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Frank Lampard’s Chelsea have had a topsy-turvy 2019-20 Premier League campaign. The young Blues have been one of the most exciting teams to watch this season, however, the players’ immaturity and lack of experience have also come back to haunt them on several occasions. After their latest draw against a struggling Arsenal side, we take a look into the five major problems Lampard needs to address at Chelsea.
Lethargic left-backs
While Chelsea’s right-backs include their captain Cesar Azpilicueta and another star-in-the-making, Reece James, their left-backs Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri have often attracted criticism. Alonso, who was a prime asset under former manager Antonio Conte, has not replicated his attacking exploits under Lampard. And Emerson, who has a more defensively rigid approach, has also been subpar throughout the season.
Lampard quickly recognised the team’s fallibility at left-back and deployed Azpilicueta there with James marauding the right-wing. The positional change did provide temporary relief for the manager but the 20-year-old Englishman’s injury meant that he had to start Emerson against Arsenal on Tuesday.
Chelsea fans slated the Italian full-back for playing the culprit in both goals Chelsea conceded against their London rivals. Even Lampard singled him out for his positioning error which led to Gabriel Martinelli’s solo goal.
Lampard said,
“We have people on the edge of the box that ran forward when they should have run backwards. It left N’golo, it went to N’golo and he slips. That wasn’t the error. That’s something that can happen. The edge of the box was the error, as I say, a job that should have been done but not done.”
Alonso, as we have often seen, can be extremely effective in a 3-4-3 formation, but his defensive vulnerability and lazy tracking back often sees Chelsea leak unnecessary goals.
Lampard, hence, may have to resort to the summer transfer window to rope in a world-class left-back such as Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell, otherwise there could be serious implications for Chelsea on that particular flank.
Lack of world-class players
If you were to point out world-class players in this Chelsea squad, there is a significant chance you will only settle for a certain N’golo Kante. The two-time Premier League champion and the 2016-17 PFA Player of the Year award-winner has consistently been one of the division’s top midfielders in recent years. The Frenchman’s immense ball-winning capabilities and terrific tackling have earned him a rightful place in the heart of Chelsea’s spine, however, a dearth of world-class players around him is strictly obvious.
Star player Eden Hazard’s departure to Real Madrid last summer, coupled with the imposition of the transfer ban left the Premier League giants with a young and inexperienced crop of players. Despite a promising start to the season, Chelsea’s youthful squad have taken a dip in form in recent match-weeks with fans calling out the club’s hierarchy to splash some cash in January.
Borussia Dortmund’s high-flying winger Jadon Sancho has been constantly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge since last year. In recent reports, however, Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani has been touted to join Lampard’s side on a loan move following his ongoing tussle with the French club’s bosses. An injection of experience and maturity in this budding Chelsea side could definitely result in them securing Champions League football for next season.
Inexperienced Squad
Chelsea’s squad is the fourth-youngest in the Premier League this season with an average age of just 25.9 years. In fact, manager Frank Lampard put out the club’s most youthful starting XI (24y88d) in league history against Crystal Palace earlier this season. Perhaps, the transfer ban last summer came as a much-needed window of opportunity for Chelsea’s academy boys.
The club’s handling of young players and their loan policy has often been looked with a magnifying glass by fans and pundits, especially after they have, in the past, prematurely released some supremely-talented players such as Kevin de Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Romelu Lukaku.
And Lampard, who himself is one of the youngest managers in the English top-flight and one of the all-time Premier League greats, is a perfect mentor for up-and-coming stars. His Derby County team in the Championship last season had Mason Mount (21), Fikayo Tomori (22) and Harry Wilson (22), all three of whom are thriving in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea’s young guns have no doubt treated fans with an exciting brand of football, however, their inexperience and rawness have cost the team several points this season. Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic are all primed to be Premier League assets in the future, but their lack of leadership qualities and rash decision making has been a constant source of problems.
Chelsea have been unusually poor at Stamford Bridge this season, a stadium always known for its hostile atmosphere, due to the players’ weak-mindedness. They have also not been able to kill off games after taking the lead on several occasions, often found conceding silly counter-attacks leading to goals.
These second-half woes continued for Lampard’s men against Arsenal, as the Gunners, despite being down to 10-men, clawed their way back into the game. Even the boss has showcased his managerial inexpertise at times with poor in-game management, especially with ineffective and unnecessary substitutions. However, Lampard will now look to his seasoned quartet of Cesar Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho and Willian to set examples for the youngsters in the coming weeks.
Midfield mayhem
Frank Lampard no doubt has an illustrious crop of midfielders at Stamford Bridge, including the likes of N’golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek at his disposal. However, none of them have been able to provide a potent attacking threat this season.
Only Mount has excelled in terms of goals and assists this season, with five and two respectively in 24 appearances but his performances have lacked intensity and a cutting edge recently. The 21-year-old Englishman, although, has often been deployed in a more attacking role by the former Derby County manager. Kovacic has also played extremely well as a tireless box-to-box midfielder this season, but his lack of attacking prowess is a liability going forward. The often-reliable Kante has a 46% tackle success rate this season, which is incredibly low as per his world-class standards. And lastly, Loftus-Cheek is yet to even feature this term.
Firstly, Lampard’s frequent midfield rotation hampers the players’ consistency and flow. Secondly, Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic are all primarily defensive-minded midfielders, and shoe-horning them together in the centre of the park not only creates unwanted congestion but also shuts down vital attacking outlets. Kante is no doubt an immaculate interceptor, ball-winner and a supreme tackler who thrives in the defensive-midfield position, but because Jorginho is the team’s pass-master and distributor, the Frenchman has to play a more advanced role, one which clearly not suits his playing style.
In contrast, Mount and Barkley are attack-minded players and though the former has made a promising start to life in the English top-flight, both of them are largely inconsistent and ineffective in large parts of matches.
Frank Lampard, therefore, needs to strike a much-needed balance in Chelsea’s midfield if they are to rise to their best form again.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Tuesday’s display against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge was the latest in a long line of horrific performances by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga this season. The Spaniard has been an evident weak-link in Frank Lampard’s side this term and perhaps the top-most cause of concern at the club. Against Arsenal on Tuesday night, Kepa looked nervous and edgy, often misplacing his goal-kicks and taking too long on the ball, hence inviting the opponent’s press.
The relatively-unknown 25-year-old was signed from Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 2018 in a mammoth €75m deal, making him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper in footballing history. The transfer was not entirely a well-thought decision, but the Chelsea hierarchy were forced to bring in a competent keeper following the ugly departure of Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid.
Kepa’s on-field feud with former boss Maurizio Sarri made him a cult figure at the club last season but his performances in the Chelsea goal have since been equally worrying. The Spanish number two has the worst save percentage (55.4%) of any Premier League goalkeeper this term and in another incredible statistic, he ranks 127th in terms of save percentage out of the 132 keepers in Europe’s top seven leagues.
Chelsea have conceded more goals than eight of the top eleven teams in the Premier League this season and after what was a promising start to the campaign, the Europa League holders have now taken a dip in form with only four wins from their last 11 league games. If Chelsea wish to play Champions League football next season, Kepa will have to improve his athleticism and decision-making in goal. Otherwise, the club could replace him as early as this summer, with names such as Burnley's Nick Pope springing up in the transfer rumour mill.
