Jype

Sure it's not been perfect but so far it's gotten the results with solid performances, especially defensively. I think for now it's a good idea for Tuchel to just continue steadying the ship and stick with the same formation for a while. Introducing a new formation with new player roles just before some hugely important games is not really a good idea.

Three at the back has been working really well under Tuchel so there's no need to tinker, especially with a tough run of fixtures coming up. If it's not broken, don't fix it. If results or performances start getting worse, only then it's time to try something else.

I'll go with: Mendy, Rüdiger, Christensen, Azpi, Chilwell, Kante, Jorginho, James, Ziyech, Werner, Giroud Rest Kovacic, Mount and CHO for next week's tough games against Atletico and Man Utd. And Alonso 🤐 Last time against this lot Timo scored two goals, hope for the same on Saturday to boost his confidence ahead of CL.

Would think they've already had some early discussions about summer 2021 transfers before Tuchel even signed on so don't think there will be problems that early. And playing Kepa last night was clearly done to get in Marina's good books because she's desperate for Kepa to be a success. But yeah, the 18 month deal is still good either way. Getting top4 from difficult circumstances would certainly get him some good will with the board but continuing further than the initial 18 month deal will depend entirely on how he does next season. If he gets the team really challenging for the title next season (let alone winning something) he should definitely be allowed to continue.

It wasn't 'the first rough spell' though, the signs were there all along after Lampard's initial honeymoon period around August - November 2019. Too many mistakes and too little improvement. After what we saw from Frank this season did anyone think we'd be challenging for the title next year with him in charge? Frank's contract was up this summer anyway so if a change was to be made, it's good to have made it as early as possible to allow Tuchel to implement his ideas and gain some form before going into next season. And if Tuchel now makes top4 the sacking already proves more than justifiable for that alone. Ancelotti sacking at the time was rash but the comparison with Klopp and Conte is by no means valid. Klopp is the single biggest reason Liverpool as a club are where they are today (or at least were last season) and he's been building the team for more than five years to reach that level of success so it's natural he has more wiggle room for disappointments. Conte on the other hand took over an already high quality squad, coached it to the title and then shit the bed all by himself by going on the warpath with the board and everyone knows there's only one way that's ever going to end. Maybe it would be the same fate for Klopp if he publicly threw FSG under the bus for their lack of investment this year and kept going on and on about it in all his press conferences, trying to shift the blame from himself to the higher-ups at the club. But he won't do that. Klopp won't be sacked for failing top4 but he might well walk out on his own if that happens.

Maybe, but new manager bounce is still a thing that exists. If things get stale under current management, it usually helps just to make the change even if it's only for a breath of fresh air and a few new ideas in the short term. Of course I wouldn't sack Lampard just to get someone like Shevchenko in immediately but if Lampard gets some more time to turn things around and it doesn't work out, no proper manager will take the job just for the sake of 2-3 months if appointed in February or March and that's where a coach like Sheva could come in and try to scrape a European spot in whatever time is left in the season before appointing a more permanent manager in the summer. In those kind of situations the interim coach is typically someone who's more used to an assistant role with very little managerial experience so a full-time national team manager would fit the bill quite nicely if it comes to that. But if Lampard is sacked in the next couple of weeks there are probably better and more experienced options to consider.

The kid is 14 years old, he couldn't play even if his dad wanted to.

Probably a bullshit article but as interim coach till the summer, why not? Shevchenko has a great relationship with Abramovich and as far as I know he's got the Ukraine NT playing some nice football, especially during the Euro2020 qualifiers where they finished top of their group ahead of Portugal. He's always talked fondly of his time at the club even though he flopped badly and like it says in the article even his son plays in the Chelsea academy. Hadn't even considered this possibility but could be something worth thinking about. The likes of Tuchel, Allegri etc. won't accept an interim role so if the club are planning to wait for better options till the summer there aren't many top candidates available. If Shevchenko is ever planning to make the step to club management at some point, then a job like this on an interim basis could be a good starting point after four years in national team management. Another interim coach candidate could be Steve Holland, if he can be acquired from Southgate's setup.

