Super Frank Thread

[Tomo 21,733]

3 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

@Tomo 

I know you have pointed out how good our style of play was under Frank in the early part of last season, with the 4-3-3 and Kovacic/Jorginho in midfield

In hindsight, I do wonder if that was a by-product of 1 year of play under Sarri, or something that Frank wanted, and introduced.

I'd like to think its the latter, as it seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to the majority of our games under Sarri, were we seemed to have dollops of possession with no-real end product.

I guess Frank did over complicate things since the season re-start, but our play these days doesn't seem to resemble any of the high press, high octane football from early last season.

Hope its just development phase, where he is trying to reintroduce those tactics to a rebuilt first 11

I don't think it can be solely explained as a by-product of Sarri (although no doubt there was a sweet spot where his positional play and Frank's expressive freedom hit a sweet spot) as we had performances in the two months leading to lock down that were excellent (Burnley, Arsenal despite the draw, Spurs, Liverpool and Everton, could argue patches of the Leicester and United games too).

I'm not sure what has happened since then, I can't work out if Frank is overcomplicating things or the new signings (Werner, Chilwell and Kai were as good as done when we restarted the season in June) have made him feel more pressure and become more results at all costs based.

The performances vs WBA and today after we reverted to 433 two 8's should be enough evidence to mean we persist with this formation now, it's no coincidence we've played well every time we've used that formation. 

[blues.bridge 343]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Per favore, per favore, per favore lascia che questo sia un test di realtà per lui. 

BASTONO CON QUELLO CHE FUNZIONA. 433 con il calcio a transizione rapida. Solo dopo aver bloccato con il suo continuo tagliare e cambiare siamo sembrati individualisti. 

Werner

Pulisic ------------- Ziyech

Monte --- Havertz

Kante

Chilwell --- Zouma --- Silva ---- James

Mendy 

gilmour instead of kante will be great

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

On 19.10.2020 at 5:06 AM, Magic Lamps said:

Exactly. we allowed even less shots on average last season and had one of the best shots on target and xG statistic in the league last season still conceded a ton of goals. That’s the whole point. we concede a lot of goals despite conceding fewer shots than most teams. Gk makes a huge difference 

we are yet to concede a goal when both Mendy and Chilwell are playing. Albeit in just 155 mins. If we are still shipping 2-3  goals per game when those two are consistently starting, I am not gonna defend Lampard anymore but until then there is the benefit of the doubt 

Stll not conceded a goal with Mendy and Chilwell on the pitch. We will never be perfect at the back but no team is. City, pool, Bayern all concede tons of chances and still are bailed out by their goalies. we are still not super solid but we make the chances we concede difficult enough for mendy to have a chance to save the shots which he has done excellently so far. This alone I would consider an improvement. Today was not a perfect match but I dont think we ever were not in control of the game given the quality of chances we conceded and the amount of chances we created. So there is progress even if it is just baby steps.

[Fernando 6,455]

As more time passes I'm under the certainty that if we get rice we will be close to complete. 

We got good offense, and improved the defense with mendy and chilwell. 

But our midfield is killing us. 

[kellzfresh 7,229]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

As more time passes I'm under the certainty that if we get rice we will be close to complete. 

We got good offense, and improved the defense with mendy and chilwell. 

But our midfield is killing us. 

It's clear the midfield is the problem. Look at how different we looked immediately he made Kante the lone Defensive Midfielder, Mount in his best position as a central midfielder, Kai as an attacking eight. Rice would have been playing the lone DM if he was signed. 

All the players who we said were not playing well started playing better immediately we switched to 4-3-3. Happy to see 

[Tomo 21,733]

2 hours ago, kellzfresh said:

It's clear the midfield is the problem. Look at how different we looked immediately he made Kante the lone Defensive Midfielder, Mount in his best position as a central midfielder, Kai as an attacking eight. Rice would have been playing the lone DM if he was signed. 

All the players who we said were not playing well started playing better immediately we switched to 4-3-3. Happy to see 

I'm no fan of Kante as a sitting DM but i'll suck it up in the short term if that's what it takes to make 433 two 8's our main formation. I wonder if we have an Ake esque recall clause on Gallagher... 

[Puliiszola 519]

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

I'm no fan of Kante as a sitting DM but i'll suck it up in the short term if that's what it takes to make 433 two 8's our main formation. I wonder if we have an Ake esque recall clause on Gallagher... 

