Chelsea sack Lampard and appoint Tuchel

[compo 6,122]

Doesn't look like they are expecting the new bloke to be at the club long either he's just been given an eighteen month contract. 

[Uilleam 5,409]

 

In Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea are pivoting to a kind of anti-Lampard

The tactical modernist is very different from his predecessor at Stamford Bridge but could be just what Chelsea need now

@barneyronay

Tue 26 Jan 2021 09.02 GMT

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jan/26/in-thomas-tuchel-chelsea-have-pivoted-to-a-kind-of-anti-frank-lampard

 

According to the Thomas Tuchel playbook, managing a football team is “something you need to learn and understand, not a thing you do because there’s nothing else left or because it seems like the logical next step after 400 professional matches”. Tuchel wasn’t talking about Frank Lampard when he said these words.

Although it would surely make his likely arrival at Stamford Bridge a little spicier if he could rehash this statement for his opening remarks at the unveiling-station – ideally while wagging his finger and brandishing his economics diploma, his youth coaching medals, and all the other evidence of a coaching hinterland, a life spent outside the inner circle, that separates him from his immediate predecessor.

 

What does seem certain is that should Chelsea end up recruiting Tuchel they will, by accident or design, have landed on a kind of anti-Lampard. Exit one underqualified celebrity appointment. Enter the gangling Bavarian uber-nerd, tactical modernist and obsessively-minded details coach, a man whose stated hobbies include nights in drinking orange spritzer and “an interest in furniture design”.

All managerial hires tend to oscillate between extremes to some degree. Lampard is a superstar. Tuchel was no kind of player at all. Lampard was already being touted around as a manager by his uncle before he’d even taken his first steps. Tuchel believes in coaching and management as a kind of vocation, something to learn and understand, an intellectual discipline as much as a function of status and personality.

And yes, it is already possible to hear the knives being sharpened, Lampard’s friends in the media taking pre-umbrage at the presence of this outsider, who has already upset a few people along the way and seems certain to have his early collisions and wrong turns.

 

But there is plenty of good sense too in this pivot towards a Tuchel-type figure. Where Lampard was a tactical blank, a manager still working out how he wants his teams to look, Tuchel is very clearly associated with a way of playing, with direct links to the current hot headliners of the German school of gegenpressing, rapid transition and all the rest. Another point of contrast: Tuchel is demonstrably qualified to do the job. In fact he is an upgrade on pretty much every professional level, with the exception of one key quality: he isn’t Frank. And this kind of thing really does matter at Chelsea.

Lampard’s sacking may have arrived with startling speed, the executioner’s block wheeled into place with that familiar brutal efficiency, but it was, in the end, a victory for the circle of life.

 

Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge with an idea of reasserting the basic Chelsea identity, the Chelsea of his own playing days. In which case – job done. The end may have arrived with a merciless swish of the blade, but this was in itself a reassertion of the deep Chelsea culture of the Abramovich years. This is the model. And in a commendably ruthless fashion the model has now done away with one of its own favourite sons. And so we go on. The circle of life demands fresh meat for the shredder.

 

Tuchel looks, in outline, the best Chelsea hire since Antonio Conte, and before that Carlo Ancelotti, 11 years and seven empty chairs down the line, albeit one who arrives with a degree of uncertainty over his own trajectory.

At this point it is worth recalling how Tuchel first announced himself. Rewind 21 years and Tuchel was playing under Ralf Rangnick at Ulm, a club in the process of a transformative rush up through the divisions. A cartilage injury forced Tuchel into retirement aged 24, and a spell in the wilderness. He worked as a barman in Stuttgart. He raged at his bad luck. He settled into a youth level coaching role under Rangnick, groomed as an awkward, clever, challenging coach in the making.

Tuchel got his break at Mainz in 2009, following on from Jürgen Klopp. He trimmed his squad, refocused the players, and did well enough to create a kind of wonderkid buzz around himself, a persona that propelled him on to Dortmund in succession to Klopp once again. Tuchel was a success at Dortmund: he brought Christian Pulisic through, he experimented with positions and roles, and he ended up being sacked three days after winning the club’s first trophy in five years following disagreements with assorted levels of the club hierarchy.

 

Paris Saint-Germain followed, a weird appointment in itself: PSG is a star project, Tuchel is a systems manager who demands the players act as a collective. But he won a lot of games, won the trophies he was supposed to win and took that team to the Champions League final. At the end of which nobody really knows what Tuchel’s ceiling might be. He’s done quite well, without ever looking the ideal fit in his environment.

There are some obvious advantages at Chelsea. Through Rangnick – an early mentor of both Timo Werner, the player, and Tuchel the manager – he has a direct line in to how to get the best out Chelsea’s £50m striker. No excuses here: Tuchel looks like the ideal choice for a player who needs to be used in a specific way to replicate his Bundesliga form. Rangnick is also a huge fan of Kai Havertz, who he once described as Cruyff-like in his all-round game. Should Tuchel get the job it is to be hoped the odd long chat with his old boss is in line.

