OneMoSalah

Hope he doesn’t play Werner tonight as a CF. Think him off the left with Abraham wouldnt be a bad shout. They play a back 3 so give him a chance to drift left and isolate their right sided CB.

All the big PL games have been shite this season. What has happened?

Jesus talk about pointing out the obvious in this article, my question is why only now? Was that not the plan when we signed him? Or has this guy been asleep the whole time? Or did we just sign him in January? Jesus.

Dybala’s assist for Chiesa’s goal was filthy. Good to see what a bit of invention in the final third looks like, have forgotten watching us.

I think its getting to the point where its much much worse than it was last season after Christmas. I wasn’t convinced with the last half of last season but thought some new players maybe would help him out as the GK and defence was an issue. It got better marginally but again once we stopped scoring from crosses and started conceding, back to how it was. You cannot say this style of football or sitting where we are after buying these level of players is acceptable. You cant. We have new players, yes their new but they are so much better than what we had last season and the guys like Mendy, Thiago Silva, Chilwell, Ziyech, even Werner are all more than experienced enough at good levels in other leagues, be it domestically or in Europe, to come in and hit the ground running in a decent set up or at least manage to bring something different to the team through individual qualities. People would of said if it were Maurizio Sarri or Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho that the way we limped to 4th place last season even with the squad which was more than decent enough, was bad. I get the give him time but cmon, 18 months in now, £200+ million spent... no progress, no identity, still trying to ram crosses in from the fullbacks with no real interplay or cutting edge in the middle of the pitch or major outputs from other attacking areas with players like Ziyech, Pulisic, Havertz, Werner, Mount, Kovacic, Hudson-Odoi... is that really enough to consider sticking with him? The footballs clearly gone backwards, teams have figured have us out, majority of our play comes from the fullbacks. If a new manager couldn’t come in and improve this team then wow, we are only going to keep going backwards even more. May as well sell the squad off if thats the case and get 25 new players. Or more likely, is it the manager that needs to go? Personally think sticking with him is looking more and more like its going to derail the season even more and I dont think winning at Morecambe is exactly going to make people say ‘oh yeah he’s up to the job and things will get better’. You would expect most managers whatever their level or class to somehow put a team out from this group of players and not only win there but win comprehensively, even if it sounds arrogant. This season is not a yard stick no but any other manager and this league position, this run and particularly this style of play wouldn’t be accepted. The football was better (much better at times) under Sarri yet he was basically hounded out of the club by fans because they thought it was boring or whatever. I wonder how many are sitting there now saying give Frank time when in all realism its much worse. This squad is arguably much better as well than the one that season bar the fact we had Eden Hazard but we have more attacking quality now than we did then in terms if personnel. Aye City and Liverpool may be struggling but their in the top 4 and can turn it on whenever they want because they have got managers who have seen things aren’t working and changed it up or have clearly rattled them. City blew us away and then beat United comfortably. We cannot turn it on for more than 10 minutes in a game. Franks nature on the sideline is near embarrassing, he sits with his arms folded as if he is waiting for someone to put him out of his misery. When we are winning he is more vocal. When we lose he sits there. Doing nothing. No innovative tweaks to systems, his subs are normally late or predictable. His system is always the same. Not flexible. Not experienced or successful enough to say his way works either. If he is still here by the end of January/start of Feb, honestly think top 4 will likely not happen barring a minor miracle. He looks as if hes going through the motions and so do the players quite clearly following on from him.

Football managament isn’t the place to feel sad or sorry for yourself. Its higher pressure than playing I would imagine, its about more than one person, he has to step up or get off its as simple as that.

He doesnt look pissed off in games or look to change things though when hes being out done tactically by virtually every manager we come up against particularly in the last 6 or 7 games at least. Serial winner or not, pissed off after games or not, he simply doesn't do enough during the game to try turn the tide. Be it a sub. Be it tactical. Be it berating someone or getting the boys to take it up a notch. Nothing. Just sits with his arms folded doing fuck all but looking like he wants the ground to swallow him up. Looks like he lacks passion at times on the sidelines, particularly when things are going bad, no passion, no angry streak, nothing. Its rubbing off on the players too clearly because they look exactly the same. Jose hit the nail on the head about Frank after the Spurs game. Everyone probably sees it more now than ever.

