‘All the fundamentals were wrong’: Lampard puts Arsenal’s defeat at the feet of Chelsea players

Before last night’s match against Arsenal, Frank Lampard reflected on Chelsea’s recent streak of two defeats, blaming the “15 or 20 percent” drop in team performance levels.

Lampard did not put a number in the drop we saw in the Emirates, but it was certainly something a little higher than 15 or 20, especially in the first half.

Everything was wrong, from execution to attitude to effort. And Lampard did not hesitate to place the blame directly on the players.

“It is not good enough in the first half. The second half was better, but we had a lot to do at that moment. It’s not good enough at the basics – sprints, pressure, running, passing speed and trying to play. All the fundamentals were wrong. […] You can’t come up with that lethargic [approach].

“I am concerned with what is behind this, but I am not sure if it is definitely complacency. The fact that matters is that if you go in and play slowly with and without the ball, you will have a big problem when trying to get a result. Then again, you’re right – the message was clear. We had to attack in the right way, but we didn’t. “

-Frank Lampard; source: Football.London

Unfortunately for Lampard, at the end of the day, it is entirely his responsibility to ensure that players don’t get it all wrong, that they understand it well. This is the job. It’s one thing to have a single disaster, but it’s another to have three out of four games, all away, with one between a 3-0 home win over West Ham.

With an Aston Villa in good form on Monday, followed by a Manchester City once again imperious, we would do well to ensure that this bad time does not turn into a direct disaster. It’s up to you, Frank.