Superblue

The hair and Dutch connection are obvious factors, but Gullit did play sweeper in a back three at Chelsea so for Chelsea fans who watched Gullit here there is probably a bit more of a comparison as they are similar positions on the pitch. I do think comparing Ake to Gullit though is a ridiculous reach. I think it's understated just how good Gullit was during his short stint at Chelsea. That first season before he transitioned to player manager he came into the league supposedly too old and washed up with two duff knees and made everything look so easy. He was easily one of the best players in the league still and could have comfortably played for a better team than Chelsea at the time. Having started watching Chelsea for maybe 2-3 years before Gullit joined, I can only assume for me suddenly watching Gullit in Chelsea's team was like people moving from a black and white to a colour TV. Top player and as a side note I love his affection for the club despite a relatively short stay in the twilight of his career, particularly given the enormous success he enjoyed.

I think a Premier League loan next season would be good for him. We're stacked in midfield and he would get lost in the shuffle. His performances in the Championship this season would suggest he can transition to one of the teams in the lower half of the Premier League. His versatility too should help him get regular game time. Over the next couple of seasons he'll want to look at locking down a more specific position to become more specialist but for the time being it's just important to be playing regularly.

A number of those were or have been loaned out in recent times so it would be interesting to know if teams have covered their wages in full or been supplemented by us. I'm pretty sure we had to cover a good proportion of Drinkwater's wages when he went out on loan but I would expect the likes of Zappacosta, Bakayoko and Moses we wouldn't be. With the new loan rules coming into place some players will need to be sold rather than loaned out. Of that list I would say Kepa , Baba and Drinkwater are the most difficult ones to be shifting. Kepa will be easy to loan out, but we'll do well to minimise our losses on him across transfer fee and wages. Batshuayi will depend on him, with the Euros next year he knows exactly where he stands at Chelsea so he either sees out his contract or he makes a loan or permanent move this coming season. I think there's a market in Italy for Zappacosta and Emerson. Moses is a bit of a specialist player because he's only ever excelled as a wing back but he had 2 very good years there for us not long ago and teams that play a wing back system may be prepared to take a punt on him. Barkley I think would be easy to move on if we put him up for sale, so long as he is prepared to move. Pretty much any team below us in the league he'd be playing regularly for and he has recently been first choice for the national team. Bakayoko despite how bad he was for us, is rated in both France and Italy so again i think there will be a market for him. The "book" value of this list won't be that high anymore with the exception of Kepa and Drinkwater. Most can be sold for pretty reasonable amounts without a loss for the purposes of the accounts.

We're banking on Havertz to become world class in much the same way that Hazard did whilst at Chelsea. He's not currently there yet, but I'd argue he's the best player in his position currently within his age category and the hope and expectation is that he'll realise that potential. If he does we'll have a serious player on our hands. I think it's too easy to think that if we sign him it suggests he's not as good as we believe because we've had a number of world class players at the club during the Abramovich era, but in the main they have developed to become world class whilst at Chelsea so there is nothing to say that Havertz wouldn't follow suit. If they are at the top of their game and prime of their career then I'd tend to agree because beyond perhaps Makelele and Ballack there probably isn't really anyone else we've signed who would fit in that bracket and they were both 15 years ago. Remember with Hazard he wanted specifically to come and play in England as his next move. There are a number of factors that could be swaying Havertz thinking - Premier League, London, German teammates, promising young group of players, Lampard as manager, etc. He could well have in his mind a move to Real, Barca, Bayern in a few seasons time much like Hazard. If he does then I'm fine with that because he will have had to have produced with us to get that move and so we'll reap the benefits.