I hope not, he is playing well. Letting him get some minutes.  Kova and Ziyech are decent back ups to the no.8 positions.

[milka 3,346]

 

[killer1257 3,282]

 

But TC thinks that Lampard's tactics were horrible and showed how bad of a coach he is, while apparently Nagelsmann is a world class coach and gets completely outmastered by Ole, who apparently is also according to TC a horrible coach like Lampard [emoji23]. Typical TC drama queens.

United beat PSG, got a draw against us and smashed Leipzig, who have a world class coach in Nagelsmann (TC opinion). They are not as bad as TC make them to be.

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[Laylabelle 9,351]

On 27/10/2020 at 5:22 PM, Jason said:

I know we haven't won at Old Trafford in a while but I didn't realize our recent record has been that bad, especially when compared to some of the other sides. So many of the United teams post-Fergie have been terrible and we haven't beaten them there once! 

No I didn't until was said in the commentary! Had to check.

Definitely not a favoured side for us..last league win was 2017...and since then played them 10 times with league games and Cup games..and won twice...

[Fernando 6,455]

25 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

But TC thinks that Lampard's tactics were horrible and showed how bad of a coach he is, while apparently Nagelsmann is a world class coach and gets completely outmastered by Ole, who apparently is also according to TC a horrible coach like Lampard . Typical TC drama queens.

United beat PSG, got a draw against us and smashed Leipzig, who have a world class coach in Nagelsmann (TC opinion). They are not as bad as TC make them to be.

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I still would take Nagelsmann in the future, but right now Lampard is doing fine, especially the good job he is doing in building a squad. 

Remember that before Mourinho came there was some good work being done in team building by Raniere. 

Lampard is doing the same with Cech and company in building a good team that even if he leaves whoever takes over will have a good squad. 

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

I'm no fan of Kante as a sitting DM but i'll suck it up in the short term if that's what it takes to make 433 two 8's our main formation. I wonder if we have an Ake esque recall clause on Gallagher... 

Kante is the odd man out - he doesn't fit the squad. But a dm in a 433 is probably the best fit.

Kai hasn't got the x factor to play a 10, playing as an 8 rcm fits him like a glove. He'll have options left, right and forward. Plus with the three forwards ahead of him he'll get more chances for late runs

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[Supermonkey92 1,428]

But TC thinks that Lampard's tactics were horrible and showed how bad of a coach he is, while apparently Nagelsmann is a world class coach and gets completely outmastered by Ole, who apparently is also according to TC a horrible coach like Lampard [emoji23]. Typical TC drama queens.

United beat PSG, got a draw against us and smashed Leipzig, who have a world class coach in Nagelsmann (TC opinion). They are not as bad as TC make them to be.

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Ole is a shit coach lol. You think the result reflects him as a manager as opposed to the difference in quality?

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[killer1257 3,282]

 

 

 

Ole is a shit coach lol. You think the result reflects him as a manager as opposed to the difference in quality?

 

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So what does it say about Nagelsmann as a manager when he gets outmastered by Ole? Nagelsmann said after the match that he did not expect some things Ole did tactic wise and when you look at the high line of Leipzig, it looked pretty clueless to me. Rashford was a complete bulldozer yesterday with their high line not working. He could have chosen a more pragmatic and more intelligent tactic instead, but he chose to go full nuts and lost 5:0.

If Nagelsmann is really that good, he should not have lost 5:0 against Ole, who in Nagelsmanns own words did tactics he did not expect from him and that threw Leipzig off.

 

 

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[NikkiCFC 7,942]

Weird they did not see each other.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

58 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Weird they did not see each other.

He has his backing, all that counts.

[Vesper 28,788]

The pressers, the creators and the target men: Who is in Chelsea’s best attack?

https://theathletic.com/2168252/2020/10/30/lampard-chelsea-attack-first-choice/

After watching back-to-back goalless draws, Chelsea fans were treated to a glimpse of what their new-look team might be capable of in attack against Krasnodar on Wednesday.

Despite labouring for long spells against a team missing eight players due to a combination of COVID-19 and injury, Frank Lampard’s team eased clear in the final 15 minutes with an emphatic Timo Werner penalty before Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic registered their first goals of the season.

All of Chelsea’s attacking options have now shown flashes of form in the early weeks of this season and, with eight players to pick from to fill three or possibly four starting spots, Lampard’s selection decisions will only get trickier. Who gets into his first-choice attack? The answer to that question will depend partly on form and fitness, but also partly on which qualities are required against different types of opponents.

