Olivier Giroud

[Henrique 9,133]

In some aspects of the Giroud is a better player than Abraham. I can't see Abraham scoring the same goals Giroud scored against Arsenal in Europa League final and the non goal he scored against United. In some games Giroud is the perfect striker you would inside the opponent area. His aerial game is terrific. I also can't see my man Abraham giving that assist Giroud gave Hazard in the same Europa League final.
 

[NikkiCFC 7,950]

Our best striker! Of course he will never stay here after this season but he's the one who deserves new one year contract! Lamps got it wrong here let's hope he learned from mistakes. 

Giroud 60 minutes, Abraham 30 minutes is the perfect scenario for the rest of the season. 

And wow, Giroud just 18 pages on this forum after more than two years? 

He's unappreciated not only by Frank but by our fans too. 

[BlueSunshine 672]

7 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Our best striker! Of course he will never stay here after this season but he's the one who deserves new one year contract! Lamps got it wrong here let's hope he learned from mistakes. 

Giroud 60 minutes, Abraham 30 minutes is the perfect scenario for the rest of the season. 

And wow, Giroud just 18 pages on this forum after more than two years? 

He's unappreciated not only by Frank but by our fans too. 

Yeah, for all his weaknesses, he has proven time and time again that he deserves respect for his attitude and professionalism (not to mention the ability to score a goal or two unlike Bats).

[Nicco 927]

Massive professional after being humiliated and sidelined by Lampard. He is clearly our best striker, he absolutely destroyed Tottenham and Lampard today, hopefully he starts more because it's our only to get top 4 this season.

[Fernando 6,458]

1 hour ago, Nicco said:

Massive professional after being humiliated and sidelined by Lampard. He is clearly our best striker, he absolutely destroyed Tottenham and Lampard today, hopefully he starts more because it's our only to get top 4 this season.

That is the problem with the club when he is supposed to be a starter.... 

I have always said it that giroud is a super sub and that is the role that he should be. 

Lampard went with bats and that was not good. Another waste of money that bats. But giroud for me he is the perfect super sub to have in your team. 

[Vincent 402]

He can fulfil either role. As a substitute for obvious reasons, his professionalism, his experience and all of his football qualities. On the other hand, he would be perfect to wear defenders out for an hour and let Abraham, with his speed, agility - finish the job. I believe in todays game we saw something similar, with Tammy having lots of space and one big opportunity which he should have netted. These two strikers are so different from each other, which can only work in our favor if it gets used properly. 

[communicate 2,703]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

That is the problem with the club when he is supposed to be a starter.... 

I have always said it that giroud is a super sub and that is the role that he should be. 

Lampard went with bats and that was not good. Another waste of money that bats. But giroud for me he is the perfect super sub to have in your team. 

Batshuayi make more sense as super sub. Usually team like to bring poacher when they need goals.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

5 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

Our best striker! Of course he will never stay here after this season but he's the one who deserves new one year contract! Lamps got it wrong here let's hope he learned from mistakes. 

Giroud 60 minutes, Abraham 30 minutes is the perfect scenario for the rest of the season. 

And wow, Giroud just 18 pages on this forum after more than two years? 

He's unappreciated not only by Frank but by our fans too. 

He is underrated, but if he played like two months in a row, its very likely fans would want him to be dropped because he isnt good enough in the end.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,494]

28 minutes ago, communicate said:

Batshuayi make more sense as super sub. Usually team like to bring poacher when they need goals.

I honestly wouldn`t trust Bats to poach an egg anymore. I`d prefer us to just roll with a youth player up front if we find ourselves in a position where Giroud or Tammy aren`t available. 

 

[Tomo 21,733]

41 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

He is underrated, but if he played like two months in a row, its very likely fans would want him to be dropped because he isnt good enough in the end.

Yeah basically this.

I love Giroud and he has earned some more starts due to his performances this week but he's a very streaky player and that will come to the fore before long.

Hopefully he can sign off by helping us secure top 4 and win another trophy.

[Vesper 28,802]

More shots on target than Batshuayi managed in 15 games. How Giroud thrived

https://theathletic.com/1626641/2020/02/23/giroud-batshuayi-chelsea-olivier-france/

Olivier Giroud jogged brightly on to the Stamford Bridge pitch at full time, bouncing past Tottenham players marching with heads bowed towards the tunnel, the ice pack clutched in his right hand the only evidence of his first significant exertion in almost three months. As he shouted and pumped his fist in front of the Matthew Harding Stand, it was clear the Frenchman’s joy sprang from more than a win that has breathed fresh life into Chelsea’s temporarily faltering Premier League season.

