Frank Lampard can get this Chelsea team to score goals but not just score they can win too and by winning I mean Real Madrid in the Champions League. This team has a blend of experience and youth but it seems the previous manager just simply didn’t understand what to do.
Graham Potter’s time at Chelsea was a torrid one. Given his win ratio at Brighton, I was not excited about the appointment but as a true Chelsea fan I gave him the chance and he did not disappoint. He led the team in the wrong direction on the table and could not even identify his starting XI. This Chelsea team is perhaps the most balanced we have had in a while but the managers and that includes Bruno Saltor who was in charge against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge seem to be missing the basics.
I’m no expert but I can easily pick a Chelsea team that can score goals, loads of goals. For starters, Lampard needs to allow players to perform in their roles. It is a futile effort starting Marc Cucurella along with Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana in a back three with Ben Chiwell and Reece James as wing-backs. Chiwell is a better defender than Cucurella, start him in a back four with James as the right back.
I do not understand how we have Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Noni Madueke, etc. and we settle for a defender in an attacking position. Don’t get me wrong, Chilwell will make those runs if he has to but not to the detriment of having a good backline.
Most of the goals we have conceded this season has come from counter-attacks, especially after we have had a spell of cluelessly passing the ball around the edge of the opposition’s box 18, they snatch the ball or we make a lazy pass and that’s it. The midfield has been weakened because we do not have players in the position that they should be.
Lampard should make Enzo Fernandes stay put as a defensive midfielder, he does not need to add flair to his role if it will affect the team’s balance. We need a defensive midfielder who will stay put and provide protection for the defence. With Thiago Silva out injured, we need N’Golo Kante to be more defensive-minded. What he offers us as a defensive midfielder is more than what he gives as an attacking player. You might be wondering how this gets us goals, yes, I’m coming to that but first, we need to ensure that we do not concede goals.
Once we have the right balance in midfield, with Mason Mount or Mateo Kovacic as the conductor then we can talk attack. Our attack is a tricky one but it is also somewhat easy to resolve. Lampard should realise that Kai Havertz is not a striker and should be relieved of that role. This is why we signed Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and D. D. Fofana.
Havertz can score goals by playing off a striker and that is where we need him to be. Against Wolves, I wouldn’t start him or Joao Felix, I will return to the traditional Chelsea playing pattern of having two wingers and a striker in the team. Sterling, Pulisic, Mudryk, or any of our wingers can start because they will have to provide cover for the fullbacks when they need it and vice versa. This 4-3-3 allows Chelsea to have many bodies in the opposition box but also provides cover for us.
