Super Frank Thread

[Jase 43,479]

Limp home loss to Bournemouth finally forces Lampard to utter ‘the F word’

https://theathletic.com/1460778/2019/12/15/limp-home-loss-to-bournemouth-finally-forces-lampard-to-utter-the-f-word/?source=shared-article

Soberly fielding questions after Chelsea’s fourth defeat in their last five Premier League matches – this one at home to Bournemouth – Frank Lampard finally brought himself to use the F-word: fatigue.

“It’s a possible factor but not one I want to sit here and say,” he admitted, before swiftly moving on to stress the need for Chelsea to show more daring with the ball and not play “generally too safe”. It wasn’t much, but it was a notable shift in tone from the bristling response that has followed any suggestion of tiredness in recent weeks.

Lampard is not naturally inclined to acknowledge physical or mental fatigue: you don’t make a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances during the first four years of your career as a Chelsea player by ever admitting to yourself that you’re tired. But even he could not ignore the signs in arguably his team’s most stale, sluggish performance of the season against Bournemouth, who appear to love playing at Stamford Bridge.

Eddie Howe’s men were comfortable in their counter-attacking game plan for long stretches, controlling the entire second half aside from one gilt-edged Emerson header, and Chelsea had run out of ideas long before Dan Gosling completed the smash-and-grab with the aid of VAR.

Even more worrying for Lampard than the defeat is the wider context. Chelsea’s performances have declined as sharply as their results since their gallant loss at Manchester City last month, and a lack of creativity in the final third is killing them. Their expected goals (xG) rating against the Cherries crept up to 2.02, but three of their previous four Premier League matches yielded an xG of lower than 2.0 – something that had only happened twice in the nine games before that.

The number of mistakes in Chelsea’s play has grown, with wayward passes and miscommunications increasing the attacking frustration at one end of the pitch and the defensive panic at the other. Philip Billing’s nine interceptions for Bournemouth – the most any player has recorded in a Premier League game this season – was equal parts his own excellence and opposition sloppiness.

After the match Lampard’s main focus settled on his team’s lack of intensity and imagination in the face of a dogged and disciplined opponent. It would be dangerous to assume that physical and mental tiredness are solely or even primarily responsible for Chelsea’s struggles, but there’s plenty to indicate that they are at least a significant part of the equation.

Since beating Brighton 2-0 on September 28 to begin a six-match Premier League winning streak, Chelsea have played 17 matches across all competitions in 77 days. Six players – Kepa, Kurt Zouma, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Willian and Tammy Abraham – have started at least 14 of them; Mason Mount has started 13 and come off the bench in the other four. Of the seven, only Azpilicueta remained at Cobham during the October international break.

English football’s schedule throughout the winter is notoriously unforgiving. Asked in February 2018 to describe the experience, Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne said: “You feel great for 10 games, then you feel OK for 10 games and then the rest you feel like shit.”

Lampard has publicly said all the right things about the need to rotate his players, but when results were good he was wary of disrupting his team’s momentum. Stung by a shock 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham at the end of last month when he made five changes and handed rare starts to Olivier Giroud and Pedro, Chelsea’s young head coach has since kept personnel tweaks to a minimum.

Mount, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante cover three midfield spots, while Fikayo Tomori may return to the centre of defence when fit and Reece James sometimes plays at right-back, with Azpilicueta sliding over to replace Emerson on the left. For matches that matter, the rest of the starting XI is pretty much set in stone – and recent weeks have seen the pool of players that Lampard trusts shrink significantly.

Giroud, Pedro, Marcos Alonso and Ross Barkley are all so clearly out of favour that it would be a surprise if any of them are still at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer. Andreas Christensen has dropped to the bottom of the centre-back pecking order after his ordeal against Everton and Michy Batshuayi’s heroics against Ajax feel like a long time ago: his last five substitute appearances in the Premier League haven’t yielded a single attempt on goal.

Lampard doesn’t feel he has enough capable options, and consequently the ones he does have are being over-extended. It’s hardly surprising that he has taken every possible opportunity since the Court of Arbitration for Sport lifted Chelsea’s transfer ban to insist that the club should pursue high-profile reinforcements – particularly up front and on the wing – in January.

This is a recurring theme at Chelsea. Sooner or later all of the club’s previous three permanent managers – Jose Mourinho (in his second spell), Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri – were either convinced or compelled to navigate the Premier League section of their fixture schedules with a tight group of players extended to their physical capacities, many of the rest dismissed and discarded.

