2022/23 Frank Lampard

[Dymak]

Onana is not a defensive midfielder, well he certainly isn’t playing as one anyway

I think he is. It’s how he’s described on Transfermarkt, it’s where he was deployed during his best game against Liverpool, and he continues to be more of a defensive midfielder than anything else. Although, the entire side seems to spend an awful lot of time backing off and… defending.

Yes, he’s tried to get forward a few times, but he’s been mostly ineffective in doing so apart from the odd set piece. I think him and Gueye offer an overly defensive midfield partnership, and that one of them will end up being dropped in favour of a player that is more proficient in attacking midfield play.

 

[Bishop Thumpety-Thump]

And we would have been very fortunate to get a point.

But that’s football. Plenty of games over the years when we’ve blagged a win. That’s what makes football better than high scoring games like basketball and AFL imho.

 

[MikeH72]

I think he is. It’s how he’s described on Transfermarkt, it’s where he was deployed during his best game against Liverpool, and he continues to be more of a defensive midfielder than anything else. Although, the entire side seems to spend an awful lot of time backing off and… defending.

Yes, he’s tried to get forward a few times, but he’s been mostly ineffective in doing so apart from the odd set piece. I think him and Gueye offer an overly defensive midfield partnership, and that one of them will end up being dropped in favour of a player that is more proficient in attacking midfield play.

@Nymzee

 

[Nymzee]

@Nymzee

Oh well then, must be true. I’ll remove my eyes.

 

[deipnosophist]

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter if we had De Bruyne. The players are stood still, watching the man on the ball. They should be moving into space and offering options, instead, they literally ball watch. It's criminal.

netball drills would help with this...in that game, players wanting to receive the ball must run into space

 

[Dymak]

Oh well then, must be true. I’ll remove my eyes.

Well, let’s see where he ends up.

 

[Goat]

 

[Osamabindiesel]

I would say that the goal was against the run of play. Onana pickpocket -> Gray being unusually selfless and finding a great pass -> nasty long-range bomb from Iwobi. The latter two don't happen in most fixtures.

We were caught out as not quite the finished article, but there are worse losses at Goodison than United on a Dr. Jekyll day.

Against the run of play makes sense when you play counter attacking footy as we often do. We just switched off completely for about 20 minutes after the goal and that is something that can’t happen.

 

[Martin Alvito]

Against the run of play makes sense when you play counter attacking footy as we often do. We just switched off completely for about 20 minutes after the goal and that is something that can’t happen.

No doubt. Ball control was sloppy to the point that we were punished twice for the errors. Footy is a game where errors outside the defensive third rarely get punished meaningfully, due to the complexity of turning a mistake into a goal. If you make enough of them, though, it becomes likely that sooner or later the opponent will string the passes together to make you pay.

 

[Osamabindiesel]

One thing I will add is we didn’t get our wings involved in the first half and that was the nail in the coffin for our attack. Whether Gray/Gordon are having a good game or not we have to utilize them to get down the pitch or we will stagnate more often than not in our current setup.

We used the wings in the 2nd and it made all the difference. Even got Myko up the pitch.

 

[Goat]

One thing I will add is we didn’t get our wings involved in the first half and that was the nail in the coffin for our attack. Whether Gray/Gordon are having a good game or not we have to utilize them to get down the pitch or we will stagnate more often than not in our current setup.

We used the wings in the 2nd and it made all the difference. Even got Myko up the pitch.

My cousin pointed out that as well as switching the sides of the "wingers", we also switched the roles of the fullbacks with the wingers at times.

Hence Myko given more freedom to push on.

 

[YoboCopter]

.We'll have a better idea by the World Cup.
.

We need to get to the World Cup looking competitive.

I cant see lampard doing well in this winters world cup i think it would be unfair to judge him on that myself

Or you mean as a pundit?

 

[LocalNative]

That’s a big concern for me. We’ve won games without playing overly well, we need to start doing better in possession to have a decent season

 

[Martin Alvito]

That’s a big concern for me. We’ve won games without playing overly well, we need to start doing better in possession to have a decent season

I'm less certain. If you can sterilize the opponent's possession, the only thing that matters is whether or not you're generating enough chances to get the W. There's little doubt that we're a rubbish attacking side that lacks a lockpick. That said, if we cut out opposing chances, play well on the counter and convert an above-average proportion of set pieces, we can significantly outperform those numbers in the table.

 

[LocalNative]

I'm less certain. If you can sterilize the opponent's possession, the only thing that matters is whether or not you're generating enough chances to get the W. There's little doubt that we're a rubbish attacking side that lacks a lockpick. That said, if we cut out opposing chances, play well on the counter and convert an above-average proportion of set pieces, we can significantly outperform those numbers in the table.

Less chances created tends to equal less goals. Our goals against column is a little misleading too, we’ve conceded some of the most chances of any team in the league this season. That luck will turn at some point and we need to do better going forward.

Third highest xG against this season.