I think where some consideration needs to come into play is what if the likes of Ziyech and (hopefully) Havertz take time to adapt and adjust to the league? Similarly Hudson Odoi still has a lot of development. I think it's a risk to just let Willian walk if there's the chance to keep him if others expected to replace him have teething problems. However we as a fan base view Willian, in my opinion he'd be first choice right winger still at every other club in the league bar Liverpool and City. So to have a player of that ilk within the squad shouldn't just be dismissed. He also offers a lot of experience which could be important. Some of the players being talked about leaving - Willian, Pedro, Jorginho, Alonso, Giroud are amongst our most experienced players in the group and sometimes that needs to be leaned on just like Lampard did in the latter stages of this season. I would not want to simply let too many of them go all at once. Another factor to consider is the condensed schedule we'll face next season. It will be tiring and gruelling to challenge on multiple fronts and we need the squad for it. Being able to use 5 subs still will allow Lampard far greater flexibility to use and rotate the squad and having numbers will be important (especially considering Pulisic and Hudson Odoi have had injury issues and Ziyech will be first year in the league). I think it's already benefited us since lock down having a strong bench to call upon. Willian hasn't shown any deterioration in his physical attributes yet and hopefully being part of a rotation of the attacking players can keep him fresh and fit at that level for a while longer. 3 years will be too much in my opinion given his age, but I'd have no problem giving him a 2 year contract still.

Yes, I mentioned on a different post the other day our track record with Spanish players is very weird. There's no middle ground. The differences have always been the mental side of the game too. The ones mentally strong like Azpi, Pedro, Fabregas have been successful and particularly in the former two's case Pedro struggled first season and Fabregas initially was cast out by Conte. They went through similar trials and tribulations to the likes of Torres, Morata and Kepa who have just broken apart through fragile mindsets and complete lack of confidence.

I can remember your comments on Bulka too. I don't think the club expected Courtois to go on strike. I think they felt he would be prepared to see out his contract if necessary. Having said that, we probably wouldn't have had the chance to sign Kovacic presented to us off the back of the Courtois deal. I think when Courtois did go on strike, and offers for Alisson and Oblak didn't materialise, we shouldn't have gone so high on a keeper, particularly one still very unproven. If the club weren't prepared to roll with Bulka, we should have just looked at a short term solution at the time and re-assessed things thereafter. Obviously we can only speculate but it did feel like Kepa was such a left field signing that there was an element of panic to it.

My original post was probably worded wrong because as you said, none of it can be established as a matter of fact. I agree with you on the point of buying Oblak and not improving other areas. If we're looking at Oblak and the defence then fine, but if Oblak meant no other additions then we should definitely be looking at using that money to get a keeper and centre back rather than just one. i don't agree on the last point though. I try to look as positive as possible on most things but I think Kepa is that poor of a keeper that having him in goal is such a huge liability that no amount of defensive improvements will be enough until he is replaced.

Kepa definitely isn't fully at fault. Defensively we're not good enough. I feel that all of our centre backs are in a decent/good level but not a great level. We have good depth in the position but all of them are effectively secondary centre backs. We need one primary centre back who anchors and leads the back line. All of the above centre backs I think are capable of being the partner and all have different strengths that can be utilised in different situations. Having that depth too allows us the opportunity to use a back 3 in certain situations. But I still believe when assessing a number of goals this season, Kepa is at fault more than any other player: 1. A commanding goalkeeper makes a huge difference to the set piece situation. A keeper capable of dealing with, say 75% of balls in between the width of the goalposts and out to the penalty spot, eliminates a lot of the chaos. 2. Kepa's save and expected goals against stats are damning. He lacks fundamentals that he won't suddenly gain as he gets older. He doesn't make glaring mistakes like the ones De Gea made last week but I look at probably at least 70-80% of the goals we concede thinking that he probably should have done better. That isn't just this season either, it's last season too. If it came down to replacing Kepa or buying a new centre back, it would be replacing Kepa first and foremost for me.

