2022/23 Frank Lampard

[catcherintherye]

Well considering in his 2nd season he blew £200m on Havertz, Chillwell, Werner and Ziyech then a transfer ban may well have been a blessing in disguise.

Chilwell is a player theyve overpaid for, but some of this is a Chelsea thing (see this summer). Apparently Lampard really wanted Rice and Tarkowski who would have improved them.

My question though is, is the criticism of Lampard not what money- largely spent by others- went on players, or more that he didnt get the best from those players?

I mentioned a few posts back to yourself, he flunked the audition at Chelsea when he had huge money to spend, and was dealing with big egos. In essence that is the biggest part of elite management. It's not just making decent young players better, its trying to integrate potentially mercurial talents into a position where they can be most effective. That seemed to be where he fell down.

 

[catcherintherye]

523 suits 2 players. Patterson and Coady. The rest of the team look lost. Will deffo be his downfall

I mean to play devils advocate here, it suits Coady, Iwobi has been better as well.

It would be more difficult to me to name the players it doesnt suit. Probably Mykolenko and Doucoure look a bit lost in it.

 

[ah11984]

I think its partially that. But I also think it's to make us more difficult to play against/score against, and have extra height on set pieces.

I didnt see the game yesterday, but against a side who are awkward of set plays, looks like we didnt concede.

You guessed incorrectly.

 

[dannyboy]

I can see us winning games mate. Leeds and West Ham are beatable, and every game is close currently. New signings will help and will hopefully some returning players.

But yes, it was always a tough start. Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in the first 7, and if we are out of the bottom 3 at that point, it will be a steady start.

Leeds is huge. If we don't win that then Liverpool and Arsenal could easily slot a few past us and the morale of the players will be rock bottom.

We've seen before in the Premier League that teams who once managed to grind out games by the odd goal can quickly go the other way. Sheffield United are one that springs to mind.

 

[Nymzee]

I mean to play devils advocate here, it suits Coady, Iwobi has been better as well.

It would be more difficult to me to name the players it doesnt suit. Probably Mykolenko and Doucoure look a bit lost in it.

Iwobi just looks better in midfield. Can do that in this formation or a back 4.

 

[dannyboy]

I mean to play devils advocate here, it suits Coady, Iwobi has been better as well.

It would be more difficult to me to name the players it doesnt suit. Probably Mykolenko and Doucoure look a bit lost in it.

Iwobi has been better but does it actually suit him? He plays well but he still constantly gets overrun because he doesn't have the help in there. Look at the last 25 minutes yesterday. We could barely get into their half.

 

[PhilEFC]

I think the signings of Tarkowski and Coady were spot on. Both solid no nonsense defenders who put their body on the line and lead. They need a few games to get used to each other.

Onana looks a great player. If we could have got Gana in early as well and a striker, I think we’d be in a lot better position. That isn’t down to the manager, he’s told the board what we need.

There must have been someone lined up as a forward that fell through because I can’t believe we’d let Simms and Dobbin go. They might not be good enough, but they have got to be a better option than playing 3 wingers up front.

Changing the manager now isn’t going to have us challenging the top 4 all of a sudden.

 

[dannyboy]

I think the signings of Tarkowski and Coady were spot on. Both solid no nonsense defenders who put their body on the line and lead. They need a few games to get used to each other.

Onana looks a great player. If we could have got Gana in early as well and a striker, I think we’d be in a lot better position. That isn’t down to the manager, he’s told the board what we need.

There must have been someone lined up as a forward that fell through because I can’t believe we’d let Simms and Dobbin go. They might not be good enough, but they have got to be a better option than playing 3 wingers up front.

Changing the manager now isn’t going to have us challenging the top 4 all of a sudden.

Tarkowski and Coady are important for the season. If they find some form and we can switch to a back 4 it'll help the team a lot. I think it could go either way though. One from a team who got relegated and the other who was surplus to requirements at a mid table team.

 

[Eggsyblueskin]

While I was less then enthused about the signing of Maupay the fact he apparently likes to drop into midfield to receive the ball and is a hard working player will improve this side greatly.
I do still think we are heading in the right direction and some of the football we are now playing is far better than this time last season.
Lampard is coping with the absence of Calvert - Lewin better than we did last season as well.
We do desperately need a focal point up front and whether we have to wait for the return of DCL or sign someone else for the immediate future remains to be seen.
Also it’s imperative we retain Gordon.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

I do wonder how much Lampard is trying to work with Thelwell's vision rather than perhaps what he prefers. Happy to be corrected, but didn't he use 433 or 4321 at Chelsea and Derby?

Seems a bit of a weird shift. My hope would be that Lampard puts his foot down / changes his mind (if he is actually the driving force) and goes to 433 or 4321 at some point. Probably when a few players are back fit.

 

[moggeridge]

by the time the World Cup rolls round we will have played 16 games, then is the chance to judge. With Everton having minimal squad players who are going to leave the squad at this point. It could be a pivotal time for FL and his coaching team. Almost like a mid season break with full access to training and a small tour of matches. We could come out the back of it stronger.

On the other hand, as long as we've not spiralled out of control before that point (which I can't see). It is a perfect opportunity to change manager then and let them have the mid season or the 'pre season for the second half of the season' lol. Time on the training pitch with the squad, ready for the second half of the season. Chopping and changing manager over the last few seasons has got us to this point. Mis management at board level.

Look at Arteta last season, players brought in, poor start, but they had a great season in the end. I can envisage a strong season for us, if some of us can just see the bigger picture. Stability and support is what we need, lets give him time.

 

[Nymzee]

I do wonder how much Lampard is trying to work with Thelwell's vision rather than perhaps what he prefers. Happy to be corrected, but didn't he use 433 or 4321 at Chelsea and Derby?

Seems a bit of a weird shift. My hope would be that Lampard puts his foot down / changes his mind (if he is actually the driving force) and goes to 433 or 4321 at some point. Probably when a few players are back fit.

Indeed and he also tried to go to it last season before realising at the time we didn't have the personnel. I thought this Summer was going to be the transfer window to get him to his 4-3-3 but seems like they're doubling down on this wank Thelwell formation.

Funniest part of it is that we couldn't play 4-3-3 because we didn't have the midfield but now we have the midfield we are going with a formation that doesn't suit most of the rest of the team. ?

 

[catcherintherye]

You guessed incorrectly.

Story of my life haha!

 

[PhilEFC]

Tarkowski and Coady are important for the season. If they find some form and we can switch to a back 4 it'll help the team a lot. I think it could go either way though. One from a team who got relegated and the other who was surplus to requirements at a mid table team.

It could I agree, but both are improvements on Keane, and more reliable than Mina.

Holgate has looked more comfortable alongside both of them, and if Godfrey hadn’t been injured he might have been the same.

 

[catcherintherye]

Iwobi just looks better in midfield. Can do that in this formation or a back 4.

Probably mate, but it hasnt been tested yet really. The 2 man midfield with a bit more license seems to suit him.