Paul
Merson believes Frank Lampard should be given time at Chelsea, because the
bizarre nature of the season means they are still in the title race.
Lampard's Chelsea go to Fulham on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky
Sports Premier League, having won just one of their last six Premier League
games, leaving them outside of the top six.
However, given the crowded nature of the Premier League season, Merson
believes Chelsea are only a handful of victories away from being back in
contention for the title, and feels the Blues must have a plan that includes
giving Lampard time.
Having spent £226m in the summer, Lampard has an embarrassment of riches in
his forward line, and Merson believes he is still "playing bingo" when it
comes to selection, and that a more experienced manager may have put faith
in a consistent starting XI by now.
In his latest column, Merson also insists Thiago is the key to Liverpool
winning the title this season, and is puzzled by Sam Allardyce's appointment
at West Bromwich Albion.
If Chelsea don't beat Fulham, should they sack Frank Lampard? It depends
what Chelsea want this year. It's alright saying: 'Let's get rid of Frank'
but who comes in? Do they go back in for Rafa Benitez? If you're going to
bring in Andriy Shevchenko, what's the difference? It's the same as Lampard,
he hasn't managed world-class players, and will need time.
It's not like you can bring in a Carlo Ancelotti for a quick fix. Sooner or
later, there has to be a plan at Chelsea. You can't spend £200m and think
you're going to win the league, it doesn't work like that.
Lampard did a great job last year, and it's the first time he has worked
with world-class players. Give him a chance.
A plan is to be realistic about where they expect to come this season: I
would have probably said the plan was to stay in the top four - because they
already made the top four not spending £200m last season - and probably be
in the title race.
Chelsea have all the advantage on Saturday now because of Fulham having to
play midweek. It isn't kind to Fulham really because their team may have
been different in the FA Cup against QPR.
But the way the season is going, if you can win three games on the trot,
you're back in the title race. Teams are losing games and dropping points
left, right and centre. If you put a run of five wins together, you're
probably top of the league. That wasn't the case last year.
It's a massive football match, and it's a big local derby. But Chelsea
expect to beat Fulham, and should beat Fulham because they have better
players. I expect them to win this game.
If this was Chelsea's points tally last season or the season before, I'd say
Chelsea are in trouble. But not this season. They're still in it, big time.
Manchester United have come from nowhere, chipping away, and all of a sudden
they can spread eagle the field if they beat Liverpool. They've just had
that bit of luck, starting in November against West Brom, who had a
stonewall penalty.
That's why I still don't think Chelsea are out of it. Whoever you are, put
five wins together and you're in it.
'Selecting Chelsea front men is like
bingo'
I still don't think Lampard knows his best team - he has his back five, then
N'Golo Kante and Mason Mount, and then it's bingo. Put the names in the hat
and whoever you draw out, any one of them can seemingly do a job, because
they are top drawer players, but it's about getting that balance right.
He has got too many players, and he has got to get that balance right
because he doesn't know his best team yet.
When you're a new manager - and he is a new manager, let's be honest - you
think about what your best team is, but when that 'best team' gets beat, you
want to change four players for the next week. I think with experience, you
give your team a chance, give them time like you want time. But does Frank
know he has got time? Chelsea need to build and get this right.
These players are not Frank Lampard. I've watched him play enough times,
he'd go to the very end and run through a brick wall for you. I can't
remember seeing him play a game, leave the pitch and thinking: 'He could
have given a bit more.'
He needs to remember that these players are not him. When they were getting
ripped to shreds by Man City, you could see the frustration on his face,
because he's thinking: 'I wouldn't allow this, show me something!'
Some of my managers would say to me: 'Stop getting frustrated… you're not
playing with Dennis Bergkamp here. You're not playing with Ian Wright here.'
Frank needs to realise and understand that.
Chelsea's next six PL fixtures
Fulham (A) - January 16 - live on Sky Sports
Leicester (A) - January 19 - live on Sky Sports
Wolves (H) - January 27
Burnley (H) - January 30
Tottenham (A) - February 3
Sheff Utd (A) - February 6
'Thiago must play every game'
I feel teams are approaching Liverpool now, not giving them any space, and
saying: 'You'll have to break us down.' Liverpool are struggling without
that guile in midfield. They'll need Thiago to play every week. He's the one
who sees that pass.
I think Jurgen Klopp knows this now, because he's even bringing Xherdan
Shaqiri in, someone who you'd have previously thought might not play another
minute for Liverpool. But he can put the ball through the eye of a needle.
Without that, it takes the Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino X-factor
out of the game. Liverpool are still the best in the world without the ball,
but when there's no space there, it gets taken away.
Thiago must play every week. He can see that pass, and we've seen evidence
of that in a couple of games. It might not always come off, but he sees it.
What team in the world aren't going to miss Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in
midfield? It's hard when you're taking those players out of the midfield.
Liverpool's midfield have always made everything happen - they are the
unsung heroes. Without them, I don't think anything happens at Liverpool.
They protect the back four, they let the full-backs bomb on, and they let
the front three do what they want.
'Big Sam at West Brom doesn't make sense'
It's really difficult now for clubs to sign players in January. The teams
that need players are at the bottom, and I think they're going to be stuck
with what they've got on the whole.
I didn't see the point in Sam Allardyce going to West Brom. He was brought
in for a rescue job, but unless you're going to bring in six or seven
players, there's not much point. I can't remember Slaven Bilic getting
smashed left right and centre, so it's an interesting decision.
A few teams need a centre-half, and Steven Caulker is tearing it up in
Turkey. Did he lose his way? Of course he did, we all know that, but he has
got his life back on track. I think he does a good job at a Premier League
team down the bottom, who need to stop conceding goals.
He has gone to Turkey, turned his life around, he has got experience, and I
think he comes in and shores up defences. He's 29 years old. These managers
need players now, they don't need 19-year-olds. You don't stick kids into
struggling football teams, because it doesn't help. You need to get
experience in.
Allardyce's job was to come in and make these players better, which I felt
was going to be difficult. I didn't see what Bilic was doing wrong. They
made Arsenal and Leeds look like the Harlem Globetrotters. That wasn't
happening when Bilic was there.
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