With all the current negativity landing firmly at Frank's door, and yes his tactics have rightly been brought in to question, but i question whether we actually have the correct personnel and blend at the club to be successful and carry a title winning threat.

We have a fair amount of pace in the team but its mainly in the same areas, on the flanks, Pulisic, CHO, James, Chilli, in my opinion we have a distinct lack of energy box to box and in fact i can only identify Kante and Mount as the options we have.

It has become glaringly obvious to me that neither Kovacic or Giorginho are good enough, Billy is very inexperienced and although a great prospect, i feel his greatest attributes is not up and down the pitch but more of controlling the area in front of the defence, our other players in this area are out on loan.

We are now due to lose Kante to suspension and Mount has been on the go for club and country for some time now, i hav'nt looked at the stats but he cant be far off the most minutes for any player in the country.

I have no doubt that a lot of the reason we are currently on this poor run is that we get overrun and outmuscled by teams, we lack energy in vital areas of the pitch and very little physicality. City Toyed with us yesterday and had they wanted to second half, the scorline could have been far more embarrassing.

Frank has made mistakes, im sure he will be the first to admit, but you cant make a silk purse out of a pigs ear and the club have made poor decisions with regards Personnel.

I was thinking a few days back if we got another Manager at the seasons end what we he prioritise and came up with a decent striker and a box to box midfielder with a decent shot.

We seem to have a number of players that do not complement each other. 

I also still think we are rebuilding.

Kante and Azpi are coming to the end of their careers and our midfield and elements of our attack are not functioning well.

Yesterday City were much faster about the pitch than us, both moving the ball and running into space. We did not have someone that could deliver a ball long to a decent striker that could stretch their defense so were fortunate not to concede more.

 

I really think this season Barkley should of been a starter in our team, im confused as to why we let an attacking midfielder leave on loan, especially one with his ability and passion, seems like a very stupid move by whoever made the decision , unless of course he made it himself 

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by tmarmsi

7 minutes ago, tmarmsi said:

I really think this season Barkley should of been a starter in our team, im confused as to why we let an attacking midfielder leave on loan, especially one with his ability and passion, seems like a very stupid move by whoever made the decision , unless of course he made it himself 

Hindsight is a very privileged thing tmarmsi, i also think Barkley was a player worth keeping, but i suppose the form that Kovacic showed last season would have been one of the factors why he was given the nod over Barkley, at least he is still our player. Frank or anyone else for that matter could hardly have predicted how disappointing Kova was going to be this season.

I like Kovacic, but I think you'll only get the best out of him if you play him in the pivot. 

We have a great side, but the problems are definitely stemming from midfield, far too many passengers in the midfield area that aren't pulling their weight and stepping up. 

1 hour ago, tmarmsi said:

I really think this season Barkley should of been a starter in our team, im confused as to why we let an attacking midfielder leave on loan, especially one with his ability and passion, seems like a very stupid move by whoever made the decision , unless of course he made it himself 

I guess when we let Barkley go we were thinking Havertz would start banging them in.

I agree Barkley would have scored a couple over the Christmas period, his direct running and shooting would have concerned the opposition more than our current set up.  

At some point in the near future, I would be looking to replace all of Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante with taller, more physical midfielders who actually have an eye for goal. You really need a goal threat from all over the pitch, and this trio of midfielders simply do not contribute enough, nor are they particularly adept at the defensive arts in mitigation. Kante in particular is a fish out of water in any team that isn't playing on the counter.

Frank needs to find a way to try Gilmour as our deep play maker, and Havertz simply HAS to start as our attacking midfielder who creates and gets into the box.  You need to get the players in the starting XI that can actually hurt the opposition. Havertz is in that category for sure. I would also like to see Hudson-Odoi get more starts, as he always seems to continue with goals and assists when he actually gets to play.

For an intelligent man, Lampard does seem to make a lot of obvious and repetitive mistakes in his selections, tactics and game management ...

 

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by Sexyfootball

Midfield wise we are crying out to find a new Essien, Ballack and Lampard. 

Let's be fair here, we really were spoiled for many seasons under Roman with a lot of quality. That midfield though, with Maka, was something else.

I think for teams we are clearly better at then I would aim go this way:

                       Mendy

James      Zouma       Silva     Chilwell

            Kante             Mount

Ziyech / CHO      Havertz         Pulisic

                     Giroud

 

For teams that are better than us or we tend to lose at their grounds, Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton away, Watford away:

                                Mendy

               Zouma       Silva     Rudiger

James                                                  Chilwell

                Kovacic    Kante        Mount

  CHO   / Ziyech                          Werner / Abraham

 

The benefits of having two systems means in any one match where things are not working out you already have a potential plan B to change to.

Longer term we need better players.

You got to try and find the players' X factors and try to use them whilst gambling a bit with their weak points or trying to patch them up with the formation or tactics.

David Luiz is the pefect example of being a calamitous CB in a 2 but a world class central CB in a 3 and also a decent DM, all with the correct personnel around him.
Our squad in terms of raw quality is on par or better than Spurs and Man Utd, it is up to the manager to beat them and get that top 4 spot.

