15 Sep 2019 10:18:39
Good morning Ed01, the win yesterday was a relief but we still conceded 2 goals and we conceded eleven goals in five games not an encouraging stats for me. In your view what should Lampard do to reduce number we are conceding. Again have you formed opinions on Mount and Tomori. Are they premiership stuff or can fade away in the thick of things? What about the Chelsea academy, your take on it? Nice Sunday to you I learn a lot from you footballwise

{Ed001's Note - the first thing he needs to do to reduce the goals conceded is get a system in place and stick to it. Allow the players to learn it and each other's game. That will help a lot. Having a senior centre back will help as Kepa is iffy at best and certainly not a commanding keeper, nor very good at organising defenders. So one of the centre backs needs to take charge. When you have 3 youngish ones to choose from, all 3 of which have been loaned out or back ups, so only just fighting to establish themselves now, it is always going to be a bit ropey. The loans helps them gain experience, but it is not experience within the Chelsea squad, so they are basically starting again this season like new signings, but ones that have been told before now that they are not good enough to play for Chelsea yet. So they are too busy trying to prove they are good enough to lead a line. Rudiger (or Azpilicueta even if a back 3) can provide that leadership and organisation.

Added to that you need the midfield to do more to protect them, they should make sure that attacks break down there, before reaching the defence, in most cases. Without Kante the midfield is like an open castle gate, with Kante it is like someone has dropped a portcullis. However there is more that can be done. A better organised press. More awareness from midfield etc. A lot of it though is just time on the training ground.

For instance I noticed that on setpieces you have gone with a zonal system mainly but your blockers are not doing their job. That is something they need to be taught on the training ground. They don't need to grab shirts or challenge, they just need to get in the way of attackers and stop them getting a clear run on those waiting to head clear in the 6 yard box. It takes practice, it is a skill that needs to be learnt, and that takes time.

There is not a lot you can do about Jorginho's lack of mobility, but his positioning could be improved and he needs to be instructed to stay in the centre and hold his position, just drop off when out of possession. Let the centre backs go out to the wide areas if need be as they are more mobile than he is. That will help a lot as he often gets drawn out chasing the ball and never gets near the play so just leaves a gap. If need be, the other midfielders should go to the player on the ball, his job should be to sit and hold his place and only go out wide if Chelsea are caught on a counter and have no one else near.

The midfield are a problem, there is a lack of players to break up the play when Kante is not playing. Not their fault as such, they are just not that type of player, but it does make it difficult. You can't really go with a high press that well with Jorginho and Barkley, there is not enough mobility there. You can press passing lanes though, you don't need to just drop off and get into position, you can fill in spaces and force the opposition to do something special. Hold a highish line, get close, but not right on them, so that they can't just nudge past and run, fill in passing lanes and force them to just keep going sideways or backwards. If they then try a forward pass it is forced and so risky. Obviously it depends on the team you are facing, you won't beat Man City like that as it is just giving them time and space. If you give time and space to teams like Burnley, they just end up giving it back to you, as they have no idea what to do. The players mostly need to grow together as a unit though. It is going to take a season or even two for them to really get the hang of what Lampard wants and become truly proficient at it.

As for Mount, I really rate him, but I would prefer to see him in midfield. Him and Kante would allow you to press higher as they offer energy and mobility. He also has a good eye for a pass and would finally give you a genuine goal threat in the midfield that you haven't really had since Lampard left. He is certainly good enough for the Prem, no doubt about that.

Tomori I am still unsure about. On the ball he is excellent. He is athletically excellent. However he needs guiding through a game as he is lacking in positional sense. It is a very common problem with modern centre backs, they are all midfielders playing at the back because they are tall, rather than because they read the game well defensively. It is something that coaches at youth level need to look at, as they are not imparting defensive nous and that should be one of the basics. This season is Tomori's chance to step up and gain that defensive mindset, to learn to look at situations as a defender and get into position to defend first, receive the ball second. Lots of defenders get caught out because they are not assuming the worst, when a defender should always assume the worst, while an attacker should always assume the best. An attacker should be getting into the box assuming a defender will make a mistake and give up a chance, while the defenders not on the ball should always be preparing for the player on the ball to make an error and give it away and edge themselves towards a position to deal with it. That is something he can learn over time. I expect he will be ok, there are some good coaches there to help him.

Chelsea's academy is excellent, though I know it does the usual supplementation with players brought in from elsewhere, it actually doesn't really need to. It rivals anything out there in terms of the quality it produces. The problem is that the players are not getting chances with Chelsea (or weren't ahead of this season) and so they were starting to lose hope of breaking into the team. Sending players out on multiple loans is good in lots of ways, but it doesn't fill them with hope of getting a chance in the first team. It just makes them think eventually they will have to find another club or settle for being always on loan. For me, you have to give them chances in the first team or sell them. I would prefer to abolish the loan system altogether and cut back on squad sizes in the Prem so they have to give youth a chance when injuries hit. When you have a youth system as good as Chelsea's over the last ten years but have so little in terms of first team players to show for it, then something is not working as it should.

Thank you very much bl75, I really appreciate the compliment, sorry for the long reply. I got a bit carried away. Apologies if it is a bit garbled, it is difficult to read back through and check my grammar and spelling on the phone screen.}

1.) 15 Sep 2019
15 Sep 2019 11:26:26
Thank you end001 I very much appreciated your detailed lectures. Only if the coaches will ever come to this forum to learn from your insight, one who dances does not know how his buttock swings. Though I sent a reminder to this question don't bother to respond to it. Do enjoy your day my ed.

{Ed001's Note - I like that saying! I will have to remember that one.

To be fair, Chelsea have some good coaches, they have never skimped on them. It is just they are in there dealing with it, which makes it difficult to see the full picture. That is the problem with the head coach system over the old manager system English clubs used to use to great success. The manager never took the training, so he wasn't getting involved with the players on too personal a level and could step back when picking the team and be impersonal about it. When you are in there working with them, you can be swayed by personality or enthusiasm over ability and workrate. I am sure Lampard will get there, he is an intelligent guy and this season is a free hit for him to pick up some lessons.}

2.) 15 Sep 2019
15 Sep 2019 21:46:16
I would like to second that. Ed001 is a credit to this forum. 👍.

{Ed001's Note - thank you very much.}

3.) 16 Sep 2019
16 Sep 2019 09:25:39
Ed, this is one of the best analysis about football that I have ever read and I am not exaggerating one bit.

{Ed001's Note - thank you! I am actually blushing now.}