🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Frank Lampard

[Sheva. 5,373]

A report in the Sun revealed that the midfielder's representative, Steve Kutner, was spotted in the crowd as the Galaxy beat Toronto 4-2 on Saturday night and a source told the paper: "We want the best players from around the world and Frank is top of our list. Getting Frank would send a message around the world that the MLS is serious."

What a joke, getting a declining 33 year old player doesn't show the seriousness of any league. But this is the sun, so it's probably made up.

[Jase 43,479]

What a joke, getting a declining 33 year old player doesn't show the seriousness of any league. But this is the sun, so it's probably made up.

And funny how that news came the day after he started on the bench against Stoke.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Even if Frank is 33 and declining he'd be a massive addition to the MLS. You're all forgetting how mediocre that league still is.

[Tomo 21,751]

I think Lampard can play a big role this season, if he is managed right and his game time is distributed correctly.

I honestly think we should return to 4-3-3 and Lampard can still make an impact in the top of the first three, and his experience alone will help the young lads. But we will need to be careful how often we play him, he should play once a week and i hope Roy does that aswell when we England play.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

I think Lampard can play a big role this season, if he is managed right and his game time is distributed correctly.

I honestly think we should return to 4-3-3 and Lampard can still make an impact in the top of the first three, and his experience alone will help the young lads. But we will need to be careful how often we play him, he should play once a week and i hope Roy does that aswell when we England play.

+1. IMO Lamps is still our midfielder for a 4-3-3

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

+1. IMO Lamps is still our midfielder for a 4-3-3

Absolutely. People love to write about Lampard's decline as if he was a great player five years ago or something. Last season plenty of fans ripped on Lampard when he had a few bad games but... OPTA stats had him as the 7th most creative player in the Premier league and the 19th most valuable overall. EA Sports PPI had Lampard as the 21st best player in the Premier League (and third most valuable on Chelsea.) So, last season, Lampard was still one of the best players in the Premier League, integral to of our success in both the attack and in defending, captained us to the CL victory, switched positions without complaint, and because of a few mediocre matches after missing the summer due to injury, people are writing him off. No, he's not ideal for the double pivot, but he very likely has a lot left to give to Chelsea.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

So we should go back to centering our tactics and game to a declining 34 year old who very well may be buggering off next year, which means that the likes of Oscar, Hazard and Mata have to make way (and play out of position) so we don't upset Lampard's feelings. Bollocks to that. He has to either adapt (and give the so called experience that some people bang on about like its a necessity that stops the end of the world) so others can flourish or he can fuck off.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

So we should go back to centering our tactics and game to a declining 34 year old who very well may be buggering off next year, which means that the likes of Oscar, Hazard and Mata have to make way (and play out of position) so we don't upset Lampard's feelings. Bollocks to that. He has to either adapt (and give the so called experience that some people bang on about like its a necessity that stops the end of the world) so others can flourish or he can fuck off.

Amen. Last sentence is crudely put but the meaning is valid.

[Joe Ay 66]

Next year we'll have both McEachran and De Bruyne back as an option. Plus Oscar and Hazard would've hopefully become mainstays in the team after a year of EPL experience under their belt. A lot of options, but light on experience.

Personally, I hope Lampard stays for another season or two to guide and mentor our young team. But I strongly believe that whatever role he plays wouldn't be to the detriment of the team. If he continues to play well and adds value to the team, then by all means, play him. But if he starts based on reputation alone, then I'm sorry, but I'd rather him go.

We're not a team of galacticos, if ever, we're a team of anti-galacticos. Mourinho laid down the foundation for that, but inadvertently created his own version of galacticos by saying that the likes of Lampard and Terry were untouchable. Time we move away from that culture and start anew with this fresh and exciting team. No room for egos here. We emulate the likes of Dortmund and Montepelier rather than Bayern and Real.

[Tomo 21,751]

So we should go back to centering our tactics and game to a declining 34 year old who very well may be buggering off next year,

No, so we can get rid of te double pivot that will ruin our season.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

No, so we can get rid of te double pivot that will ruin our season.

