jking948

I agree, if we allow a counterattack, we are done. That’s why I’m concerned about Jorginho in the midfield. Anyways, I just respectfully disagree with you. Not sure this conversation can go any further.

I think we rate Jorginho differently. I think he does some things really, really well - but I also think he emphasizes our weaknesses. I agree with you that Mount and Kovacic have to start. I would be fine with any of Kante, Jorginho, or Barkley starting, depending on what Lampard is looking for, as long as he is ready to pull them quickly. Personally, I am most worried about the Wolves ability to counterattack. If you mute that, they are much easier to beat. But if Frank thinks they have a defensive hole in the midfield and that Jorginho or Barkley are better choices, I trust him. He knows a lot more than I do.

I don't think you can justify Jorginho starting in the midfield. Kante is quick and not weak against counterattacks. If Lampard starts Jorginho to get that midfield, I get it and am okay with that, but then he needs to be ready to pull him if Jorginho starts giving up counterattacks.

Lampard has to start Caballero against Wolves. Kepa is unacceptable back there. We need to play in a 433, start Pulisic, hope Kante is healthy, and be ready to substitute early. The team has lost complete confidence in Kepa and it is impacting the entire defense.

My guess is that Kante is here next season simply because COVID has made this transfer window a buyer's market and, frankly, I am not sure he has any buyers willing to pay a fair price. He helps when he plays, midfield is probably going to be a little bare until Gilmour gets healthy, and I am not sure that Gilmour is a better addition to the midfield during a season where we want to compete for the title - at least for right now. Nonetheless, I thin we probably sell him next summer for a nice enough fee, both sides say than you, and we move along.

This is going to be a tough match. But I'm less concerned about getting a draw. Either way, if we do not win this one, the only way we can guarantee Champions League would be winning against Wolves. I think Wolves, between their counterattacking prowess and low block, will give us a major problem. Today is super important. I'd go all-out and, if they lose badly, then they lose badly.

I actually would not be surprised to see him start against Liverpool. If Pulisic is not 100% or Willian needs a rest (or both), it would be a great occasion to start CHO and see what he does against an elite club. The kid is young and raw. Having a serious injury, a new manager, a potential world class talent entering and competing for time, and a legal dispute where it seems that he is innocent did not make CHO’s season easy. I just think people need to take it easy and give him a chance next season.

Indeed, I guess my concern is based around a few factors. The last time we played them in the Premier League, Kepa underperformed. Point being, I am not convinced that the FA Cup match was not an outlier, nor do I believe he is in good form since the restart.

I never understood the Willian hate. I admittedly did not become a true Chelsea fan until I saw my first match at the Bridge last summer, but I have followed the EPL closely for longer than I can remember. He's always been a nice player and has had two seasons where he was one of the best players in the Premier League. Overall, he has been a solid player that sometimes was asked to do more than he is capable of. But he works hard and tracks back well while his pace is glorious. Not sure he is worth a three-year contract, especially given our financial situation, but I appreciate him.

I think he should start the last two EPL matches and the FA Cup final. He is not particularly good. His best trait is, by far, his deep ball passing. He is accurate on those plays and likes to do those deep passes, even if they are not ideal in such a situation. With that said, he does not make the mental mistakes that Kept does, and while those mistakes are fine against Crystal Palace, they will not be against Liverpool or Wolves. I think going with a more veteran defense, like Frank did yesterday, will help against both teams' counterattacks.

He is one of the best passers on the team. As others have noted, he has looked great in a 343 because he has a centreback right behind him. That lets him know where to be defensively and be a little bit more free on attack. Werner is one of the best passing strikers in the entire world and Hakim Ziyech is one of the best passers, period, in the entire world. Pulisic and Azpi are both good and James has the potential to be a world class passer. I think with all of that freedom, Reece could become one of the better wingbacks/RBs in the EPL fairly quickly.

It is also Azpi's natural position and lets Reece do more in the midfield. It is no wonder, to me, why the two of them had their best matches of the season. I really hope Frank continues to put those two in positions to attack during the last four matches. It opens up our game and makes opposing defenses have to worry about five-to-six attacking threats.

