Super Frank Thread

[kellzfresh 7,226]

1 hour ago, Fernando said:

I think he has done better the last two games. 

I was annoyed at the defense so he has done good. 

Now I'm waiting to see how we will respond on the next games with relative easier opponent. 

I'm now cautiously optimistic. 

Exactly. I'm happy he's showing more concern to the defense. I was thinking it was very naive of him to think we can score 3 goals every game.

But he just needs to add a little more balance in attack against easier teams now.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

 

Lampard also has to find a solution for the midfield. It was a disaster from Jorginho and Kante against Manutd.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Our progression of the ball only coming from the fullbacks is making our attack predictable. We have to find a way to make the midfield contribute to forward movement

[Jase 43,479]

9 minutes ago, kellzfresh said:

Our progression of the ball only coming from the fullbacks is making our attack predictable. We have to find a way to make the midfield contribute to forward movement

Seems a big contrast to Conte, who instilled passing patterns and attacking patterns when he brought in his back 3 here. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,198]

It was heavily congested in the midfield. Still think the 343 should of never been deployed but I can understand if the approach was to "not lose at all costs but nick a win if we can". 

A lot is expected the next few games then. 

 

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

It was heavily congested in the midfield. Still think the 343 should of never been deployed but I can understand if the approach was to "not lose at all costs but nick a win if we can". 

A lot is expected the next few games then. 

Playing the back 3 was fine. The main problem was we played to not lose the game. The average position of the team was basically split into two - the back 8 and 2 upfront. It was overly cautious, no one was taking any risks, players told to stay behind the ball as much as possible. We didn't play it like we did against Spurs last season for example, where we actually looked to control the game and attack the opposition despite the back 3 setup.

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, kellzfresh said:

 

Lampard also has to find a solution for the midfield. It was a disaster from Jorginho and Kante against Manutd.

And people wonder why Jorginho gets criticized so much for his passing...

[Atomiswave 6,072]

https://www.goal.com/en/news/lampard-needs-time-succeed-at-chelsea-essien-backing-blues/m6ouk2c8vhky1g6tla9l0dbmk

[Jase 43,479]

3 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

https://www.goal.com/en/news/lampard-needs-time-succeed-at-chelsea-essien-backing-blues/m6ouk2c8vhky1g6tla9l0dbmk

He wasn't going to say he's doing a shit job about his former teammate, is he? 

As it has been said multiple times, yes, Lampard needs time but he also doesn't have time. He needs results if he wants time. He's been here for like 15 months and god knows how many times we've pressed the reset button on what's he trying to do. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,198]

7 minutes ago, Jason said:

Playing the back 3 was fine. The main problem was we played to not lose the game. The average position of the team was basically split into two - the back 8 and 2 upfront. It was overly cautious, no one was taking any risks, players told to stay behind the ball as much as possible. We didn't play it like we did against Spurs last season for example, where we actually looked to control the game and attack the opposition despite the back 3 setup.

I'm personally not a fan of a back 3 if Kovacic isn't in midfield. 

Bruno, Fred, and McTominay did a great job blocking the channels to our attack and forced us wide. We were extremely limited with what we could do through the middle and could hardly progress forward. This is where Kovacic could've been beneficial as he provides another option (dribbling) in transition vs passing it through the channels. 

I do agree though a lot of it was down to tactics. Curious to see how we do the next run of games. 

[milka 3,308]

What a team it was lol like so many years ago ... 

 

[Atomiswave 6,072]

3 minutes ago, Jason said:

He wasn't going to say he's doing a shit job about his former teammate, is he? 

As it has been said multiple times, yes, Lampard needs time but he also doesn't have time. He needs results if he wants time. He's been here for like 15 months and god knows how many times we've pressed the reset button on what's he trying to do. 

No he sure as fuck was not, yeah we need to show consistency very soon, FL knows he is under pressure.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

4 hours ago, Jason said:

Seems a big contrast to Conte, who instilled passing patterns and attacking patterns when he brought in his back 3 here. 