The double pivot is not a bad thing if it is utilized properly. In my books we have few players who can slot in the double pivot quite nicely in Mikel, Ramires and Romeu (put David Luiz if you feel if he is someone who can play there as well, I have doubts). The problem is that RDM obviously prefers the 4-2-3-1 as his formation of choice but is desperatly trying to shoehorn in Lampard to keep him in his good books. Its either one or thee other but we should not change formations solely to accommodate and tend to the needs of Lampard for reasons already stated/

[Tomo 21,751]

The double pivot is not a bad thing if it is utilized properly. In my books we have few players who can slot in the double pivot quite nicely in Mikel, Ramires and Romeu (put David Luiz if you feel if he is someone who can play there as well, I have doubts). The problem is that RDM obviously prefers the 4-2-3-1 as his formation of choice but is desperatly trying to shoehorn in Lampard to keep him in his good books. Its either one or thee other but we should not change formations solely to accommodate and tend to the needs of Lampard for reasons already stated/

I see what you mean and i do think Lampard in the pivot is causing more harm than good, which is why IMO if we are going to stick to that formation he should be an option in the 3, not a definite starter but he offers something different to the players we are playing there atm.

[poojam 10]

It is simple chelsea are not given lampard a new contract. Lampard is not in Roman Abramovich plan's so he will be used as a sub more and more in Till he leaves.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

The double pivot is not a bad thing if it is utilized properly. In my books we have few players who can slot in the double pivot quite nicely in Mikel, Ramires and Romeu (put David Luiz if you feel if he is someone who can play there as well, I have doubts). The problem is that RDM obviously prefers the 4-2-3-1 as his formation of choice but is desperatly trying to shoehorn in Lampard to keep him in his good books. Its either one or thee other but we should not change formations solely to accommodate and tend to the needs of Lampard for reasons already stated/

None of the players you mentioned are good fits for the regista portion of the double pivot. The attributes most needed by that position are: passing, vision, and creativity, the other players just don't work there. They are all defensive players with limited creativity. Lampard is simply our best choice for the creative midfield spot right now even though he's not ideal for that position himself. The idea that we are playing a formation solely to please Lampard or that RDM is only playing Lampard because he's afraid is absurd.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

None of the players you mentioned are good fits for the regista portion of the double pivot. The attributes most needed by that position are: passing, vision, and creativity, the other players just don't work there. They are all defensive players with limited creativity. Lampard is simply our best choice for the creative midfield spot right now even though he's not ideal for that position himself. The idea that we are playing a formation solely to please Lampard or that RDM is only playing Lampard because he's afraid is absurd.

Yes I'm pretty sure every time he got dropped by AVB he accepted without fuss and just waited when he got another chance (you probably did not realize this was sarcasm)

And by the way, he is probably the least ideal because when we play it properly (not back to walls defending like matches against Barca and Bayern) because he lacks the most important function, discipline and balancing attacking and defensive duties

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Yes I'm pretty sure every time he got dropped by AVB he accepted without fuss and just waited when he got another chance (you probably did not realize this was sarcasm)

And by the way, he is probably the least ideal because when we play it properly (not back to walls defending like matches against Barca and Bayern) because he lacks the most important function, discipline and balancing attacking and defensive duties

First of all, he was upset at being dropped by AVB, but so what? What do you want? Him to say "oh yes, I'm happy to be benched"? You want your players to be upset when they don't play. And second of all, he deserved to play. Lampard was one of our best players overall last season and he was being dropped for players who were much worse than he was. AVB was not fired because of Lampard, he was fired because Chelsea were losing. If Chelsea win, any coach can do what they want.

