This seems absolutely spot on to me, OP.

(NB: this doesn't mean I'm calling you a mug )

Biggish...we weren't realistically going to be able to hire someone with any track record whilst we had a transfer ban though...were we...?

Lamps did brilliantly to get us top 4 & a cup final with the above in place, i'm ok with that

I'm thinking i'm ok with this weeks developments too

comment by Sheriff JW Pepper (U1007)
posted 2 minutes ago
Biggish...we weren't realistically going to be able to hire someone with any track record whilst we had a transfer ban though...were we...?

Lamps did brilliantly to get us top 4 & a cup final with the above in place, i'm ok with that

I'm thinking i'm ok with this weeks developments too
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I understand that point, but ultimately I don't see why not. We were in the CL, we are one of the biggest club and a top established manager would have had a similar free hit to Frank in his first season.

comment by SWTN - Judas is number 1 (U7916)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Sheriff JW Pepper (U1007)
posted 2 minutes ago
Biggish...we weren't realistically going to be able to hire someone with any track record whilst we had a transfer ban though...were we...?

Lamps did brilliantly to get us top 4 & a cup final with the above in place, i'm ok with that

I'm thinking i'm ok with this weeks developments too
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I understand that point, but ultimately I don't see why not. We were in the CL, we are one of the biggest club and a top established manager would have had a similar free hit to Frank in his first season.
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Unsure if we approached anyone else bar Lamps...assuming we did, & didn't get a lot of joy, or the fit wasn't right

I thought it was a good idea at the time !

comment by HarlequinHebdo (U16981)
posted 2 minutes ago
I thought it was a good idea at the time !
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up until December...it still was

But have you wasted the 18 months? Lampard has by inlarge recruited well (Werner and especially Havertz are too good to fail) and established your youth in the squad which will put you in good stead going forward, apart from LW he has upgraded you in every position which also works against him as it makes the current results even more damming.

The harsh truth is Lampard simply didn't have the tactical nous to make use of his own excellent squad building.

It's not as black and white as "they sacked him so they lied", just because they sacked him after 18 months doesn't mean it was a charade. At the end of the day you're Chelsea, no transition period for a club your size should be big enough to justify being 9th at the half way point especially when (to put it nicely) you are/were playing dreadful directionless football alongside it.

Lampard was probably given decent leeway for Chelsea standards but rebuild process or not they'll have still been bare minimum targets and it doesn't take a genius to work out they are not being meet this term.

I think the above is pretty fair

"Lampard was probably given decent leeway for Chelsea standards but rebuild process or not they'll have still been bare minimum targets and it doesn't take a genius to work out they are not being meet this term."

What bare minimum target can we rule out that Chelsea might have achieved this year, do you think?

I must admit to thinking this is so odd, with only half a season gone.

comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 5 minutes ago
"Lampard was probably given decent leeway for Chelsea standards but rebuild process or not they'll have still been bare minimum targets and it doesn't take a genius to work out they are not being meet this term."

What bare minimum target can we rule out that Chelsea might have achieved this year, do you think?

I must admit to thinking this is so odd, with only half a season gone.
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I think it's safe to assume higher than 9th playing football that would make even Tony Pulis wince in horror.

comment by Anne Ziety (U22412)
posted 13 minutes ago
comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 5 minutes ago
"Lampard was probably given decent leeway for Chelsea standards but rebuild process or not they'll have still been bare minimum targets and it doesn't take a genius to work out they are not being meet this term."

What bare minimum target can we rule out that Chelsea might have achieved this year, do you think?

I must admit to thinking this is so odd, with only half a season gone.
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I think it's safe to assume higher than 9th playing football that would make even Tony Pulis wince in horror.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

As if the league position means much.

People were clamouring to sack Ole for the same, and now look at United.

It's just crazy to think that there would be a constant, upward movement of results and style of play with the upheaval that has gone on.

