Jase

NULL AND VOID THE SEASON!

Not saying our youth is bad but christ, you really sound like some of those ******** Chelsea youth accounts on Twitter.

It's also because Sarriball is just bad and doesn't seem to work at the biggest clubs. He had better and more creative players at Juventus and still played bad football and got sacked. He just happened to have all the tools at Napoli. Conteball was largely fine till Conte himself decided to check out in his second season. What he did and got us play in the first season was arguably our most exciting season in the last decade.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/29/diego-costa-cancels-atletico-madrid-contract-leaves-six-months-early?CMP=share_btn_tw Costa left Atletico 6 months early and apparently due to personal reasons. Will have to pay €15m to Atletico if he joins a rival in La Liga or in the Champions League.

Just got sacked by Sheffield Wednesday after 1 win in 10 games. lol

Firstly, I find it funny how you're suddenly just plucking names like Gilmour and Bate and throwing them into the mix when talking about creative players. Secondly, yes, we have never lost with Ziyech but you made it sound as if we've played 100 games with him and won every single one of them when in fact, the sample size is very small and deceiving. Ziyech has made just 12 appearances this season - only 7 starts - played 612 minutes: ZIYECH'S STARTS: W 4-0 Krasnodar W 3-0 Rennes W 3-0 Burnley W 4-1 Sheffield United W 2-0 Newcastle D 0-0 Spurs W 3-1 Leeds (played only 30 minutes and the score was 1-1 then) ZIYECH'S SUB APPEARANCES: D 0-0 Sevilla W 2-1 Rennes W 4-0 Sevilla (were 2-0 up already when he came on) D 3-3 Southampton (were winning 3-2 when he came on) D 0-0 Man United Looking at the games Ziyech started this season, are you gonna tell me that we should not beating most of those teams - with or without Ziyech? Krasnodar and Rennes were hopeless in the group. Burnley, Sheffield United, Newcastle and Leeds are in the bottom half of the league. The one game where we played a top half team, we didn't win (surprise surprise!) and Ziyech had an absolute stinker in that game. We didn't beat all the top half teams last season but we managed to beat a few, without Ziyech and the other new signings. So really, is this "we can't win without Ziyech" really a legitimate excuse for our recent struggles? We won games against top half teams last season, so why can't we do it this season, especially with the new signings?

Is it really a good thing when we get free weeks under Lampard? Because that is when he will just use the opportunity to overwork the players and random injuries will pop up and lethargic performances will follow. It's been a trend ever since he came in. Lack of pre-season or not, that does not even explain Lampard's decision, for example, to overplay Werner, play him as a winger, when he did his best work at Leipzig as a second striker, to the point where he has looked jaded and his confidence looks shattered. That is not because we didn't have pre-season or even because of Lampard's inexperience. That is just a braindead tactical decision and bad player management. Moreover, Lampard knew we wouldn't have pre-season and the kind of the schedule we would have going into the summer and he still went out and bought the players that he did anyway. Is the lack of pre-season really an excuse then? We are into 18 months in Lampard's time at the club, not 18 weeks. That is why his first season was important because that should be where he set up the template of his system, embed it to the team etc and then you look at where we can improve, buy the players and fit them in. But so far, Lampard has made an absolute mess of it, even with the lack of pre-season. He was still changing systems at the start of the season before stumbling onto 4-3-3, then doesn't seem to have a clue on how to fit Werner and Havertz - his two biggest signings - in. Moreover, even if we get 3 weeks to work on things, will Lampard really move on from the playing style of us getting the ball wide and spamming crosses into the box? 🙄 At this point, we're just hoping Lampard will turn things around rather than actually have real confidence that he will do so.

Christensen must have blackmailed Lampard or something. It's a joke that he keeps getting opportunities to play even though he keeps making mistakes while someone like Tomori was never seen again after Bournemouth away (IIRC) last season.

Speaking of Hasenhuttl...

Honestly, I have no freaking clue anymore. Tuchel looks suitable because of his style of play but am not convinced at all due to his character and his tactical decisions. Allegri is fine by me, if only because he is tactically savvy and doesn't seem like a combustible character or close it, but don't think his style of play is suited to this team. Would be okay with Pochettino because he does seem to tick all the boxes but he's going to PSG. Otherwise, all the choices like Nagelsmann and Hasenhuttl are at a club right now and I don't think they will leave midway through the season. Never mind the results, Lampard is really making it tough to feel even confident that he will turn things around given he doesn't seem to have a clue of how to utilize the players properly and he is making us play like an expensive version of Burnley.

If we are going to sack Lampard, now might be the perfect to do it because if those 2 games get postponed, then whoever comes in will have 17 days (IIRC) to work with the players until our trip to Fulham. Otherwise, he won't have many days at all to work with the players.

They could have worked in the UK, just like in other countries who have managed to contain the pandemic, but there are idiots running the government.

He's a free agent now...

Guessing this isn't photoshopped...

Lampard is currently at 7/2 to be sacked, according to the bookies, but there's been nothing from the media to suggest his job is really on the line or that he is on the brink.

In other news...

Tony Pulis is available again.

