Jase

And he was once linked to replace Emenalo as the Technical Director. Might have been linked with the manager position at some point as well, I think.

People believe what they want to believe. If we really want to spend big, we will do so. After all, we went and spent 70 million on Kepa and Havertz. Sure, transfer sales funded part of those purchases but we were still willing to spend that big money anyway. But all this argument is moot anyway considering Van Dijk had always wanted to join Liverpool from the start once they started going after him and he also chose them because of Klopp. Not everyone wants to play for Conte...unless you're a washed up, old, former Premier League player.

Managers talk BS all the time to go with their own agenda.

What does this say about Lampard then? He knew what he had going into the summer and he bought his own players to add to the squad but is now struggling to fit them in and how to use them. We're in December and we're talking about Werner being used out wide like a winger while god knows where Havertz fits into all of this. Also, people can talk till the cows come home about needing Ziyech, Pulisic bla bla bla but at the end of the day, our football is still bloody predictable. Having Ziyech back would just mean another outlet for us spamming crosses into the box. Nothing new. And FML if we spent all that money only to remain a one man team and with a Sam Allardyce-esque football.

Of course Conte would say it's due to money...

Maybe Lampard should go after Soucek instead so that he has another target for James to spam crosses too...

It's a minor problem in the grander scheme of problems but does anyone get annoyed by how Lampard passive and quiet looks on the touchline, especially when things aren't going well? I know I have beaten this bush a lot but this comment from Mourinho rings truer with every passing bad game/result...

But the problem is his hamstring...

First, Lampard didn't want to rest Werner at all but is now suddenly thinking about it. Second, what games has Lampard been watching all season? "Timo wasn't giving us enough with" - Even on his better days, what does Werner even provide in an attacking sense with the ball? He's not a winger, he's not going beat player 1 v 1, dribble past them etc. What does Lampard really expect him to do apart from him just passing to a teammate?

Two target man upfront? LAMPARD-BALL YOLO!

Mount hater! For starters, maybe Lampard should try to utilize Werner properly instead of throwing him out wide and playing him like a winger. Never mind Werner's flaws, Lampard's usage of him right is helping no one. It doesn't look good on Lampard especially because it's his signing, it doesn't look good on Werner and it's not benefitting us in any way. If Werner struggles to make an impact even after being used properly and all that, then we'll talk again. Otherwise, everything that is happening now is complete BS.

Allegri did shit in Milan? He was the last manager outside Juventus to win Serie A did with a Milan side who were hardly great apart from Ibrahimovic and Silva.

I hate Abraham? Have you seen me abuse him or anything? If criticism of a player is somehow considered as hating someone, then one could easily say you hate Werner or hell, YOU HATE MOUNT! I wonder what about Abraham... Because it can be a work in progress? Not everyone is born with clean technique or is the finished article by 24. And likewise, what about Abraham? He also has had years to improve his game, his technique but he plays like a bambi on ice with a bouncy castle-esque technique. So? It will happen sooner or later. Yay, good for you...

Ten Hag would be a very risky appointment. It's hard to know whether managers at Ajax are actually good OR they are good only because of the system and setup Ajax have in place. Let's not forget that Frank de Boer and Peter Bosz also had success at Ajax but once they went elsewhere, their career took a nosedive. De Boer was sacked after 4 months at Inter, after 7 games at Crystal Palace, then went to manage in MLS for two years before getting the sack...again. Similar thing happened with Bosz, who got sacked at Dortmund after only 5 months, although he has seemingly rebuilt some credibility at Leverkusen.

Fans unrest after Sarri. Transfer ban. Had to focus on youth. Best player gone. No other viable managers. Lampard got the job because circumstances went his way and his playing career might have also played a part. It was a marriage of convenience. Otherwise, I'd find hard to believe that Roman would approve the hiring of a manager, who was managing in the Championship and had only 1 year of experience in the job. Even AVB had 2 years as a manager and won the treble at Porto before we hired him.

Maybe it's easy to say this on hindsight but Lampard starting with both James and Chilwell did not turn out to be such a bright decision, was it? Both could hardly run, were nowhere near their best and James ended up making a stupid challenge for the penalty. Instead of potentially saving them for Villa, we might end up missing both.

See what I mean what I said journalists out there make excuses for Lampard? Matt Law somehow thinks the criticism has been because we lost 3 games in 4 all of a sudden and not because of wider issues/concerns with Lampard.

You forgot Conte. 1 win in 8 games against Wenger. Sarri at least won 2 of the 3 games against Arsenal, including that 4-1 spanking in Baku.

What a convenient point to make all of a sudden. I don't want to call you a hypocrite but you have been lambasting Werner for his supposedly lack of technical ability while at the same time, championing Abraham who arguably is even worse in the technical ability department. The ball forever bounces off him when it comes to him and he rarely controls it properly the first time. Fair enough if you want to believe that Abraham can get better but I seem to get this vibe from you that you don't think Werner can improve any further and what we see is the finished article, even though one is only 23 years old and the other is only 24 years old. Lampard has no excuses with Werner. He wanted him and he got him. Like any other manager, it's Lampard's job to improve and get the best out of the player but so far, he's done exactly the opposite. He's put Werner in a position, with a role that doesn't suit him at all - it's a role that doesn't maximize his strengths while exposing his weaknesses, which a manager should not be doing first and foremost to any player. Looking back to earlier, I don't even know why you brought up TC like it's some sort of validation but again, Werner did not score 90+ goals in 4 seasons at Leipzig and being courted by the biggest clubs around by accident. If for example Klopp, who has hardly missed a beat with his signings at Liverpool, wants Werner at Anfield, then he clearly believes that there is a player in there that he can improve and take to the next level.

But expecting a 21-year-old to come in and completely transform our midfield is asking a lot. Rice alone is not gonna solve our midfield problems. And is Lampard even capable of implementing quick, passing, pressing football? He's been here for 18 months and by far the most common football that we play is get the ball out wide to James and then spam high crosses into the box. We aren't even the highest crossing team in the league and yet, our football is so predictable.

Looks good in theory but it will not work, will it?

Jovic? That's a shit comparison. He had only that 1 good season in 2018/19 and people just believed the hype and jumped onto the bandwagon. Werner had at least 4 seasons and steadily improved year in year out at Leipzig.

Remember the winning run we had during last season's September-October period and then the results and performances just went south after that? Same thing seems to be happening this again. We had that long unbeaten run but it's now suddenly 3 defeats in 4 with 4 consecutive poor performances (5 if one were to include the dead rubber against Krasnodar).

Might have to start revising my expectations...

That's their problem. No one is stopping you. All I'm basically saying is, while they have some excellent articles, they also produce some puff pieces.