carefreeluke

That's true about Conte and Sarri, particularly Conte.

Nobody knows if the talk of player unrest is true but I'll say one thing. No matter who's the manager, surely that's in the manager's job description anyway? Player management is part of the job and whilst I didn't want Lampard to get sacked, surely a lot of it is his job to get the players on board and keep them as happy as possible. The biggest reports of player unrest came when Lampard was playing for us under AVB and I said the same then about the Portuguese manager. A few players made some negative comments about AVB which didn't really come to surface until after, I guess the same might happen with Lampard. Then again it could all be not true, we don't know. This sacking and hiring culture of course though can create an environment where it's more likely the players will down tools but regarding Lampard and the players there's been nothing significant reported yet that would suggest this is the case.

Got home from work last night and felt ill and then like a fever came on and my body was aching in random places which meant I couldn't sleep most of the night. I'm a teacher and spoke to the doctors this morning and I've got a test for Monday morning. We'll see how it goes, more worried about others than myself to be honest at this moment in time.

By the sounds of it, from the people I speak to and the news I read, fair play to the UK, it seems like they are really cracking on with the vaccine and as long as it continues to be effective against new strains and whatnot, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. A mate of mine was saying they've started or are going to start giving them in local pharmacies as well? Boris and the government haven't handled the pandemic well but about the only thing they've got right, for the most part, is the vaccine roll-out. By the sounds of it anyway. What's it been like for you guys over there regarding the vaccine rollout? Here in Spain, it's very slow and the news isn't encouraging at all with the vaccine rollout and the virus in general.

It seems we are a fucking way off winning something significant with Lampard but if it were to happen, it would probably mean a lot more to the fans delivered by a club legend and by one of the most popular players this club has had. That chopping and changing though has also caused us problems, managers coming in with different styles, players signed for them that fit a certain type of football, only for another manager to come in with a different approach and suddenly the tools don't fit. The whole Conte to Sarri transition in terms of recruitment was a joke really. All being said, you could say that more the problem here is that at times we've opted for managers with completely different styles to their predecessors, rather than the actual chopping and changing being the problem.

Whilst I think the Klopp comparisons are pretty poor, not also forgetting Klopp had a good track record to fall back on as well, I think Lampard should be given at least until the end of the season still. I agree we should be challenging for the title this season and I agree with the fact that we don't seem to be progressing at all but as I often say in these situations, give the manager a bit more time, ride it out until the end of the season at least. I have said it with most managers under Roman in similar situations, with probably the only notable exceptions being maybe AVB and Mourinho's second spell. When I say I want Lampard to stay on, it doesn't mean I think we're progressing, I'm just generally, most of the time, of the opinion that managers need and deserve more time. Football's always a bit too reactionary in these situations for me still, especially at my club.

Not here mate, blue and sunny skies here yesterday but a lot of rain on Friday. It's the coldest it's been here since I can remember though.

I don't think the shape or formation is a problem for us, it's the way we play within that shape, combined with some poor personnel choices for certain positions.

To clarify, I said that we have players out on loan that would be better suited rotating with Havertz and Mount, players like Barkley, Gallagher, and even Loftus-Cheek at a push but it's probably better he's out on loan. I never said sign attacking players. Havertz and Mount have been run into the ground a bit and the only thing Lampard has done to rest them has been to put Kovacic or Kanté in those positions but they don't fit as well. Then again if you're going to bypass them anyway and just get the ball wide every attack, I guess you could have anyone there in principle. We have a lot of attacking variation on paper if you look at the players available but looking at the way Lampard's got us playing so far, it's very predictable and repetitive, switch play quickly, get the full-backs into crossing positions and put it in the box. Can we do something different? Go through the middle? More movement? Pick out a pass as @Ciceromentions? Get wingers involved? It's all a bit formulated and predictable at the moment. Mount and Havertz are two of a good group of our players that have been mismanaged. We have had Mount and Havertz heavily involved on the ball at times this season and it coincided with some of the best football we've produced and we should be aiming to get them more involved again, whilst having the players I mentioned above as rotation options rather than someone like Kovacic for example.

