1. Help Havertz and Werner find their top form
One of the main reasons for the dismissal of Frank Lampard was his inability to get anything out of the two new marquee signings, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Havertz never really nailed down a set position, and often looked lost on the field. He was always in and out of the team, and it seems as though Lampard did not know how to get the best out of him.
With Tuchel now in charge, one of the biggest priorities for him is to find a way to unleash Havertz, whether that be in the role of a number 10 or a number 8.
During Tuchel’s tenure at Dortmund, he used a 4-2-3-1 formation with Shinji Kagawa playing in the number 10 role, who was incredible in that system under Tuchel.
Havertz’s footballing brain is incredible, so this system would be absolutely perfect for him.
Timo Werner, Havertz’s fellow German, is also someone that Tuchel will need to get the best out of in order to succeed as Chelsea manager.
Again, at Dortmund he worked wonders with Aubameyang, who became one of the most prolific strikers in Europe under his management.
Werner, another pacey frontman, could benefit hugely from his guidance and rediscover his best form.
It appears also that Lampard had no idea how to use Werner, who was frequently played on the left wing, instead of his preferred central role.
It is obvious that if Tuchel is to get the best out of him, then he will have to be played in a more central role, ideally in the central-left pocket which is where he played when he was ripping up the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig.
It’s not as if Chelsea don’t already have an array of talent in wide areas in the form of Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson Odoi.
Tuchel favours a brave, quick and attacking style of play which could serve Chelsea well due to the abundance of attacking prowess within their ranks.
2. Rediscover the creative spark
This is somewhat dependent on how effective Tuchel is in helping the misfiring Germans find their feet, but also on the tactical system that he chooses to use.
A common and frustrating problem of Lampard’s time was the inability to convert ball possession into clear cut chances and goals.
All too many times Chelsea dominated the ball, but did not have the incision to create any quality chances.
There were a number of reasons for this, whether it be lack of urgency in the build up play, or just a general lack of tactical awareness from Lampard, but it ultimately caused Chelsea to drop more points than they should have.
Often Chelsea were too slow in getting the ball into threatening areas, so by the time they had opened up a gap, the opposition had already recovered, which was why the two centre backs often spent the most time on the ball, with the team lacking the flair and invention necessary to get the ball to their more dangerous attacking players.
How could Tuchel fix this?
There are a few ways how Tuchel could fix this problem, but the primary thing he has to nail down is his main shape that he plans to use.
Chelsea under Lampard used a 4-3-3 and were often too predictable and struggled to break down the opposition.
Because of Chelsea’s inability to vary their patterns of play to create space for their dangerous forward players to exploit – who often found themselves marked out of games and isolated due to the lack of invention in the way Chelsea moved the ball.
A switch to a formation such as the 4-2-3-1 would be one way to fix this problem, as the third midfielder (most likely Kai Havertz) would occupy a much more threatening position, so when the ball was played into him he would be in a more advanced position to start a dangerous move.
All too often under Lampard the two flanking midfielders would receive the ball and be forced to pass sideways or backwards due to there being no forward passes available, and the build up play was often too slow to create this space.
With the addition of an attacking midfielder into the formation, this would give Chelsea an extra option in forward areas for the potential of a line breaking pass, making it harder for opposition to block Chelsea out the game because there will be another attacking player to contend with.
This would already greatly benefit the pivot of two behind him, most likely made up of N’golo Kante and Mason Mount, because now all three of the midfielders will no longer be in front of the opposition, making it easier to find gaps and space, as the opposition will be occupied with two different lines of players, instead of one solid line.
3. Sort out the defence (please)
It is evident that Chelsea are perfectly suited to play a 4-2-3-1, which would also get the best out of new signing Kai Havertz playing in his favourite position, while having a player like Mount behind him playing as a number 8 gives Chelsea plenty of options for creativity and incision, as Mount is particularly good at moving the ball quickly which will be a great asset to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.
The defending over the last few months has been calamitous at times to say the least, and conceding cheap goals is not something that Chelsea can afford to do with their current position in the league table.
Chelsea have lost many games due to counter-attacks against teams such as Southampton and Wolves, despite dominating possession and the run of play. There has also been a problem of naivety due to the squad being so young which has led to some defensive lapses.
Reece James is evidently a very good young player and is exceptional in his forward play, however he has been prone to being naive defensively and has been caught out a few times, for example for James Maddison’s goal in the 2-0 defeat to Leicester.
He will undoubtedly improve in this area as he progresses as a player, however the continued defensive problems regardless of his involvement in the team point to a more widespread problem than simply individuals.
Chelsea under Lampard had a bit of tactical…almost arrogance (but more naivety) about them.Tuchel must find a way to amend this tactical flaw, otherwise it will keep costing Chelsea goals and points.
Luckily he has managed veteran defender Thiago Silva in his previous management role at PSG, who will be familiar with his way of playing, and should help to ensure a smooth transition to the new way of defending.
The real question is who will partner Thiago Silva at the back? It is likely that Tuchel will give a career rebirth to fellow German Antonio Rudiger, who was very much out of the picture under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, due to consistent errors and mistakes.
The other option under Tuchel is Kurt Zouma, who possesses incredible strength and aerial ability, and has improved leaps and bounds since he started playing next to Thiago Silva.
Zouma’s immense presence makes him the perfect choice to partner Silva, however Tuchel will probably go with Rudiger for the time being.
4. Continue the development of the young players
Chelsea have an abundance of hugely talented young players within their ranks, who are the future spine of the club.
Tuchel has to take the baton from Frank Lampard and continue their integration into the first team otherwise he risks hampering their development. Players such as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour were just starting to cement their place in the team when Frank Lampard was sacked.
The introduction of Tuchel has been great so far for Hudson-Odoi, who has been one of the star performers in the first two games of the Tuchel era.
Billy Gilmour however, will have to take his chance when it comes to prove to the new boss that he has the ability to play in the first team, ahead of more established names such as Jorginho.
There are several qualities that Billy Gilmour has that give him an edge over the experienced Italian.
He is able to move the ball quickly and dictate the game from midfield, whereas Jorginho tends to not be as quick in moving the play. This injection of urgency could be exactly what Chelsea need to fix their issue in breaking down teams.
5. Make sure everyone knows their roles
One thing Tuchel absolutely needs is to have clarity and transparency in his tactical approach. One of the problems under Lampard was a lack of tactical awareness from several players.
Tuchel has to ensure that the players have a full understanding of his approach at all times.
Luckily he is renowned for his exceptional tactical knowledge, and he will need to make sure every player is crystal clear about their roles within the team.
Tuchel has always been very intelligent tactically and he is always feeding more information and ideas to his players to get his desired results, always calling players over to the touchline, always directly involved as if he is on the field himself.
Chelsea’s young players need this guidance and instruction in order to get the best out of them because they have not played enough games to be able to recognise everything on the pitch themselves.
Tuchel is going to have to ensure that everyone knows their jobs for every single minute they are on the pitch, turning Chelsea into potentially a very hard team to beat.
Whatever system he chooses, and he has been known to vary his setups, he will need to make sure that it gets the best out of Chelsea’s expensive new signings, with pacey striker Timo Werner and attacking midfielder Kai Havertz struggling to find their form since moving to West London.
If Tuchel wants success with this Chelsea team, he absolutely has to accommodate these players and get them playing their best football again, which Lampard was unable to do.
