Super Frank Lampard - A Managerial Adventure

Tracz said:
Looks like you'll be in the fight for top 4 all the way to the end of the season, good luck hopefully you can hold off spurs!
On a side note.... danny ings at ipswich?!?! Im a huge ipswich fan, whos in charge? Any other major transfers? Hope you dont mind me asking.
Click to expand...

Cheers buddy :) We will never find out how far I could have taken Everton, update out soon! ;)

Ipswich are 19th in the league at the moment =/ unfortunately cant see them staying up, they are already a long way off survival. Mick McCarthy is still in charge, but you have some decent players like Ings, Adam Johnson, Paddy McNair, Johnny Evans and Gio Dos Santos.

In terms of other transfers around the prem, here are the major deals

View attachment 222676
 
View attachment 958064

Lampard announced as Chelsea manager​

View attachment 222675
After days of intense speculation, Frank Lampard has signed a three year contract to become the new manager of Chelsea Football Club, leaving his post at Everton. Lampard, 39, made 648 appearances in a 13 year spell with Chelsea as a player, now returns to the club as manager after the dismissal of previous manager Andre Villas-Boas after an unsuccessful second spell at the club.

Lampard has previously managed Leeds United, who he guided to the Premier League, Swansea City who he helped save from relegation the following season, and Everton who he has guided to an impressive 4th place in the Premier League this season as well as an FA Cup win last season.

"This really is a magical day for me" Lampard said. "When I left the club I felt that I was not done here and I am absolutely delighted to have the chance to continue my affiliation with this magnificent football club"

Chelsea have been less than impressive this season and currently sit in 7th in the Premier League.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 222668
As soon as I saw the job opening, I couldn't resist. It is with some regret that I leave Everton as I feel that we were building a really strong, competitive squad there, but this is my club, I couldn't say no to Chelsea.

View attachment 222666
As you can see above, Villas-Boas did a mixed job during his time in charge. We are still in the Europa League (Rather than the Champions League) and FA Cup, however we got knocked out of the Capital One Cup in the 3rd round by Southampton. We have also been poor so far this season in the Premier League, sitting in 7th position. Our number one priority has to be get back into the Champions League as soon as possible and that will be our aim for the rest of the season.

View attachment 222665
In terms of our squad, it looks fairly strong. The immediate problem seems to be an ageing back line with the 37 year old John Terry and 32 year old Gary Cahill. It seems balanced enough to give us a good run for the remainder of the season. The one concern does seem to be the size of the squad. There is no way I can keep everybody happy so expect a major clear out at the end of the season.

Key Players​

View attachment 222663
Eden Hazard is a truly remarkable footballer. An average rating of 7.59 over the past three and a half seasons tells you everything you need to know and he will be crucial to any success we hope to have.

View attachment 222662
Perhaps the best right back in the world at the moment, Cesar Azpilicueta is another wonderful footballer. He is sure to hold down his position at right back and can tear apart defences while remaining reliable at the back.

View attachment 222660
What a difference a world class goalkeeper can make, and Courtois is certainly that. Between him and Begovic the goalkeeping position is well and truly locked down.

View attachment 222659
A £16 mil summer buy from Bayern Munich, Antonio Rudiger is developing into a quality centre back. Tall, strong and fast, he has everything he needs to succeed and will be a real asset for us.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 222649
View attachment 222648
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Dragovic, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Matic, Gundogan, Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, Costa.

I walked out of the Stamford Bridge tunnel for my first game in charge to a standing ovation and thunderous applause. It wasnt long before the Super Frank Lampard chant was ringing around the Bridge as Willian put us ahead in the first 5 minutes. It didnt take long for us to double our advantage with Eden Hazard slotting home from close range. The rest of the game sort of fizzled out but we kept our clean sheet and took the win to put us into the 6th round of the FA Cup.
 
View attachment 958156
View attachment 222642
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Rudiger, Ivanovic, Matic, Pasalic, Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, Costa.