Second of all, you are flatly wrong. You simply cannot have a regista without creativity. It is the most important feature of the position. The entire set-up will not work otherwise. Discipline is important at every position but pretending that Lampard is some completely undisciplined player who attacks all the time and doesn't track back is just not true. In fact, our discipline in the attacking midfield (and Ivanovic so far this season) is much worse. You can look at this average position in the game and it is exactly where it should be. People just have this idea that his positioning is terrible and then look for his runs to criticize them. look at our goal versus Stoke. http://www.carefreec...pl-h-12-13.html Notice Lampard perfectly positioned defensively, then rushes up to join the play, is perfectly positioned to switch the play over and does so and Chelsea score. Nobody gave any credit to Lampard for that but that's exactly what his job is.

Lampard is just getting ridiculous levels of criticism that are just not true. As I said, he's not the ideal player for the regista position, but he is easily the best choice on the squad for it. RDM plays him there because he is aware of that not because he's scared of him.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

First of all, he was upset at being dropped by AVB, but so what? What do you want? Him to say "oh yes, I'm happy to be benched"? You want your players to be upset when they don't play. And second of all, he deserved to play. Lampard was one of our best players overall last season and he was being dropped for players who were much worse than he was. AVB was not fired because of Lampard, he was fired because Chelsea were losing. If Chelsea win, any coach can do what they want.

Second of all, you are flatly wrong. You simply cannot have a regista without creativity. It is the most important feature of the position. The entire set-up will not work otherwise. Discipline is important at every position but pretending that Lampard is some completely undisciplined player who attacks all the time and doesn't track back is just not true. In fact, our discipline in the attacking midfield (and Ivanovic so far this season) is much worse. You can look at this average position in the game and it is exactly where it should be. People just have this idea that his positioning is terrible and then look for his runs to criticize them. look at our goal versus Stoke. http://www.carefreec...pl-h-12-13.html Notice Lampard perfectly positioned defensively, then rushes up to join the play, is perfectly positioned to switch the play over and does so and Chelsea score. Nobody gave any credit to Lampard for that but that's exactly what his job is.

Lampard is just getting ridiculous levels of criticism that are just not true. As I said, he's not the ideal player for the regista position, but he is easily the best choice on the squad for it. RDM plays him there because he is aware of that not because he's scared of him.

1. But that does not mean you have to act like a massive twat, keep making slide comments in the media and using your influences in the dressing room to get what you want. Its like the last 10 years of unconditional support has got to his head and now thinks he should be treated like royalty.

2. How many times does this have to be drilled into your skull, both players in the double pivot have to be completely disciplined other wise the whole thing falls apart. They are the link between defense and attack and they are the ones that have to keep the ship steady. By all means you need creativity (but Lampard is not even that, yes he can give a good pass once in a while, but he is slow on his first and second touch, has very little place and can't take a lot of pressure in the midfield, someone like Romeu does these attributes better) but that does not mean you can make headless runs into the box every time the ball is in the opposition half (and not even go back when it looks like you won't be part of a potential attack) and completely ignore you defensive duties making us incredibly vulnerable to counter attacks. Watch the Athletico game, nearly every time we manage to get the ball upfront he was up there in the box demanding the ball in a vain attempt to score, warping the midfield and contributed to us being ripped apart. Not to mention it gets in the away of the three attacking midfielders (its their job to do it, let them get on with it). These issues have been mentioned time and time again and you just brush them off like they are some sort of small tiny inconvenience.

Christ on a fucking bike.

[Kojo 4,676]

No, so we can get rid of te double pivot that will ruin our season.

We should sign Freddy Drogba, that will do us IMO.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

1. But that does not mean you have to act like a massive twat, keep making slide comments in the media and using your influences in the dressing room to get what you want. Its like the last 10 years of unconditional support has got to his head and now thinks he should be treated like royalty.

