If Tammy can reach a level of Defoe I'll be happy. Despite his age, he doesn't look like he will develop into a player that will lead us to glory. Same goes for Mason and Cho for their own reasons.

RLC and Reece seem the real deal. Maybe it proves that physicality is crucial these days.

Excellent analysis on motd of tammys game yesterday, just little things thst he needs to work on in terms of anticipation, and movement. 

 

Tammy played through pain, he wasn't  even close to100%, and clearly a step behind the play in many moments, I wouldn't be too harsh on him. Thank God he didn't aggravate his injury because if he's out for any serious period of time, we're f**ked.

If he wans't fit, why didn't we play with one of our other 2 strikers? Especially with James whipping great crosses in, Giroud would have loved that.

He looked a shadow of himself to me, it's a shame because we've got some really big fixtures coming up, can we afford to give him a rest? I mean if we play with Giroud or Michy up top we are f**ked right? 

1 hour ago, abramovich said:

Tammy played through pain, he wasn't  even close to100%, and clearly a step behind the play in many moments, I wouldn't be too harsh on him. Thank God he didn't aggravate his injury because if he's out for any serious period of time, we're f**ked.

Just confirmed on twitter he played through a lot of pain.

Clearly shouldn't have been on the pitch yesterday.

 

Really bad management by Lampard. First, he risks making everything worse for Abraham with his injury, secondly what does that say to Giroud and Batshuayi? Thirdly, Barkley on instead of Bats.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Bats and Giroud’s confidence is shot to pieces. Surely it would be better to show even a tiny amount of confidence in our back up strikers, in case we actually need them one day.

Surely Abraham isn’t going to be playing every single game for rest of the season.

31 minutes ago, Slojo said:

He looked a shadow of himself to me, it's a shame because we've got some really big fixtures coming up, can we afford to give him a rest? I mean if we play with Giroud or Michy up top we are f**ked right? 

I don't think we are if we play Giroud, the closing game won't be as effective yet expect he will also be more clinical.

14 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

secondly what does that say to Giroud and Batshuayi? Thirdly, Barkley on instead of Bats

That they are not good enough? Everyone knows that already so nothing new.

Giroud is better then Batshuayi but doesn't suit our pressing-style and isn't motivated and wanted out. He's at the club but not really an option.
Batshuayi is unfortunately both lazy and not good enough at football.
For some reason he's been at the club for four years now, he should have been gone years ago.

And yes, Abraham will probably have to play every remaining game as long as he's remotely fit. For the reasons above.

And those are the reasons why Lampard was absolutely desperate for a new striker. And why he felt so let down when the club couldn't get anyone.

Because it's a massive blow to our top 4 chances.

 

 

 

 

50 minutes ago, Slojo said:

He looked a shadow of himself to me, it's a shame because we've got some really big fixtures coming up, can we afford to give him a rest? I mean if we play with Giroud or Michy up top we are f**ked right? 

15 days to sort Tammy out, should be long enough to recharge and rest.

1 hour ago, coco said:

15 days to sort Tammy out, should be long enough to recharge and rest.

Oh bollocks I've just realised we have a big break, cheers for that. That's convenient for us. 

3 hours ago, Slojo said:

He looked a shadow of himself to me, it's a shame because we've got some really big fixtures coming up, can we afford to give him a rest? I mean if we play with Giroud or Michy up top we are f**ked right? 

1 poor showing against Wet Spam when the whole team was poor and now we are F**ked if we play Giroud? Deary me he won the world cup, he makes attacks better and brings others in to the game far better than Tammy or Batman.

Plus he really wants to lead France in the Euros and impress his next employer. 

With James whipping in crosses and Mounts improved set piece delivery he will be useful. Frank just needs to believe in him.

If we can use Pedro who is as good as gone, and Willian, who hopefully is as good as gone, why not Giroud?

37 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

1 poor showing against Wet Spam when the whole team was poor and now we are F**ked if we play Giroud? Deary me he won the world cup, he makes attacks better and brings others in to the game far better than Tammy or Batman.

Plus he really wants to lead France in the Euros and impress his next employer. 

With James whipping in crosses and Mounts improved set piece delivery he will be useful. Frank just needs to believe in him.

If we can use Pedro who is as good as gone, and Willian, who hopefully is as good as gone, why not Giroud?

Bloody hell axman, if you're saying I'm being dramatic I'm seriously worried! But I'll tell you that Giroud performance was disgusting, one of the worst performances I've seen of the season, I think he's too slow and at 33 I can't really see him hitting any good form in this side. 

2 minutes ago, Slojo said:

Bloody hell axman, if you're saying I'm being dramatic I'm seriously worried! But I'll tell you that Giroud performance was disgusting, one of the worst performances I've seen of the season, I think he's too slow and at 33 I can't really see him hitting any good form in this side. 

Not dramatic, just too quick to write him off. If we play to his strengths he can offer a lot. He was awful against West ham it is true.

Willian has been awful many times yet can still get games and produce. 

Will just have to disagree with you on Giroud. His game has never had pace so age makes little difference to him unlike say Pedro. The mistake is asking him to play like Tammy. He is a different player and you need to tailor your supply to your front mans strengths.