A high quality goalkeeper will save you points throughout the season. Liverpool likely would have won the league this season with Kepa because they were so far ahead of everyone else but they wouldn't have accrued the amount of points they did. And in my opinion a better keeper would have had us in a comfortable third position, not fourth. I think you can get by with a competent goalkeeper. That is where I would place someone like De Gea at the moment who makes a share of great saves, makes a share of bad mistakes but ultimately does most of the basics to a sufficient standard the majority of the time. Our problem is that Kepa isn't in the competent bracket. Although there have still been errors in the backline, in my opinion the shape of the team from a defensive perspective has improved through the season compared to the all out attack, gung ho nature of the opening games of the season. However that may not have necessarily reflected in the amount of goals conceded. Kepa causes carnage to our defence. Not being prepared or dominant to come for any corners or wide free kicks presents a massive problem defending them because the defence have to naturally then defend deeper to compensate. Similarly in open play having a keeper that the defence can trust breeds confidence to them. I don't think anyone has confidence that Kepa will save any shots at present which is a huge issue. Kepa is not solely to blame and won't completely fix our defence. There are still other things that need to be worked on both from a coaching perspective and possibly a recruitment one too. And you have allow that keepers will make a few mistakes through the year, even the top ones do. However in Kepa's case where it's not so much glaring mistakes, but instead fundamental deficiencies in his game. A better keeper in my opinion would make an immediate significant difference to the goals against column and in doing so, likely add a few points to our total. It doesn't have to be huge money like Oblak but it is absolutely vital we address the position this summer because for me, it's far more important to sort out now than left and centre back.

It does however feel like there has been a shift in levels of patience over the last few years, even if that hasn't necessarily reflected in managers staying long. Conte and Sarri both had some real difficult periods where in previous years I think a decision would have been made mid-season, but the club persevered with them. Conte caused his position to become untenable himself by being difficult to work with (he's had problems with the board now everywhere he's been as it sounds like there are murmurings of discontent at Inter now as well). Sarri resigned from his post to join Juventus. We don't know if the club would have stuck with him if this hadn't have happened, but they didn't let fan unrest mid season influence them. i think in Lampard the club knows they have someone who is perfect for them outside of the success on the pitch. He's a club legend and his successful playing career provides excellent marketing opportunities, he represents the club perfectly, speaks well, has a superb relationship with the media and besides this little spat with Klopp, which is something of nothing, there's no controversy with him. What appears to be an excellent working relationship with the board and Marina makes a huge difference too. Compared to other manager's, he also is prepared to do what's right for the club and not just himself, so there is a longer term plan there of bringing through academy players and the players being signed younger, long term and versatile acquisitions compared to the experienced, short term signings Mourinho and Conte would target, or players like Jorginho who was specific for Sarri's style but isn't very versatile to adapt to a very different way of playing or manager. Of course, it's a results business and now that Chelsea look like they'll go big this summer in the market, there will be more pressure next season on Lampard to continue to deliver on expectations but I do believe the club will be prepared to be patient with him and still give him time to implement what he's trying to do at the club. For me personally, if we can bring a couple of quality additions in defensively and so long as our new attacking signings do well, mixed with what we already have, I think we should be looking to add 10 - 15 points next season and show improvements on the defensive side of our game. That, for me, will have us closer to the top 2, and be laying a solid foundation for title challenges over the coming years.

I like that Lampard hasn't over celebrated top 4. It is an excellent season considering where we are currently, but his comments show how much further he wants to get to and doesn't want just top 4 to be the benchmark for Chelsea.

I remember going to West Brom at home in his first season around Xmas time and he was awful. I just could not see him staying beyond that season. He looked lightweight, on a completely different wavelength to everyone else, and a shadow of the player at Barca. However it's testament to his character how he turned that around because after his Barca and Spain career he had nothing left to prove. (The Spanish players never seem to be middle ground, they either have great spirit and determination like Pedro, Azpi, Mata and Fabregas or just fall apart like Del Horno, Torres and Kepa) Great player, great attitude and work ethic and scored some big and clutch goals for us.

I think a better example would be in the first half that cross that Caballero palmed away from under his bar. I'm not sure Kepa would have reached it, or at least got a good enough hand on it to clear to be honest. Wolves go 1-0 through a freak goal and it's a different game completely and that has been the story of our season.

Coming 4th do we qualify for the Champions League automatically or go through the qualifiers?

Great result, and in my opinion that second half performance was superb. Completely took the sting out of the game, controlled, professional and stopped Wolves creating anything.