Mourinho won the Premier League title in 2014-15 with just 12 players clocking up more than 1000 minutes in the competition: both John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic played every minute. Two years later only 13 players met that threshold in Conte’s spectacularly balanced and settled side. It was the same number last season under Sarri, who saved his changes for the Europa League.

Based on their Premier League time on the pitch so far this season, 14 players in Lampard’s squad are projected to pass the 1000-minute mark by the middle of May. The problem with such a tight group this time is that, unlike with Conte, European fixtures dominate Chelsea’s midweeks and, unlike with Sarri, they are in a competition that cannot be delegated to the reserves.

The good news is that the Champions League will require no further sweat until February, and Lampard has a full week at Cobham to recover his players and prepare for his first managerial meeting with Tottenham and Mourinho. Another limp defeat and much of the positive work Chelsea have done in the first half of this season’s top-four race will have been erased.

Victory, on the other hand, would be the most popular achievement of his Chelsea tenure, and bring fresh momentum to even jaded minds and legs.

[1905didierblue 748]

44 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

Lets see how we perform rest of december and jan, we have to jump start the engine again somehow, Frank has his hands full thats for sure.

We def need CL, the revenue alone is worth it as you said. And players today tend to love playing in CL....we might still get quality in but having CL footy can only help our case.

I dont mind fans showing their discontent towards their owner and boards etc. Look at arsenal, they are well within their rights to diss the shit out of them. I for one am not very happy with our board, there is no planning, no forsight, buying dross for so much money etc.

totally agree with the first 2 points.

Regarding the 3rd. How can we even compare ourselves to arsenal. in the last 10 years we have 3 PLs, 1 Cl, 2 El. Arsenal on the other hand have been shit for 15 years. We have been shit for 5 games. And this is what is unbelievable. The amount of entitlement is OTT on her.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

40 minutes ago, 1905didierblue said:

totally agree with the first 2 points.

Regarding the 3rd. How can we even compare ourselves to arsenal. in the last 10 years we have 3 PLs, 1 Cl, 2 El. Arsenal on the other hand have been shit for 15 years. We have been shit for 5 games. And this is what is unbelievable. The amount of entitlement is OTT on her.

I didnt compare us to them.....we are far ahead if your looking at titles etc. But our board is not great, far from it. I hope they prove me wrong come summer.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,944]

2 hours ago, BDTips said:

I'd rather we build the foundation so that we can be stronger in the future and be in one or two years fighting for the top than making decisions and spending all our money for short-term goals.
So that maybe next year we will be in an even worse situation.

Are we feeling confident that any of youngsters is going to be good enough next season to start for us? Tomori, James, CHO, Abraham, Mount? 

[communicate 2,703]

Gosh, now I have to defend Lamp. Lamp is perfectly fine. As long as we are not in danger of relegation and he play youngster he is doing a decent job. Just enjoy the ride, young manager, your team. So far, not so bad. 

I have criticised Frank quite a bit but I don't want him gone. I don't think he is ready to lead a contender and some of his decision is a bit of a head scratcher. But this season is all about our youngster especially the one from the academy. Next season is whole another ball game, depending on how much we spend I expect at least top 4 or title contention. 

[killer1257 3,282]

Are we feeling confident that any of youngsters is going to be good enough next season to start for us? Tomori, James, CHO, Abraham, Mount? 

Yes, Tammy and James definitely. Maybe Tomori After he is painfree.

Gesendet von meinem SM-G920F mit Tapatalk

[1905didierblue 748]

9 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Are we feeling confident that any of youngsters is going to be good enough next season to start for us? Tomori, James, CHO, Abraham, Mount? 

Tammy is the 2nd highest goal scorer, so I am not at all confident.

 

[Tomo 21,733]

9 minutes ago, Mana said:

I’m sorry but I strongly disagree. If Lampard is smart, no more “give it time” to some of these players. Enough is enough, they are not good enough. Season after season they proved the badge is too big for them.

If Lampard gives those useless players time and not get players in through January, Lamps’ neck is on the line.

Lampard has frozen out Alonso, Pedro, Giroud and Barkley, something fans were begging Sarri to do, especially in the formers case.

There's only so many players he can be "ruthless" with in one go.

[Nicco 927]

2 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Lampard has frozen out Alonso, Pedro, Giroud and Barkley, something fans were begging Sarri to do, especially in the formers case.

There's only so many players he can be "ruthless" with in one go.

Frozing players out in a transfer ban? Barkely is better than Mount and Alonso is still more likely to win you a match than Emerson.

