It's no secret that as of late, Chelsea has been the most disappointing 'Big Six' side. Since they sat at the top of the table in early December, the Blue's have followed a promising early showing with top-class mediocre football. With a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses over the last 8 games and with over £222 million spent in the summer transfer window, Lampard may start to feel his seat on the Chelsea throne start to slip away. Now, as I have said in the past, football thinking is very medieval in that on most occasions, the manager is blamed for a teams underperformance rather than the players. However, in this case, this way of thinking may be justified.
For any team, the purchase of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner is something footballing dreams are made of. Each player dominated at their former clubs and definitely made a case for their astronomical combined price tag of £129 million. However, with Havertz having an anonymous impact and Werner playing like a shadow of his former self, serious questions have to start being asked over the legitimacy of Lampards position toward these 2 former superstars.
Kai Havertz has made little to no impact in his time at Stanford Bridge so far and most believe it is down to one major reason, positioning. At his former club, Bayer Leverkusen, the style of play was directed around Havertz playing between the opposing midfield and defending lines. This allowed him to flourish into the wunderkind that was so sought after in the summer transfer window. In simpler terms, Havertz was given much more freedom under his former boss, and Lampard has taken that away. At Chelsea, he is forced to play as part of a midfield 3 in a strict 4-3-3 formation, limiting his ability to create scoring opportunities for both himself and others.
It's a similar predicament for Timo Werner, who showed signs of greatness at his former club (RB Leipzig) but has failed to produce to the same level in West London. Again, Lampard has failed to show any sort of tactical awareness or knowledge of his players and continues to move Timo Werner around like a piece on a chessboard. Werner has played a variety of different attacking positions under Lampard, and still can't seem to find the form that a £57 million price tag demands. However, unlike Havertz, Werner's problem is not only with positioning but with the overall style of play that Chelsea have adopted. At RB Leipzig, the style of play was based solely on pressing the ball and winning possession high up the pitch, creating opportunities for Werner. On the other hand, Chelsea likes to build from the back, something that is standard practice in the Premier League but is a concept that has appeared alien to Werner.
This whole situation is equivalent to buying a £222 million V10 engine and putting it into a shed bound lawnmower, and with Lampard at the wheel, this footballing giant is headed straight for the rubbish heap. In my opinion, the ex-England international is displaying signs of tactical naivety and lacks the skills necessary to bring together a group of world-class players and bind them with a gameplan that works for everyone. In modern sport, there is no time for managers to be set in their ways and I predict that if Lampard does not make major changes soon, job posts and interviews will start appearing for one of the biggest managerial jobs in English football.
I agree he’s in bad form and needs to utilise Werner more but he’s still the man for the job
ReplyDeleteStrong criticism for a much loved ex Chelsea god, I think they will be patient ! But for how long ??
ReplyDeleteWell written Bridge !