What does it have to do with getting access to the club when they get info from inside source for their articles? It's not like they such info directly from the PR person. It's disappointing that we are getting puff pieces like that when The Athletic can explore more given they have contacts, inside sources and all that. Even our debates on the forum here have more substance than some of their pieces!

See how many times Simon Johnson tried to include excuses for Lampard here and there in the piece... That's also another puff piece by The Athletic. Don't even explore why Lampard seems hell bent on playing Werner like a winger, when he did his best work as a second striker at Leipzig, and what's the plan for Havertz, who despite his potential, no one seems to know what really is his best position.

Lampard future will depend on making Havertz and Werner a success https://theathletic.com/2289444/2020/12/29/framk-lampard-timo-werner-kai-havertz-chelsea/ In a game Frank Lampard needed to win to alleviate the growing pressure at Chelsea, he took the significant step of leaving the club’s biggest two summer signings out of the first XI. Was it a show of strength or asking for trouble? Lampard has had a few of his managerial attributes questioned in some quarters of late following a run of three defeats in four games this month, but no one can doubt his bravery against Aston Villa. It was a big call to name Germany internationals Timo Werner and Kai Havertz on the substitutes bench even if there were mitigating and understandable circumstances. Werner, who had started every Premier League game up to this point, has been looking tired and short of confidence following a run of 10 matches without a goal. Meanwhile, Havertz, who has not started the last three league matches, has suffered from the after effects of contracting COVID as well as struggling to adapt to the Premier League. Lampard could also rightly argue that on form, neither man is playing well enough to merit a place in his side. They were still given a chance to change the game late on too as they were brought on with 18 minutes to go, but Aston Villa held on to a 1-1 draw fairly comfortably. The question is what does Roman Abramovich think? When the owner sanctioned the club spending more than £100 million on their signatures in the last window, one can assume the multi-billionaire did not expect they would be watching important fixtures from the sidelines. This is a different scenario to what has taken place with Kepa Arrizabalaga. Lampard has already made a strong call, which was backed by the powers-that-be, to replace the world’s most expensive goalkeeper with a new arrival in Edouard Mendy. Kepa’s deteriorating displays and the fact he was not Lampard’s signing — the Spaniard was brought in when Maurizio Sarri was at the helm — meant allowances could be made. But Havertz and Werner moved to Chelsea on Lampard’s watch and with his blessing. Managers will always be judged by Abramovich on results first, but history shows how they have been held to account for not making expensive marquee signings work too. For example, the acquisition of Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan for £30.8 million in 2006, led to tension behind the scenes as Jose Mourinho failed to get the best out of the Ukrainian during the final 13 months of his first spell at Stamford Bridge. Similarly, the declining fortunes of Fernando Torres, who joined from Liverpool for a club record £50 million in January 2011, was a contributory factor in the downfall of Chelsea coaches Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto di Matteo. The latter took the courageous step of leaving Torres out of a must-not-lose Champions League group game at Juventus and selected Eden Hazard as a false No 9 instead. Chelsea lost 3-0, failed to qualify for the last 16 for the first time in their history and the Italian was sacked the next morning. Lampard should still have a lot of credit in the bank for what he achieved last season. Chelsea got into the top four with a squad that was not his own. The former England international was not able to make transfers due to a one-window ban and took the notable step of giving academy youngsters their senior debuts, using a handful on a regular basis. However, the hierarchy could turnaround and wonder why after investing more than £200 million in new signings — Mendy, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva (free agent) also joined in the last window — the club have amassed three points fewer than at the same stage last year (2019-20 16 games — 29 points; 2020-21 16 games — 26 points). It should not be forgotten that Chelsea were in a very good state just three weeks ago. They had gone 17 games unbeaten in all competitions, finished top of their Champions League group and an impressive 3-1 victory over Leeds briefly took them to the top of the Premier League. The fixture list is also more intense due to the impact COVID had on the schedule and Chelsea had no pre-season to work on systems and tactics with the new personnel. But Lampard knows from his 13 years as a Chelsea player, of which 11 were under Abramovich, that being in charge of the west London club can be one of the harshest environments to work in. Patience is in short supply. Chelsea have now picked up just four points from their last five games. Their total of 26 after 16 matches is the second worst of the Abramovich era, with only Mourinho’s dramatic fall from grace in 2015-16 ranking lower. The pressure is starting to show. Lampard has looked a nervous and tense figure during games of late. One source has told The Athletic that ‘he lost it’ while delivering the half-time team talk at Arsenal on December 26. To be fair, given the way Chelsea had played to find themselves 2-0 down, he had every right. Another insider remarked how certain individuals were rebuked in front of the group for their performance in the opening 45 minutes at the Emirates Stadium. Unfortunately the strong words did not pay off as the visitors went on to lose 3-1. Lampard will be confident that he can turn this around. It was not that long ago Chelsea were being talked about as possible title contenders and the struggle for consistency is being shared throughout the division, which again perhaps highlights how this is an extraordinary campaign where twists and turns are the norm. But the wins needs to come soon to silence the inevitable speculation, ideally with Havertz and Werner playing a major role on the pitch.