I think you are dismissing just how important Hazard was last season. Sarri was able to set up in a safer, more defensive manner in the second half of the season looking to control and keep possession across the defence and midfield because we had arguably the best attacker in the league this last decade. As an example look at last season's home game against West Ham, it was very similar to this year the difference being some magic from Hazard to open them up. Hazard literally carried us throughout the season. Not including own goals, the squad only scored 61 goals in the league last season. This included 16 goals from Hazard, 6 from Loftus-Cheek, 5 from Morata and 5 from Higuain. That is over half of our Premier League goals last season not available to Lampard this season. Add another 3 for David Luiz and it's even worse. Pedro had 8 and although Lampard probably should have tried to use him more this season, he was starting to decline last season and when he was playing in the early part of this season I felt he was pretty poor. The player with the next best was Kante on 4 and he has had an injury ravaged season. Whilst I would agree that there is definitely some naivety to Lampard's tactics at times, he had to make changes in order for us to carry an attacking threat this season, losing that amount of goals. That has opened us up and left us susceptible to being counter attacked but again, I do feel that whilst nowhere near perfect, the gung ho nature of our play earlier in the season has been toned down as the season has progressed and we are being massively hindered by some poor errors and decisions defensively and, more importantly, a goalkeeper who has completely lost the plot. The squad at Sarri's disposal last season wasn't that great either. It was a squad that had been 'strengthened' over the last 2 seasons based on a back 3 formation and system and had failed to make the top 4 in 2 of the previous 3 seasons. I felt at the start of the season that if we could keep top 6 amongst what I assumed to be the usual other 5 teams then it would have been a positive season. I think if we can now keep top 4 this season that would be an excellent effort, with the possibility of a cup being the icing on the cake. I think Lampard has shown enough this season that there are the makings of a very good coach with some of the results we've picked up over the season and he deserves to bring his own players in for next season. I'm very impressed with the players he has moved for, especially if we pick up Havertz. He easily could have spat his dummy out in January with no signings but given who we've moved for rather than making stop gaps, it's definitely the right call whether we get top 4 or not in my opinion. Ziyech, Werner and hopefully Havertz added to what we already have in the squad should leave our attack set for years. I don't expect us to fill every hole this summer, but if Lampard can replace Kepa and add something to the back line this summer also then I think there will be significant improvements next year.

My biggest problem with Pope is how much Burnley will ask for him because I have a feeling it will be a lot. They've pretty much fully committed to him in recent seasons getting rid of Heaton and Hart, so I can't see them letting him go without a big bid. If we can't shift Kepa then a signing like an Oblak goes from maybe 10-20% chance down to zero. Either we manage to get a good keeper under £20m to compete with or replace Kepa, who can then go out on loan so we're getting something for him. Or we try to do a stopgap next season whilst loaning Kepa out in the hope that he finds some form and development somewhere else to either come back eventually or become more attractive to sell. For example would someone like Areola be a possibility on loan for a season, allowing us to loan out Kepa? There is no way he's being sold on the cheap because it would cause a massive hit on the year's books writing off a larger part of his transfer fee. At worst, the club will loan him out for a season or two, until his value in our own books is much lower before selling him. But as people have mentioned we won't get a team prepared to loan him paying his £10m amortisation costs for a year plus his wages. A hit will have to be taken somewhere.

Without other signings, I would assume we'd look at two options mainly. One being 4-2-3-1 which, if everyone was fit, I would assume to be Kante, Kovacic, Pulisic, Havertz, Ziyech, Werner. Or a 4-3-3 with one holding and two more offensive midfielders like Kante, Havertz and one of Mount or RLC alongside the three up top. I think one thing that we have over most is some very good depth now in midfield and attack with the exception perhaps of a holding midfielder. I can see Jorginho and Barkley being sold if there are suitors this summer. I would still keep Willian if he were to accept a 2 year contract, but I think he'll leave to be honest.

