Super Frank Thread

[Atomiswave 6,117]

1 hour ago, manpe said:

Lingard is a horrible player, I never understood the hype around him other than a few good games he's had throughout the years. Willian is king of consistency compared to him.

Beacuse he is a utd player.....and he is English. Enough material to make him look big.

He is a crappy player earning huge amounts.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[LAM09 7,043]

 

I thought VAR was "gifting" Liverpool the title? [emoji848]

[!Hazard! 3,394]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

 

Spurs in relegation form regardless of VAR being there or not. Enjoyable

[Jase 43,479]

Welcome to life under Lampard at Chelsea… just don’t be late

https://theathletic.com/1375805/2019/11/14/welcome-to-life-under-lampard-at-chelsea-just-dont-be-late/?source=shared-article

Amid the many eye-watering sums involved in the leaked fines system that Frank Lampard has implemented at Chelsea this season, one particularly large number stood out.

The £20,000 penalty for any late arrivals to training represents around a quarter of the average Chelsea first-team player’s weekly wage. It is intended to be a powerful deterrent, and it is working: sources have told The Athletic that no one has fallen foul of it yet this season.

In reality, any first-team player late for the start of training at Chelsea — which generally begins at 11am under Lampard — would have an even bigger fine waiting for them. Players are actually expected to arrive at Cobham no later than the specified ‘report time’ set by the manager, normally 30 minutes to an hour before the session starts.

This is in place to enable Lampard’s coaches to make sure the players are present and fully prepared for the start of training, rather than turning up at Cobham with only minutes to spare and rushing to get changed.

As made clear by Lampard’s fine system, there is an immediate £2,500 penalty for missing the ‘report time’ and a further £2,500 for every subsequent 15 minutes that passes before the player’s arrival. This means anyone late for the start of training would actually be required to fork out between £25,000 and £30,000.

It only takes a glance at the fines list to realise the biggest point of emphasis: seven of the 12 infractions begin with the word ‘late’. Like many other managers, Lampard considers punctuality to be an indicator of respect — and not just for his authority.

When he gathered his Chelsea players together at Cobham during pre-season, Lampard stressed the need for them to show the same respect for the less heralded employees at the training ground — the canteen workers, the ground staff, the security guards and so on — as they would for him, his backroom team and each other.

Preparations for training begin early in the morning, with facilities staff carrying out countless tasks including pitch maintenance and making sure all necessary equipment is in working order. If players are late those efforts are undermined, and Lampard considers it a slap in the face for everyone who plays a role in the team’s success.

If they want, Chelsea players are welcome to arrive at Cobham early and have breakfast in the canteen. On any given day the majority of the squad do this while the rest eat at home, valuing time with their families. But the food service closes no later than one hour before training starts, with no exceptions; Lampard does not want his players training with full stomachs.

On the wider subject of nutrition, Lampard trusts his players to look after themselves. Antonio Conte brought his own nutritionist, Tiberio Ancora, to Chelsea and banned a host of foods while emphasising seeds, sliced fruit and nuts. Nothing is explicitly off-limits under the current regime, but players are still required to meet ‘body composition targets’ set by the sports science department.

Lampard’s approach to maintaining discipline has been well received by the squad, in part because it is clear that he has always practised what he preaches. As a player his reputation for consistently being last to leave the training pitch was well earned, and he would religiously spend 20 minutes in the steam room after sessions.

As a manager he remains a stickler for routine, to the point of superstition. “I walk the dog at certain times and on certain days,” he said last week. “I will walk her at a certain time, for a certain route.

“I take her out in the morning. I go out early before I leave, I take her down to the local coffee shop, get my takeaway coffee, walk around, pick up her s**t, put it in the bin, walk her home then go to training.

“I like going to the gym as well — that’s another one of my superstitions. I have to do exactly the same amount of time on the bike — 50 minutes — or the exact route that I run. Things like that. If I don’t do them, then I can feel like, ridiculously, it might have an effect on results.

“If it was something that was painful I would probably try and get rid of it, but it actually fits nicely. I like going to the gym, I like walking the dog, I like eating pasta as a pre-match meal, so I stick with certain things. We are all different, and I don’t completely rely on it. I joke a little bit, but I think it shows how much you want to do well and win sometimes, whether it has an effect or not.”

