 2nd place right now. (The same United that lost 6-1 this season at home, and crashed out of CL). That's why I'm telling folks to put this game (and this shitty December month) behind them.

I'm talking about right now. Losing to Arsenal, and playing an in-form Villa team in 48 hrs, followed by M City. Failing to win those 2 will really cause Chelsea to drop down the table.

IMO, Arsenal showed a lot of grit today after their first goal. Today's match could be a trailer for Monday if our lot retain the same level of intensity.

Lampard has been unlucky this month with the fixture list, but it's a results business. Hopefully he can get his team motivated in time for the next 5 games.. If he drops too low in the table, the board's patience will wear thin.

Well if anything, it shows how Arsenal are not as shit as everyone is making them out to be. Same with Ole's United. And us. I think everyone should accept (if they haven't already), that all 3 managers and their teams are going to be inconsistent, at least for a while The question is, what is their ceiling and how long will they take to stamp out the negatives? Ole is on 2 years, Lampard 1.5 years, Arteta 1 year. It goes back to the post that Tomo made a couple of weeks back. No matter how much flak he deserves for today's result, or our points tally so far, you have to admit he has made some improvements, notably defensively. Is the rate of progress enough? It depends on what the cost is. i.e, where are we ending up on the table. To me, this season, the buck stops if we fail to break top 4. Maybe the board has a higher target, but until then we can AFFORD to give him more time. . Next season, the bar will obviously be higher.

Crap that sounds like Moyes' United team. That has become our go to tactic this month. Its like one of the crutches that Lampard leans on, whenever something worked in the previous few games (in this decent wing play from our full-backs)

Its not good. I was worried about this before the W Ham game, and that win changed my mood slightly.. Regardless, I hope we get some fortune in the next 2 games. Can't afford to lose so much pace with the rest of the top 4 contenders in such a short span of time.

Frank is most culpable. Leaders on the pitch can help, but it is primarily the coach's responsibility. As far as I can see, we have dropped several levels of intensity ever since the Leed's game. I'm not making predictions here, but just calling out what I see. Making/not making top 4 isn't a given at this stage. And while we can scrutinize Frank intensely during the match, it will take a lot more matches (and poor results importantly) for the board to budge.

I'm telling you what I said before the West Ham game. The team looks like it has 'given up' because the title charge is no longer realistic. The intensity of the team in matches going forward will be up and down,...basically doing enough in games to try and slink into the top 4.

True this. I had a feeling that at least one of our regular FB's would be fit for this match. Was surprised to see BOTH, and BOTH of them start given the situation. Even from a rotation perspective (keeping Villa in mind), he should have considered dropping one and playing them in the next match.