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Paul Merson believes Frank Lampard should have time at Chelsea, because the odd nature of the season means they are still in the running for the title.
Lampard’s Chelsea will go to Fulham on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Premier League, having won just one of their last six Premier League matches, knocking them out of the top six.
However, given the crowded nature of the Premier League season, Merson believes Chelsea are only a handful of wins away from being in contention again for the title, and feels the Blues must have a plan that includes giving them time. to Lampard.
Having spent £ 226 million in the summer, Lampard has an embarrassment of riches in his advance line, and Merson believes he is still “playing bingo” when it comes to the selection, and that a more experienced manager You may have put faith in a consistent starting eleven by now.
In his latest column, Merson also insists that Thiago is the key to Liverpool winning the title this season, and is baffled by the appointment of Sam Allardyce at West Bromwich Albion.
“Give Frank time … Chelsea could easily get back on track.”
If Chelsea don’t beat Fulham, should they fire Frank Lampard? It depends on what Chelsea wants this year. It’s okay to say, ‘Let’s get rid of Frank,’ but who comes in? Are they coming back through Rafa Benítez? If you are bringing Andriy Shevchenko, what is the difference? It is the same as Lampard, he has not managed world class players and it will take time.
It’s not like you can bring Carlo Ancelotti in for a quick fix. Sooner or later, there has to be a plan in Chelsea. You can’t spend £ 200 million and think you’re going to win the league, it doesn’t work like that.
Lampard did a great job last year and it is his first time working with world class players. Give him an oportunity.
One plan is to be realistic about where they hope to get this season – he probably would have said the plan was to stay in the top four, because they already made the top four without spending £ 200 million last season, and probably be in the title. race.
Chelsea have the full advantage on Saturday now because Fulham has to play on weekdays. He’s really not kind to Fulham because his team could have been different in the FA Cup against QPR.
But as the season progresses, if you can win three games in a row, you’re back in the title race. Teams are losing games and leaving points left, right and center. If he’s on a five-game win streak, he’s probably the best in the league. That was not the case last year.
It’s a massive soccer match and it’s a great local derby. But Chelsea hope to beat Fulham and they should beat Fulham because they have better players. I hope they win this game.
If this were Chelsea’s point count from last season or the season before, I’d say Chelsea are in trouble. But not this season. They’re still at it, big time.
Manchester United have come out of nowhere, tearing apart, and they can suddenly spread the field like an eagle if they beat Liverpool. They just got a bit lucky, starting in November against West Brom, who had a stone wall penalty.
That’s why I still don’t think Chelsea is out of the game. Whoever it is, score five wins and you’ll be on it.
‘Selecting the Chelsea leader is like bingo’
I still don’t think Lampard knows his best team – he’s got his five backs, then N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount, and then he’s bingo. Put the names on the hat and whoever you pull out, any of them can apparently do a job, because they’re the best players, but it’s about striking that balance.
You have too many players and you have to strike that balance because you don’t know your best team yet.
When you are a new coach, and he is a new coach, let’s be honest, you think about which is your best team, but when that ‘best team’ is defeated, you want to change four players by next week. I think that with experience you give your team a chance, you give them the time you want. But does Frank know he has time? Chelsea needs to build and do this right.
These players are not Frank Lampard. I’ve seen him play enough times, he would go all the way and walk through a brick wall for you. I don’t remember seeing him play a game, leaving the field and thinking: ‘I could have given a little more.’
He needs to remember that these players are not him. When Man City ripped them to shreds, you could see the frustration on his face, because he was thinking, ‘I wouldn’t allow this, show me something!’
Some of my coaches were saying to me, ‘Stop getting frustrated … you’re not playing Dennis Bergkamp here. You’re not playing Ian Wright here. Frank needs to realize and understand that.
Chelsea’s next six PL games ‘Thiago must play every game’
I feel like teams are closing in on Liverpool now, not giving them space and saying, ‘You’ll have to take us down. Liverpool are struggling without that cunning in midfield. They will need Thiago to play every week. He is the one who sees that pass.
I think Jurgen Klopp knows this now, because he will even bring Xherdan Shaqiri, someone who had previously thought that he would not play another minute for Liverpool. But you can pass the ball through the eye of a needle.
Without that, take the X-factor of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino out of the game. Liverpool are still the best in the world without the ball, but when there is no space, they take it away.
Thiago must play every week. He can see that pass, and we’ve seen evidence of that in a couple of games. It may not always work out, but he sees it.
What team in the world is not going to miss Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in midfield? It’s difficult to get those players out of midfield.
Liverpool’s midfield have always made it all happen, they are the forgotten heroes. Without them, I don’t think anything will happen at Liverpool.
They protect the four behind, let the sides bombard and let the three in front do whatever they want.
‘Big Sam in West Brom makes no sense’
Now it is very difficult for clubs to sign players in January. The teams that need players are at the bottom, and I think they are going to get stuck with what they have overall.
I didn’t see the point of Sam Allardyce going to West Brom. They brought him in for rescue work, but unless you’re bringing six or seven players, it doesn’t make much sense. I don’t remember Slaven Bilic getting crushed left to right and center so it’s an interesting decision.
Some teams need a middle center and Steven Caulker is breaking it in Turkey. Did you lose your way? Of course he did, we all know that, but he’s got his life back on track. I think he does a good job in a Premier League team down, who need to stop conceding goals.
He went to Turkey, he changed his life, he has experience and I think he comes in and strengthens the defenses. He is 29 years old. These coaches need players now, they don’t need 19-year-olds. He doesn’t put kids on struggling soccer teams, because it doesn’t help. You need to gain experience.
Allardyce’s job was to come in and improve these players, which I felt was going to be difficult. I didn’t see what Bilic was doing wrong. They made Arsenal and Leeds look like the Harlem Globetrotters. That didn’t happen when Bilic was there.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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