We need more attacking variation in general really. If we're not able to create enough, it's just going to allow opponents to gain confidence in games and cause us more problems defensively.

Pulisic hasn't been all that since returning either, not helped by the fact that he's been used a lot on the right. I would like to see Hudson-Odoi used more as well. If Ziyech isn't fit, why not put Hudson-Odoi on the right and Pulisic on the left? Too more natural wingers? For something different? I think Lampard's intention has always been to use the full-backs as the source of width but why not both? Our play at the moment is like a sponge, get the ball wide, striker, Werner, Mount, Havertz in and around the box, cross it, lose it, counter-press, win the ball back and go again. At least Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic can run at people and take players out the game. What's the obsession with going wide as well? Why can't we get the ball into the striker's feet and get the attacking midfielders on the ball more between the lines? When was the last time you saw us play off the striker? Havertz hasn't been as good as expected partly because we don't give him the ball enough in forward areas, our play a lot of the time neglects those attacking midfielders and prefers other avenues. Why do you think James and Chilwell have been our best players this season? The system is built for them really, we've been relatively solid defensively and in attack our favourite avenue is getting the ball wide which we're very successful at doing. Chilwell and James are our Trent and Robertson, I see Lampard's idea with getting the ball wide, something similar to how Liverpool play but we need more variation. @True Blue @The Liquidator Hope you're well lads by the way. Be interesting to hear your thoughts.

When was the last time you saw us get the ball into the striker's feet by the way? One of the few times we did it against Villa, it resulted in a goal. We're not playing in between the lines as much as we used to, preferring to go sideways which is what happens when you see too much of Kovacic, Jorginho, and Kanté together. We need to get Mount and Havertz more involved in those forward areas, Ziyech has been a miss but given the money we've spent, you can't complain too much about his absence. The midfield balance at the moment isn't great, for me, it was the best thing about our play earlier in the season, with Mount and Havertz heavily involved. We also were playing at a much better tempo. Why isn't the midfield balance great now? Lampard's management. Certain players on loan and players in wrong positions etc. Look at our first goal. A quick ball into Giroud's feet between the lines, we've stopped doing that as much.

Whether he's capable of it who knows, for me, you give a manager a period of time and then judge him after that. If it doesn't work out, you take it on the chin and move on to the next one but there should always be some sort of timeframe you give them, no matter how bad things get. Don't get me wrong though sometimes things are just too bad or get toxic and that change needs to happen earlier but in general, managers, in my opinion, in most cases, deserve more time.

We've been up and down, up and down. Next month we might go on a run again. I'd judge him come the end of the season. I remember when Sarri introduced Hudson-Odoi in the team towards the end of his season in charge, whether it was down to board and fan pressure, with the Bayern talks going on in the background, who knows but my point is that his introduction to the team lifted the team, it gave the opposition something else to think about, something new and we looked a lot better for it. For me, Lampard, more than anything, needs to find a way of getting that fresh impetus into the team on a more regular basis and as I said that it can be done in different ways, not just by changing players here and there. Above all, he needs to start putting players in the right positions to complement this system and then find the right formulas to keep the players on form and ticking over, which you could say are the nuts and bolts of being a successful manager.