[1905didierblue 748]

Just now, Nicco said:

Frozing players out in a transfer ban? Barkely is better than Mount and Alonso is still more likely to win you a match than Emerson.

Alonso is also as likely to lose you a game.

And barkley is shit. Take a poll and see how many wanted barkley and alonso to be frozen out, you will get the majority and your answer.

[Tomo 21,733]

2 minutes ago, Nicco said:

Frozing players out in a transfer ban? Barkely is better than Mount and Alonso is still more likely to win you a match than Emerson.

I agree with the latter and even said yesterday we miss him in games like that but I couldn't disagree more with the former, Mason's performances before the second international break (and against Villa) are better than anything Ross has produced for us bar the Southampton and Burnley away games under Sarri.

[Nicco 927]

1 minute ago, 1905didierblue said:

Alonso is also as likely to lose you a game.

And barkley is shit. Take a poll and see how many wanted barkley and alonso to be frozen out, you will get the majority and your answer.

Didn't we have a stat this season that we haven't lost much or any with Alonso starting? He is shit but he would've buried the chance yesterday unlike Emerson.

Barkley is still better than Mount any day of the week, I'm not denying I want them out asap but ostracizing them outside the team during the season with no transfer period around is beyond dumb.

[1905didierblue 748]

Just now, Nicco said:

Didn't we have a stat this season that we haven't lost much or any with Alonso starting? He is shit but he would've buried the chance yesterday unlike Emerson.

Barkley is still better than Mount any day of the week, I'm not denying I want them out asap but ostracizing them outside the team during the season with no transfer period around is beyond dumb.

WHAT? League cup united. Both goals his fault. Liverpool - lost his man on the corner. Ajax, 3-1 down and had to be subbed. But what do I know, if the stat says we have not lost, it must be so. 

If you think Barkley is better than mount, then good for you. I can only say, lets take a poll and lets see how many think so. You would have your answer. He has been pathetic every time he has taken the pitch. 

But this is not something new. I remember Hiddink saying "as much as the team loses, the youth keeps getting better". I think he meant when the team is not performing well, fans just ask for this or that youth player. Or in the current case "any player" that is currently not in the main 18. Even the likes of alonso and barkley. I guess the only reason its not giroud and pedro too is cause they got their chance against WHU and were mega pathetic. 

[NikkiCFC 7,944]

5 minutes ago, 1905didierblue said:

WHAT? League cup united. Both goals his fault. Liverpool - lost his man on the corner. Ajax, 3-1 down and had to be subbed. But what do I know, if the stat says we have not lost, it must be so. 

Liverpool we were already down when he came in and he didn't lost his man because we used zonal marking. Other two mentioned are not PL games. Soft penalty given to Utd yes but second goal has nothing to do with him and it was not important game tbh. Ajax stupid foul for third goal but Kepa should never let that go in. Lol can't believe I'm defending Alonso. But honestly Azpi and Zouma deserved more to be dropped than him. They costed us much more goals. 

[1905didierblue 748]

18 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Liverpool we were already down when he came in and he didn't lost his man because we used zonal marking. Other two mentioned are not PL games. Soft penalty given to Utd yes but second goal has nothing to do with him and it was not important game tbh. Ajax stupid foul for third goal but Kepa should never let that go in. Lol can't believe I'm defending Alonso. But honestly Azpi and Zouma deserved more to be dropped than him. They costed us much more goals. 

Was "PL" a condition too? Did not see in the previous post.

Watch the liverpool goal. No matter if we were using zonal, you still have to have a basic sense of positioning. AC is taken away by wjinaldum leaving a massive gap between someone and alonso with alonso being behind. firmino (iirc) just strolls in and scores. The goal is totally on him. Also, we were 1-0 down, but had just scored a goal which was ruled offside and were playing well. Its not like we had put in the towel. Case in point, we would have got a draw in that game had alonso done the basics right.

He has played 900+ minutes and made far more mistakes than azpi and zouma in that. Read his thread and the match threads in each of the game he played. Worst player and fans consistently calling for his head. 

The fact that his performances did not cost us cause we were flying high at that moment, compared to the current situation CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT be read as "since alonso is not playing we are losing".

[Atomiswave 6,072]

At the end of the day we have sadly too many dross ( thanks board ) and spent players. Then you add many youth, then you add a novice manager......its a sure cocktail for up and down displays.

[NikkiCFC 7,944]

Good news is that teams usually need around 75 points to finish fourth. This season will be needed less than ever. Probably around 65.