Yeah I didn't really mean hiring Benitez exactly but rather the type of appointment he was in 2012 when the club wanted to wait for Jose. The interim coach could be someone who's reputation has taken a hit and is desperate to be given a chance (think Benitez in the past) or someone who doesn't necessarily have the required qualifications either but is brought in to trust in the new manager bounce (think Di Matteo in the past). I don't think even Benitez would decline it to be honest. His last few jobs have been largely failures and he's currently managing in China so he could just be desperate enough to make the comeback and try to attract interest in a PL job again. Yeah, that is the question. I guess they'd have to hold preliminary talks with the likes of Nagelsmann etc. to sound out whether they're interested or not before making a decision on Frank's immediate replacement. If some quality manager gives the unofficial green light, an interim coach should be hired but if not, then it comes down to the likes of Tuchel, Allegri or even Favre. A damn shame Pochettino is not available anymore, he'd have been the obvious choice. I'd stay very much clear of Allegri if I was in charge of the managerial hiring. His style of football is not suited to the players brought into the squad so we'd be looking at yet another big change in personnel in the near future. He'd probably bring some success eventually but with the recent player recruitment and Frank's integration of the academy players the time frame to hire Allegri has gone. He'd have been a good manager to bring in straight after Conte but not anymore. Tuchel would probably be a decent choice for the current squad and he'd likely get good performances in the short term but like Conte/Jose he's another controversial figure and there's bound to be trouble with the board eventually. Maybe on an 18 month contract (like Poch at PSG) he could be a good choice but anything longer than that is asking for problems. In the summer Rodgers and Nagelsmann would both be good choices.

No chance of that happening, at least not mid-season. Leicester are playing great football and are one point off the top in the league and still playing EL football so he's not going anywhere, at least not till the summer. And if the club are willing to wait that long before appointing a new permanent manager I doubt Rodgers would be at the top of the list ahead of trying to get someone like Nagelsmann. If Frank goes it's a coin toss between Tuchel and Allgeri I would think. Or go for someone like Benitez as interim coach to steady the ship and wait for better options till the season is over.

Yep. And it's not like the ways of the club haven't changed in the last ten years too. In the current Chelsea setup I can't see something like Ancelotti's sacking happening anymore, a year after winning the double and then finishing second. Roman and the board seem a lot less ruthless now than a decade ago and the managers these days won't be getting sacked after a trophyless season as long as there's still progress made and the manager doesn't go on the warpath with the board like Conte did. Even Lampard's job would be more than safe if he was on course for a ~75pts finish in the league and the style of football looked like it's getting gradually better. Now the progress seems to have stalled completely or even gone backwards despite big investments made into the squad, and that's why he's on the verge of getting sacked. Don't see any reason why someone like Nagelsmann etc. wouldn't want to take the job and have a go. If it works out there's a good chance he'd stay for at least 2-3 seasons and that's around the average length of a manager's life span at a top club these days anyway. How many top teams have currently had the same manager for +5 years? Liverpool, Man City and Atletico have but that's about it, the rest have been changing managers just as often as Chelsea if not even more regularly.

This 1000%. Last season Lampard did a good job under difficult circumstances and has done a lot of ground work in making the squad better in the post-Hazard era. I will always give Lampard a lot of credit for that and still maintain the opinion that he was the right hire at the time but all along I've had my doubts over his long-term future. He was primarily brought in to steady the ship, implement some of the academy youngsters and start the rebuild of a slowly ageing squad filled with players brought by many different managers and different play styles. No top class manager would have accepted the job in time of a transfer ban with a declining squad and Sarri sure as hell wouldn't have integrated the academy boys into the squad. Sarri also would probably not have gone for the likes of Havertz, Chilwell etc. this summer and instead gotten players who fit his system better, but in case of things still going tits up under Sarri the squad would most likely have been much worse off than it is now under Lampard's rebuild. If Frank is sacked soon and someone else comes in to save the season, I will always remember fondly the important work Frank did in setting up the team for future success but if he stays long enough for top4 spots to go out of reach and gets knocked out in the CL, his managerial legacy at the club will turn sour really quickly and missing out on the CL spots for next season will again set the team back significantly because the squad can't be strengthened due to the financial losses and some players may even have to be sold to balance the books. I say get it over with ASAP and let the next manager prepare a couple weeks before the next tough league game (Leicester on January 19th). FA Cup and Fulham should be winnable under pretty much anyone as interim coach.

Yep, that's how I saw it as well. If there was a foul to begin with, it was one committed by Christensen and not on him.

Would take Pochettino in a heart beat. A shame he looks set for PSG. Can't really think of any other good choices who are available mid-season. The likes of Tuchel, Favre, Allegri etc. won't accept an interim role and I wouldn't want any of them as permanent manager. So it's either Lamps till end of the season or another Guus Hiddink / Rafa Benitez type appointment till a more permanent option can be hired next summer.

This is exactly what I've been saying (probably not here but elsewhere) since Lampard got appointed. I even used the same comparison to Ranieri. For all his flaws in game management Lampard has been doing some really valuable work in improving the squad with good signings and having integrated some highly rated academy products into the team but all along I've had doubts over whether he's the right man to bring actual success as far as titles are concerned. Right now it's looking likely that he's not that guy but with the work Lampard has done he has at the very least set up the next manager to have a much easier ride. But if Frank goes, the next appointment must be made with taking the current squad into consideration and bring in someone who can make the most of the team without having to do a complete overhaul once again to suit the playing style of the manager. Unlike most here seem to, I still haven't quite given up on Lampard because up until a few weeks ago I thought the season was going quite well and I was seeing clear progress from last season (especially defending and set plays) but the last 4-5 games have been horrible and something must change fast, starting from today.

