Arsenal legend urges Lampard to make drastic formation change to arrest Chelsea slump

Paul Merson urges Chelsea boss Frank Lampard to change formation

Writing in his column for the Daily Star (h/t Express), former Arsenal star Paul Merson has claimed that Chelsea manager Frank Lampard should consider changing his team’s formation after recent results.

A run of five losses in eight Premier League outings has seen Chelsea fall down to the eighth place in the table. This has led to increased pressure on manager Lampard, with his job being called into question.

Amidst the slump, Merson has advised the former Blues’ midfielder that a change of formation could do the trick for him, if he is to save his job at the Bridge.

Frank Lampard under pressure after Leicester defeat (GETTY Images)
Frank Lampard under pressure after Leicester defeat (GETTY Images)

“Chelsea should be playing three at the back because Cesar Azpilicueta is one of their best defenders and he isn’t even in the team.

“They have two great attacking wing backs in Reece James and Ben Chilwell, Kante and Mount could play together in midfield, and you could have Havertz as a ten behind Timo Werner and a big man.”

The Arsenal legend also added that Lampard is still not aware of his best starting XI and needs to turn around things quickly.

“At the moment it’s just a muddle. Lampard needs to get it turned around quickly or he’ll be out of a job.”

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Merson’s suggestion of switching tactics isn’t entirely a bad one. But, the setup that he suggests would take out Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi, two of our top performers this term, out of the starting XI.

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However, at the end of the day, something does need to change. With three home games on the bounce coming up, it is important that Lampard sparks a resurgence or he could soon find himself out of the club.