We'll never know how this season would have turned out now, but it's certainly not correct to say that Chelsea couldn't have achieved their targets this season imo.

we are a top 4 club

There's your bare minimum...CL football

comment by Sheriff JW Pepper (U1007)
posted 22 minutes ago
we are a top 4 club

There's your bare minimum...CL football
----------------------------------------------------------------------

And you're a whopping five points away with 50% of the season still to play.

Tuchell should pi55 that then..

It was pretty obvious to many that this would be the case. But there’s still been some value in the Lampard experiment that should set Chelsea up for the next few years. Particularly with regard to youth integration.

Other managers may not have as much trust in academy players as Lampard. But I think he’s shown there can be a pathway into the team, and that will give the club more confidence in the future when it comes to recruitment, as well as giving Chelsea’s academy players the confidence and belief that they can make it.

I think the latter is especially important. It’s something at United that gives the academy value, and our academy isn’t as good as yours. But knowing there’s a pathway to the first team squad is almost as important for the players as their ability.

I think the appointment of Tuchel is quite revealing as well. He’s known to work with young/youth players, and is keen to help develop them as players and give them chances in the team.

So it’s not like the transition towards a different kind of Chelsea has been ditched. They’ve just been ditched for a more capable man.

Sacking a manager who actually had the balls to bring through youth players and stick with them, after such a short period of bad form, will do the opposite.

It shows the club still places short term results over everything else and so managers will prioritise getting 'the finished article' into place as quickly as possible, and will show absolutely no interest in developing players from the academy.

"and will show absolutely no interest in developing players from the academy."

Not at the expense of the bigger picture...& that's CL football...the board obviously thought this was beyond FL now
Although hopefully our youth continues under TT, & the best emerge to be good enough

No one is suggesting it should be done at the expense of CL football.

If the board think that CL football is beyond Chelsea at this stage then they're idiots, frankly.

comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 1 minute ago
No one is suggesting it should be done at the expense of CL football.

If the board think that CL football is beyond Chelsea at this stage then they're idiots, frankly.
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well...what can I say....it's done

comment by Sheriff JW Pepper (U1007)
posted 21 seconds ago
comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 1 minute ago
No one is suggesting it should be done at the expense of CL football.

If the board think that CL football is beyond Chelsea at this stage then they're idiots, frankly.
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well...what can I say....it's done
----------------------------------------------------------------------

T'is indeed... and we'll need our crystal balls to know what might have happened.

A swift upsurge in the standard of football in the next 6 weeks should clarify it (or not)

Luckily for Chelsea they didn’t appoint a manager that prioritises those kind of players. They need one or two finished articles to supplement what they already have. But they’ve invested time and money in a young squad that Tuchel will be expected to help develop further.

It’s reported that Ragnick and Nagelsmann were two other options the club considered. These managers all fit the same profile, and one similar to that of Lampard, they’re just proven to be more capable coaches.

comment by Donny The King van de Beek (U10026)
posted 3 minutes ago
Luckily for Chelsea they didn’t appoint a manager that prioritises those kind of players. They need one or two finished articles to supplement what they already have. But they’ve invested time and money in a young squad that Tuchel will be expected to help develop further.

It’s reported that Ragnick and Nagelsmann were two other options the club considered. These managers all fit the same profile, and one similar to that of Lampard, they’re just proven to be more capable coaches.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

We'll see how many academy players come through in the years to come then, won't we.

That will depend on what Chelsea have coming through. But in appointing managers that will give academy players chances, and planning their recruitment around that, Chelsea have already shown a significant shift in approach to their academy that they’d previously not done. That has longer term implications for Chelsea’s academy products, even if they don’t currently have many that can crack the starting eleven. The preference for the finished article isn’t a squad building process that Chelsea look like committing to.

In fact, most big clubs are actually steering away from that kind of recruitment process. The money in the game has made them far too expensive so younger, developing talent has been a preferred option for a lot of clubs.

Chelsea are one such club. And it’s not a new thing. Look at their most expensive signings of the decade. Apart from Torres and Jorginho, most of them were under 25 when they signed.

Good article