He is the biggest problem in our team. Whilst the defence, setup, etc must all take a share of the blame, a lot of the problems have to focus on Kepa. As some have mentioned we've gone from being pretty efficient at defending set pieces to nearly the worst in the league over the last 2 years and much of the personnel haven't changed much except the goalkeeper. A dominant, commanding goalkeeper that's prepared to come for most balls that are in the imaginary square the width of the goalposts and the length of the goal line to the penalty spot would drastically improve this side to our game. At present there is such a lack of confidence in Kepa that we have to defend much deeper as he's incapable of coming for anything so the defence suddenly have to deal with a ball in or around our six yard box. In this situation it becomes much harder to expect a defender to be winning every header in this situation and even then, getting good enough contact to clear the danger fully. A better keeper allows a higher defensive line to stop that area of the box becoming crowded and a more confident defence knowing when to expect their keeper to be taking charge. And all of the stats being bandied around highlight Kepa. Save ratio, expected goals against compared to actual goals against, etc. Like some have mentioned already, I worry about any team attacking us currently because I'm not confident that Kepa will save any shots on our goal. If us fans feel like that, the defence will feel the same way and it can't help but affect them. It's almost like playing Sunday League football and your keeper hasn't turned up so somebody else goes in goal that isn't comfortable playing there. It affects your own game and confidence because you're having to worry about compensating for a player that isn't good enough. It's a damning indictment of how poor he's been, and it's going to be incredibly difficult to find some way of moving him on but we have to find some way. Everybody talks about how great Van Dijk is but I don't think Liverpool immediately improved a huge amount defensively at his arrival, it was when Alisson joined that everything clicked. A top quality keeper is an absolute must next season, in my opinion above anything else in the defence.

I don't understand why VAR can't review the free kick to check that it was the correct decision. You don't want every free kick reviewed, and I'd even not want free kicks reviewed that are crossed in and somebody headers in, because otherwise it becomes ridiculous and VAR is already slowing the game down and sucking the life from things. But VAR is here and here to stay so in my opinion if someone scores a direct free kick from a 'non' free kick, I don't see why this can't be reviewed in the same way as a penalty.

I personally welcome supporters of other clubs to this forum as long as they're not here for the wind up. Sometimes it's good to get opinions about players and teams that are perhaps far less biased than our own support base so please don't feel like you're unwelcome here as a non-Chelsea fan. I think things were at boiling point last night (it gets harder by the game as a Chelsea fan to put up with our defensive and goalkeeping shortcomings) so everybody was a bit touchy. On the topic of Pulisic, we can only assume what we have heard from Lampard is true, in that he is or has been carrying an injury recently. To be honest I think he had looked a bit tired against Sheffield United and Norwich and Lampard was right to leave him out against United if he wasn't fully fit because he is becoming a big player for us, but he does have a history of injury problems and staying fit for long periods. I think if he wasn't fit to play the whole game last night it was actually the right thing to do by using him as an impact sub against a tiring defence rather than starting him to be honest. A lot of people on the forum were worried we'd burn him out during this period by playing him every game, so unfortunately we can't have it both ways. He will hopefully be fresher and overcome any niggling injuries for the Wolves and Arsenal games which come down to how successful our season will be viewed. I think if he kicks on again next season and can stay fit for large parts of the season, he has the makings of developing into a world class player which is huge for both Chelsea and America.

I'd agree. My biggest problem with Rice is how much West Ham are going to be asking.

I was quietly confident before the United game to be honest. Whilst we blow hot and cold seemingly at the throw of a dice, you could see the steady decline of United's performances before playing us, against Southampton and Palace. I didn't watch them today but heard they were woeful. United fans have chirped up in recent weeks but their overall squad depth is really poor and beyond the first 13-14 players they've barely got anything else.

Have to agree. I understand the positives with Jorginho and there are games and times where he is suitable. I don't want a 'plodder' in defensive midfield that is poor on the ball, but there probably has to be a bit of a trade off somewhere and I'd rather forego some of the ability to pass and dictate/control the game for more defensive solidity. The likes of Fabinho and Fernandinho are not ball players compared to Jorginho but I'd far rather their all round defensive game, anchoring a midfield.