I almost felt bad for Maguire today... almost. Giroud abused him. I think that Giroud is going to be a supersub for Chelsea next season in the Premier League and a constant starter in the FA Cup. It seems to me that the initial plan is a three man attack with Pulisic-Werner-Ziyech. That instantly becomes one of the most creative attacking groups in the entire league and probably in Europe, too. But, in matches where a bit more physicality could be beneficical or required, I think they will bring in Giroud. In the FA Cup, where directness and physicality is beneficial early in the competition, Giroud is a must-start.

Whoops, wrong thread.

Frank playing Giroud as the only player constantly in the box was brilliant. United came out with five-in-the-back defensively - something not surprising - and Lampard made sure they wasted those extra defenders. It meant that Chelsea was in control of the midfield for most of the match, even after the unfortunate injury. My guess is that he goes back to the 433 against Liverpool, especially if Kante and Pulisic are starting. I could then see the 343/352 against both Wolves and Arsenal.

His whole match was world class. He not only orchestrated our entire attack, but he was also tracking back and defending.

Yes, but the problem is we often do not generate shots with possession. I think, more than the defense, is that we do not do enough with possession. We don’t get into the attacking third fast enough. Often, once we get there, we do not really generate a serious attack because Azpi and Alonso turn the ball over or Kante resets the attack by passing short or back to the midfield. I really believe that they went after Ziyech and Warner to try and convert possession into shots. Right now, the only guy who does that every week is Pulisic. When the offense was clicking before the break, Tammy and Mount were also doing this.

Doesn't it make sense to let Lampard try Kanté in a few different places over the rest of the season to see if it is a fit? Kanté does a ton of things really well and seems like a great option against clubs like Liverpool and City who rely on quick passing, aggressive counter pressing, and exploit zonal marking. It seems like Kanté provides a way to neutralize that. Kanté is not a regista, sure. But when he plays a holding midfield role, he shuts down passing lanes and angles and prevents the team from getting picked apart in the midfield. A ball playing CDM that controls possession is absolutely one way to play and Kanté cannot do that. But he and Kovacic allows Jorginho, Mount, and Barkley to play as eights and to let the fullbacks focus more on attacking than defending. https://theathletic.com/1897059/2020/06/28/ngolo-kante-claude-makelele-chelsea/

I have followed the EPL for about a decade, but I never had a "club" until I saw Chelsea play Leicester at the home opener. Talk about a great season to become a true fan. The club lost its best player, had a transfer ban, have dealt with lots of injuries, and Frank has them competing to win the FA Cup and finish top-three in the table. From watching Chelsea Unseen, it seems like Lampard is both a motivator and tactical manager. He may not be as clinical tactically as Jose (at least right now), and he absolutely has struggled tactically at points this season, but he does let that stop him from truly experimenting. Meanwhile, all of the young players say nothing but great things about how much they love the "man" as a mentor, not just a traditional tactical manager.

Great article in The Athletic about how Lampard used a back three to tactically exploit Mourinho. Basically, he let Willian, Mount, and Tammy to press early, forcing bad passes, and then had five at the back preventing Tottenham for getting a fifth attacker unmatched - something they've done regularly with Aurier under Mourinho. https://theathletic.com/1481425/2019/12/23/michael-cox-how-pressing-tottenhams-back-three-and-overloading-the-flanks-saw-lampard-outwit-mourinho/

This kid is a special poacher. Chelsea has not had a player like him in a long time. He is full of confidence, athletic, long and tall, strong, and knows where to be at all the right times.

I have not really heard any rational fans calling for Frank’s head. He has an immensely difficult job and is going to take time to learn to manage this club. It is okay to acknowledge that while also criticizing some tactical decisions.

To be fair, James has played in the Premier League before and is being asked to just score goals. Pulisic is being asked to create, shoot, and track back and defend. He has excelled at the latter. I just think it will take at least one or two full seasons before we can evaluate how good Pulisic can be.

We scored five goals against two teams that were just promoted. We scored one goal total against two teams we’ll be competing with in the table. The attack has gotten lucky in the last two matches. Again, the team will be just fine throughout the year. They’ll get healthy and the young guys will develop. But nothing has consistently looked good since the start of the season, including the attack.

But it has been the same every match. It was 27.5% against Man Utd, 24% against Leicester, 32% against Norwich, and 17% today. The team is not attacking well. They are winning possession, sure, but they are not translating that into a good attack.