It's obvious that no strikers are available, man utd are desperate for one and are currently scraping the barrel for literally anyone, yet cant get one. This January market isn't right, simple as that. 

2 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Haaland, Duvan Zapata, Mandzukic and Paco Alcacer have all moved this window. Everyone would have strengthened us, some for the long-term and some for the short-term like Mandzukic.

And that's just some options from those who have moved already.

Jarrod Bowen is scoring for fun in the championship. Could have been an option too.

 

I'm going to take your word on these guys. I've never heard of most of them.

Regardless, I feel very strongly that Lampard needs to start setting a more positive tone, and stop blaming all our problems on finishing, because that's complete nonsense. This is his squad, get on and do your job. I don't see managers of other clubs complaining and they have to work with a lot less resources than he does, mostly. Furthermore, he's only been in the job six months, and he's got the job by virtue of who he is rather than his managerial pedigree, and he gets paid a king's ransom, so now he needs to focus on himself and what he can do better. 

12 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Haaland, Duvan Zapata, Mandzukic and Paco Alcacer have all moved this window. Everyone would have strengthened us, some for the long-term and some for the short-term like Mandzukic.

And that's just some options from those who have moved already.

Jarrod Bowen is scoring for fun in the championship. Could have been an option too.

I would add Piatek to that list who went to Hertha, it's funny really because we would probably somehow get more for Batman than what was paid for Piatek and Alcacer. Mandzukic went for a free transfer and would offer more than Batman.

16 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Haaland, Duvan Zapata, Mandzukic and Paco Alcacer have all moved this window. Everyone would have strengthened us, some for the long-term and some for the short-term like Mandzukic.

And that's just some options from those who have moved already.

Jarrod Bowen is scoring for fun in the championship. Could have been an option too.

 

I've heard of Mandzukic.

 

Out of interest, what's he bringing to the table that Giroud isn't? I mean, why would Lampard want him when he can't find much use for Giroud?

7 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

Regardless, I feel very strongly that Lampard needs to start setting a more positive tone, and stop blaming all our problems on finishing, because that's complete nonsense. This is his squad, get on and do your job. I don't see managers of other clubs complaining and they have to work with a lot less resources than he does, mostly. Furthermore, he's only been in the job six months, and he's got the job by virtue of who he is rather than his managerial pedigree, and he gets paid a king's ransom, so now he needs to focus on himself and what he can do better. 

I do agree with you regarding Lampard and blaming the results on lack of finishing, I see it more the lack of chances created and the lack of ideas of breaking teams down. Theres an obvious issue with set pieces too. I personally cant wait for Pulisic and RLC to return.

3 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

I would add Piatek to that list who went to Hertha.

 

He went to Hertha. Doesn't that tell you something? He can't get a game for Milan. A stop-gap signing of quality I would understand, but if we're looking for long-term upgrades on our back-up strikers, surely we're right to wait on the right guy, and maybe, just maybe, this guy wanted guaranteed first-team football,  after what's happened at Milan.

4 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

 

I've heard of Mandzukic.

 

Out of interest, what's he bringing to the table that Giroud isn't? I mean, why would Lampard want him when he can't find much use for Giroud?

Haaland is one of the top scorers in the CL.

But anyways, my point is that we had options if we had planned this better. Obviously you are running out of options when you leave it this late.

Regardless, the game against Leicester tomorrow is so important now.

I can just imagine the mood if Batshuayi starts and has a stinker and we lose.

Just now, Sindre said:

I can just imagine the mood if Batshuayi starts and has a stinker and we lose.

 

It's Frank's job to keep things positive.

1 minute ago, Davey Baby said:

 

It's Frank's job to keep things positive.

I know.

But he struck a frustrated figure post Hull and today he struck an ever more frustrated figure.

I can just imagine how it will be if we struggle and lose tomorrow.

He's just human afterall but yes i do agree he needs to try to keep it together.

 

1 hour ago, Argo said:

Signing someone that's not good enough just because they're better than someone else who's not good enough never has nor will be an acceptable excuse to sign someone.

I'm not sure I'm following your logic. Surely signing a player who's an upgrade on a player you've currently got is the right move, no? And what does 'not good enough' mean? By all accounts Giroud and Batshuayi aren't good enough for Chelsea at this point, so any striker who's currently better than those two is a good deal for the club, because he'd contribute more than either of those two.

8 minutes ago, Sindre said:

I know.

But he struck a frustrated figure post Hull and today he struck an ever more frustrated figure.

I can just imagine how it will be if we struggle and lose tomorrow.

He's just human afterall but yes i do agree he needs to try to keep it together.

 

 

His frustrations should be with himself above anybody else, in my opinion. It's very important he doesn't play the blame game, not even in his head. The teams we're struggling against, we have more than enough to beat, but there isn't much pattern to our attacking game, and that has nothing to do with the board.

By the way, Tottenham need a striker more than anybody, yet Jose very upbeat in his presser. If that old miserable c**t can do it, surely Frank can.

