Davey Baby

No, the question was who was a realistic upgrade. Slightly different.

That's 2 names. Rondon is in his first season at his new club, probably on ridiculous wages, we can't just go out and get him. Cavani was impossible.

Who is this realistic back-up striker we could have signed this window, that would have represented an upgrade, out of interest?

Lampard's demeanour in the presser is very disappointing. All season long he's said we'll only bring players in if they're an upgrade on what we've got. He's said we won't buy for the sake of it. Well guess what? We couldn't go out and get that guy. Who did people want, out of interest? Cavani? It wasn't possible. So we did what he said we'd do all along. We didn't buy for the sake of it. What's he unhappy about? He has a damn good squad. Every other manager wants better players but they have to work within certain constraints, and accept it. It seems to me Lampard of late has been trying to distance himself from our poor form. I think it's 14 points from our last 12. This is another way of him deflecting responsibility. As I said in a previous post, this summer he lost Hazard but he inherited a pretty good squad to which was added Kovacic, Pulisic, Zouma, Tomori, James, CHO, Mount and Abraham. It might not be what he wants but what he's got for now and he could be doing a lot worse. After all, there weren't any other Premiership clubs offering him work. It's time for him to show us his managerial talent and get the most out of this squad. That means being positive and making them believe in themselves. That does not mean giving off bad vibes at press conferences. Sorry Frank, you're the manager, if we keep dropping points the way we have been, it ain't nobody's fault but your own. That's the job.

Whatever happens Frank needs to stay humble, remember he's under-qualified for the job, and keep his thoughts to himself, rather than go bitching to the press. He's the manager, he's paid to get the best out of his squad, it's up to the board to get transfers done, and if they couldn't do it this window, he mustn't let it sour our season or his relationship with them, because that will only make us all suffer and he'll end up out of work. Every manager wants to improve their squad, you don't always get what you want, hopefully Frank is a bit more mature than some of our previous incumbents and has his eye on the long game. It would make a nice change. Also, to those bemoaning the fact we're yet to sign someone, either in this window or last, that doesn't tell the full story. Pulisic arrived, we signed Kovacic, Zouma returned. Those are three signings straightaway and most clubs would be happy with those. Reece James has entered the scene, Mason Mount, Tomori, Callum. We signed last season's top scorer in the Championship and so far he's got 15 goals. We didn't sign him but you get my point. These are all new players and they're pretty good ones. Ruben's returning. There's room for improvement in our squad but it's not all doom and gloom, not by a long shot. Frank needs to stay positive. If the deals weren't there to be done, or we couldn't get the players we wanted, we'll leave it to the summer, and hopefully we'll learn our lessons and bring in real quality. All season long Frank's been saying we won't just bring players in for the sake of it, he's said he only wants players that will improve us. If we have to bide our time so be it, and I hope Frank remembers what he's said all along, rather than trying to absolve himself of any responsibility. Any complaints he has should be kept in-house. He needs to be professional and not start upsetting the suits above him, otherwise I'm afraid we'll all pay the consequences.

I hope he can deliver a good corner.

De Bruyne is a simply fantastic player. Everything he does oozes class. Easily the best player on view. Someone will say he didn't really do much. By his standards maybe. By anyone else's he was simply sublime. His touches, his passes, his vision, boy what a player. He makes everything look so simple. One of my favourite players ever. Utd? With 2 minutes remaining on the clock they got a free-kick, right outside the box, central, dangerous. A great opportunity to score the goal they needed. Mata was on the pitch. Fred took it. If that doesn't tell you Solskjaer isn't up to it nothing will.

If Spurs want Giroud we should offer them a swap deal with Kane. Tammy needs an understudy.

I still struggle to live it down to this day.

When we sacked Ranieri I placed a bet that he would come back later with an unfashionable East Midlands side and win the title.

There was the time I predicted Lampard would be our all-time record goalscorer then would go and play for City before jetting off to the States. This was while he was at West Ham.

My guess, going on Chelsea precedent, is that we'll sign a striker, possibly on loan. Firstly, we have a habit of doing things at the death in the window, and secondly, whenever a manager has cried out for a player to fill a position, we've gone and got somebody. We've not always signed well, but we've gone and got somebody. Basically it's happening folks. I've been on this forum a long time. I've never been even remotely close to being wrong on anything.

Lo Celso is getting better. It's a case of adapting. He's got serious potential in my opinion but I agree, Eriksen has been a top player for Tottenham but we mustn't forget he needed time to adapt too.

Lo Celso replaces Eriksen. Signed permanently today, for £35m, which is a great bit of business.

You mean he never passes to Torres?

Nothing gets past you.

In probably our most profligate match for a while, we had 5 chances and scored 2. You'll find the word profligate on google.