2. How many times does this have to be drilled into your skull, both players in the double pivot have to be completely disciplined other wise the whole thing falls apart. They are the link between defense and attack and they are the ones that have to keep the ship steady. By all means you need creativity (but Lampard is not even that, yes he can give a good pass once in a while, but he is slow on his first and second touch, has very little place and can't take a lot of pressure in the midfield, someone like Romeu does these attributes better) but that does not mean you can make headless runs into the box every time the ball is in the opposition half (and not even go back when it looks like you won't be part of a potential attack) and completely ignore you defensive duties making us incredibly vulnerable to counter attacks. Watch the Athletico game, nearly every time we manage to get the ball upfront he was up there in the box demanding the ball in a vain attempt to score, warping the midfield and contributed to us being ripped apart. Not to mention it gets in the away of the three attacking midfielders (its their job to do it, let them get on with it). These issues have been mentioned time and time again and you just brush them off like they are some sort of small tiny inconvenience.

Christ on a fucking bike.

1) Lampard did not act like a massive twat. It's nice that you buy into the anti-Chelsea media though.

2) Saying Lampard is not creative is just stupid. He was statistically the 7th most creative player in the entire Premier league last season. I don't ignore Lampard's defensive duties at all. He has them. What you and other have consistently ignored is that a lot of the pressure on the midfield often comes from the attacking players not properly doing their jobs. People look at the Juventus game and say "the central midfield was overrun" but it was overrun because it was outnumbered all the time. You just want to pin all the blame on Lampard (and maybe Mikel) and it's ridiculous. The issues have been mentioned again and again because even before the pre-season people decided that the double-pivot was the problem (because we didn't buy anyone new to play there and don't have a 21-year old in the spot) and they watched the games to confirm that. It isn't perfect at all, but it isn't nearly the big problem people want to pretend it is. People like you just turn to the same "double-pivot" problem that doesn't exist every time. We don't score? Well, it's because Lampard doesn't move the ball quickly enough. We do score? Nothing to do with Lampard of course. We concede a goal? The double-pivot is at fault? We don't concede a goal? Nothing to do with the double-pivot. See how easy it is?

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

1) Lampard did not act like a massive twat. It's nice that you buy into the anti-Chelsea media though.

2) Saying Lampard is not creative is just stupid. He was statistically the 7th most creative player in the entire Premier league last season. I don't ignore Lampard's defensive duties at all. He has them. What you and other have consistently ignored is that a lot of the pressure on the midfield often comes from the attacking players not properly doing their jobs. People look at the Juventus game and say "the central midfield was overrun" but it was overrun because it was outnumbered all the time. You just want to pin all the blame on Lampard (and maybe Mikel) and it's ridiculous. The issues have been mentioned again and again because even before the pre-season people decided that the double-pivot was the problem (because we didn't buy anyone new to play there and don't have a 21-year old in the spot) and they watched the games to confirm that. It isn't perfect at all, but it isn't nearly the big problem people want to pretend it is. People like you just turn to the same "double-pivot" problem that doesn't exist every time. We don't score? Well, it's because Lampard doesn't move the ball quickly enough. We do score? Nothing to do with Lampard of course. We concede a goal? The double-pivot is at fault? We don't concede a goal? Nothing to do with the double-pivot. See how easy it is?

So what about all the slide comments to media, especially the one where he out right says there was tension between him and AVB (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26022012/58/premier-league-lampard-admits-avb-problems.html), unlike you I don't take this stupid motion held by some that there is some great world Conspiracy that is out to get the club. Lampard said this at the height of speculation, meaning he was doing it to score points or is a complete idiot.

Also, have you actually watched the matches. The likes of Hazard, Moses and Mata constantly go back to help the fullbacks when we are on the back foot. Not to mention that Oscar goes deep in the midfield to get the ball and help relieve pressure. In fact a few times I have seen the likes of Hazard and Mata having to drop back in order to accommodate Lampard because he keeps going far in the opposition n half. So this idea that the 3 attacking players don't do any defensive work is complete crap. Its not their prioritized job, Lampard is suppose to help with defensive duties first, he can't do this, therefor he is not suited t this double pivot, he ignores those duties and is too slow to be a deep lying play maker.

I'm done with this stupid conversation, nothing will change it will be the same posts over and over again with you bringing up the arguments.