Ross Barkley

[Tomo 21,751]

I don't want to kneejerk on one game (well two as he played the position against Brighton home aswell) but could his best position actually be in one of those deeper lying midfield positions?

He had two clear shooting opportunities at the edge of the box yesterday that he wasted by dithering on the ball which was a clear reminder as to why he became so frustrating and fell behind Ruben then Mount in the advanced midfield role, however in a deeper role he kept things ticking over quite nicely and made some pretty good cross field passes to James.

Dare I say, against the Burnley's of this world, he's may be a better option than Kante in that position.

[Jase 43,479]

38 minutes ago, Tomo said:

I don't want to kneejerk on one game (well two as he played the position against Brighton home aswell) but could his best position actually be in one of those deeper lying midfield positions?

He had two clear shooting opportunities at the edge of the box yesterday that he wasted by dithering on the ball which was a clear reminder as to why he became so frustrating and fell behind Ruben then Mount in the advanced midfield role, however in a deeper role he kept things ticking over quite nicely and made some pretty good cross field passes to James.

Dare I say, against the Burnley's of this world, he's may be a better option than Kante in that position.

Lampard explained why he chose Barkley for yesterday's match in his post-match Chelsea TV interview (from 3:12).

Lampard said Barkley was selected due to the nature of game where we would likely have more of the ball etc and he also mentioned that it would be mad to drop Kante too many times. So yeah...

[Vesper 30,106]

13 hours ago, Jason said:

The problem or frustration with Barkley is that he is not completely useless, he has some talents/good attributes but hasn't been committed to fulfilling them or shown the desire to be the best he can. Joining us was supposed to be the platform for him to go to the next level, to improve himself but he's still the same inconsistent player that he was at Everton - can be good in patches but not great/consistent overall - and he's already 26 years old, he should be entering his best years. If he doesn't show any improvement ASAP, don't be surprised if Lampard decides to just cut him loose in the summer, especially with Loftus-Cheek returning and players like Gallagher impressing on loan. 

Lampard needs to put his genius level brain to work overtime and figure out what he is going to do with Kante. All else pales in comparison as he is still worth £100m-120m (this summer is it for that level) but he is just a bog standard CMF on the team now in most games when he is played so far forward. LB, non-Tammy CF's and Kante's continuous  positional/passing/diminishing disruptive play struggles (which effects the whole team) are driving me bonkers. Thank fuck our wingers have overall been decent and Reece has exploded and our 4 CB's are all now (apparently) really starting to gel more. I am far more patient with Mount than many here, due to his intangibles plus I think he will deffo improve his scoring and linkage play as he matures.

[Tomo 21,751]

32 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Lampard needs to put his genius level brain to work overtime and figure out what he is going to do with Kante. All else pales in comparison as he is still worth £100m-120m (this summer is it for that level) but he is just a bog standard CMF on the team now in most games when he is played so far forward. LB, non-Tammy CF's and Kante's continuous  positional/passing/diminishing disruptive play struggles (which effects the whole team) are driving me bonkers. Thank fuck our wingers have overall been decent and Reece has exploded and our 4 CB's are all now (apparently) really starting to gel more. I am far more patient with Mount than many here, due to his intangibles plus I think he will deffo improve his scoring and linkage play as he matures.

It's catch 22 with Kante. We will really miss him in big games but against the bottom 12 we don't miss him these days, like atall.

[Pizy 18,866]

Ross is an enigma of a player. Some matches he plays like Bakayoko where he can barely control a football and passes it to the other team more than our own. Other games like yesterday he looks smooth and silky with the ball.

Frank has liked him and backed him in the media from day one so maybe now if he can stay fit he'll have a run in the side.

[Vesper 30,106]

37 minutes ago, Tomo said:

It's catch 22 with Kante. We will really miss him in big games but against the bottom 12 we don't miss him these days, like atall.