Yeah, its obvious to see. Lamps gives the team a free role in attack but he needs to play the 4 upfront consistently as soon as possible so that they get some team chemistry. Unless everyone will look confused more often than not

[NikkiCFC 7,582]

14 minutes ago, kellzfresh said:

Yeah, its obvious to see. Lamps gives the team a free role in attack but he needs to play the 4 upfront consistently as soon as possible so that they get some team chemistry. Unless everyone will look confused more often than not

He said it. Individual quality up front. Also our defense seems fixed because of 3 new players in this department too... So not sure for what exactly Frank deserves praise?

[Vesper 27,310]

Lampard was right to channel his inner Mourinho (even if he doesn’t like it)

https://theathletic.com/2158372/2020/10/25/chelsea-united-lampard-inner-mourinho/

It was the kind of performance Jose Mourinho would have relished when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea went to Manchester United and were resolute, well organised and quite dull to watch.

But it wasn’t the Portuguese who masterminded Saturday’s pragmatic display. Step forward his former disciple Frank Lampard, a man who has often been accused of being unable to set up Chelsea to keep a clean sheet over his 14 months in charge. Now though, he has achieved two in a row, having also held Sevilla goalless in the opening Champions League group game four days earlier.

Although two goalless draws are not exactly a cause for celebration, Lampard has reasons to feel satisfied. Edouard Mendy, his new signing and preferred goalkeeper, had to make a couple of good saves from Marcus Rashford, but it was clear Chelsea’s manager had learnt his lesson from their humbling previous Premier League visit to Old Trafford.

On August 11 last year, Lampard went on the attack in his first competitive game as Chelsea coach. Up in the Sky Sports studio, working as a pundit and shaking his head in relative disgust, was Mourinho. The visitors looked threatening, hit the woodwork twice in the first half and created many other opportunities.

But that spirit of adventure was their undoing. United counter-attacked four times and scored four goals. Chelsea’s players were caught upfield and simply couldn’t get back.

“My feeling is that they had the possibility to play with more know-how,” Mourinho chastised.

He went on to question Lampard’s team selection, a criticism which clearly stung when it was raised in the press conference afterwards.

Chelsea’s goals-against column has been used by Lampard’s knockers as evidence of his unsuitability for the job ever since. The 3-3 draws with West Bromwich Albion and Southampton in the opening five games this season only strengthened their argument that no progress was being made.

When it was put to him before the Sevilla match that he had the worst record of any Chelsea manager in the Premier League era, having conceded 63 goals in his 43 games, you could tell it hit a nerve.

“Since we have been here we have conceded the second least shots in the Premier League behind Manchester City, so sometimes it helps you to narrow down some of the issues,” Lampard said, doing little to disguise what he felt the real problem has been. “The issues are that we don’t concede too many shots on goal but when we do, we concede goals. It’s something we are aware of. You can see that in our recruitment.”

As an attacking midfielder in his playing days, Lampard loved nothing more than sprinting from one penalty area to the other to find the back of the net. It was a key reason why he left in 2014 with a club-record 211 goals to his name.

After spending over £200 million on new players in the summer window, including the offensive threat of trio Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, expectations are high to provide entertainment as well as silverware.

But Mourinho, as Lampard should remember from playing under him, enjoyed the benefit of a big budget during both spells as Chelsea manager (2004-07, 2013-15) and would pick his moments when to be more conservative. Nobody remembers the less distinguished displays when the medals are being handed out.

Some fans might not like it, but if anything, Lampard hasn’t done what he did against Sevilla and Manchester United enough. In both fixtures, full-backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James appeared to break forward a lot less than before.

In Manchester last night, Lampard changed the formation for the first time this season, reverting to three at the back.

But as this Opta average position map demonstrates, keeping their opponents goalless wasn’t just down to a change of Chelsea’s shape.

Only Werner (No 11), Christian Pulisic (10) and Havertz (29) spent the majority of their 90 minutes in United’s half. Havertz’s dropped deeper and operated close to James (24) and Chilwell (21) on the left flank struggled to get forward too. With Jorginho (5) and N’Golo Kante (7) operating in between, Chelsea effectively strung a five-man midfield across the pitch for United to try to penetrate.