Agree with this. I thought he played well against Arsenal and showed glimpses of his class. I was amazed when Frank subbed him because we were on top from the moment Frank took off Emerson and changed formation. Having said that, Frank was completely vindicated because we scored two late goals. Sadly that meant Kovacic sat out the next few games and we suffered as a consequence in my opinion. Sure, he came on against Brighton and wasn't his best, but for me he's a starter all day long.

I want to make clear that I'm delighted Frank's here, I love the fact he plays the kids, and I wouldn't want anybody else. I also posted long and hard in support of his appointment before he joined. However he's our manager now and like every manager he'll be scrutinised, and that's what this thread is about, and people shouldn't be deterred from posting their view. He makes mistakes, like every coach, particularly because he's young and inexperienced, and we have to take that into account. I'm not unhappy, I'm just commenting on what I see of his management thus far. We've got a big round of games coming up. Hopefuly he's going to draw a lot of praise after those games, and even if he doesn't, I'm sure he'll still have all our support.

Barkley's numbers when he joined us were almost identical to Frank's, and at a similar age, but whether he's good enough is irrelevant to the point I'm making, if you don't mind my saying. These are the tools at Frank's disposal, the players, and he has to do the best with what he's got, and they're pretty good. It's his job to make them better. It's his job to make them gel. It's his job to bring some cohesion to the attack. As I said over a week ago, quoting an article that I read, "Modern football at the highest level is about structured gambits. Attacking, just as much as defending, is about organisation, about players knowing where to move so that when the chance comes, the play is semi-automatic and too rapid even for packed rearguards to repel." Frank has spoken a lot about our finishing, too much for my liking. Now he's talking about the players, too much for my liking. He's making it known he's unhappy. In other words, he's absolving himself of blame when it comes to our inability to kill teams off, and he's wrong. A lot of this is about coaching. Creating chances at the highest level, against packed defences, against organised and disciplined sides, doesn't happen by accident, it happens on the training field, and telling your players repeatedly to put away their chances won't solve the issue. In fact, most games we play, we don't have many chances, despite Frank's protestations. These are his players. Constantly saying they're not good enough in the press isn't a good idea and it doesn't make him look good, neither to me or the players themselves. Earlier this season, when speaking about the transfer ban possibly being lifted, he said we would only bring in players if it was right for the club, he said he was very happy with what he's got, now he's saying something else, now he desperately wants them. What changed? He's only worked with these players six months. What's changed? Coach them, like Brendan Rodgers is doing at Leicester. Coach them. All managers want players but tell your board, don't tell the press. It's kind of a way of saying "this has nothing to do with me" and I don't like it. He's the manager. It has everything to do with him, whether he likes it or not, and our inability to turn possession into goals has far less to do with finishing and far more to do with coaching than he likes to admit.

The ball to Dave in the first half, that led to our goal, was sublime. Very few players in the world can hit a pass that well. It was hit flat, with pace, over a large amount of ground. Dave didn't have to break stride nor did he have to pluck it out of the air. It was the speed of the delivery that makes it such a special pass.

Well, in that case, Lamps should earn his money and coach them. Most clubs would be more than happy with our attacking personnel, and more than happy to have Barkley and Mount as AMs. Lately Frank has started blaming the players, which I'm always sceptical about. He's now saying we need new players and bemoaning the loss of Hazard whereas before he was always positive about our squad. Sometimes words don't have the desired effect. You can tell them to kill off teams till your blue in the face, just like you can tell them to pick up their man at set pieces. It's how you get your message across and it's how you coach them. I don't know why but it always seems to be the Chelsea manager who's moaning. I wish Frank wouldn't follow in that direction. He's let it be known he's not happy and he wants new players. I'd have far preferred if he'd kept that in-house.

Left out of PSG's squad to face Lille.

Disappointed not to see Lamptey start, or at least come on when we went 2-0 up. As for those that did start, Pedro was dire, I'm not going to miss him. Mount is struggling a bit but works his socks off. Tomori and Barkley were good. Kovacic was class, although he shouldn't have turned his back for their goal, similar to Jorginho against Arsenal when they equalised at the death. You need to be braver in those situations and Frank needs to instil the right mentality. Unfortunately Barkley will be dropped for the next game, alongside Kovacic possibly, and Jorginho and Kante will walk back in, and we'll suffer as a consequence. It was telling that he rested both for this game. As for Willy, he didn't have much to do but he should keep goal against Leicester, even though he's a really ropey keeper. I said a while ago Kepa needs to be dropped and it's time for Frank to bare his teeth. Edit: Well done Chelsea. Into the next round. We've played something like 35 games this season and kept 7 clean sheets. Nobody can say our games are boring.

My main gripe this season is what Frank has done with Kovacic. He was a dream to watch, in a pivot, we were flying, we were witnessing a player really coming of age, he was easily our best performer in my opinion, it was his time and Frank's messed with that, and it's cost us. Frank's tinkered with something that was really working. If I were manager my priority would be getting this guy back to what he was doing. He'd just started scoring goals as well, after a long wait. Hopefully Frank learns from this experience. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.