He says he wants to wear the no. 10 so I am assuming shirt number as you cant wear a position haha. “My dream will always be to wear the No.10 one day at my club.” He mentions playing as an 8, inside right. And says he is not a classic number 10 which I am guessing is why he prefers playing as an 8.

Ruben Dias some block on Rashford’s shot. Him and Stones look a very very good partnership, who’d have ever thought John Stones would of ended up playing this good consistently after the last 2/3 years 😂? He looked finished at City a while ago. Arguably their most important CB right now getting picked ahead of Laporte who is one of the best in Europe for me. Mental.

Yes but they also didnt play over 20 times in their first half a season and put in the sort of poor/beyond average performances where he has say lost the ball however many times in a game by needlessly dribbling into people or whatever. We all know he has talent but before he got COVID bar the hat trick, I still was struggling to see the qualities he had shown at a lesser team with inferior players. He has better teammates here. Yes tactically its not been amazing but still, same with Werner, good players are good players and he is one but hasnt done enough. And as I mentioned with Werner also, once you cost a few bob, some sort of expectation is there be it fairly or unfairly. Its at the point where now the run and assist for Callum, which was good yes but its as if thats meant to eradicate the poorer/average games he played beforehand... or meant to be worth the 70/80m we paid for him alone... or so you’d think reading the reactions.

Can the people who spent all of last season comparing Lampard and this side to Klopps Liverpool and Peps City now see how idiotic these comparisons were? Its embarrassing that even the Athletic keep seeming to drag that comparison in and mentioning time. They forgot that those sides had clearer identities and styles regardless of results and trophies. Its not as if Lampard has years of experience or achieved a tenth of what those guys had to even warrant those comparisons. Plus this squad has world cup winners, premier league winners, domestic cup winners, champions league winners etc. This project talk after spending 200m on genuine top players/top talents is infuriating. And for a club as successful as we’ve been since the 2000s, its frankly embarrassing at times. I wonder if those who went for AVB after those 7 or 8 months can see the stark similarities in Frank being so out of his depth... Was his achievements last season really remarkable? We were pretty much dead set for top 4 before December with like a 12 point then collapsed and limped to 4th place. Hardly remarkable. If this is remarkable then the standards have dropped hugely. I get there was a transfer ban but its still hardly remarkable. Man United leap frogged us. We finished third the season beforehand. I think the collection of us who were severely unimpressed last season have every right to say nothing Lampard has done in terms of achievement here has been remarkable. Finishing 4th with that squad after being what 12 points ahead before 2020, limping there sealing it on the last day, where has the standards gone here?

One run. Simple but effective but again you’d expect more of a potential 80m player who seems to lose the ball about 15-20 times a match and has what 4 goals and 4 assists in over 20 games... suppose will give folk something to cling onto. Needs to do much more first season or not. Other issues obviously but tactical stuff and him having covid but hasn’t impressed me bar that hattrick against some lower league team. Which again was against lower league.

Its tough but right now dropping points cannot be an option. Even if it means not changing manager. Or even if a change happens. Everything’s quite tight just now with 5/6 teams all within touching distance but that wont continue for the full duration of the second half of the season. Teams tend to put runs together during the second half of the season because thats when results and positions become much much more meaningful than they are in the first half because its the business end of things.

Both are young players, you dont rotate in defense that often unless you have to so Lamptey even if 2nd choices would hardly play seeing as Reece is the obvious first choice RB based on monutes this season. Thats why its better having a more experienced back up. Someone who’s proven and reliable to a degree. Azpi has only made 6 PL starts this season. In 17 games. He did the right thing leaving and the club also did the right thing letting him go in some capacity as he has to play regularly to further his career. Azpi’s time as a starter is up but as a back up for cup games or lesser teams, he will be more than adequate. Is James really that injury prone? Or slow? Would have to disagree.