It is hard to miss him in big games if we force the bloke into unnatural positions of having to have a lot of the buildup play go through him. He is simply not a good creative passer at all on balance, and he seems to be entirely out of sorts now on what he is (literally) the best in the world at, ie. disruptive ball winning-back play. I cannot accept that Frank cannot figure out some scheme to get him back to doing what he does best and stop trying to make him into something he is not. BUT if we cannot do that, then it is crazy to not sell him for huge money and invest in a player(s) who are not going to have to be 'square peg/round hole' shoehorned into the lineup.

[OneMoSalah 8,885]

Was impressed with him yesterday. Always positive on the ball, driving forward, always wanted to take it on the half turn so he can get at the opposition. If he can do this every game, as well as start adding goals and assists, he can be an asset for us but its one game and hes been very poor since arriving bar the good run under Sarri. 

[Special Juan 28,123]

He will always be ok against the Burnley's of the world.

[LAM09 7,043]

He will always be ok against the Burnley's of the world.

Along with Bournemouth, Southampton & West Ham. We might have actually picked up something.

[Jase 43,479]

https://www.goal.com/en/news/lampard-barkley-is-of-equal-value-to-kante-and-chelsea/z9875ml97spt1t731a8kr3n26

Lampard seems to really like Barkley A LOT...

[Vesper 30,106]

Frank Lampard opens up to Chelsea FC fans about Ross Barkley

Frank Lampard explains why he's been pleased by Ross Barkley's recent form for Chelsea FC

https://www.thesportreview.com/2020/01/chelsea-fc-news-ross-barkley-lampard/

Frank Lampard had admitted that he was delighted by Ross Barkley’s performance for Chelsea FC in the Blues’ 3-0 win over Burnley at the weekend.

The 26-year-old midfielder played the full 90 minutes as he helped to inspire Lampard’s men to a comfortable and important Premier League victory in front of their home fans.

Barkley has been struggling with a string of injury problems in recent months but the England international now looks to have shaken off the issues.

The former Everton midfielder will now be hoping to hold down a more regular spot in the first team at Stamford Bridge in the second half of the season.

Barkley has started just six games in the Premier League all season and he is yet to score or notch up an assist in the English top flight.

However, Blues boss Lampard has clearly been pleased by what he has seen from Barkley in recent weeks.

Speaking to Chelsea FC’s website, Lampard said: “I speak a lot with Ross and I really like him.

“He came to me a couple of weeks ago and said he was starting to feel good. It was a niggly injury, but he’s just starting to feel absolutely released from it.

“This was the performance [against Burnley] we want out of Ross. It was so positive and you saw his quality on the ball; he can hit a right-foot ball, left-foot ball, take the ball well. He looked confident.

“That’s part of Ross’s game you could maybe question if you look from the outside: how confident is he when things go against him slightly?

“This was exactly what Ross can do; an England player, playing for Chelsea, has given me a lot of thinking to do with that performance.

“He just needs to train well and he needs to play well – and he played well against Burnley. He needs to continue like that.”

Barkley has scored twice in the cup competitions for Chelsea FC this season.

He will be hoping to feature when Chelsea FC travel to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday night.

snip

 

[communicate 2,703]

14 hours ago, Jason said:

https://www.goal.com/en/news/lampard-barkley-is-of-equal-value-to-kante-and-chelsea/z9875ml97spt1t731a8kr3n26

Lampard seems to really like Barkley A LOT...

Played well though against bournemouth without much playing time before 

[bigbluewillie 1,930]

I was going to say "get rid of" don't reckon him at all.

Now Lamps has said he likes him, that's good enough for me

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Tomo 21,751]

18 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

Can't see it happening right now Barkley proved vs Burnley he can still be a useful tactical option in certain situations.

I think he will remain a squad player until the time comes to bring Gallagher in, which point he will be about 27 and at the age where he should be looking for a club he'd be a regular starter at, maybe back at Everton.