7 minutes ago, sonic90 said:

You got to try and find the players' X factors and try to use them whilst gambling a bit with their weak points or trying to patch them up with the formation or tactics.

David Luiz is the pefect example of being a calamitous CB in a 2 but a world class central CB in a 3 and also a decent DM, all with the correct personnel around him.
Our squad in terms of raw quality is on par or better than Spurs and Man Utd, it is up to the manager to beat them and get that top 4 spot.

I think Utd is now a better team than us and Spurs are stronger due to Mourinho's coaching.

This is not fixed in stone yet we need to play better, even Arsenal are starting to look better. 

 ??? 

I knew it was coming spend more money, I said last year several times you can spend £500 million but if the coach isn’t up to it might as well just burn that money.

Better players can get a average manager so far before he is found wanting.

4 minutes ago, Brutos said:

 ??? 

I knew it was coming spend more money, I said last year several times you can spend £500 million but if the coach isn’t up to it might as well just burn that money.

Better players can get a average manager so far before he is found wanting.

Yeah nothing to do with the players our form, this is on coaching. 

With the right coaching, these players could win the league. There isn't a weakspot in our first XI for the core minerals. 

I can't make my mind up on Frank, can he turn it around. Yes / No / Not Sure. I can't decide. But if he can't turn it around, it's because he isn't good enough, it has nothing to do with the players. 

1 hour ago, Strider6003 said:

I think for teams we are clearly better at then I would aim go this way:

                       Mendy

James      Zouma       Silva     Chilwell

            Kante             Mount

Ziyech / CHO      Havertz         Pulisic

                     Giroud

 

For teams that are better than us or we tend to lose at their grounds, Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton away, Watford away:

                                Mendy

               Zouma       Silva     Rudiger

James                                                  Chilwell

                Kovacic    Kante        Mount

  CHO   / Ziyech                          Werner / Abraham

 

The benefits of having two systems means in any one match where things are not working out you already have a potential plan B to change to.

Longer term we need better players.

That was meant to be Wolves not Watford!

I don't think the squad is capable of challenging for the title because we still have some serious deficiencies. We lack a creative player in the middle and also lack a strong defensive midfielder. In my opinion, these are the areas we should have addressed in the summer after signing Mendy and Silva.  Having said that, surely we should be comfortably in the top 4?  Are we saying the likes of Villa, Everton and Leicester have better personnel than us? It would be a massive failure if we finish outside the top 4.  Heck, even Arsenal are now breathing down our necks. Our squad isn't really that bad, surely?

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by TheSage

I think we have a quality squad as it is, with the only real issue being centre midfield, where we are missing something. 

For a team that is trying to play possession based football, I dont think we have a midfield that have the vision and passing range to play that way against the better teams. 

All have got a decent pass in their lockers, but i wouldnt say any of them are specialists, even jorginho who was brought in to be a deep playmaker, he doesnt consistently have the vision or passing range to make use of players like Werner or pulisic with balls into the channels. 

Then at the same time we can look lightweight in midfield aswell, and there are times we get out fought and overran. 

I dont see a combination that works, I know theres talk of Rice coming in, and against better teams, he would work better with Kante, but that then leaves either Mount or Havertz out of the side, and that would be more of a counter attacking approach. 

I think it depends on what team we want to be. Personally I think with the signing of Havertz and Werner, we are better off going with someone like Rice, sit a little deeper, press a little less erratically, and work on being a solid counter attacking side. 

If we want to go toe to toe possession and pressing wise with the likes of city and liverpool, then I think the midfield would need a total revamp. 

Midfield is the biggest issue for me, and it has been since Matic left. 

3 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

Yeah nothing to do with the players our form, this is on coaching. 

With the right coaching, these players could win the league. There isn't a weakspot in our first XI for the core minerals. 

I can't make my mind up on Frank, can he turn it around. Yes / No / Not Sure. I can't decide. But if he can't turn it around, it's because he isn't good enough, it has nothing to do with the players. 

Don’t get me wrong could we get more competition in certain positions yes this is always the case in any season keeping the squad fresh, do we have the quality to mount a good challenge to the PL 100% especially in a season when everyone is sh*t we just happened to be even sh*tter at the moment which could change anytime but judging by recent poor form little evidence Lampard can do it 

1 hour ago, bisright1 said:

Yeah nothing to do with the players our form, this is on coaching. 

With the right coaching, these players could win the league. There isn't a weakspot in our first XI for the core minerals. 

I can't make my mind up on Frank, can he turn it around. Yes / No / Not Sure. I can't decide. But if he can't turn it around, it's because he isn't good enough, it has nothing to do with the players. 

I disagree, I think we’re light in the middle, we lack energy and are far too often muscled out of things. Kovacic and Giorginho are only ok on their day but that’s far too infrequent. We need some presence and also someone who gets round the pitch. We’ve got the players to hurt teams that there is no doubt, we just need a couple of players to do the hard work.

Can anybody think of a game this season when we have truly dominated the opposition, I think these comments about having a strong squad are absurd, are the players completely silent this season?