Usain Bolt was fastest man alive but still a shite footballer for the 2 games he played or whatever. While I think Lamptey has gone on and done pretty decently with Brighton, some of James’ earlier performances in the season were much better and with more consistency, he will defos be the clubs starting RB for 10 years plus. And he can easily play as a RWB and probably RCB if necessary think he did in u23s (as can Azpi), so whats your point? He also played CM for Wigan and Frank said he could handle it later in his career. So Lamptey can maybe play right winger? Although he plays right back/wingback for Brighton? Thats like saying a horse could maybe be a unicorn? Until it happens, it isnt.

I agree he has to play as a CF not out left but look at the way we play, until thats adapted or changed why would you play him as a CF? If its adapted even. We very rarely have space to play in behind teams which would suit Timo a lot more but instead we cross like mad from the wings, mainly the fullbacks. He’s not scoring headers above 6 ft plus CBs. Its not as if Chilwell is putting lower crosses in the same way Alonso did under Sarri for some of the goals Pedro scored in that season. Or the same from the right side. If we are going to play higher crosses, at the regularity and as our main means of chance creation then surely, Giroud has to be the man to get onto them or even Tammy?

And I suppose that will be the end of the world, like how we just ceased to exist and everything went tits up when Lamptey left??! Behave. Hes done well but he’s hardly been Dani Alves or Cafu with his 1 G 1 A in 11 games and a handful of good performances. Livramento is a good prospect but again there is clearly a pecking order and James and Azpi undoubtedly are better and ahead of him. A loan would suit him more than anything. As it would of for Lamptey but fair play to the guy going and playing somewhere else regularly but again is he a huge miss?

Said when he was at Spurs the summer he wanted to leave we should of registered an interest. Don't think we will go for Eriksen now plus its not exactly happened for him at Inter after a poor 6 months at Spurs before they sold him. PSG would be interesting but do they really need him?

Who the fuck is Alison Bender? was gonna say thought he was the Liverpool GK but turns out she is a lass and the Liverpool’s GKs surname is Becker.... still.

Frank is too naive and too nice. As all younger modern ex player British coaches are because these sort of things are frowned upon and it is believed that all these things stemmed from “foreign coaches and players bringing into into the league”. Remember the spy gate thing? Unbelievable. Criticism Bielsa got for an approach which he’s been using throughout his career in which he also done the presser thing where journalists were blown away with his meticulous nature and approach. An approach Villas-Boas said Mourinho also adopted while here... yet British manager saying its wrong and British football being “the best and biggest”, its hugely frowned upon. Naivety. Guardiola is an absolutely revolutionary manager and has been since 2008 but his teams have been doing tactical fouls and getting calls by players over exaggerating fouls for seasons upon seasons. Mourinho also. No surprise either, these are two of the most successful and most revolutionary managers of the last 20 years. Yet British managers, we will do it our way we are British and we never dive or never played dirty or never used unfair advantages bla bla bla. Thats why bar Fergie and Brian Clough, there haven’t been very many successful ones in recent time. And at this rate foreign coaches will continue to be trend setters and win the big prizes. Football is ultimately about winning. And these guys will literally do anything to he successful.

Rice-Kante double pivot please god no. Be back to the Mikel-David Luiz days. Also your talking about balance but yet mention Barkley and Gallagher who are more offensively minded players? Ok Gallagher maybe bit more rounded actually but still.. balance... Barkley? He looked good when he came on did Billy but the game was gone, City didnt have any real interest in getting out of third gear. Id like to see him play a bit more frequently though. Not instead of Mount but instead of Kovacic who still lets games pass him by far too easily. Hes really undoing the good work and performances he put in last season.

Thats the basics and lack of effort we were on about in another thread. Same with Ziyech for the 3rd goal. Not first time this season he’s been in a position where thats happened and also last. Performance wise I think hes been okay over the course of the season, he had a good patch then fizzled out but again against City, although he wasn’t particularly good he was ok.

It does and it doesnt. It looks good in terms of a few results will change the table for us but it doesn’t look good because a manager with a lesser group of players got his team 6th, 3 places above us. Again Villa, Everton and Leicester same idea, all above us also. West Ham same points as us. Arsenal 3 off....