No way Silva is playing another game just 48 hours after the last match. Will most likely be Rüdiger alongside Zouma. Could also be Emerson instead of Chilwell if the latter was in any way rushed back for Arsenal and still not quite fully fit. But otherwise I agree with the selections.

Don't think it's an ACL injury. The article said he's been playing with a slight discomfort to his knee in the last few games and now had a scan to see if there's any damage or if it's something that just needs a bit of rest. If he needs surgery, I'd expect him to be out for at least a couple months. Guess we'll know more in the coming days.

Yea, it's likely the Liverpool game won't be on that date which would be good. Also wouldn't mind the United game being moved so the team can focus fully on beating Atletico that week and not have to worry about another big game a few days later. Then again, if we progress in the CL and both Man Utd, Liverpool games get pushed back the schedule will be even more ridiculous later on.

Can't wait for Goodison Park to be demolished.

Yea and United only need a draw to qualify so they have the advantage going into the game. Don't really care either way, it's not like they're getting past RO16 anyway. It's likely their options for knockout draw will be Bayern, Barca/Juve, Real Madrid or Dortmund and they're not getting past any of them. Of course by dropping out to EL they'll probably have more games and increased fatigue in the second half of the season so that'd be nice.

At least Lawrence and Anjorin are included in the B list.

3-4-3: Kepa, Tomori, Christensen, Rüdiger, Alonso, Gilmour, Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Emerson, Abraham, X X = Werner, Havertz or preferably one of the youth if at all possible (COVID restrictions etc.)? Emerson can play as an emergency winger for this one like he did for a while against Barnsley. The lineup looks horrible and really unbalanced but it's a dead rubber game anyway.

Werner has never been the most clinical of players. Last season in the Bundesliga he recorded 20 big chances missed, only second to Lewandowski at 24. That said, it comes with the territory. He's a player who gets in these chances constantly because he's a good player and even though he misses a lot of them he still finds himself on the score sheet really often as well. If you look at the stats from EPL last few seasons, you'll find players like Aubameyang, Vardy, Salah, Mane constantly topping the table of big chances missed statistics. Are they bad players as well? I think not. Sure he should've scored at least two or more goals in the games against Newcastle and Rennes but shit happens, so what? The team was still good enough to win both of those games despite Werner having an off-day with his finishing so what's the problem? I'll only start getting worried if Timo stops getting himself in these kind of goalscoring positions and wanders around the pitch like a lost lamb because only then there is a problem. Right now his overall play is looking good and more goals will come, it's only a matter of time. 8 goals is a very decent return for this stage of the season, especially for a player who's only just joined a new club this season. To put things into perspective, if he keeps up the same scoring rate he'll end up with +25 goals overall in all competitions, which is something no Chelsea player has done in the last ten years. As for the "oh but he's scored three penalties" brigade I'll ask you who's the one who got those penalties? Timo has won four penalties so far I think, but Jorginho took the first few and missed some.

And most of the other 19 teams did in fact have a better pre-season. All mid-table or bottom clubs started their holidays in July as soon as the PL season ended so they returned to training around mid-August and even had time to play a few friendlies. Of the other top-6 clubs Liverpool played three friendlies+CS and Tottenham had four friendlies as well as some EL qualifiers to build match fitness early on. Only the Manchester clubs had an even shorter pre-season due to playing in CL/EL longer but then again they started their league season a week later than others to make it more 'fair'. I wouldn't use shortened pre-season as an excuse for bad results or performances but it's certainly played a part in some of the silly results we've seen across the PL. As for Chelsea, I said it in the beginning of the season that I'll start judging the team when the initial injury problems were cleared and the new guys have had some time to get settled. It took a bunch of games for players like Chilwell, Pulisic, Ziyech to even start playing after their injuries, Mendy/Silva didn't feature in the early games at all and Werner/Havertz were/are still finding their feet in the PL. After integrating Chilwell, Silva and Mendy in the starting XI, the team have looked a lot more solid defensively and I think Lampard deserves some credit for that. All things considered I'd say the season has gone pretty well so far. Top of the CL group with no goals conceded and 3 points off the top in the league is a situation I'll happily accept to be in for the November international break. After the internationals are over it's going to be a busy schedule for the next few months and it's nice to see the team are building a bit of good form going into it. The next ten games before Christmas are going to be really important in determining how the season will go.

He's been similarly good for most of his career so far. Many Chelsea fans only started paying any attention to him once he got linked with the club and that was around the same time he (and whole Leicester team) lost form. Before he signed I was saying not to judge him too harshly on the latest performances when his whole team were playing badly and instead look at the bigger picture. Still early days but he already looks a huge improvement on what we had before.