Super Frank Thread

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Just on another note, I can't believe I heard some boos at the end of the match. That really shocked me. What the fuck was that about? That was absolutely absurd . I just hope it was the Leicester fans booing or it was something that wasn't related to the game like the officials or something. Lampard certainly didn't deserve to hear that on his 1st game at The Bridge no matter the result.

[Laylabelle 9,351]

5 minutes ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

Just on another note, I can't believe I heard some boos at the end of the match. That really shocked me. What the fuck was that about? That was absolutely absurd . I just hope it was the Leicester fans booing or it was something that wasn't related to the game.

That's it. No one can expect a amazing season this year. Its shit circumstances and gotta make do with what we can do. Plus Lampard hasn't got that much experience so will be rocky. Stupid to boo now! Stupid to boo at all tbh. 

[BlueLion. 21,491]

5 minutes ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

 

Just to put into context we played 120 mins in sweltering heat on Wednesday. We gave everything physically and mentally in that game. Liverpool were also pretty poor against Southampton.

 

Exactly, and Lampard chose ten of the eleven that started on Wednesday... just plain silly in my humble opinion. 

 

3 minutes ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

Just on another note, I can't believe I heard some boos at the end of the match. That really shocked me. What the fuck was that about? That was absolutely absurd . I just hope it was the Leicester fans booing or it was something that wasn't related to the game.

Yeah, I was extremely disappointed by how poor our second half was, but booing was extreme. We have some extremely shit fans, although regular match-goers like to jump on their high horse and defend their right to "express themselves"... but that's a debate for a different day. I'd like to think those booers were tourists wondering why Hazard and Luiz weren't playing. 

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

5 minutes ago, BlueLion. said:

I really, really have to question his line-up today. The players looked dead on their feet from the half-hour onwards. 

I get the feeling he will be like Sarri and Conte with his system too. Like for like swaps. Rigid with his system.

To be fair we started very well. Took the initiative, hassled them high up, had some bright moments, good tempo. Personally I think the 120 minutes during the week hasn't helped but Frank would of been aware not everyone was as fresh as they could of been but still he has got options. Willian if hes fit enough to come on when he did surely was fit enough to start. Tammy or Michy could have started although Giroud did alright first half. Tomori could have played. Alonso could have played. He didn't have to go mental and make 10 changes but he has enough in some areas to make 2 or 3. I felt that Mount should of been subbed out for Ross in the 2nd half, he faded out of the game a bit and looked very tired. 

[BlueLion. 21,491]

The last three games have, simply put, been a real reality check. 

In all three matches, we have started absolutely superbly, genuinely playing some of the best football I've seen Chelsea ever play. Yet in all three matches, a lack of composure and an inability to convert chances has meant we stand here with a draw and two defeats from three competitive matches. 

I think we need to be realistic and consider the pros and cons of the situation, which ultimately will determine our season's ambitions.

I think there are plenty of positives right now. As I've mentioned, the brand of attacking football we are playing is making us an enjoyable watch (which is our fanbase's greatest criticism of the former manager), and the biggest plus point is the belief in youth players. Chelsea have needed a season like this for the past decade. We have never truly transition properly from one squad to the next. Our approach has also been so short-termist that, instead of bringing through youngsters (the odd exception aside), we've chosen to spend big and either invest in young foreign players, or go for players that can still function and perform well, but perhaps have already seen their better days - players such as Pedro, Giroud, David Luiz, for example. We have the propensity to make a negative situation (the transfer ban) a positive one by bringing through these young players and giving them considerable game time, which is something of a premium when it comes to our talented youngsters. We have a terrific academy and we are now in a position where we both have to, and need to, play these youngsters and give them the shot they deserve. Mason Mount is the biggest, most obvious evidence of this transition. We've been putting it off for years and years, but necessity dictates that this is the time to give these players the chance to shine. We also have to consider the fact that we are, realistically, missing three first XI players, meaning things will improve in terms of squad options and that we haven't yet seen our best team, playing our best football. Nobody can argue that Rudiger is our best defender; on recent evidence, whilst Pedro has had three promising games for us, CHO is probably more productive in the final third, and the player who I believe to be our best box-to-box midfielder, RLC, is yet to come into the team. We also have Reece James, who I will reserve judgement on, but Lampard seems to think he will play a considerable role this season, but we need to make sure we aren't doing the usual thing of putting too much pressure on the young man. That being said, he can't be any worse than Azpilicueta, but that's a separate debate...