7 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

 

His frustrations should be with himself above anybody else, in my opinion. It's very important he doesn't play the blame game, not even in his head. The teams we're struggling against, we have more than enough to beat, but there isn't much pattern to our attacking game, and that has nothing to do with the board.

I disagree. We are creating plenty of chances most games. Lack goalscorers to put them away though.

We should also remember that two out of four attackers plyed their trade in the Championship last season and now Lampard is required to have these players deliver enough goals to get top 4. Another attacker is 19 and inexperienced while Willian or Pulisic has never been goalscorers. The options aren't great. Tammy Abraham isn't scoring at the rate he was to begin the season but the managers have no option but to play him every single gameday because the lack of alternatives. He'll now be completely knackered in a little while from having to play every game. I can see an hamstring-injury coming from a mile away.
When it happens we are in trouble.

I think the decision to not get anyone will haunt us. I really do.

Edited January 31, 20206 yr by Sindre

Conte,Sarri and now Lampard, they all wanted new players in January and complained in their own way.

Conte got Giroud.

Sarri got Higuain.

Lampard got nobody.

I find it funny that the person that called Lampard "deluded" talks the most about him and complains about what he says...So now if we look totally harmless while Tammy is injured, people will say how Lampard doesn't know how to do his job, so predictable. 

1 minute ago, Sindre said:

I disagree. We are creating plenty of chances most games. Lack goalscorers to put them away though.

We should also remember that two out of four attackers plyed their trade in the Championship last season and now Lampard is required to have these players deliver enough goals to get top 4. Another attacker is 19 and inexperienced while Willian or Pulisic has never been goalscorers. The options aren't great. Tammy Abraham isn't scoring at the rate he was to begin the season but the managers have no option but to play him every single gameday because the lack of alternatives. He'll now be completely knackered in a little while from having to play every game. I can see an hamstring-injury coming from a mile away.
When it happens we in trouble.

 

I don't disagree that upgrades on our striker options would be desirable. Everybody agrees that, including Frank, obviously. However if you think we've been creating chances you've been watching different games to me. Southampton, Bournemouth and West ham, we may have had 50 shots. I only remember one real chance.

6 minutes ago, Sindre said:

I think the decision to not get anyone will haunt us. I really do.

Neither Spurs or Utd at this moment have brought strikers in either so maybe it will not haunt us.

I agree our goal scorers are drying up yet think Frank needs to bring on Giroud later in matches, I think he will give us a better cutting edge either directly by goals or secondly by assists. 

29 minutes ago, abramovich said:

I'm not sure I'm following your logic. Surely signing a player who's an upgrade on a player you've currently got is the right move, no? And what does 'not good enough' mean? By all accounts Giroud and Batshuayi aren't good enough for Chelsea at this point, so any striker who's currently better than those two is a good deal for the club, because he'd contribute more than either of those two.

Not really, it very rarely solves problems bar maybe a quick boost, if anything it adds to the issue because ultimately when all said and done you have another player not good enough on the books.

For example, take Meireles for example, when we signed him we initially enjoyed him purely because he wasn't one of the midfielders that went stagnant under Carlo, but as soon as the novelty wore off we were stuck with an average player.

Another example imagine if Liverpool signed any old pair of defenders just because they were better than Lovren and Klavan, alas leaving them no room for VVD.

Just now, Argo said:

Not really, it very rarely solves problems bar maybe a quick boost, if anything it adds to the issue because ultimately when all said and done you have another player not good enough on the books.

For example, take Meireles for example, when we signed him we initially enjoyed him purely because he wasn't one of the midfielders that went stagnant under Carlo, but as soon as the novelty wore off we were stuck with an average player.

Another example imagine if Liverpool signed any old pair of defenders just because they were better than Lovren and Klavan, alas leaving them no room for VVD.

If you sign a player that is better than Giroud and then sell Giroud what is the result? The squad just got better for the short/long run. 
If you don't sign a player that is better than Giroud and keep Giroud what is the result? The squad is just the same for the short/long run.

I don't see your argument.

I think Lamps has every right to be a little peeved. The bloke loves Chelsea and he is a winner and he wants success. He's had a decent start and we are well placed going into the final stages of the season but although the wheels haven't fallen off, he and we can see that some players form has dipped and we are stuttering. He has seen our rivals add to their squads and all bar Spurs already have more attacking options than we do.

I'm kinda glad we haven't panicked and splashed out on players for the short-term but I can totally understand why Frank would be a little disappointed. It made sense to move on Pedro, Giroud and Bats and bring in 1 or 2 useful players, even if just on loan. He won't want to be seen as a failure and finishing outside the top 4 could well be deemed failure. Let's hope it doesn't come to that and we can kick-on, starting tomorrow v Leicester. 