The first leg of our Europa League tie with Wolfsburg ended in a draw with Nemanja Matic grabbing a late equaliser which will count as an away goal. That away goal makes this a half decent result and we will be confident taking them back to Stamford Bridge with the scores level. If we keep a clean sheet at home we are through.
 
View attachment 958163
View attachment 222640
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Christensen, Ivanovic, Matic, Pasalic, Oscar, Hazard, Sisto, Costa

A fantastic result against West Ham as we get off to a winning start in the Premier League under my management. Pione Sisto got his chance in the first team and didnt disappoint, scoring with a great effort late in the first half. Eden Hazard was then the hero of the 2nd half with a free kick and a penalty to put it beyond all doubt. Better still is we managed to keep a clean sheet. Showing real promise.
 
View attachment 958188
View attachment 222631
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Christensen, Ivanovic, Martinez, Pasalic, Oscar, Hazard, Willian, Costa.

Another solid performance see's us safely into the next round of the cup with a 4-2 aggregate win over Wolfsburg. Javi Martinez notched our first goal before a speculative long shot from Max Arnold somehow got past Courtois to level the tie. Willian then proceeded to put us in front before late substitute Andrej Kramaric sealed the deal.
 
View attachment 958215
View attachment 222620
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Dragovic, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Martinez, Gundogan, Oscar, Hazard, Sisto, Costa.

I have no idea how we lost this match. Almost straight from the kick off Matej Vydra managed to poach a goal by bursting through the defence and onto a direct ball which he poked home. From them on in it was total Chelsea domination. 29 shots on goal, 6 clear cut chances.. nothing. A gutting defeat, we cant afford too many more of these if we want to qualify for Europe. Even worse was the injury to Diego Costa who will miss the next three weeks. For some reason Villas-Boas decided not to register any other strikers for the Premier League so we are without Costa, Kramaric, Perez, Milik and Remy. This could spell trouble.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 958247
View attachment 222606
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Dragovic, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Matic, Martinez, Oscar, Hazard, Willian, Fabregas.

Cesc Fabregas took over the striking role, playing as a false 9, as we were held away from home by Swansea. Fabregas earned us a penalty in the first half which Hazard put away perfectly but we couldnt hold onto the lead, Giroud slotting in just before half time. The 2nd half was incredibly dull with neither team creating much. A point wont do us any good at all.

View attachment 222600
 
View attachment 222561
View attachment 222560
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Dragovic, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Martinez, Matic, Willian, Hazard, Oscar, Kramaric.

We got absolutely battered by United, in fact I dont think I have ever been on the end of such a thumping in my whole career, and yet somehow we earned a replay back at the Bridge! Mata got United off to a great start and Martial doubled their lead just after half time. With our first attack of the game Andrej Kramaric (Playing because he's registered in the cup) dinked a cute finish over De Gea to give us a goal back. Baba then committed a couple of ridiculous fouls to get himself sent off carelessly. From there I really thought the game was gone but then in the final minute of the match, Oscar popped up to get his head on the end of a cross and bundle it into the net. Incredible resilience.
 
View attachment 958372
View attachment 222559
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Christensen, Ivanovic, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Hazard, Oscar, Kramaric.

An amazing display from Eden Hazard as he scored all four goals as we brushed past Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of the Europa League 2nd knock out round. Two assists a piece for Andrej Kramaric and Ruben Loftus-Cheek strengthen their places in the squad, but it will be Hazard who claims all the plaudits and rightly so. Plzen managed to get two goals to give them just a glimmer of hope, but with four away goals and the remaining leg to be played at Stamford Bridge I think we can be very confident. The downside to this result is an injury to Oscar who will miss the next 5 weeks of the season.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 958387
View attachment 222548
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Rudiger, Ivanovic, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Hazard, Bernard, Willian.

With all of our strikers out I decided to try a strikerless formation, with Bernard slotting in at AMC as a shadow striker. Well it turns out it really didnt work as we got battered by Watford in an embarassing defeat. Troy Deeney in particular picked us apart time and time again and we had no answer. Very poor.
 