But there are some major problems inherent within the squad. There is a flipside to every situation - and playing kids is no exception. There's the famous quote - "You won't win anything with kids" - and to some extent this does ring true. The reason that we have gone out and invested frequently is because, at a club like Chelsea, there is such an expectation to win (- that expectation needs to be relaxed this season, which I'll come onto later). Then there are issues with Frank. I want to make this clear: this is not a post bashing Frank Lampard. I am 100% behind him, though I do believe his tenure has come at the wrong time, though only time will tell with regards to this. But we need to accept the obvious: this is Frank's second season as a manager. Look at today - I am furious with his decision to play ten of the eleven that started on Wednesday, and think it was incredibly naive to do so against a team like Leicester, who are one of those horrible teams that press you and push you and harass you for 90 minutes and would do for another 90 if they could. Whilst he's got us playing a good brand of attacking football, this is the worst we've been defensively in quite some time. Having Rudiger back in the team will add more balance (Andreas is good enough, but Kurt panics on the ball and doesn't have the composure that Rudiger has; with the style of football we're employing, that is a big disadvantage), but we need to especially look at the way that we are dealing with crosses and set pieces at the minute. There are then issues within the squad from an attacking point of view - we have a lot of players who are good around the box, but not necessarily with that final phase of play. We are not a crossing team and we don't necessarily have many players who can play killer through balls. More importantly, our striking options are poor. Let's be honest. Giroud is an honest striker and links the ball nicely; he'll get us 10-15 goals a season reliably, but who is replacing the Hazard x-factor and the ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat? Is it Mount? I'm not so sure, though he took his goal well today. 

The point I'm making is this: we have to relax our ambitions this season. I'm sorry guys, I really don't think we are going to finish in the top four. You can't write us off in the cup competitions, but I can realistically see us struggling in the UCL without a favourable group draw. I'll leave it up to you as to whether you think I'm being reactionary or otherwise (I don't much care either way), but I think we need to ease the pressure on the boys. Short-term pain could be of massive long-term gain. We need to consider youth development as being the priority this season, that is the target and playtime is the reward. A trophy or four would be nice, of course, but this is a case of building for the future. We also need to think about the expectation of Frank as our manager. He will learn so much from every minute. He is level-headed and I think we need to be about the current situation. There is no need for doom and gloom - I think we have been really unlucky so far - but we need to temper our expectations somewhat. 

[Laylabelle 9,351]

Yeah not expecting much from this season. Top 6 finish and a cup run. Not even sure if we'll stay in the champions league depends on the groups but time will tell. Issues to be felt with and hopefully they can be felt with 

[Tomo 21,733]

When you're in a transition of sorts you have to look at the bright sparks and the first half hour was incredible, totally battered Leicester and should have been 3/4 up, very worrying what happened afterwards however some of you's complaints about Sarri was there was no "signs" of good stuff to come, well you certainly saw "signs" in the opening.

The reality is we are an inconsistent side right now. Sometimes we will match some of the worlds best sides (vs Liverpool) and other times we will look poo against sides like Leicester, today we were brilliant, average and rubbish all at varying stages which is about aplicable for where we are right now. Sometimes Pulisic will look like he can replace Hazard, other times he will look shit, he's 20.

We could have gone through this transition in 2012/13 but decided to go for a quick title, we have to go through this process now if we want to compete long term because with Pep and his 100 point seasons about going for the quick fix just won't work anymore.

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

Well the sad thing is we can't really assume our board will even recruit effectively next summer. We could spend well over the odds on squad fillers again vs genuine improvement. I can't even safely trust them they will even recruit a proper striker. 

Just need to hope that Cech will make a difference. 

[Tomo 21,733]

8 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Well the sad thing is we can't really assume our board will even recruit effectively next summer. We could spend well over the odds on squad fillers again vs genuine improvement. I can't even safely trust them they will even recruit a proper striker. 

Just need to hope that Cech will make a difference. 

Apart from 2017 our recruitment has been pretty good for a while . Where we fall down is getting shot of players. The old guard early this decade, Ivanovic, Matic and now Azpi/Willian all stayed as important players for far too long after big declines whereas City dump players the second they become a hindrance more than help.

I don't usually call for youth on a whim but when RJ is fit he has to play.

[Jase 43,479]

I can only thank god we have gone through 2010/11, 2011/12 (pre-March), 2015/16, 2017/18 in the last decade...

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

14 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Apart from 2017 our recruitment has been pretty good for a while . Where we fall down is getting shot of players. The old guard early this decade, Ivanovic, Matic and now Azpi/Willian all stayed as important players for far too long after big declines whereas City dump players the second they become a hindrance more than help.

I don't usually call for youth on a whim but when RJ is fit he has to play.

City have a vision. What we are seeing isn't something that happened over night. 

They spend a shit ton, but there is a lot going right upstairs. That's the difference between us. They had a vision of what they wanted since 2012, and they've been building on that. Appointing Guardiola was the final piece of the puzzle. 

