Where do we stand on clubs going to Dubai for a training camp, like, right now? Wouldn't be a good look, right?

Behold.

My shit takes aside, it's a bit mental the SPFL allowed it on a safety level, and it's full blown fuck you mental to their fans after.... *looks around*.... All this. I remember the reaction when Coisty was doing karaoke after we lost the Petrofac Cup Final. Yeah, that was A Thing That Happened. Yikes.

Time is a wonderful thing, I suppose.

Funkstain wrote:

Oh well. It only goes two ways really: Lampard (and the new signings) are given time to prove themselves and do or don't; or they aren't and the Chelsea carousel continues. Tuchel anyone

That’s 3 ways! Do you reckon lamps can prove himself? Feels like he won’t get the time given the carousel which is probably unfair on him what with the difficulty of making a team out of the money spent. Although I also think he was too hasty in changing things. Particularly in attack. A CB, a fullback and a goalie yes, but Havertz, Werner and Ziyech? Was that really a good idea? You were pretty good last year with what you had weren’t you? Just couldn’t defend.

I

I think Lampard is getting a bit of a raw deal.
He spent big sure but that was 2 seasons worth of spending on a squad that needed it even before that.
I think I'm right in saying he bought a lot of young players? If correct then they will take time to become a team.
Then you look at the league and it is incredibly tight this season. League position doesn't mean an awful lot right now as it can change with one or two results.

A few bad results sure but I wouldnt sack him yet.

So far this season Man U, City, Spurs, Everton and Chelsea have all been talked about as being title contenders and in crisis.

LivDiv wrote:

I think Lampard is getting a bit of a raw deal.
He spent big sure but that was 2 seasons worth of spending on a squad that needed it even before that.
I think I'm right in saying he bought a lot of young players? If correct then they will take time to become a team.
Then you look at the league and it is incredibly tight this season. League position doesn't mean an awful lot right now as it can change with one or two results.

A few bad results sure but I wouldnt sack him yet.

So far this season Man U, City, Spurs, Everton and Chelsea have all been talked about as being title contenders and in crisis.

He has full backing of the board at moment as they are trying to get Declan Rice signing done either in Jan or Summer for Lampard as he is Lampards no1 target as he can play in a 3 at the back or infront of a back four. Its a young team which will take time to gel and like Ole at Utd Lampard has alot of fat to trim from the squad.

For my money, I'd say we'd be crazy to sack him now. I think he can learn and get better at coaching, tactics, and management, and I don't think he's lost the dressing room as many are rumouring. You don't go from big stars like Havertz, Werner, Ziyech saying things like "It was Frank who made made decide to come here" to "fuck you Lampard" in a couple of months.

It's a funny old season, and it wasn't that long ago that he managed to put together a lengthy unbeaten run, during which some games felt like he'd cracked it: watching them, you felt they simply couldn't lose, they were in complete control, scoring and defending and looking very solid. On occasion, it reminded me of Conte's run (which was much more consistent and an actual winning run), as opposed to what Chelsea have been ever since his second season: inconsistent and never looking in control of a game, inviting pressure, unable to break down organised defences.

Anyway - you gotta give kids like Havertz time to adjust. We've got great talent: Hudson-Odoi and Gilmour made us look a different team on Sunday.

So if it were my money I'd give Lampard until the end of the season and see what's up. If still markedly inconsistent and outside top 4, then perhaps it's time to say it was nice whilst it lasted.

The table is unusually compact this season. The biggest points deficit overcome to win the Premier League is 12, which currently takes us down to Palace in 14th place. Not that I think they'll win the league, but that sort of gap from the top would be usually be covering the top 5 or so at this stage. The Premier League does finially seem to have become the league it's always promised it was, where anyone can beat anyone. I wonder if that last decade or so of a really strong Championship has paid dividends in strengthening the clubs in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

The only team that aren't really in it is Sheffield United.

I think it more bizarre that they did so well for two thirds of a season last time rather than what’s happened since the restart and the current league.  They had a number of freakish results last season that put them on a good run for a while but by the time football came back that run of confidence had disappeared and they were obviously a team that were going to struggle in this league.  The move for Brewster was also utterly bizarre for both parties involved - he needed careful development in a confident side, they needed goals to be scored in the best league in the country.

Ramsdale is a donkey. He’s not even average but let’s in clown goals in a team that needs a fantastic keeper.

Sheffield I think also surprised a lot of teams by being attacking when I think many would expect them to be a solid defensive team. But instead theyve been found out. as uncle says the bad form actually started after lockdown.

They’ve lost possibly their key player in defence (who made up their attacks).

They’ve also spent horrendously on strikers. Liverpool have done a Dominic Solanke on Sheffield as well with Brewster who just seems bored and happy to get a long contract but McBurnie is also rubbish. Their top two strikers scored 12 goals between them last year and they’ve added zero goals in Brewster to that.

Diluted Dante wrote:

The table is unusually compact this season. The biggest points deficit overcome to win the Premier League is 12, which currently takes us down to Palace in 14th place.

Now we’re talking!

Diluted Dante wrote:

Not that I think they'll win the league.

Aw.

I saw Sheff Utd live twice last season and I couldn’t tell you what the overlapping cb’s did/were meant to do/ever even really existed outside of the first game against Brighton that garnered it so much attention and was then mentioned every time Wilder was brought up as a great example of the Continental Style But GREAT BRITISH Manager that the written media like to pretend over promoted grassroots level managers can turn out to be.
Srsly, it may have been a *bit* of a system but you wouldn’t know about it unless you’d previously read about it.

Yep. Absolutely prime for some hilarious photoshops but when the laughs subside I can't help but feel really annoyed seeing that, my completely embarrassing pettiness towards them aside.

FFS.

Man Utd are really going to win the league this year, aren’t they?

Klopp has got this all wrong.

Tiago an Ox have barely played recently, and are looking well off the pace. Losing Henderson from midfield isn’t helping either.

Southampton are too good a side, to play with such a ‘makeshift’ lineup.

mistercrayon wrote:

If there was a game where “came back to haunt his old club” was apt this would be it.

Mané? Ooh, let’s hope so

Because we're not the Mancs?