Super Frank Thread

[Atomiswave 6,072]

1 hour ago, Mana said:

I still don't know if this season is still a write off or we can actually get top 4. I know United are off the table for the challenge but can we do it again against Arsenal and Spuds?

Maybe now even Leicester?

I would be disappointed if we dont get top4 now to be honest. We are only getting better, the team is gelling and its clear they are all hungry again. Lamps himself is improving and we can see that game by game imo. Bypass nasty injuries, back him in the summer and we are rolling.

[Laylabelle 9,351]

If we can carry on like this. All it takes is a blip or injuries. To early to call it but looks brighter then did after the 4-0 loss. We haven't played quite like that since! 

[Atomiswave 6,072]

9 minutes ago, Laylabelle said:

If we can carry on like this. All it takes is a blip or injuries. To early to call it but looks brighter then did after the 4-0 loss. We haven't played quite like that since! 

We look better, more cohesive and our fitness is great already. We already been fucked with injuries and still havent had a full power squad to choose from. Still very young, still getting the hang of it but looks good imo. Far more exciting, much more intent and hungrier than last season. Good luck to us.

[Jase 43,479]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/25/chelsea-ajax-frank-lampard

Frank Lampard says he is driving home to Chelsea’s squad the dangers of relaxing after they recorded a sixth straight win at Ajax. His team face a tough game at Burnley and he is drawing on lessons learned before he became a manager.

“I remember being a player and having good runs of form, slightly relaxing in training in moments and the form turned and I had to reassess myself,” he said. “I always felt that as a player so I became, as I got older, more fearful of good patches, fearful of any form of relaxation, so I push that and the staff do too. I certainly am the one who drives that home because that was me.”

The 41-year-old emphasised that, rather than shouting, directness and consistency of message are the keys to ensuring his players listen.

“I’ve had a couple of words occasionally but I’m not a manager that is full of rollockings as such. I like to have a message that is pretty clear over a period of time that I try and drive home, and certainly if I ever felt there was a lack of effort in training or in a game then that would be the moment that I would go towards [rollockings].”

Lampard acknowledged that managing modern players requires tact. “I would not say that I played under any managers that gave it out … [Harry Redknapp] would have been the one who was the most vocal at times, throwing a sandwich or stuff. [The] old school thing,” he said, laughing. “If it’s a firm bollocking and you talk about being on edge then I think that is good in a positive way. But do it consistently – who wants that every day?”

[Atomiswave 6,072]

16 hours ago, Mana said:

I'll be slightly disappointed too but, top 4 is a serious challenge. When Spuds eventually wake up from their slumber, they'll be rocking (or maybe they will not therefore, yay?) Then we have Leicester. They just sent an earthquake tonight beating Southampton 9-0, and they don't look like falling off. Rodgers and Leicester are no muppets in the PL.

As for Arsenal, well. They certainly have the squad to reach top 4, but Emery's tactics and questionable decisions such as leaving out creative players like Ozil, could ruin their chances for top 4. So until that changes Arsenal are nothing to worry about.

 

EDIT: Holy shite. City, Leicester and Liverpool are the only teams with double figures of positive GD.

I wouldnt be shocked at all if spurs dont turn it around, they seem way out of balance. Arsenal def have the squad for top 4 but as you said Emery is not up to the task, and utd is fucked all over the pitch. If we keep going like this and gel even more then top4 ought to be ours imo.....

[Jase 43,479]

Random Note: Phillip Cocu's Derby are sitting in 16th after 14 games in the Championship. 

[NikkiCFC 7,946]

25 minutes ago, Jason said:

Random Note: Phillip Cocu's Derby are sitting in 16th after 14 games in the Championship. 

No surprise. They lost all the best players in Mount, Tomori, Wilson...

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

A Win Is A Win 

[Jase 43,479]

3 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

No surprise. They lost all the best players in Mount, Tomori, Wilson...

But there were people who tried to downplay what Lampard achieved with Derby last season.

[Milan 17,853]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

But there were people who tried to downplay what Lampard achieved with Derby last season.

'He got them from 6th to 6th.' has to be one of the most simplistic arguments used here  

[Fernando 6,455]

The way we are playing reminds me of the style that AVB wanted to implement back then....

[milka 3,346]

 

[kellzfresh 7,229]

19 hours ago, Fernando said:

The way we are playing reminds me of the style that AVB wanted to implement back then....

AVB could never implement a fluid attacking team with lots of chances created. The only thing similar is the defending...

