Friday, February 8, 2013

The Frank Lampard Fiasco

As of this writing, Chelsea fans remain in the dark about what's to happen to a club legend and talisman of the past 10 years, Frank Lampard. Early on, reports surfaced claiming Frank was leaving, with the Los Angeles Galaxy pointed to as a probable destination. He was told, allegedly, that he wouldn't be offered a new contract, and he was free to seek work elsewhere. Evidently, that's changed.


According to a piece in the Daily Mail written by Niel Ashton, Chelsea management had a change of heart, and re-opened negotiation with the 34 year old midfielder. His agent promptly responded by saying Chelsea haven't offered to extend his contract, and that's where the issue stands now.


Honestly, I've no idea what to make of the situation. Conflicting reports abound about what's actually going on, so I'm going to focus instead whether or not Chelsea should retain him, rather than if they will, with specific emphasis on his tactical impact.


Frank's almost always deployed now as one of our holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation, charged with breaking up the opposition's passing and contributing to Chelsea's buildup by linking the attackers and defenders. Generally, these players read the game better than nearly anyone else, chase midfielders all over the pitch, and efficiently re-distribute the ball when needed. Lampard's been a work in progress in this regard, since he doesn't run particularly well (he's 34, for crying out loud) and doesn't bring a defensive mindset to the position. As a result, Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo sometimes preferred to pair John Obi Mikel and Ramires as the pivots. Mikel brings a defensive mindset, his position is sound and he breaks up play well. Ramires foils him well, he basically sprints over every inch of the pitch chasing down players and carrying the ball forward. All in all, they worked fairly well together defensively.


The problem was, the Mikel-Ramires causes problems offensively. Mikel's ball control isn't great, and he lacks any speed whatsoever. Ramires has better ball control and great speed, but his passing range is sorely limited. Mikel's passing range isn't anything spectacular, either. A simple look at the September 15 draw against Queens Park Rangers illustrates the consequences of this pairing. QPR came out in a 4-4-2, and their four midfielders were instructed to focus pressure on Mikel and Ramires. They either lost the ball, or simply played it back to our defenders, hampering buildup dramatically. Frank Lampard offers a solution to some of those problems.


Lampard offers better passing range and ball control, plus the added bonus of clinical finishing*. That clinical finishing played a huge part in some recent games, like Chelsea's win over Everton. Despite not starting for most of the early campaign, he's leading Chelsea's scoring charts with 10 goals**. He plays long passes effectively, creating width and space for Juan Mata and Eden Hazard to work in. So, if his offensive benefits are so clear, why wasn't he getting a run in the team earlier?


That question has a couple answers. Roberto Di Matteo favored a defensive approach, AVB tried to phase him out in favor of younger players, but more than anything else, he didn't work particularly well with Ramires or Mikel. A double-pivot of Lampard and Mikel has a top speed of about 2 miles per hour. Quick midfielders made mincemeat of them. Lampard and Ramires work better, but both carry an attacking mindset, so the attacking third gets clogged and defensive positioning takes a hit. One thing that's helped Lampard, however, is the emergence of David Luiz as a holding midfielder.


Luiz's primary position, as I'm sure most of you know, is that of a ball-playing center back. He helps buildup from the back of the defense, but maintains little offensive responsibility. He loves to break forward, though, creating some chances but leaving the back line exposed. Recently, Benitez gave him a run in the team as a defensive midfielder, and he showed promise***. He actually foils Lampard much better than Mikel or Ramires, by bringing a defensive mindset, great passing range, good ball control, and an ability to burst forward with pace. He fouls incessantly, as does Ramires, but breaks up play effectively and physically controls the midfield, allowing Lampard to get forward when he wants to. This Luiz-Lampard partnership forces defenders to account for more offensive threats, creates width with passing range, and still breaks up play relatively effectively. From a purely tactical standpoint, they fit like a glove.


While the tactical element's absolutely important, it's probably not the biggest reason Chelsea should keep Lampard. He's been with the club the majority of his playing career and overseen their most successful period in history. He represents himself and the club with consummate professionalism and consistency, and continues to work hard every day. He's a club legend, arguably the best Chelsea player of all time, and still contributes however he can. Chelsea's now rebuilding with a new generation of attacking midfielders, now of which are over 25 years old. Could there be a better teacher than Super Frank Lampard?


Oh, and he's only 5 goals away from Bobby Tambling's all time goals record for Chelsea. Did I remind you he's a midfielder? Ridiculous.



*Ramires creates chances, but isn't great a putting them away. Mikel has literally never scored in the Premier League. Not even once. In over 150 appearances. Good Lord.

**Lampard has 15 goals in all competitions, including his fantastic controlled volley against Brazil.

***He's not been benched since then, he's been fighting some hamstring issues.

2 comments:

  1. Please remove your head from lampards behind so that you can see clearly. Its writers like you that have failed to realize that chelsea's problem all season is the continued insistence on accommodating lampard in this new posisition of a Holding MF. Like the saying goes, you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. The primaty function of a holding/defensive MF is clearly stated in the phrase. He holds and defends, his primary function is not to attack nor score goals. Please, since this season, how many times have lampard successfully dispossed and opponent, or even put in an unsuccessful tackle???? Mikel doesnt score!!!! Does he have to??? How many goals did Makalele score for chelsea??? Wasnt he the best in his position? All the high profile games that cost us this season, Super cup, UCL, world club, etc, lampard was there and we were completely overrun. When we meetr a good team with an excellent MF, we are completely over run because there isnt any cover for the defenders, especially with Lampard in the team. More recently against Man U in the FA cup, it was only after Lampard was subed that we had control of the MF. Lampard can never be a holding MF, he cannot track back, he cannot tackle, all he does is to direct his mates on who to tackle, does he have a slave on the field?? Lampard has to leave chelsea, he always thinks he must play. Young players like Josh have been sent on loan because they wish to reate a space foe Lampard in a position that isnt his natural. Legend or not, let him go.

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  2. Nice analysis. I'm on the fence with Lamps because although he scores goals, his passing accuracy has dropped over time. Check out my blog:
    http://1sportscritic.blogspot.com/2013/03/chelsea-fc-reality.html

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