To put that in perspective, look below at how they lined up at Old Trafford in that 4-0 loss last season.

Pedro (11), Tammy Abraham (9), Mateo Kovacic (17), Mason Mount (19), Ross Barkley (8) and even left-back Emerson (33) spent the majority of their time in the attacking half.

Another indication of the change in intent is how Chelsea operated in their previous away fixture this season, against West Brom. Obviously, there is the caveat that they were up against weaker opposition and also fighting (successfully) to come back from 3-0 down at half-time to get a point. But the difference is striking, as you can see below.

Unsurprisingly, the more defensive-minded players, including Jorginho and Kante, led the way on Saturday in terms of touches, passes, tackles, clearances, duels and interceptions. As a consequence, Chelsea’s attack floundered and produced just one shot on target.

Chelsea have not won at Old Trafford in the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in the summer of 2013. A run of five draws and three defeats was started by… Mourinho! With… a 0-0 scoreline!

It is a pretty damning statistic for Chelsea that more than a dozen other clubs (including Sunderland, Swansea City, Cardiff City and Norwich City) have done what they have not — win a league game at Old Trafford in the post-Ferguson era.

Lampard isn’t responsible for all those results, obviously. Yet he has clearly taken stock of where his squad is right now, tactically and physically, and determined that using some caution in the short term will benefit them long term.

Referring to that defeat 14 months ago, Lampard said: “We came here last year and, for me, we were the best team on the pitch for the first 60 minutes and lost 4-0. So when you look at where we want to go to, today’s result is a real base for us to work from. We’ve scored a lot of goals this season already and that will come, but today there were some good signs.”

With the new signings either adjusting to their new environment or working on regaining full fitness after injury, it will be a while before this Chelsea side’s potential can be evaluated.

Lampard suggested as much while talking to the club’s official channel before the weekend trip to Manchester, after being asked how much he takes the opposition into account when choosing how his team will set up in a match.

“It is much more important that we focus on ourselves and have belief,” he said. “There is always balance to that, but at the minute, I want to get ourselves right. When we get ourselves right, then I believe we can take on pretty much anyone, in pretty much any formation. We are still striving for that, and that’s clear.

“When you analyse us — and I do a lot in terms of how we have been conceding — a lot of it is about concentration. We work hard and we know how we want to be in different phases of the game, defending our box higher up the pitch. But a small lapse in concentration at our level can cost you. That’s what I enjoyed about Sevilla and Crystal Palace (the 4-0 win three weeks ago) because we didn’t really give much away at all — and that’s where we need to get to. That’s for us to work on but also for players to hold those high standards of concentration.”

In saying that, three victories from the opening nine games in all competitions isn’t good enough.

Chelsea now have a run of six games where Lampard will surely have to take the handbrake off and boost that win rate. Encounters with Krasnodar and Rennes (twice) in the Champions League — plus Burnley, Sheffield United and Newcastle United domestically — are a real opportunity to get some kind of consistency and momentum.

Pressure has never been far away from Lampard’s shoulders, and neither have defeats. Chelsea’s best winning run under Lampard — seven in a row — came to an end 12 months ago this week, funnily enough at the hands of Manchester United in the Carabao Cup. The next best was five straight victories either side of the three-month lockdown hiatus.

Lampard may not be comfortable with being likened to, or his tactics compared with, Mourinho in the tougher contests.

But if it means Chelsea are more likely to compete nearer the top once everyone is up to speed, then it’s worth the risk.

 

[kellzfresh 7,226]

17 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

He said it. Individual quality up front. Also our defense seems fixed because of 3 new players in this department too... So not sure for what exactly Frank deserves praise?

Lets hope it works out. Maybe with Ziyech playing a couple of games, with everyone knowing his quality and direct style of play, forming chemistry in the team would be easier.

[Jase 43,479]

16 hours ago, Vesper 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! 

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

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.