[Jase 43,479]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/27/christian-pulisic-staking-claim-fill-void-left-eden-hazard-chelsea/

“People talk about transition and obviously there is a transition when you lose a player as impactful as Eden,” said Lampard. “He scored or created nearly 50 per cent of our goals last year so you have to accept that and look where else in our team we can come up with that sort of end product and we do have the players to do it.

“We have attacking players that want to score goals, a team that want to move the ball quickly, we want to get the ball into wide areas.

“Sometimes we won’t be able to play through teams. At the minute we are scoring goals so we have to continue in that vein. Everyone wants an Eden Hazard in the team, don’t get me wrong, but we haven’t got one now.

“But we have got good players and it was important that we try to be an attacking force.

“The Chelsea fans who have travelled up here to Burnley want to see a team who are trying to play attractive football and that is the way I want us to play.

“Of course we have to be able to defend as well but I want us to defend up the pitch.

“If we can, we want to move the ball really quickly with a view to creating chances and the players are doing that. We work hard on it in training.”

...

“You come in cold, you have to evaluate and you work hard for messages to get across and we had a really tough start with the opposition, a few tough rides with results,” he said.

“But I did believe in the group and I do believe in them daily and I am just really pleased where we have got to. We have to be aware that we can improve. We have to be aware of getting overconfident in this moment. We don’t want to start putting crazy expectations on ourselves from within… let everyone else talk.

“But from within, we have to know it is game by game and how we can get better day by day. At the minute we have that feeling and it is my job to keep that.”

[Jase 43,479]

Frank Lampard's Chelsea are the real deal - this honeymoon period should not fade like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/29/frank-lampards-chelsea-real-deal-honeymoon-period-should-not/

There are a few similarities between the current situation at Chelsea and that which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer produced in his early days as Manchester United manager.

Chelsea have done as United did in appointing one of their former players as manager, with Frank Lampard brought in over the summer, and doing so has conjured a feel-good atmosphere at Stamford Bridge to match that enjoyed at Old Trafford shortly after Solskjaer's arrival at the end of 2018.

That feeling has ensured a degree of patience with the new projects in place: the managers are both liked and so started in their roles without needing to gain the respect of the fans. They have had no need to prove themselves, having already done so as players.

There has been a focus on youth and energy from both Solskjaer and Lampard, and plenty of playing time for academy products, all of which buys yet more time from fans, the thinking being: if things aren't quite alright at this time, there's a chance they might eventually improve as the players get more experience. The potential for improvement breeds optimism.

And so, both Lampard and Solskjaer are in a position where they would be afforded time to turn things around if they turn sour. As it happens, however, Chelsea are doing quite well.

After Saturday's thumping, Christian Pulisic-inspired victory at Burnley, Chelsea have won their last seven games. They have won their last six on the road, and they have won their last four away league games while scoring at least three goals in each match for the first time in the club's history. There are similarities in form with the early part of Solskjaer's tenure at United.

Solskjaer's effect at Old Trafford was immediate and stark. The players thrived in an atmosphere where they were allowed freedom to attack in a way they couldn't under Jose Mourinho. Solskjaer oversaw eight successive wins at the start of his managerial career at United, and 14 wins in his first 17 games, including a sensational comeback at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

It all prompted Rio Ferdinand to gleefully and prematurely declare on live television in March that United should "let [then caretaker manager Solskjaer] write whatever numbers he wants to put on a contract and let him sign it. Ole's at the wheel, he's doing his thing. Man Utd are back!" The club obliged by signing Solskjaer up to a permanent deal, but things have somewhat come apart at the seams since.

The trouble for United was that they were very much riding the crest of a wave. They were winning games without playing particularly well, and the statistics suggested they would eventually fall away.

In Solskjaer's first 12 Premier League games as manager, in which United remained unbeaten, the team scored 29 goals and conceded 9. According to Opta's expected goals metric, which rates the quality of chances created and conceded, United 'should' have scored 22.94 goals and conceded 13.43. Their actual goal difference in those games was +20, when the data suggested it should have been around +10.

The implication is that they were powered by a new-found confidence in attack (much to Solskjaer's credit), finishing off chances they might normally miss, and David De Gea's brilliance in goal. This season, they have reverted to the level the stats suggested they were at last term, both creating and scoring too few chances.

There may be an element of doubt around Lampard's side, then: are this Chelsea just full of confidence and flying through win after win in much the same way Solskjaer's early United team did?