Re City. Who knows. Wages. Whatever. Them being linked doesn’t mean anything unless Pep actually has said it so many teams are linked with players. We also all know finances kept Liverpool from trying to buy him. He is reportedly on £270k a week here as was reported by several sources. Yes hes not a winger, its clear to see that because he doesn’t really take people on in 1 v 1s or particularly excel at crossing the ball or cresting chances. He needs to be more central I agree but if hes out there on the left, he has to do the job and has to try do more. £52m player who can only play one way isn’t exactly promising. Why don’t we just appoint Nagglesmann and sign every Leipzig player and recreate their whole team if he cannot adapt and do more? The Sarri comparison re Kante isnt exactly relevant because after a while Kante actually adapted and played some good stuff. Where as Werner is struggling in that left hand side role. The effort thing is relevant to a lot of players, it is, but I just get the impression hes more frustrated when he plays as opposed to trying to rectify the fact hes struggling. Maybe he is burnt out, maybe not, we haven’t rotated players as often and that could affect many of them. Still think for a £52m player who has played left wing for a large period of his career at Stuttgart and Leipzig albeit slightly differently perhaps, he can be better there for us. Its not as if we have taken a centre back and put him there. Completely agree that others have struggled. No doubt one bit about that. Unfortunately when you cost a bit of money like Kai and Timo that will weight on people when they make their judgement. Sky pundits panned every attacking players of ours at half time because they were anonymous (harsh on Pulisic I felt he at least tried). Second half they were anonymous again bar Pulisic. When Pulisic wasn't in the starting 11 last season he got the same skepticism and people questioned whether he was good enough or not so why is it as if its anything new or not to be expected for these guys? It should be expected by now that any player coming into any PL team for large money, if they take a bit of time or struggle there will be a group who will ask the question if their good enough or call them flops or whatever. Its nothing new. You can go through the midfield and attack and point the finger at most of them here yes. But the new guys who were meant to elevate the team or add new strengths will always be the first to get criticism from outside/other fans/fans because price tags comes with expectations. Jason cmon theres no doubt Tammy and Giroud right now offer more to this team. I can see your a fan of Werner, as many of us are and were initially excited of his arrival but he has been doing nothing in the last 6 or 7 games. Tammy may be a mixed bag but shown times this season and last he can bring something to this team. Giroud also and he may be slow or immobile at times but his link up and hold up play suits some of these players. Plus in the air both are taller and better so when we cross the ball more than Burnley by the looks of it due to the managers one dimensional approach, it makes me wonder why would you want a 5 ft 9 striker in there? Your saying its avoiding the problem or dancing around it or whatever you put it as but playing a 5 ft 9 striker over one of two 6 ft plus strikers when your game plan is heavily reliant on crossing is that not more of a problem? Lampards approach is a problem but until he leaves/is sacked/whatever, hes clearly not going to change. So doesnt that mean Timo offering nothing is more of a problem?

Sack someone after winning a title? Fucking hell this is a bit daft. I hope its sarcasm because no way a top coach is coming here on peanuts where that would he financially possible also. Or are you on FIFA/PES/pc game mode? If he can win a title being 7 points off top up against Klopp, Jose, Pep and whoever else why would you sack him 🤣? Jesus christ. Would that not just be an ever bigger indication of his capabilities and his ability to get his approach over to the team pretty effectively? l dont get what you mean by unconvincing football either, he won Serie A with Milan and they played some decent stuff. Juventus played some decent stuff (and many said Allegri improved Juventus after Conte after Conte famously made the quote regarding transfers before leaving while instantly improving upon his European record also...) while playing various different formations and making changes in the spine of their team. People seem to have this perception hes Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis is in an Armani suit by the looks of this forum. Hes not. Anything with this impression of him is, to put it bluntly, clueless. He didnt get Juventus to a CL final playing unconvincing football. He didn’t win however many Serie As throughout his career playing unconvincing football/tactics. I think the fact hes been out of the game for a year and a half has given people this impression he will only be successful in Italy or his style is only useful in Serie A or whatever... which I am sure people probably thought about Conte before he came here, won the PL in a season where his approach basically reintroduced English football to playing with back 3s to the point now so many teams still use this systems more than they had in the last 10 years. Yet bet when he immediately left Juventus you’d have taken him in a heartbeat prior to Franks appointment?