Super Frank Thread

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

Lampard's predecessor had a track record of building a title challenging side (ok not winning but if he couldn't find a way to get us over the line then at that point we could have replaced him with one that could ala the Ranieri/Mou changeover) and that wasn't enough for the majority of fans to grant him time.

Really, Tomo? Are you gonna pretend like circumstances (e.g. Juventus came calling) didn't lead to Sarri wanting to leave? 

And given what subsequently happened with Sarri at Juventus, are you gonna say we made the wrong decision to let him leave for Juventus? 

[Tomo 21,751]

12 minutes ago, Jason said:

Really, Tomo? Are you gonna pretend like circumstances (e.g. Juventus came calling) didn't lead to Sarri wanting to leave? 

And given what subsequently happened with Sarri at Juventus, are you gonna say we made the wrong decision to let him leave for Juventus? 

Point is about the fan perception. Whether we were right or wrong to not give him that time is irrelevant to the point I'm trying to make.

I lose count of the amount of time I hear (paraphrasing) "would be easier to go all in on backing Lampard if we had a blue print from a previous job to suggest it may be worth it".

Sarri had that and 90% of the fanbase wanted him out, that's the point.

[Jase 43,479]

8 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Point is about the fan perception. Whether we were right or wrong to not give him that time is irrelevant to the point I'm trying to make.

I lose count of the amount of time I hear (paraphrasing) "would be easier to go all in on backing Lampard if we had a blue print from a previous job to suggest it may be worth it".

Sarri had that and 90% of the fanbase wanted him out, that's the point.

Even then, let's not pretend like there weren't circumstances - such as his management style - that led to people questioning Sarri during his time here.

And for the record, no one is crazy enough to suggest that Lampard should be sacked right now (something that some fans seem to think so every time there is something negative - even the slightest negative word - said about Lampard) but at the same time, let's not pretend everything has been or is rosy. No one associated to Chelsea wants to see him fail at the job and if he can improve us, get us to where we want to be, then great, all the better. As I said before, all the talking is one thing but ultimately, it'll come down to what Lampard does with the team on the pitch. It'll come down to team progression and results. If those don't happen, then we know how this will all end up.

[Strike 7,474]

I think James over Azpi is the best backline

[Blues Forever 1,232]

40 minutes ago, Strike said:

I think James over Azpi is the best backline

Nah Azpi is better, James just can't defend properly.

[Jase 43,479]

11 minutes ago, Blues Forever said:

Nah Azpi is better, James just can't defend properly.

One is better offensively while the other is better defensively. Can we find a way to merge them both?

[Blues Forever 1,232]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

One is better offensively while the other is better defensively. Can we find a way to merge them both?

Need to find a competent coach first, otherwise just buy a new RB who is good on both offensively and defensively. 

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

11 hours ago, kellzfresh said:

I'm happy with Anthony Barrys introduction, i can see signs of our improvements in defending. Tactical fouls to prevent counters, set piece defending, etc. 

The only thing is that the improved defense has come to the detriment of our attack, which looks stale compared to the beginning of last season. But once Pulisic and Ziyech come back and play a few games together with Havertz, I know the attacking fluidity will instantly improve because lampards system in attack largely depends on the quality of players and their form on the day. Its not a practiced system like Leeds who Bielsa grills to play a certain pattern no matter who is in the lineup. 

An improvement in using tactical fouling is hardly something you can solely accredit to Anthony Barry.

Its the players being a bit more cynical and realising that its stop it here or concede a chance more or less. I think Frank has maybe said it to them. I mean that Spurs documentary on amazon showed the situation at Spurs, they were too nice according to Jose and not horrible when they had to be. City do it, Liverpool do it, we've done it in past title winning teams, United have almost certainly done it with Ferguson.

Maybe he’s highlighted we were caught on transitions too much last season but a blind man could see that if I am honest, I mean when you have both fullbacks and 3 attacking midfield players pushed up as well as a CF almost all the time that tends to happen. Plus if Frank and Jody couldn’t see that we were caught out on transitions and they needed this guy to show them then I really would be surprised and shocked as it was a major downfall to our season. 

He is known for a lot of work on set piece analysis, maybe we will see an improvement over the course of the season, too early to say we have improved that already IMO. I am hopeful that will change because two of our biggest weaknesses last season was defending set plays and transitions.