34 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

Regardless, I feel very strongly that Lampard needs to start setting a more positive tone, and stop blaming all our problems on finishing, because that's complete nonsense. This is his squad, get on and do your job. I don't see managers of other clubs complaining and they have to work with a lot less resources than he does, mostly. Furthermore, he's only been in the job six months, and he's got the job by virtue of who he is rather than his managerial pedigree, and he gets paid a king's ransom, so now he needs to focus on himself and what he can do better. 

I normally agree with your posts Davey, but not 100% on this issue. Your points about Lampard having to take responsibility for the performances, being more positive and proving he deserves to stay on the job past this season by getting things done on the pitch are all valid. He's made his share of mistakes already but that's expected, given his lack of experience and how competitive the league is. But this is not his squad, not really, he inherited somebody else's players and somebody else's mistakes, had to heavily rely on youngsters who last season were playing in Championship and to date was unable to upgrade the squad through no fault of his own. It's easy for us fans to point fingers and pass judgment but it's him who is under pressure to deliver results. And if he demands the board to get him a goalscorer in January, he must have a very good reason for that, because come the end of the season it'll be him scrutinized and judged by where the team finished.

9 minutes ago, Argo said:

Not really, it very rarely solves problems bar maybe a quick boost, if anything it adds to the issue because ultimately when all said and done you have another player not good enough on the books.

For example, take Meireles for example, when we signed him we initially enjoyed him purely because he wasn't one of the midfielders that went stagnant under Carlo, but as soon as the novelty wore off we were stuck with an average player.

Another example imagine if Liverpool signed any old pair of defenders just because they were better than Lovren and Klavan, alas leaving them no room for VVD.

But if the player is better than the one you're replacing, you're still upgrading, no? Giroud is a third choice now and barely features, so signing a solid, if not spectacular player who can add some goals would still be an improvement and is better than doing nothing.  No club in the world has world class stars in every position, let alone on the bench. Unlike Michy and Giroud,  Lovren is OK as a serviceable backup on the best team in England and one of the best in Europe, so why can't someone like Mandzukic or Piatek (as an example, not a suggestion) be a squad player for us? Nothing stops us from going out and getting a top class striker in the summer, but in the meantime why not improve the squad and give the manager more options? Last, but not least, what are the realistic chances of us signing the world class talent in the summer, because nothing in our recent history suggests we should be sure of something like that. Nine times out of ten we're chasing someone like Alex Sandro for three months and then end up with a bucketload of Zappacostas and Bakayokos with a splash of Drinkwater.

31 minutes ago, Argo said:

Not really, it very rarely solves problems bar maybe a quick boost, if anything it adds to the issue because ultimately when all said and done you have another player not good enough on the books.

For example, take Meireles for example, when we signed him we initially enjoyed him purely because he wasn't one of the midfielders that went stagnant under Carlo, but as soon as the novelty wore off we were stuck with an average player.

Another example imagine if Liverpool signed any old pair of defenders just because they were better than Lovren and Klavan, alas leaving them no room for VVD.

Upgrading definitly hasn't been the issue at this club. The main problem the last years are that we've consequently downgraded in the market.

Courtois - Kepa
Hazard - Pulisic
Costa - Morata
Matic - Drinkwater
Morata - Higuain (didn't make us any better)
Moses - Zappacosta

Most, if not all players going out were replaced by someone worse.

20 minutes ago, abramovich said:

I normally agree with your posts Davey, but not 100% on this issue. Your points about Lampard having to take responsibility for the performances, being more positive and proving he deserves to stay on the job past this season by getting things done on the pitch are all valid. He's made his share of mistakes already but that's expected, given his lack of experience and how competitive the league is. But this is not his squad, not really, he inherited somebody else's players and somebody else's mistakes, had to heavily rely on youngsters who last season were playing in Championship and to date was unable to upgrade the squad through no fault of his own. It's easy for us fans to point fingers and pass judgment but it's him who is under pressure to deliver results. And if he demands the board to get him a goalscorer in January, he must have a very good reason for that, because come the end of the season it'll be him scrutinized and judged by where the team finished.

 

Nobody really expected or demanded top four last summer, and if he fails to get there, people will be citing mitigating factors, such as those you've just cited. I understand he's ambitious and wants to achieve his goals, and I understand he's frustrated, but what I would say to you and Nibs is this: The board are trying, just like he is. He wants his own players, or a certain kind of player, they are trying to get it done for him. Maybe they could do better, but maybe he could do better. The important thing is unity and positivity. He wants something, they couldn't deliver, not through want of trying, he shouldn't allow those frustrations to spill out into the public domain, or to filter through to his players. Say we were down in the bottom half, and the board suddenly started letting their frustrations known, wondering if he could be doing better, would you like it? I'd be equally critical of the board. We're all in this together. We're a club. Let's present a show of unity. That would be my advice. I'm not an apologist for the board, far from it, but I absolutely hate it when the manager starts presenting an image of unhappiness with transfers. I don't like it one bit, and never have. Klopp's a far better manager than Frank, he had far more pedigree when he joined Liverpool. He just got on with the job and started building something special and it took time. Maybe Frank should learn from the best.