2021/22 Frank Lampard

[riddick]

I think it's telling that Lampard, someone from down south with no Merseyside connection, understood far more how to connect with and set up a positive rapport with the Everton supporters than Benitez, someone who has lived in the City for years, did

Lampard seems to understand the importance of reaching across the aisle and getting the supporters onside

Benitez was either too arrogant or just too plain stupid to realise similar

When you're going to a club where the supporters have a predisposition to not liking you then you need to work extra hard to get them onside. Benitez didn't even try, and thus he was the architect of his own demise

I think it's option C- he just didn't care. He got MILLIONS for being crap and sacked. Why would you care if you were in his shoes? It's absolutely mad to me that the club employed someone like him. "Well Moshiri spoke with Abramovich and he was glowing about Benitez!" Ok, then why did he sack the fat waster? *crickets*

 

[TheBigIguana]

I genuinely don't get people who make this argument

It utterly ignores the context of what came beforehand, which was the worst run of form in the history of the club

Yes, Lampard picked up 20 points from 18 games, however to put some context around that - split the 18 games in half and Lampard picked up 6 points in his first 9 games, picking up 14 in his 2nd 9 games. Is it really so terrible to suggest that he had a real job on his hands to turn around the form of a club coming off the back of the worst 14 game run in its history?

Eddie Howe, who was lauded for turning Newcastle around, got 7 points from his first 9 games.

I don't see anyone claiming that Lampard is the messiah, but equally I think there's plenty of scope to suggest that he needs to be cut a little bit of slack when you analyse his performance so far.

You've uh... left out what Howe did in his next 9? Do you want to divulge that or might it be a little bit problematic?

 

[DL100]

Basically my take is the team was part of the issue but he himself was also not good enough

He got some things right and some things wrong.

I did like his honesty though and I think he will do better next season, obviously depends on this summer. He brought the fans back together though which was a job in itself.

 

[Carlito]

Punting Lucas and bringing in Myko was one of the things that saved us from relegation

Digne isn't a player that gets you relegated, nor is he worse than Mykolenko.

Dropping Kenny is what helped.

 

[roy vernon]

Agreed but why is context only given to Lampard?

Benitez walked into a job where over half of the fanbase hated the fella - to say that wouldn't have rubbed off on the players is laughable. The atmosphere wasn't a patch on what it was under Lampard which again gives the players a kick up the arse.

The reality is both managers came into difficult jobs but only one is given any context and the other laughed off "pfftt 9 injuries, £1.7 million budget and an angry fanbase why didn't he have uz top half!"

I think perhaps it is more accurate to say that Benitez is an arrogant and abrasive character who came in and soon began to fall out with people, he had morale, both amongst the team and the fans, at the lowest ebb I have witnessed it in 60 years watching the blues. Lampard is not yet the finished article as a coach, but, there are signs that he is bright enough to improve, I think he may well be the man to oversee the complete restructure of the team, time will tell, either way, keeping us up was a minor miracle when you consider the state that Benitez had left us in.

Before we get the 16th to 16th shouts, just think how many points Benitez won after he had pished just about everyone at the club off. He was an unmitigated disaster and only an owner as clueless as Moshiri would have considered appointing him at Everton.

 

[Marius57]

Good post mate.

He's certainly a decent fella I just think too many have gone balls deep because he's shown a bit of pashun and isn't called Rafael Benitez.

A few results like that 0-0 Burnley game and they'll be dissent in the fanbase we all know it its been the story of the last 6-7 years.

Its upto Lampard to ensure he gets 2 wins in every 3-4 games or so to counterbalance the inevitable poor results that will come throughout the campaign.

Moyes was the master of that - his tactics done us in many a big game but he knew how to then win other games to keep the pressure off his back.

Every manager since hasn't managed that.

Noone has gone balls deep in the way you did for benitez though.

The majority are saying Lamps did a decent job to keep us up and find an effective solution to the issues he was having. But that there needs to be improvement on that for next season. Its hardly going balls deep.

 

[Marius57]

Thats all well and good mate but thats because we were winning games of football and some still were moaning even when we were winning games 3-1 & 2-0.

Soon as we lost a game the atmosphere quickly turned which was the most disappointing aspect of last season for me - some fans cared more about their own ego than getting behind the club.

Pot and kettle comes to mind.

 

[Marius57]

You've uh... left out what Howe did in his next 9? Do you want to divulge that or might it be a little bit problematic?

19 points. Lampard got 14. Howe got to spend 100ml to help him with that. I guess that information might be problematic for you to divulge though.

 

[Prevenger17]

Forget about formations/tactics the point you made gets you quite a few points over the course of the season when your not playing well or are just not as good as the team your facing, in fact its arguable that's what kept us up.

We were in the sewers, wearing nothing but a loincloth and fighting mutant crabs with our bare hands. The only weapons you have in that kind of situation are tenacity and a burning will to live. Stopping to think about strategies, tactics and xg is a one way ticket to getting severed in twain by a ferocious clawstrike

 

[toffeeblue9]

You've uh... left out what Howe did in his next 9? Do you want to divulge that or might it be a little bit problematic?

19 from the next 9, but you're missing the point. I'm not saying Lampard did as good a job as Howe, I'm suggesting that saying "We really weren't much better from Rafael to Lampard where we? Lampard was 20 in 18" is blatantly ignoring the context of the job Lampard had on his hands and that turning a ship around isn't an easy task, in fact I tend to think you're on a wind up even suggesting it.

 

[kenada_blue]

You've uh... left out what Howe did in his next 9? Do you want to divulge that or might it be a little bit problematic?

Spend £100million?

 

[TheBigIguana]

19 from the next 9, but you're missing the point. I'm not saying Lampard did as good a job as Howe, I'm suggesting that saying "We really weren't much better from Rafael to Lampard where we? Lampard was 20 in 18" is blatantly ignoring the context of the job Lampard had on his hands and that turning a ship around isn't an easy task, in fact I tend to think you're on a wind up even suggesting it.

I'm not. There seems to be this idea that we either had to go down or barely survive and that wasn't and isn't true.

 

[Saint Domingo]

19 points. Lampard got 14. Howe got to spend 100ml to help him with that. I guess that information might be problematic for you to divulge though.

Don’t let facts get in the way of his ridiculous anti Lampard agenda. All the wins were pure luck, all the losses are evidence of his tactical deficiencies. Oh also all our players apart from Iwobi are crap but that in no way invalidates his first argument that Lampard is tactically inept despite getting results from players he’s admitted are awful.

 

[coollino]

Has a team ever finished 16th with a keeper not making a save before?

 

[Marius57]

Has a team ever finished 16th with a keeper not making a save before?

Its a mad argument. You shouldn't rely on your keeper.

Liverpool relied on Allison to make 76 saves last season. (Pickford made 117 for reference). But they should have just not played a keeper, I'm sure they would have stayed 2nd.

It's not like we set up to rely on pickford. It's that our defence isn't good enough to protect him. Ederson was still needed to make 60 saves.