I feel I can make it more clear to United fans and possibly our fans also, to understand a bit more what the root of the problem is with our defense. I dont fully believe the problem is on just one player, but more so the system that we play and the players not being good enough to play it correctly.
Both of Lampards Derby and Chelsea teams have been primarily attacking teams, focused on moving the ball into forward areas through the midfield. Out of possession as well, his teams have tended to focus on pressing the opposition in an aggressive fashion, although this has worked to the detriment of his sides at times therefore Kepa and the defense has been made to suffer for this. Lampard’s initial days at Derby saw him lining his side up in a formation that closely resembles a 4-3-3, and sometimes adapts itself into a 4-2-3-1 system. This setup is Lampard’s first choice at Chelsea as well, with his side lining up in either of these two variations for large portions of his tenure thus far. While the configuration of the three central midfielders tends to vary from game to game, the two wide forwards tend to drift into the middle of the pitch irrespective. This has largely to do with Lampard’s broader beliefs – he wants his team to get on the ball and play it through midfield. Passing combinations and triangles form a big part of the attacking tactics. Defensively, this set up allows him to press his opponents high up the pitch and play a flat back four in an offside trap.
This configuration has brought Lampard great success in attack, but has often left his team crying for defensive stability. Lampard has responded to this by adding another center back to the mix at times. He’s gone to the three/five at the back formation, protecting them with 2 midfielders in front of the defensive line. This system has worked very well for them against teams that attack them, but has worked very poorly against teams that like to sit back. The best resemblance of this was the Sheffield loss. Lampard has made no secret of the fact that he likes his team to get on the ball and dominate games. Chelsea’s possession and shooting stats bear that out. Their average possession stats (57.4%) place them third in the league, and average shots per game (16.6) are second only to Manchester City. This can largely be attributed to his tendency to crowd the middle of the park. Aside from the three men in midfield, Lampard also gets his wide men to cut inside. This allows his players to work combinations in the middle of the pitch, as well as open up space for the full backs to provide width. This is fairly similar to the set up Lampard employed at Derby, with Derby also performing well on possession and shots per game stats during his season in charge there.
Another aspect of Lampards teams is the aggression his team shows on the ball. With quick movement from the forwards, the midfield is decidedly more ambitious with its passing. This has come as a big change for us Chelsea fans especially myself, I had grown accustomed to the metronomic midfield passing seen during the Sarri regime. The attacking contributions of players like Jorginho and Kovacic have shot up this season, with the duo recording 5 assists and 4 goals between them, as opposed to a combined total of 2 each last season. Outside of just the numbers as well, their ability to pass and dribble have been crucial in driving Chelsea’s attacking unit forward. It’s also a crucial part of the system Lampard plays, because stripping the midfield of creativity leaves the team bereft in an attacking sense, as the energetic movement of the forwards is useful only when it is complimented by penetrative passing.
Attack hasn’t been the most pressing concern for Chelsea this season, primarily because the adventurous approach Lampard tends to take on has left him with lots of defensive issues. His default approach, keeping with his positive view on football as a whole, has been to press the opposition to win the ball back high up the pitch. While it is easy to compare this approach to that of his famous peers like Klopp, Lampard has been slightly more conservative in this respect, with his players stepping up the aggression of the press when they notice a loose touch or a mistake.
It has to be said, Lampard’s take on pressing isn’t as proactive as that of his peers, and he tends to use it as a purely defensive tactic, and not an attacking one, like Liverpool are known to do. This may also have to do with the fact that Lampard has tended to have slower and more laborious midfielders at his disposal at both Derby and Chelsea (with the exception of N’golo Kante, whose season has largely been disrupted by injury). Consequently, this has led to our team primarily shipping these two types of goals:
1. Counter attacks: Both Chelsea and Derby have shown glaring weaknesses on the break during their time under Lampard. Chelsea stand at a concerning third place in the Premier League table for goals conceded on the break, with his Derby side standing joint top for the same statistic last season. The tendency to commit full backs as well as midfielders into the opposition third often comes back to haunt his sides. Chelsea and Lampard learnt this lesson the hard way on the opening weekend of this season when we lost 4-0 to United.
2. Lack of midfield protection: The likes of Jorginho and Kovacic have earned great praise for their contributions in attack, but sadly, we cannot say the same about their organisation without the ball. This is another trend Lampard struggled with at Derby, as players like Tom Huddlestone and Bradley Johnson failed to provide adequate cover to the defence. At Chelsea too our midfield has been overrun far too often, with opposition midfielders thriving in the huge gaps between the lines.
In what is a very positive sign though, Lampard has shown a willingness to adapt and change his tactics, both in game, and for specific games. The primary variant has been the three at the back system, which has yielded mixed results. It has taken Chelsea to wins against the likes of Spurs, and Wolves, but flopped badly in a 0-2 home defeat to Southampton. The biggest benefit from this system has been the addition of a covering man. With the Chelsea midfield getting caught out as often as it does, the back line are left vulnerable to runners and movement in behind the defence. This is where the spare man has added value.
Although we have had negatives during his short career as a manager so far, Frank Lampard has shown great promise. He’s displayed a will to learn, and an adaptability that is key for a manager to succeed at any level. Lampard has shown he can work with younger players as well as established ones, and build a strong connect with the dressing room, the fans, and the press. The general nature of his football philosophy is well defined, and in conjunction with Jody Morris, he looks well on the way to ironing out the few flaws in the team with signings this summer. We need to finish better and need a rock in that defense to shore up our defensive lineup in total. I believe Kepa will be sent out on loan and most likely Onana will be signed (im still hoping its Oblak but I doubt it). We also need a leftback, but I think we will be okay with Azpi and [Irrelevant point] for another season.