Seems like none of them care

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by tmarmsi

50 minutes ago, TheSage said:

I don't think the squad is capable of challenging for the title because we still have some serious deficiencies. We lack a creative player in the middle and also lack a strong defensive midfielder. In my opinion, these are the areas we should have addressed in the summer after signing Mendy and Silva.  Having said that, surely we should be comfortably in the top 4?  Are we saying the likes of Villa, Everton and Leicester have better personnel than us? It would be a massive failure if we finish outside the top 4.  Heck, even Arsenal are now breathing down our necks. Our squad isn't really that bad, surely?

I don’t think for one second that the teams you mention have better personnel Sage, but it’s also about how those players compliment each other. I just feel we’re maybe one or two players off a complete and very competitive squad/side. Engine Room

6 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

At some point in the near future, I would be looking to replace all of Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante with taller, more physical midfielders who actually have an eye for goal. You really need a goal threat from all over the pitch, and this trio of midfielders simply do not contribute enough, nor are they particularly adept at the defensive arts in mitigation. Kante in particular is a fish out of water in any team that isn't playing on the counter.

Frank needs to find a way to try Gilmour as our deep play maker, and Havertz simply HAS to start as our attacking midfielder who creates and gets into the box.  You need to get the players in the starting XI that can actually hurt the opposition. Havertz is in that category for sure. I would also like to see Hudson-Odoi get more starts, as he always seems to continue with goals and assists when he actually gets to play.

For an intelligent man, Lampard does seem to make a lot of obvious and repetitive mistakes in his selections, tactics and game management ...

 

In recent matches, bar one or two moments (like the goal v Villa), we look like 11 individuals. A lot of quality ingredients there for the making of a very decent team but it's just not happening and that midfield HAS to be scrapped. Think it is clear now that Kovacic and Jorginho are not good enough as regular starters and Kante's form has been patchy and he shouldn't be starting every game. We need goals from midfield and goals won't come from those three and with Mounts goals also drying up, it's clear to see why we are struggling.

If Lamps had the benefit of hindsight and could go back I do wonder if he would have retained Barkley. He probably though with Havertz and Ziyech, his game time would be limited and who could foresee COVID and injuries, but as hit & miss as Barkley has always been, he was and still is the biggest goal threat from our midfield and we really could have done with him during this Christmas period.

I think and hope for the next few games we will see both Gilmour and Havertz in the midfield with Mount although Mount could probably do with a rest too. I haven't been for us signing Rice but right now we need something different, whether it's Rice or someone else. Hope Lamps gave them all an absolute rocket as that was poor yesterday. Not so much we got outclassed by a good City side but the sheer lack of fight and effort. As Keane and Souness highlighted, it's one thing to get beaten by a better team but at least go down fighting, not jog around aimlessly with not a care in the world, which Kovacic and Ziyech in particular were guilty of. That's inexcusable and I would expect Frank to let the players know that in no uncertain terms.

 

 

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by Nibs

Well done the Saints and now we slip to 9th.

I don't get the love-in with Gilmour, he is like Jorginho defensively and makes short passes not defense splitting passes.

His passes are progressive yet needs to the front players to move for him to make effective passes going forward. 

I remain to be convinced. 

 

37 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

Well done the Saints and now we slip to 9th.

I don't get the love-in with Gilmour, he is like Jorginho defensively and makes short passes not defense splitting passes.

His passes are progressive yet needs to the front players to move for him to make effective passes going forward. 

I remain to be convinced. 

 

He has started 3 games. Got motm in all 3. 

54 minutes ago, big blue said:

He has started 3 games. Got motm in all 3. 

Yet if we dive in closely against City we were 3-0 down so he had time as City were relaxing, against Liverpool which was very early on in the season he was an unknown quantity to them so they were unsure of his skills. I don't recall the circumstances of the others.

I don't buy the love-in of the media with the latest young chap to shine in one match and put pressure on the manager that then finds after trying to give him several chances he is a one-trick pony .

Now that may not be the case with Billy yet I have not seen any assists yet or going around a number of players so I am careful of having too high an expectation.

 

8 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

Yet if we dive in closely against City we were 3-0 down so he had time as City were relaxing, against Liverpool which was very early on in the season he was an unknown quantity to them so they were unsure of his skills. I don't recall the circumstances of the others.

I don't buy the love-in of the media with the latest young chap to shine in one match and put pressure on the manager that then finds after trying to give him several chances he is a one-trick pony .

Now that may not be the case with Billy yet I have not seen any assists yet or going around a number of players so I am careful of having too high an expectation.

 

I'm talking about his 3 90 mins, liverpool in the fa cup, Everton in the league, and krasnodar in the champions league. He got motm in all 3. 

He is 19, coming off knee surgury, the first 2 motm, he was just 18. He has come back from injury and still looks to have kept momentum, Im not sure what else he couldve possibly done to impress you. 

He didnt even play against liverpool this season. He was injured. So your saying he hasnt impressed you in a 30 minutes against City, whilst we were 3 nil down, or against liverpool in a game he didnt even play in!

Im not saying he is the saviour or anything, but i think its extremely hard to argue he hasnt been impressive, and without wanting to sound rude mate, if you dont even remember his 3 starts, how valid is your opinion, when you are basing it off the odd cameo.