These last three months, as Giroud would later admit in his post-match media duties, have been the most difficult of his career. December was spent on the bench or in the stands, waiting for the transfer window to open. But January, which built up his hopes of a move away from Stamford Bridge only to crush them in the final days, was the real killer.

In the middle of last month, Giroud was very close to joining Inter. His agent, Michael Manuello, was pictured in Milan for talks and Chelsea, both publicly and privately, indicated that they were open to letting him leave even if they could not sign a striker. That stance changed in the final week of the window, after Tammy Abraham injured his ankle in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal.

Giroud held out hope until the end, even as Chelsea’s striker search fizzled out in the final days of January. Tottenham expressed interest, but strengthening a top-four rival without acquiring a high-level replacement was out of the question. He was devastated when the window closed, even if he didn’t show it at Cobham. It wasn’t really a move that he wanted though – only a chance to play.

Once the decision to hold him to the final six months of his contract was endorsed by Frank Lampard, Giroud channelled his frustration towards convincing his manager to give him that chance. Three weeks later, in Chelsea’s most pressurised match of the season so far against a team that badly needed what he can provide, he got it and seized it with both hands.

“He’s always been engaged, even when he’s not played regularly,” Lampard said of Giroud after the game. “I said it during the window. He’s been absolutely fantastic from start to now with me, and that’s why he can put in those performances when he comes in. He’s got personality in the dressing room, personality on the pitch, quality to finish, selfless in his ways. He’s our player now. In January that might have changed, but it didn’t. I’m happy with that and we move on.”

Giroud’s performance against Tottenham underlined the folly of Lampard’s striker pecking order below Abraham in recent months. In 71 minutes on the pitch he mustered as many shots on target (two) as Michy Batshuayi has managed in 15 Premier League appearances and completed almost twice as many passes (20) as the Belgian managed in 68 minutes against Manchester United (11).

 

Giroud’s pass map in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Spurs (Opta)

Lampard’s tactical system demands constant motion from his striker — to attack space when Chelsea have the ball, to press high and hard when they do not. Giroud does not fit the required athletic profile as Abraham and Batshuayi do. He does, however, offer constant involvement, in the form of the hold-up and link-up play that prompted Eden Hazard to describe him as “the best target man in the world” only two years ago.

Giroud touched the ball 40 times against Tottenham. Just three of those were inside the opposition penalty area and two came in the same move: one touch to control Ross Barkley’s shot which had bounced back of Hugo Lloris’ post in the 15th minute, another to fire it beyond his fellow World Cup winner and into the bottom corner.

Giroud’s touch map against Spurs on Saturday (Opta)

The rest of his contributions ranged widely across the pitch. There were 15 in his own half, including one header to clear a Tottenham corner from his own six-yard box, as well as seven in the centre circle, as he frequently dropped deeper to collect lofted balls out of the Chelsea defence and relieve pressure on his side. There were also 10 on the right wing, including the deft flick-on that found Mason Mount in stride and led, ultimately, to Marcos Alonso lashing in the second goal.

Speaking on beIN Sports ahead of the match, Arsene Wenger made an interesting observation of his former striker’s attacking instincts. “Giroud is better on the crosses from the right than from the left,” he said. “I don’t know why, but when the cross comes from the left he’s tempted always to go too far out, and then he’s too outside the goal. From the right he has a bit more patience and he’s more dangerous when the crosses come in.” There were signs of Chelsea adapting to Giroud’s particular skill set against Tottenham.

Build-up play was funnelled to the right flank, where Reece James delivered three of the team’s six crosses. Alonso delivered just one from the opposite side. Lampard also surrounded his striker with energy, if not quite searing speed; Mount and Barkley both worked tirelessly, drifting into pockets of space. Eight of Giroud’s 10 successful passes in the opposition half were to the men either side of him.

“We had two very energetic forwards around him,” Lampard added. “With Oli, if we have to sometimes adapt because what he brings is different from Tammy and Michy, then we adapt. The way the team worked helped Oli, and Oli helped the team. That’s how we can look forward, and to have competition of strikers who are scoring goals is what we’ve been lacking — not just among the strikers, but across the front. This feels good.”