View attachment 958436
View attachment 222525
Starting XI - Begovic, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Dragovic, Ivanovic, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Pasalic, Hazard, Willian, Kramaric

Easy peasy. We coasted comfortably past Viktoria Plzen at Stamford Bridge and our reward is a place in the Europa League quarter finals. Nemanja Matic got us off to a great start with an amazing volley into the top corner of the net. Kramaric then scored a brace to see us home. I have been very impressed with Kramaric when he has been available to play, expect to see him stay and play a part next season.
 
View attachment 958440
View attachment 222524
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Rudiger, Dragovic, Azpilicueta, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, Costa

Diego Costa returned to the them as we got thumped by Arsenal. Goals from Moreno, Carrasco, Chamberlain and Walcott were enough to consign us to defeat. Hazard grabbed a couple to continue his own good form in amongst the teams turmoil. Something is seriously wrong with this Chelsea team, there is no fight at all.. no identity.. This squad needs to be rebuilt in the transfer window with plenty of fresh blood. In the mean time we have to try a new tactic.
 
View attachment 222512
View attachment 222511
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Rudiger, Dragovic, Azpilicueta, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Hazard, Fabregas, Willian, Costa.

Out of the FA Cup. A change in tactic to a 4231 saw us give a much better performance and create plenty of chances but fail to put any of them away. Florenzi scored the only goal in the game to put us out of the cup.
 
View attachment 958474
View attachment 222510
Starting XI - Courtois, Baba, Dragovic, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Gundogan, Hazard, Sisto, Costa.

A fantastic performance against City but once again we get nothing from it. The signs are there of having a decent side with Eden Hazard scoring a stunning wondergoal from long range to put us ahead. Former Chelsea player Kurt Zouma then headed City level. After half time Caulker gave away a penalty which Hazard converted beautifully but we couldnt hold on as a penalty area scramble deflected in off of Sisto.

The registration of this squad is ridiculous. In the Premier League we have just the one striker registered in Diego Costa. In the Europa League we have our strikers, but Baba Rahman, Pione Sisto and Bernard are all unregistered. I have no idea what Villas-Boas was playing at, but we have very little chance of getting a settled and coherent squad when we cant have a regular team.
 
View attachment 958486
View attachment 222505
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Christensen, Ivanovic, Martinez, Loftus-Cheek, Gundogan, Hazard, Willian, Kramaric.

It took us a while to get going in the first leg of our Europa League quarter final against Saint-Ettiene, but when we did we played very nicely. Brown Ideye opened the scoring for the french outfit but thankfully Willian won a penalty which Eden Hazard was able to convert to earn us a draw and an away goal to go back home with.
 
View attachment 958495
View attachment 222502
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Rudiger, Ivanovic, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Gundogan, Hazard, Sisto, Costa.

Much better against Liverpool and a massive win! I feared the worst when we went behind early on to a Khoma Babacar goal but I shouldnt have worried as Hazard scored a brace with a goal either side of Gundogans effort to give us a 3-1 win and a much needed boost for European qualification. Unfortunately it is now mathamatically impossible to qualify for the Champions League through the Premiership so Europa League has to be the target now.
 
View attachment 958534
View attachment 222483
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Rudiger, Ivanovic, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Gundogan, Hazard, Willian, Costa.

How did we not score!?!?!?! 34 shots on goal, 21 of those on target and 6 clear cut chances. In the end it didnt matter as the defence did their job and a 0-0 draw was enough to see us through by our away goal. Arsenal will be our opponents in the Semi-Final and we will need to play much better then we did tonight.
 
View attachment 958556
View attachment 222471
Starting XI - Courtois, Azpilicueta, Dragovic, Rudiger, Ivanovic, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Gundogan, Hazard, Oscar, Costa.

Not such an impressive performance but a better result against Fulham as we take three more points. It fell to Willian in the end to score from a deflection to grab us the win. Right at the moment results are all that matters. Costa's lack of goals is becoming a real worry now.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top