4 HRS AGO - • Lampard has £150m to spend after transfer ban lifted • ‘Young players just need to believe in their own talent’Frank Lampard says he has not spoken with any of his young Chelsea players about the prospect of big-name signings taking their place in January’s transfer window and believes the tension that comes from uncertainty is “not the worst thing” for their development.The Chelsea manager has received plaudits for introducing a number of academy talents into the first team. But with the club’s transfer ban lifted, and as much as £150m to spend, Lampard may have to curb the opportunities available to some youngsters. That, however, is a challenge the 41-year-old is happy to take on. Related: West Ham and Manuel Pellegrini are mired in a mess of their own making | Jacob Steinberg Continue reading... Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - For the third year in a row four Premier League clubs are in the last 16, with Manchester City perhaps the most likely winnersWell, fancy seeing you here. For all the pep and vim, the high-energy caffeine-football combinations of Red Bull Salzburg, there was a feeling of certainty about Liverpool’s progress to the last 16 of the Champions League.The ability of Jürgen Klopp’s team to win even when the opposition brings its A-game has been a feature of the season. A simple explanation, beyond luck and “LiVARpool” conspiracy theory, is that their base levels are just so high. This is a team of extreme qualities: physical strength, speed, attacking skills. They have more ways to win, more ways to wear you down, like a heavyweight champ who can dawdle through five rounds and still produce at any stage that lights-out right-hander. Related: Pulisic's high-speed game of hide-and-seek is making him a Chelsea idol | Jonathan Liew Semi-finalists last year, Ajax were deprived instantly of their Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - The attacker was Chelsea’s star player on the night Frank Lampard’s side reached the last 16 of the Champions LeagueOf course, they didn’t make it easy for themselves. It wouldn’t be Chelsea if they made it easy for themselves. This, perhaps, has been the underlying theme of Frank Lampard’s first half-season: a team of wildly undulating fortunes who are often weakest when they appear at their strongest, and strongest when they appear at their weakest. Related: Chelsea slow up against Lille after Tammy Abraham sets last-16 pace Related: Chelsea 2-1 Lille: Champions League – as it happened Continue reading... Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - • Manager says his side need to take their chances at home• Chelsea need a win to ensure qualification from Group HA troubling statistic before Chelsea attempt to secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League by beating Lille on Tuesday evening: aside from the Carabao Cup victory over League Two’s Grimsby Town in September, Frank Lampard’s young side have not held a half-time lead at Stamford Bridge since the 2-2 draw with Sheffield United on 31 August.It has been a common sight this season, Chelsea getting bogged down at home after failing to build on fast starts, and Lampard needs his players to discover the clinical edge they have shown on the road when they host Lille. Related: Duncan Ferguson lifts Everton gloom and Son goes solo – Football Weekly Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action Continue reading... Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - • Club and Kick It Out received reports after game at Goodison• FA also looking into similar incidents at West Ham last weekEverton are investigating reports of homophobic chanting during Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea, the Goodison Park club have announced.“Both the club and Kick It Out have received reports of a homophobic chant being aimed at Chelsea’s fans by a small section of the home crowd,” the statement added. Related: Kick It Out reports alleged homophobic chants by West Ham fans to FA Continue reading... Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - Duncan Ferguson’s first game in temporary charge ended with a morale-boosting win 2.50pm GMT Andy Hunter was our man at the Goodison party. Here’s his report. Enjoy ... and thanks for reading this MBM. Related: Calvert-Lewin’s double gives Ferguson dream start at Everton against Chelsea 2.49pm GMT An unhappy Frank Lampard contemplates a third defeat in four matches. “We’ve given them three goals. When you give Everton a goal to hang onto, you give yourself a problem. The second and third goals were really poor. We have to do more than we did. Sometimes we matched them in workrate and intensity, but sometimes no. It’s going to be tough to come to Goodison and win like that. We can’t defend like that. If there’s ever a game that shows in one little package how far we still need to go, it’s that one.” 2.44pm GMT Big Dunc, thrilled beyond words, speaks to BT Sport, and despite much prompting, declines the opportunity to put himself forward for the manager’s job on a full-time basis. Collapse

7 DAYS AGO - There will be a rare bond of unity between the Everton crowd and technical area on Saturday when Duncan Ferguson takes temporary charge against Chelsea following the dismissal of Marco Silva. For all the goodwill that will come Ferguson’s way, however, his promotion is not a cause for celebration but a symbol of Everton’s malfunction under the erratic ownership of Farhad Moshiri. A club that has spent over £450m on players since Moshiri’s arrival finds itself in the bottom three and led by a sixth different coach in under four years. Chelsea will relish the opportunity. Andy HunterSaturday 12.30pm BT Sport 1 Continue reading... Collapse

02/12/2019 - • Kick It Out received numerous reports from game at Chelsea• West Ham reiterate commitment to Rainbow Laces campaignThe FA has been made aware of numerous allegations of homophobic chanting by West Ham fans during Saturday’s match at Chelsea.The claims, which were collated by Kick it Out and corroborated by Chelsea and West Ham LGBTQ groups, come in the midst of the annual Rainbow Laces campaign, football’s attempt to confront homophobia in the game. Related: David Martin’s West Ham fairytale saves Manuel Pellegrini – for now Continue reading... Collapse

01/12/2019 - The goalkeeper may have kept his manager in a job, but the jury remains out on Pellegrini despite a morale-boosting winSometimes it takes a third-choice goalkeeper to change a season. After refusing to accept the glaringly obvious for two wretched months, Manuel Pellegrini finally saw sense and made the change that could save his job as West Ham’s manager.Out went Roberto, one of the worst goalkeepers ever to play in the Premier League, and in came David Martin, a 33-year-old journeyman who never imagined that his West Ham debut would come in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Related: West Ham goalkeeper David Martin: ‘When I saw dad we were both in tears’ Related: Mason Mount and Declan Rice: ‘We’re always together. They call us Dumb and Dumber’ Continue reading... Collapse