Lampard did not adequately explain why he has disregarded Giroud for the best part of three months, particularly as Chelsea have struggled mightily to break down teams happy to defend deep, funnel them wide and encourage a barrage of crosses — precisely the kind of situation in which his relative lack of mobility is less of an issue and his aerial prowess becomes potentially decisive.

It is true that the 33-year-old’s last Premier League start, in a 1-0 home loss to West Ham on November 30, did not show his best qualities. He touched the ball just 21 times, completed eight passes (see graphic below) and had just two shots in 71 minutes on the pitch, before being substituted for a winger in Callum Hudson-Odoi as Chelsea switched to a false nine system.

Giroud’s pass map against West Ham United (Opta)

However in the weeks that have followed, Batshuayi has been granted far more opportunities to play through his ineffective days, even if 14 of his 15 Premier League appearances have come as a substitute. Giroud believed months ago that there would come a point in the season when he would be required, when Lampard’s youth movement would hit a physical or mental wall — but then his relegation to third in the pecking order made that scenario much less likely.

Now he has an opportunity, just as in the previous two seasons under Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri, to remind everyone of his enduring quality in the games that matter most to Chelsea. Abraham will remain first choice when fit, but Giroud finally has reason to be optimistic that Lampard will turn to him more regularly between now and May.

Part of his joy at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, you suspect, is that he finally feels in control of his destiny again.

[Superblue 6,370]

Completely understand why Giroud wasn't used earlier in the season when we were on that run of winning games. The way we were playing with a lot of pace playing centrally through teams it made sense to have a more mobile striker who could run in behind and also press much harder and higher up the pitch. Tammy was on fire at the time and whilst Batsman was far from perfect he did come off the bench a couple of times and bagged a nice goal. Giroud didn't really suit what Lampard was trying to implement.

Where Lampard has made a mistake however is not utilising Giroud and his different strengths over the last couple of months when our form has been indifferent. Being forced out wide much more against compact, defensive teams has meant we've crossed the ball in more regularly and Giroud's hold up play could have been more beneficial at times when trying to force through the centre of a compact team. Tammy's hold up and general play has improved since the start of the season but it's still nowhere near as good as what Giroud can do. I think he provides a genuine plan B for Lampard.

Perhaps though he might have 'checked out' and Lampard on the flip side had already written him off as both would have expected him to leave in January.

Whatever has happened he's still here though, and this is all better late than never. Hopefully he's usurped Bats in the pecking order in Lampard's eyes and can provide a very different alternative and very real competition to Tammy for the rest of the season to reach our objectives.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

I have always liked Giroud and if you ignore his lack of pace and that he is not per se a decent finisher. He is not a no.1 striker which is probably why Arsenal who wanted him to be such hated him so much. If you accept that you can only love him. He always works hard for the team he goes where it hurts most, puts his body on the line. He is also technically quite astute his layoffs are always Inch perfect. That strike vs Lloris surprised me cos that was an incredibly hard skill he had little to no time, the ball was bouncing awkwardly and he still struck it perfectly into the only place he could score from that position. 
He will relish the challenge of playing against the physically very similarly built Boateng. I hope he will have a blast again but surely he will give it his all.

[Fernando 6,458]

What a miss. That's why he is a third striker! 

[Vesper 28,802]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

What a miss. That's why he is a third striker! 

yeppers

[Chelsea_firstlove 178]

Second goal against Liverpool beause of him.

No Werner, no Dembele, no Merten. We need a big man likes him next season. Osimhen should be no 1 target.

[NikkiCFC 7,950]

6 hours ago, Chelsea_firstlove said:

Second goal against Liverpool beause of him.

No Werner, no Dembele, no Merten. We need a big man likes him next season. Osimhen should be no 1 target.

https://streamable.com/p75pj

No. Pedro won the ball and world class action from Barkley. Giroud probably did not even touch the ball it was VVD. But still he is our best striker by mile.

[Chelsea_firstlove 178]

6 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

https://streamable.com/p75pj

No. Pedro won the ball and world class action from Barkley. Giroud probably did not even touch the ball it was VVD. But still he is our best striker by mile.

It was Giroud's duel with Van Dijk which forced VVD into the wayward header which eventually led to Barkley's killer second goal.