Digging into the advanced numbers, The Athletic takes a look at some of the possible combinations Lampard will be considering over the course of this season…

The best pressing line-up?

Pressing is the separator in elite football. A smothering press can turn a talented team into a dominant one, as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, in particular, have consistently demonstrated over the past decade. Both men have proven their brilliance in devising bespoke pressing systems to nullify the strengths and exploit the weaknesses of various opponents, and the success of any press at the top level requires a smart game plan and excellent coaching.

But it also requires the right personnel on the pitch, players with the mobility and mindset to relentlessly hunt the ball as well as the intelligence to do so in a coordinated way. Some players are more suited to it than others, and Lampard — who wants effective pressing to be a cornerstone of his team’s style — always bears this in mind when picking his Chelsea team.

The advanced data collated by Statsbomb indicates that Mason Mount excels in this regard. Last season in the Premier League he averaged 22.8 “pressures” per 90 minutes (defined as the number of times a player applies pressure to an opponent who is receiving, carrying or releasing the ball), making him the most frequent presser among Chelsea’s attackers. His pressures also helped his team win back possession within five seconds 28.1 per cent of the time — a combination of volume and effectiveness that stands up well to comparison:

To the surprise of no one who watched him in Borussia Dortmund’s pressing system, Christian Pulisic also looks good by this metric. Olivier Giroud actually compares favourably to Tammy Abraham, though it’s worth noting the Frenchman started just 12 times in the Premier League last season and played fewer than half as many minutes as his younger rival. Now 34, it’s reasonable to wonder if he could maintain these pressing numbers as a regular starter.

Then we come to the new signings. Kai Havertz was part of an effective press at Bayer Leverkusen last season, but the numbers suggest he didn’t do a lot of the heavy lifting in it; he ranked ninth among regular starters for the number of pressures he averaged per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga. Werner was slightly more active in hunting the ball at RB Leipzig, but less effective in doing so:

Ziyech’s eye-catching numbers are taken from Ajax’s remarkable run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19, because it’s the largest sample size in terms of minutes played that we can analyse and advanced metrics for his Eredivisie career are not publicly available. It’s not perfect, but it does give an insight into what he’s capable of — and marks him out as very well suited to Lampard’s high-pressing aspirations.

On balance Chelsea’s best attacking line-up, in terms of pressing, is probably Pulisic on the left and Ziyech on the right with Mount behind Abraham through the middle, though there are a couple of caveats. The first is that Werner and Havertz have proved they are very capable of being part of highly successful pressing units, and Hudson-Odoi has the physical tools too. The second is that the organisation and coaching of Lampard’s pressing system are every bit as important, if not more so, than the individual players tasked with making it happen on the pitch.

The most creative line-up?

For a fuller picture of the creative value a player brings to a team, you have to look beyond assists, and even beyond key passes and chances created. Goalscoring opportunities can be created in a variety of ways, and the most valuable attackers are the ones who most consistently create shooting chances for themselves or their team-mates.

Shot creation was a problem for Chelsea at key moments of last season and Willian, the most prolific shot-creator in the squad in 2019-20 (averaging 5.12 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes) left as a free agent. Chelsea’s spectacular spending spree in the subsequent transfer window, however, should ensure this particular issue won’t hamper Lampard again:

An average of 4.33 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes last season made Havertz the best shot creator in the Bundesliga outside of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Werner wasn’t far behind at the hub of Leipzig’s formidable attack, and Ziyech’s average of 4.76 during Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19 bolsters his reputation as one of Europe’s most creative attackers. There was only a marginal drop to 4.36 last season as the Dutch giants were eliminated at the competition’s group stage.

Hudson-Odoi’s average of 4.69 is the other number that stands out, even if it is derived from only 852 minutes in the Premier League last season. This relatively small sample size mounts a reasonably compelling case that he could have a more prominent role to play against teams who set up to frustrate Chelsea; his expected assists per 90 minutes (xA90) average of 0.28 also looks good in this company.

Chelsea’s most creative attacking line-up might well be Werner supported by Havertz, with Ziyech on the right and one of Pulisic or Hudson-Odoi drifting in from the left. Against particularly deep-lying opponents, it might even be Havertz operating as a false nine, as he did to great effect for Leverkusen after the resumption of the 2019-20 Bundesliga season. Or if Lampard wants to go full Guardiola, he could field Mount and Havertz as attack-minded No 8s in a 4-3-3 system, as seen in the closing stages of the Krasnodar win.