We still can't decided if we want progressive football or conservative football. Now all of a sudden we want youth integration. It genuinely begs the question of what actually goes on in our board room. 

[Tomo 21,733]

10 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

City have a vision. What we are seeing isn't something that happened over night. 

They spend a shit ton, but there is a lot going right upstairs. That's the difference between us. They had a vision of what they wanted since 2012, and they've been building on that. Appointing Guardiola was the final piece of the puzzle. 

We still can't decided if we want progressive football or conservative football. Now all of a sudden we want youth integration. It genuinely begs the question of what actually goes on in our board room. 

I think we decided on a long term youth project around 2012 but then bottled it to let Jose create a quick fix then Conte create another after Jose's spell got messy ( i know we got 2 titles out of it but we did a deal with the devil both times). In hindsight as exicting as it was from a fans perspective we should have resisted the temptation to bring Mou back and appointed a manager who would have nurtured the young guys.

It does appear we are learning from that mistake but now we have to take the punches just like City and Liverpool did and resist reverting to type. 

[Vesper 28,796]

1 hour ago, BlueLion. said:

I really, really have to question his line-up today. The players looked dead on their feet from the half-hour onwards. 

or at least his sub timing

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

I was in the MHU today first 20 minutes superb football next seventy really worrying and here's the one major problem we have. Lamps should have picked an experienced number two Jody Morris is fine coaching the best kids at that level but you play that open against any of the top five and any decent European team then we are utterly fucked.

Be prepared for some bad results this season and yes I'm perfectly aware the season has just started but man alive that second half especially hit home what a difficult job Lamps has.

[Vesper 28,796]

1 minute ago, Iggy Doonican said:

I was in the MHU today first 20 minutes superb football next seventy really worrying and here's the one major problem we have. Lamps should have picked an experienced number two Jody Morris is fine coaching the best kids at that level but you play that open against any of the top five and any decent European team then we are utterly fucked.

Be prepared for some bad results this season and yes I'm perfectly aware the season has just started but man alive that second half especially hit home what a difficult job Lamps has.

Agree, Lamps could use an old head 2nd assistant

 

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

1 minute ago, Vesper said:

Agree, Lamps could use an old head 2nd assistant

 

Morris coaching the cream of not just English but European footballers so superior to the opposition almost every game. This is not just a step up it's a chasm. Mind you Jody Morris is the last person you could imagine coaching anyone the amount of shit he got up to in his career although paradoxically he might be just the right person to tell young kids to not make the same mistakes he did.

If you asked Jody Morris how do you know out of a group of young kids who'll have a successful career does he say I just separate the wheat from the chav 

[Vesper 28,796]

5 minutes ago, Iggy Doonican said:

Morris coaching the cream of not just English but European footballers so superior to the opposition almost every game. This is not just a step up it's a chasm. Mind you Jody Morris is the last person you could imagine coaching anyone the amount of shit he got up to in his career although paradoxically he might be just the right person to tell young kids to not make the same mistakes he did.

If you asked Jody Morris how do you know out of a group of young kids who'll have a successful career does he say I just separate the wheat from the chav 

lol @ wheat from the chav

[killer1257 3,282]

Lampard has a lot of potential and this team has a lot of potential. But Lamps messed up with the starting line up. I think that Barkley should have started with Mount, so Jorginho could have gotten some rest. Jorginho was one of our best players against Pool and he run his ass off that day. A fresh Barkley with Mount, who did not play that much against Pool, would have given us more stability and especially a better pressure off the ball. I also wanted to start Willian, but I don´t think that would have done anything good today.

I think that Lamps should give Batsman a chance next week, even though I don´t think that he is suited for Lamps system. But Batsman can score goals. He may not be involved in much else, but he can score goals at least sometimes and we currently need a goalscorer. Giroud is not a goalscorer and Tammy is very good for the last 20 minutes.

Also guys, don´t forget that RLC is injured and he was one of our best players last season. His physicality combined with his technique is something that Chelsea really need in midfield. CHO is also injured and he is way better than Willian. Also, CHO can cross the ball and with Giroud and Tammy, we have great headers. It is pretty sad that we currently have no good crossers at all. James is also injured and Azpi is getting worse every season and this is probably his last season as a starter for this club. James is a beast and he can cross too.

We had three tough matches a  the beginning of the season and we have phases in the game where we look very good, Last season under Sarri, I remember that we had matches, especially against the big teams, where we looked awful 90 minutes straight. Lamps improved our fluidity in our offensiv phase. Our weakness is probably that we don´t have the enough concentration in our midfield and we lack in goalscorers.