Lampard did not devise Chelsea’s fines system. Every permanent manager at Stamford Bridge in the last 10 years has run an equivalent, with many rules remaining consistent across regimes and a few being tweaked rather than replaced. Some managers are more controlling than others; Andre Villas-Boas personally monitored the sign-in sheets at Cobham to find out which players were late.

Those at Cobham speak of a self-policing culture in the squad, where players encourage each other to stick to the rules laid down by the manager. Having worked under nine different bosses in his own 13-year career at Chelsea, Lampard seems to have struck the right balance between laying down the law to his players and empowering them to behave as adults.

Phones are to be put away for the duration of team meetings and meals, and all players must travel back on the team coach after away matches unless they have a very good reason. There can be no special cases, and the well-being of the group is prized above any individuals. It is an extension of the approach Lampard has taken to picking his team — with merit the only guiding philosophy.

Other rules on the leaked list are included to uphold club policy. Players informing management if they want to use days off to travel abroad, for example, is standard because their whereabouts must be passed on to the Football Association, who conduct random out of competition drug tests and can either turn up at training grounds or players’ private addresses at any time.

In the modern age of marginal gains in elite football, it is also important for Chelsea’s medical staff to know if a player has been on a long-haul flight during their time off, so that their programme of recovery and physical preparation can be tweaked accordingly.

The leaked list states that all money generated by fines “goes towards team activities and charitable bodies” but, in practice, sources have told The Athletic that the funds generated are entirely funnelled into programmes affiliated to the Chelsea Foundation; if the squad go on a team bonding day, they will pay for the activity out of their own pockets.

Any affected Chelsea player also has the right to contest their fine, but what follows is not a formal process — merely a conversation with the manager in which the issue can be resolved.

The mark of any effective fines system is the maintenance of discipline without negatively impacting unity or morale. All the evidence so far suggests Lampard has got it right; at Cobham the mood is overwhelmingly positive, and on the pitch Chelsea keep winning.

[manpe 10,861]

9 hours ago, Jason said:

Welcome to life under Lampard at Chelsea… just don’t be late

https://theathletic.com/1375805/2019/11/14/welcome-to-life-under-lampard-at-chelsea-just-dont-be-late/?source=shared-article

 

 

Great article

[Vesper 30,083]

Frank Lampard wants Derby County man at Chelsea - report

The pair worked together last season when Lampard was Rams manager

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/frank-lampard-wants-derby-county-3540601

Frank Lampard wants Derby County goalkeeping coach Shay Given to join him at Chelsea, according to reports.

The pair worked together last season when Lampard was Rams manager.

Given remained at Derby when Lampard left to take charge of Chelsea in the summer.

Jody Morris and Chris Jones followed him from Pride Park to Stamford Bridge but Henrique Hilario was promoted to goalkeeping coach after the departure of Massimo Nenci, who had filled the role under previous boss Maurizio Sarri.

 

snip

 

great move, he can help sort Kepa

[the wes 7,212]

 

[Jase 43,479]

8 hours ago, Vesper said:

Frank Lampard wants Derby County man at Chelsea - report

The pair worked together last season when Lampard was Rams manager

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/frank-lampard-wants-derby-county-3540601

Frank Lampard wants Derby County goalkeeping coach Shay Given to join him at Chelsea, according to reports.

The pair worked together last season when Lampard was Rams manager.

Given remained at Derby when Lampard left to take charge of Chelsea in the summer.

Jody Morris and Chris Jones followed him from Pride Park to Stamford Bridge but Henrique Hilario was promoted to goalkeeping coach after the departure of Massimo Nenci, who had filled the role under previous boss Maurizio Sarri.

 

snip

 

great move, he can help sort Kepa

aka Hilario is doing a shit job as the GK coach. 

[xPetrCechx 13,570]

59 minutes ago, Jason said:

aka Hilario is doing a shit job as the GK coach. 

Move Petr to that role...

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Shay given was such an average goalie... how come he is now a great gk coach?

Also Christophe Lollichon who Petr was always very fond of is still at the club...

[NikkiCFC 8,286]

6 hours ago, the wes said:

 

Back four is the issue not Kepa.