There have been a few matches where that has been the case. The five goals in the mauling of Wolves, fuelled by Tammy Abraham's hat-trick, came from chances worth just 2.7 expected goals. Chelsea scored four when they should have scored 1.7 against Southampton, and they outscored their xG almost fourfold in the win at Burnley this weekend. There have been a few big wins that have made things appear better than they truly are.

But there have also been a number of poor results when they deserved more. They might well have beaten Liverpool when they ended up losing 2-1; the draw with Sheffield United should have been a win; they should have easily seen off Valencia in their Champions League defeat at Stamford Bridge.

In all competitions this season, Chelsea have score 35 goals from shots worth of 31.3 expected goals, but they have conceded 21 goals from chances worth 17.1. That is, Chelsea are showing better-than-average finishing under Lampard, but are also being beaten by good finishing, too. They should be scoring fewer goals but they should also be conceding fewer as well.

The important point here is that their actual goal difference in all competitions this season is +14, and according to the quality of the chances they have created, it should be +14.2. The numbers suggest that if Chelsea revert to the mean at both ends of the pitch, they should be in largely the same situation. They are getting results that are a good overall reflection of their performances, so given there is clearly room for improvement on the pitch - not least in defence where they are far too leaky - results could even get better, too.

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

Frank Lampard's Chelsea are the real deal - this honeymoon period should not fade like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/29/frank-lampards-chelsea-real-deal-honeymoon-period-should-not/

 

 

Easy to get carried away. We went 18 games unbeaten under Sarri and all wasnt exactly well and good after that and even during that run. United went 13 or 14 unbeaten under Ole and now look. There's still lots for us to improve upon, defending set pieces, keeping clean sheets in general and without Pulisic's individual brilliance v Ajax and Burnley we arguably werent clinical or creative enough in spells of the games where we should of been due to how we played.

These journalists havent taken into the account that we have got a lot of young players in key positions that make up the spine of a team (CB, AM, CF) and like all young players there will be games where they struggle or spells where they are inconsistent. 

We have to be patient with this team. Its easy to get excited yes but we are only 10 weeks into the season and still we havent played Man City, Arsenal and Spurs. Theres been plenty good so far but I do imagine this season still wont be plain sailing at all which other journalists and media outlets seem to be pointing towards. We should manage top 4 but Arsenal, Tottenham, United and even Leicester will push to the end for it too despite form, injuries, whatever else. 

 

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

6 hours ago, Jason said:

Frank Lampard's Chelsea are the real deal - this honeymoon period should not fade like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/29/frank-lampards-chelsea-real-deal-honeymoon-period-should-not/

 

 

I think a main difference is that OGS was just an ok player for ManUre whilst Lampard was absolute world class and is our greatest ever player and thus commands way more resepct within the club including the squad so he will definitely be given more time. Also Lamps has managed to transform the squad such that we now are very balanced with a lot of young players buying into Lampards ideas, and who can still be moulded whilst ManU have a very heterogenous group consisting of the remnants of various untuned shopping sprees of toxic egos, followers, a few fairly decent players and a few middling talents. That being said they are still more experienced than us in key positions so it will be a close call tomorrow and it is not guaranteed to stay this way if we become complacent.

In the end however the main reason for ManUre's demise is unrelated to OGS but rather the consequence of Utd being run to generate shareholder value rather than win trophies. Especially their IPO has been the final nail  in their coffin.

[Jase 43,479]

Chelsea’s Frank Lampard says dropping youngsters is only for ‘flip-floppers’

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/29/frank-lampard-chelsea-manager-manchester-united-carabao-cup

“There is a lot of noise, win, lose or draw; selection, whatever 11 I pick,” he said. “With this big wide world of social media it will be dissected and people will have different opinions and some people who are ex-players or ex-managers will have different opinions.

“I set out this season to see what these young boys could do. If I didn’t have a transfer ban and came to this club and had opportunities to bring players in during the summer, I still would have trusted the young boys. For me to have thrown that away after one game at Manchester United and a few opinions, that would have made me a bit of a flip-flopper.”

Lampard, whose back four could look even more youthful if Reece James and Marc Guehi start against United, was asked what happens to young players who are dropped after one bad game. “That’s part of the process for a young player,” he said. “They have to feel you believe in them. I remember my managers giving me that sense they believed in me because everybody will have a bad game or an off day. I think that’s part of my job, to give all my players belief, but particularly the young ones who are playing their first games or whatever at Old Trafford.”