Otherwise Tuchel will make Chelsea’s players fit his pattern, with obsessive drills, and a very clear idea of where he wants them to be on the pitch. The Tuchel style is based on running, hard pressing, and speed of thought and deed. In Germany this playing style was considered at one point to be classically “English”.

 

So much for the good news. There is also plenty that will be picked away at and used to beat him with. Tuchel does not suffer fools, speaks brusquely at times, and has some quirks: no use of surnames, and an insistence players look into each other’s eyes while saying good morning; an obsession with good manners and punctuality. There is plenty to work on here if, or indeed when, things start to go bad.

For now, should he get the job, he has a blank slate: a hugely powerful squad, a natural tactical fit with some key players, and even the added benefit of an empty stadium into which to ease his awkward frame. Over to you, the anti-Frank.

[Uilleam 5,409]

A mam

nager who 'always clashes' with his bosses, and Roman Abramovich's Chelsea. 

What could possibly go wrong?

No wonder it's only an 18 month contract,

 

The ‘control freak’ that Chelsea need

Thomas Tuchel always clashes with his bosses but his tactical acumen is undeniable, writes Constantin Eckner

Constantin Eckner

Tuesday January 26 2021, 12.01am, The Times

 

Thomas Tuchel’s win percentage as PSG manager was 74.8. Of his 127 games in charge, he won 95, drew 13 and lost 19

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-control-freak-that-chelsea-need-3b66m5xfp

 

When comparing their respective careers, Thomas Tuchel has little in common with Frank Lampard. Unlike the man he succeeds at Stamford Bridge, the German never had any notable success as a player. The pinnacle of his career on the pitch totalled eight matches in Germany’s second division with Stuttgarter Kickers before a knee injury forced his retirement at 25.

Tuchel, 47, made the most of his misfortune, dedicating himself over the next few years to studying coaching philosophies and methodologies. His intellect and knowledge quickly won admirers while working in the academies at Stuttgart and Augsburg before earning his first managerial position at Mainz, replacing Jürgen Klopp in 2009.

Over the next five years he gained a reputation for being an out-of-the-box thinker who dismissed most of what was considered traditional coaching. His 2012 talk, entitled Rulebreaker, became an internet sensation, with Tuchel explaining how he was pushing his players constantly during his first years at Mainz.

“We were the first to break with old thought patterns (in the Bundesliga) by playing different tactical systems,” he said. “A feeling of inferiority” made him realise that his team could only beat opponents through repeated tactical changes. “Other teams were stuck in old thought patterns, once a 4-4-2, always a 4-4-2,” Tuchel said.

Rather than rely on one system, he would often adapt his tactical set-up depending on the opponent Mainz were facing. They would switch between one holding midfielder or two, a back three or a back four, or a diamond in midfield.

In 2011 he steered the small-town club to fifth in the Bundesliga with a distinct brand of high-octane, counterattacking football. His team were spearheaded by Lewis Holtby, André Schürrle and Adam Szalai — nicknamed the “Bruchweg Boys” after the club’s stadium — who were likened to a boy band for their energy and youthfulness.

 

He left the club in 2014 after a dispute over finances but his work made him Borussia Dortmund’s first choice, once again replacing Klopp. Despite winning his first major trophy, the German Cup in 2017, he was unable to emulate his predecessor and secure a league title. His strained relationship with Hans-Joachim Watzke, the club’s chief executive, led him to leave at the end of that season.

 

It was then that he first spoke with Chelsea when the club were concerned that Antonio Conte, who had just won the Premier League title, would quit after one year in west London. Once it became clear that the Italian would remain, the talks ended and Tuchel agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain in the spring of 2018.

 

Tuchel is a control freak who likes to have a say in everything. When he arrived in Paris, he instructed the cooks at the team hotel about his preferred menus, drew up diet plans for his players and started monitoring their sleeping patterns. He even provided architectural drawings for requested changes to the training ground to make more space for physiotherapists and doctors. He found it difficult to implement his tactical blueprint, however.

Although the club reached the Champions League final last season, losing to Bayern Munich, throughout his tenure Tuchel was virtually forced to exempt his star players, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, from most of their defensive duties.

Once again he clashed with the club’s hierarchy over transfer policy and it was no great surprise when he was dismissed in December with a £5.3 million payoff.

 

At Chelsea, the task is more straightforward. Lampard’s team conceded an average of 1.35 goals a game — the most under any of Roman Abramovich’s managers.

Tuchel’s tactical vision must improve the team defensively while finding suitable roles for his compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, the expensive attacking signings who have misfired in England.