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

11 hours ago, kellzfresh said:

I'm happy with Anthony Barrys introduction, i can see signs of our improvements in defending. Tactical fouls to prevent counters, set piece defending, etc. 

The only thing is that the improved defense has come to the detriment of our attack, which looks stale compared to the beginning of last season. But once Pulisic and Ziyech come back and play a few games together with Havertz, I know the attacking fluidity will instantly improve because lampards system in attack largely depends on the quality of players and their form on the day. Its not a practiced system like Leeds who Bielsa grills to play a certain pattern no matter who is in the lineup. 

An improvement in using tactical fouling is hardly something you can solely accredit to Anthony Barry.

Its the players being a bit more cynical and realising that its stop it here or concede a chance more or less. I think Frank has maybe said it to them. I mean that Spurs documentary on amazon showed the situation at Spurs, they were too nice according to Jose and not horrible when they had to be. City do it, Liverpool do it, we've done it in past title winning teams, United have almost certainly done it with Ferguson.

Maybe he’s highlighted we were caught on transitions too much last season but a blind man could see that if I am honest, I mean when you have both fullbacks and 3 attacking midfield players pushed up as well as a CF almost all the time that tends to happen. Plus if Frank and Jody couldn’t see that we were caught out on transitions and they needed this guy to show them then I really would be surprised and shocked as it was a major downfall to our season. 

He is known for a lot of work on set piece analysis, maybe we will see an improvement over the course of the season, too early to say we have improved that already IMO. I am hopeful that will change because two of our biggest weaknesses last season was defending set plays and transitions.

[NikkiCFC 8,286]

6 hours ago, Blues Forever said:

Nah Azpi is better, James just can't defend properly.

I agree. It is all about the balance.

Front 4 of Kai, Hakim, Timo and Puli plus Ben should be more than enough offensively.

And it is not like Azpi is not solid in attack. He gave us 30 assists in the last 4 seasons. 7.5 per season.

And Reece is still suspect in defence.

So this season it should be like last season. Azpi playing 2/3 of games. Reece the rest.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

2 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

An improvement in using tactical fouling is hardly you can solely accredit to Anthony Barry.

Its the players being a bit more cynical and realising that its stop it here or concede a chance more or less. I think Frank has maybe said it to them. I mean that Spurs documentary on amazon showed the situation at Spurs, they were too nice according to Jose and not horrible when they had to be. City do it, Liverpool do it, we've done it in past title winning teams, United have almost certainly done it with Ferguson.

Maybe he’s highlighted we were caught on transitions too much last season but a blind man could see that if I am honest, I mean when you have both fullbacks and 3 attacking midfield players pushed up as well as a CF almost all the time that tends to happen. Plus if Frank and Jody couldn’t see that we were caught out on transitions and they needed this guy to show them then I really would be surprised and shocked as it was a major downfall to our season. 

He is known for a lot of work on set piece analysis, maybe we will see an improvement over the course of the season, too early to say we have improved that already IMO. I am hopeful that will change because two of our biggest weaknesses last season was defending set plays and transitions.

But we were terrible against counterattack teams like palace all through last season and Lampard never fixed that. We even had a loss to west ham late in the season through two very annoying counterattacks. Seeing tactical fouling which I never saw before Barry became a coaching staff must mean something surely.

The set pieces part maybe we have to wait for a longer time but I feel somewhat safer now compared to last season where every set piece against us felt like a penalty.

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

Just now, kellzfresh said:

But we were terrible against counterattack teams like palace all through last season and Lampard never fixed that. We even had a loss to west ham late in the season. Seeing tactical fouling which I never saw before Barry became a coaching staff must mean something surely.

The set pieces part maybe we have to wait for a longer time but I feel somewhat safer now compared to last season where every set piece against us felt like a penalty.

Lampard played in two Jose Mourinho teams and a Rafa Benitez team here. Its not as if he’s never seen or heard of tactical fouling being used by top managers when these situations arise. So to credit it purely to a new coaching addition doesn’t sit for me, I think Frank’s realised you can’t try and play like we do and win the fair play award also because we will leave spaces. I think he’s learned that the hard way through last season and the players also have. Pep encourages his players to make fouls if necessary to prevent these situations, Jose does, Klopp does.