The best line-up in transition?

Most opponents won’t give Chelsea many opportunities to attack in transition, but there will be moments this season that call for speed and precision in the open field. The good news for Lampard is that he has no shortage of attackers who are capable of doing damage with and without the ball at their feet against teams scrambling to get back into defensive shape.

Werner is the obvious choice to start up front here. As well as being easily the fastest of Chelsea’s strikers, his movement without the ball is excellent and he is devastating on the shoulder of the last defender, as Southampton found out to their cost earlier this month. He also proved himself to be a very adept ball carrier at Leipzig last season, as the table below illustrates:

Behind him, Chelsea’s best transition line-up should feature a blend of speed, creativity and dribbling ability. Havertz, deceptively quick across the ground for a player of his size and preternaturally gifted at timing runs into the penalty area in counter-attack situations, is also a natural choice. On the wings, there seems little to separate Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi, but both are more progressive ball carriers than Ziyech.

The answer, then, is probably to have one of Pulisic or Hudson-Odoi starting on the right in Chelsea’s best transition attack, with the other in their more natural left-sided position. A bonus for Lampard is that this combination has significant overlap with arguably the most creative attack he can field — meaning that, even if his team are denied transition opportunities, chances and goals should still be found.

The most effective Plan B?

What if all else fails? Even the most talent-rich attacking teams occasionally find themselves challenged to chase a goal or two in the final minutes against opponents hell-bent on frustrating them.

Lampard’s approach in these situations has often been to throw more and more attackers onto the pitch, hoping that a critical mass of individual talent will do the trick. It isn’t particularly subtle, and isn’t necessarily effective if the balance of the team is lost; Chelsea experienced this in the minutes leading up to Abraham’s slightly fortunate equaliser against West Bromwich Albion last month.

Giroud has been typecast as the quintessential “Plan B” for much of his career in English football. He’s always had the talent to play a bigger role for a good team but it’s easy to see why managers have chosen to use him as a contingency option. The striker who Eden Hazard once labelled “the best target man in the world” excels at doing the little things that make those around him better, as well as presenting a goal threat all of his own.

Despite having the physical potential to be the focal point of a slightly more direct attacking approach, Abraham is still refining those aspects of his game. Last season showed dramatic improvements in his hold-up and link-up play, but he does not possess the aerial presence of Giroud and is not as adept at finding team-mates when he does win headers.

Giroud’s target-man talents make him an ideal foil for Werner, who flourished when deployed as a second striker by Julian Nagelsmann alongside the more imposing Yussuf Poulsen or Patrik Schick last season. Lampard also has the personnel to supply the pair with plenty of quality crosses in a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 formation — whether it be Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi on the flanks or Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta making regular surges forward from the defence.

In the years to come, Abraham could well develop to match Giroud as a target man, and Havertz also possesses the aerial ability to be useful in a late siege. Overall, there’s every reason to think Chelsea have the tools to make late breakthroughs against defensive opponents with targeted pressure, rather than simply attempting to overload the penalty area with bodies.

---

These are just a few examples of attacking combinations that might work for Chelsea in different game situations, and the fact that it isn’t anywhere near a comprehensive list underlines the sheer embarrassment of riches that Lampard has to work with in the final third. Yet none of them functions in isolation; his biggest challenge this season is to balance this team consistently enough to show Roman Abramovich significant progress towards contending for the Premier League and Champions League again.

Three clean sheets in a row is a promising sign for Lampard’s defensive structure, even if he is still searching for a convincing midfield. At the other end, the scoring burst in the final 15 minutes against Krasnodar provided a thrilling glimpse of the attacking firepower that, with time, familiarity and the right structure, is capable of elevating Chelsea back to greatness.

[Strike 7,217]

On 10/28/2020 at 4:16 AM, OneMoSalah said:

I see Frank claims he is being judged differently due to being the only English coach at a top 6 club.

I think he has to remember he flew under the radar from the media when we were struggling last season for some reason or another. And guys like van Gaal, Villas-Boas, Benitez got it worse than he did at other clubs or here. 

I think he could of made excuses last season but not so much now because theres no obvious signs of improvement. Need to start seeing better progress starting tomorrow in an attacking sense. Good opportunity to get a good few goals.

Agreed. Its frustrating but I think Lampard playing victim here is not a smart move in managing perceptions. He's gotten away with it a bit because he's a legendary player. In 1 year + only autumn 2019 was a decent run of results!