For me personally, it would have to be pretty bad for Lampard to get sacked, a lot worse than now and if I were in charge, I'd be giving him three years, so another season after this one and then see where we're at. The recent form is frustrating but the way this league is going a string of good results would probably put us right back up there. Lampard’s biggest problem is getting any consistency going. Looking back, any bad run of form resulted in Lampard changing things. We’ve seen changes to different shapes, 3 at the back, 4/3/3 or 4/2/3/1 variants, these system changes were often combined with new players coming in, squad players that hadn’t played much, coming in with a new system to give us fresh impetus to get going again. Is that sustainable though? I’ve always said on here that after a while, opposing teams at this level clock onto playing patterns, themes and styles and as a season passes, this makes matches more difficult. I saw someone say on social media the other day, that if we think our current attacks are predictable and cross, cross, cross. What must the scouting networks and coaches of other Premier League teams see? What’s the answer then? Does Lampard need to change it again? No. For me, what’s more important is finding that fresh impetus with the same system. Just because the opposition knows your identity and playing style, it doesn’t mean you can’t keep evolving and improving that style and keep the players ticking over. You can try different things within that system, new moves, use different players, look at the opposition’s weaknesses etc. Firstly, tactically on paper Lampard could improve some selections within the system. Werner left-wing? Kovacic playing the attacking midfield role? We’ve seen also seen too much of Kovacic, Jorginho and Kanté playing together and as I’ve said before that is never a good thing. The two attacking people midfielders need to be able to play at pace, run at people, play between the lines, pick a pass, take a shot, Havertz and Mount can do a lot of that but Kanté and Kovacic can’t. Why play them there then? For me, there’s always a direct correlation between the amount Kanté, Kovacic and Jorginho play together and the passiveness and predictability in our football. Tactically, those personnel choices are alarm bells for me however more importantly fresh impetus can be given in other ways, man-management, motivation, squad management, better analysis of the opposition etc, there are a million ways it can be done and that’s why Klopp is such a good manager for example. A lot of people are criticising Lampard tactically at the moment but more important perhaps is Lampard’s management of the players. Players in wrong positions, Werner playing every minute of every single game in a position that’s more demanding, his failure to use certain players that he sweeps aside for too long, last season the constant changing of the centre backs, Mount’s mismanagement with position and game time. If you want to play two attacking midfield players, why the hell is Barkley out on loan? Why can’t some of the youth players be used more when we’re missing players in certain positions? His stint at Chelsea so far has had a lot of those decisions, he simply isn’t getting the best out of some of these players because at times he mismanages them. It’s not just Werner and Mount, there are other significant examples. For me, our football goes stale, not always because it’s a tactical thing, it’s the fact that the players are mismanaged as well and it’s a lot more difficult to get that fresh impetus and to keep players ticking over when that happens.

That's what I don't understand. The news of the vaccine was great but I was expecting it to be reaching far more than it has done so far, I know it's a big operation but surely given the priority this virus has for society, why haven't they done more? Or am I missing something?

What the hell is going on over there?

I've always found it strange that people aren't wearing masks back home, the only time you don't have to wear one here in Spain is if you're eating / drinking or at home. I teach in one and if you see someone without one it's very rare indeed. I haven't been home now since last Christmas but if I were to return, I think I'd be a bit freaked out about seeing so many people without masks. Spain isn't doing much better than others with the pandemic but a mask is strictly mandatory.

That was the first game really where we looked like we were struggling for ideas and to create good chances. I can't think of any other games, maybe the Spurs one which was just a bit of a chess match. Things naturally get more difficult though as time passes during a season. I'm not a big fan of three at the back. Let's see how we do over the next few games. I agree with @LFCMadLad that we can use the full-backs to help create width, we've been doing that anyway all season with James and Chilwell. When I've been talking about wingers, I was referring to tricky players that can carry the ball, beat a man and take players out the game. It's not necessarily related to width. A Pulisic, Hazard type player. Hudson-Odoi was also very good at that under Sarri. These players can also stay out wide when they need to as well and width is perhaps an added bonus. The reason why I'm not the biggest fan of Werner on the left is that although he brings some good qualities there, it doesn't allow us to put Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi in their best positions to offer us some of the skill sets I mentioned above which for me the team has lacked at times this season. Werner's pace is his biggest weapon, particularly in the latter stages of games which is why Lampard very often always keeps him on the pitch. He can't really beat a man and needs at times (not always but often) the space or circumstances to use his pace. I'm not saying stop playing Werner there, I think at times it can be useful but I don't he should be used there as often as he has been which is one of the reasons, I didn't put him in that starting eleven I made a couple of months back.

My boy Loyle Carner

I'd put Werner in now for Pulisic, we'll have to wait and see whether Pulisic gets back to the form he showed in the second half of last season. I think that's our best team but rotation should still happen when needed especially this season.

Giroud was also one of our better players in the second half of last season so for that alone, he's unfortunate not to have featured more. Abraham is doing relatively well but has to improve his all-round game, hopefully, it's something that will get better as he develops and gets older but regardless I'm happy he's getting minutes, just that Giroud should be more involved which might well be the case anyway soon with all the fixtures to come.