6 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Not dramatic, just too quick to write him off. If we play to his strengths he can offer a lot. He was awful against West ham it is true.

Willian has been awful many times yet can still get games and produce. 

Will just have to disagree with you on Giroud. His game has never had pace so age makes little difference to him unlike say Pedro. The mistake is asking him to play like Tammy. He is a different player and you need to tailor your supply to your front mans strengths.

You raise a good point, I know his game doesn't rely around pace. However, the game has evolved, it's faster paced by the season, and Giroud just looked way out of his depth that game. But with the way Michy is playing at the moment, I'm not entirely against playing Giroud again, I mean... At least he can score a header. 

1 minute ago, Slojo said:

You raise a good point, I know his game doesn't rely around pace. However, the game has evolved, it's faster paced by the season, and Giroud just looked way out of his depth that game. But with the way Michy is playing at the moment, I'm not entirely against playing Giroud again, I mean... At least he can score a header. 

Mounts free kicks and James crosses. For it to work Giroud needs to stay up top and ONLY chase the centerbacks down. Only coming back to help on defensive set pieces.

Gives us a long ball option as most defenders wont beat him in the air.

He looks poor if you ask him to chase like Tammy. 

Personally I don't get why there is only one way to play ... if Abraham is injured and no-one else fits the "pressing from the front" style of play, why not vary the tactics to play to the strengths of whoever is on the pitch to replace Tammy ? Seems pretty obvious to me ...

Supposedly Rondon was available for a loan. I'd be OK with having him in the squad for a few months, he'd have been a real threat with James' and Mount's crosses into the box.

1 hour ago, abramovich said:

Supposedly Rondon was available for a loan. I'd be OK with having him in the squad for a few months, he'd have been a real threat with James' and Mount's crosses into the box.

In a way i am glad we didn't get another forward, it forces us to give Tammy a proper full season. He needs to push on in the 2nd half of the season and cement #1 spot for next season.

11 minutes ago, coco said:

In a way i am glad we didn't get another forward, it forces us to give Tammy a proper full season. He needs to push on in the 2nd half of the season and cement #1 spot for next season.

We need different options upfront, otherwise we become too predictable. Competition for places is important, it keeps everyone on their toes and doesn't leave room for complacency. In a top club, you need to prove your worth in every match, every training session.

Abraham cannot play all the time, he needs to be rested, otherwise we're running a risk of him getting exhausted or even seriously injured. Bringing in a solid veteran like Rondon until the end of the season is a good temporary option because on one hand it eases the burden for Tammy, and on the other doesn't get in the way of his development and future with the club.

It's the summer signings that will be a threat to our young players, because I expect us to go after genuine quality. They'll need to be ready for the challenge, and that's where this season's experience is so valuable to them.

52 minutes ago, coco said:

In a way i am glad we didn't get another forward, it forces us to give Tammy a proper full season. He needs to push on in the 2nd half of the season and cement #1 spot for next season.

He'd definitly get plenty of game-time regardless. There is a long way too go, and he already looks tired and i am sure he wouldn't have had an issue with resting against Leicester for example and heal up.

He actually said himself he hoped we would bring in Cavani so he could learn from him and develop.

3 hours ago, abramovich said:

Competition for places is important, it keeps everyone on their toes and doesn't leave room for complacency. In a top club, you need to prove your worth in every match, every training session.

Whilst I agree with this statement, I feel Liverpool are doing an excellent job in proving it wrong. They have a pretty much nailed on starting 11 and are storming to the title. I do think if you want longevity at the very top, you need a strong squad competing for places and let's just hope the scousers run out of steam after this year.

Seems he's struggling and defenders seem to now be doubling up in him and he doesn't seem to know how to handle that at the moment.

5 hours ago, coco said:

In a way i am glad we didn't get another forward, it forces us to give Tammy a proper full season. He needs to push on in the 2nd half of the season and cement #1 spot for next season.

Not sure I agree with this. It's great for Tammy that he's pretty much guaranteed the striker's position for the rest of the season, but it's not so great for the team when our best option is to continue playing a striker who is carrying an injury (like against Leicester) or may be otherwise fatigued or out of form. I'm not saying he's out of form right now, he's been playing well overall even if the goals have dried up a bit. Having some competition should also motivate him to keep improving and become a better player.

29 minutes ago, bluedave said:

Not sure I agree with this. It's great for Tammy that he's pretty much guaranteed the striker's position for the rest of the season, but it's not so great for the team when our best option is to continue playing a striker who is carrying an injury (like against Leicester) or may be otherwise fatigued or out of form. I'm not saying he's out of form right now, he's been playing well overall even if the goals have dried up a bit. Having some competition should also motivate him to keep improving and become a better player.

Sure would of been great to get a decent back up for Tammy, but remember the last two we brought in before Tammy, nothing is guaranteed, no matter how much you pay.

We know Tammy can score goals, and for most of this season so far we've done ok without decent back up. A fresh start after a 2 week break and we could be back in business. I'm way more concerned with the defence than the attack.