 

Despite all the off-field turbulence, Tuchel has made clear that he sees his main job as assisting those on the field. “It is a players’ game. We as managers only serve our players,” he once said. After a £220 million summer spree, Chelsea are hoping Tuchel can unlock the full potential of their highly gifted players.

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Uilleam

[Rousseau 9,361]

Quote

Where Lampard was a tactical blank, a manager still working out how he wants his teams to look, Tuchel is very clearly associated with a way of playing, with direct links to the current hot headliners of the German school of gegenpressing, rapid transition and all the rest.

The nerd vs the jock?

 

Suffice to say, I'm on the side of the former. 

 

These former players -- even star players -- just don't have the tactical nous to succeed in today's game. They don't think about the game in the same way. 

 

It doesn't mean Frank can't develop it, but he's not going to get there in a mere couple of years, on-the-job, when there is a Tuchel-type character who's studied the ins and outs of the game for decades.

 

We're very lucky with Gerrard. He clearly has a vision, but he's also brought along coaches (Beale) that can help him implement it. SG also brought the experience of McAllister. He also did a couple of years at the Liverpool Academy to get a feel for it. 

 

It's a miracle. 

[compo 6,122]

14 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

The nerd vs the jock?

 

Suffice to say, I'm on the side of the former. 

 

These former players -- even star players -- just don't have the tactical nous to succeed in today's game. They don't think about the game in the same way. 

 

It doesn't mean Frank can't develop it, but he's not going to get there in a mere couple of years, on-the-job, when there is a Tuchel-type character who's studied the ins and outs of the game for decades.

 

We're very lucky with Gerrard. He clearly has a vision, but he's also brought along coaches (Beale) that can help him implement it. SG also brought the experience of McAllister. He also did a couple of years at the Liverpool Academy to get a feel for it. 

 

It's a miracle. 

Just been reading that another very thoughtful manager has passed away Dr Jozef Venglos I remember his hoops giving us a jolly good five to one thumping 

[Rousseau 9,361]

... and then there's a man like Andrea Pirlo.

 

Clearly a deep thinker of the game, submitting his thesis in the Italian way, with a clear idea of how he wants to play. 

 

Yet, suffering from a lack of hands-on, practical experience? I think he was appointed after 3 days with the under-23s!

 

 

[Gribz 743]

1 hour ago, Rousseau said:

 

We're very lucky with Gerrard. He clearly has a vision, but he's also brought along coaches (Beale) that can help him implement it. SG also brought the experience of McAllister. He also did a couple of years at the Liverpool Academy to get a feel for it. 

 

It's a miracle. 

Couldnt agree more. I was thinking this morning while out jogging about how Gerrard is succeeding - Because he is bringing what he had as a player to the team: Passion, Drive, Determination, enthusiasm, winning mentality, high standards - whilst he is also maturing very well. And he is learning mistakes i.e. when winning at Parkhead Dec 2019 he let off steam to the cameras (nothing wrong with that) but then from January onwards something went wrong - yet this season its been head down and onto the next game.

[craig 5,195]

7 hours ago, Rousseau said:

The nerd vs the jock?

 

Suffice to say, I'm on the side of the former. 

 

These former players -- even star players -- just don't have the tactical nous to succeed in today's game. They don't think about the game in the same way. 

 

It doesn't mean Frank can't develop it, but he's not going to get there in a mere couple of years, on-the-job, when there is a Tuchel-type character who's studied the ins and outs of the game for decades.

 

We're very lucky with Gerrard. He clearly has a vision, but he's also brought along coaches (Beale) that can help him implement it. SG also brought the experience of McAllister. He also did a couple of years at the Liverpool Academy to get a feel for it. 

 

It's a miracle. 

Gerrard out then

[craig 5,195]

6 hours ago, Rousseau said:

... and then there's a man like Andrea Pirlo.

 

Clearly a deep thinker of the game, submitting his thesis in the Italian way, with a clear idea of how he wants to play. 

 

Yet, suffering from a lack of hands-on, practical experience? I think he was appointed after 3 days with the under-23s!

 

 

Gattuso on the bubble with Napoli too.  They are looking at Benitez, though not sure why he would go to Napoli when he could go to Celtic....

[craig 5,195]

5 hours ago, Gribz said:

Couldnt agree more. I was thinking this morning while out jogging about how Gerrard is succeeding - Because he is bringing what he had as a player to the team: Passion, Drive, Determination, enthusiasm, winning mentality, high standards - whilst he is also maturing very well. And he is learning mistakes i.e. when winning at Parkhead Dec 2019 he let off steam to the cameras (nothing wrong with that) but then from January onwards something went wrong - yet this season its been head down and onto the next game.

Yep, couldn't agree more.  I think that particular moment was a catalyst moment for him.  His reaction that day was understandable, but also can have the effect of everyone thinking the job was done.  I suspect he saw that after the game and said "that won't happen again - not in front of the cameras - until something is actually won"