Liverpool away twice next week, then Sheffield Utd, Man City, Leicester and Man U.
That will be a real test of Mikel Arteta’s
‘New’ Arsenal.
And now Lamps has signed a keeper. Could that be the final piece in the jigsaw?
Depends if he can catch a ball or not.
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I watched a fair bit of the Bundesliga last season, and Havertz struck me as the best player who didn’t play for Bayern Munich. He’ll be just fine in England, although maybe not in this Chelsea team.
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All great teams right now bar one. Still Man U could trouble you as well…
I think this season will be a lot more competitive than the last when all of the teams that could and should be challenging Liverpool for one reason or another didn’t really turn up.
You mean apart from the missing 2 defenders and the fact that all Chelsea keepers will be vulnerable because of the way Lampard sets up the team?
Mike - Lampard is still learning his trade as a PL manager but he’s had an excellent schooling under some excellent managers who know how to win trophies. He was a model professional as a player and will be highly respected by the players he now manages. He seems to me to have that obsessive work ethic that is needed to succeed at the top of the game. I think he, and the Chelsea team, are on the up. It might not come to fruition this season but I don’t think it will be long. And I’m no Chelsea fan.
Let’s not get carried away, so far this season Chelsea where outplayed by Brighton for 45 minutes, lost to Liverpool and have just beaten Barnsley who finished fourth from the bottom of the Championship last season.
Frank Lampard has a lot of work to do, last Season Chelsea conceded more goals than any other team in the top 10 it would be easy to blame just Kepa but defensively Chelsea are fragile and unless Roman Abramovich pulls another £50 or £60 million out of his pocket for some defenders it will have to be a case of ‘We will score more than you’ for Chelsea this season.
Behave.
None of your first 4 sentences have any bearing on his likely success as a manager and the reality is that in terms of learning his trade he refused the Ipswich job because he didn’t have a big enough budget and failed to get promotion at Derby.
The latter team played exactly like Chelsea do now and their keepers had exactly the same issue. He was facing dismissal at Derby and then landed on his feet at Chelsea having been the only candidate able to energise an increasingly disengaged fan base of a club with a now disinterested owner now his money has been cleansed.
Under Lampard the team are younger and often faster but that gives an illusion of progress which isn’t really there. @Bobthebuilder analysis of the defensive issue chimes with mine and most commentators.
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Here’s a question for you,
On an equal playing field financially let’s say £200 million per team who would win the league?
Blimey, the bloke’s only been a manager for 2 years. Not getting promotion by not winning the play offs in your first season as manager doesn’t mean you’re awful! Champions league with a bit of a mish-mash of abilities isn’t so terrible either.
As a Chelsea supporter, I and others I know, didn’t really see last season as Year 1, more of a holding year and frankly, anywhere in top third of table was viewed as acceptable by the fan base. So 4th on goal difference was absolutely fine really.
This is now Year 1 proper. Yes, it’s incredibly frustrating to see our fragility and although as noted above the style of play doesn’t help, Kepa is absolutely in no way up to the job, he was pretty awful under Sarri most weeks too. He knows it and worse, the rest of the team know it. And btw, I had far more fun watching most of Frank’s games than I did watching Sarri’s. Which reminds me, Jorginho can go too. A bit of a shame as he has his qualities, just not a fit in this team or even most in this league perhaps, though I hear Arsenal are sniffing.
And this year, if we ‘only’ get 3rd or 4th again, I think most fans will be happy, as long as we can see progress in quality and team play, though I’m personally not convinced bringing in Declan Rice will change very much, a couple of Hammers supporters I know would take the cash. I guess Frank knows best!
However an attacking set of players consisting of Werner, Havertz, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Abraham, Giroud and perhaps CHO if he stays, does have great potential. Kovacic and Kante in midfield could still do with a third to act as a Marshall around which they rotate but they know what they’re doing. Wee Billy Gilmour could be superb, but he’s hardly our Goliath in midfield…Proper full backs in Chilwell and James with Azi for guidance (he’s lost his pace). Tomori will come good at CB and possibly Clarke-Salter too.
As for the keeper choice, well apparently Mendi is Cech’s man, so we’ll see. We do have an excellent young keeper in Jamie Cumming, but he’s one for the future, I shall be keeping an eye on Stevenage results this year (!) It will be interesting to see which of Guehi, Ampadu and Gallagher step up in their respective loan moves too.
So, exciting times and, you know what, I’m happy 
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It’s nice to hear a bit more of a balanced view Chelsea fans like Arsenal fans get overly excited and there’s is nothing wrong with that but those of us who have more than a few decades under our belts support our teams have learned to be a bit more measured in our excitement as the banter backlash at work Monday morning or down the pub can relentless.
I’m very glad though that this season looks as if it might be more competitive as someone needs to shut up those
‘I’ve always supported Liverpool because my Great, Great Grandad bought a dog from a Liverpool supporter’ Liverpool fans.
Ps. Where did they all come from?
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Hey Bob. Even before global TV and the relentless hype machine that is the Premier League, Liverpool and Man Utd had much bigger fan bases at home and abroad than any other English clubs.
In my messed-up neck of the woods, we see plenty of Arsenal and Chelsea shirts these days, but they don’t come close to challenging the popularity of the historic Big Two.
I’m talking about here in the UK where men I know from work, down the pub and on line who pre Klopp Where never to be seen in Liverpool shirts now wear them.
I myself have traveled a fair bit and of course have seen the support Liverpool have but in Asia it is Man U who rule followed by Arsenal and Chelsea
But never Man City or Spurs…
Whilst in Norway, it’s wall to wall Leeds United shirts.
Success should attract more support surely? I’ve been stood in Pen 2 at Filbert St with ~7000 other bored people in the ground watching Leicester struggle to beat Portsmouth. I’d be gutted if The 2016 Event hadn’t attracted more supporters, to the ground and in the wider world.
Erm perhaps a few Man City.
