Lampard persists with no striker
Once again, Frank Lampard surprised many Chelsea supporters with his line-up against Brentford. The interim Blues boss went with no recognised central striker from the start against the Bees, with Kai Havertz and Armando Broja injured and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench.
It was unclear at the start who Chelsea's 'striker' was. It looked like Raheem Sterling but whenever the England international drifted wide, which is natural to him, it was Conor Gallagher who almost looked to be a false nine.
It was telling that Chelsea's best opportunity of the first-half was a headed effort at goal from centre-back Thiago Silva. It was absolutely no surprise when the hosts conceded the first goal at Stamford Bridge. The fans have seen it so many times this season already. So toothless in attack.
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There was a shot from distance, again from Silva, which almost seemed like a cry for help. The team were booed pretty much unanimously at half-time. Who could blame the supporters? To say their patience has been tested this season would be an understatement.
In the second-half, it improved a bit, especially early on. Aubameyang's introduction, particularly, made things better. Chelsea actually had a focal point, someone to aim for. And he was doing things that proper strikers do, like have shots on goal.
However, despite the positive signs at the beginning of the second period, it was more of the same for Chelsea. Too slow in the build-up and too easy for Brentford to deal with.
It seems ridiculous to say, but given we saw Cristian Stellini, Tottenham's caretaker boss, sacked, could Lampard follow a similar route?
Lack of system
The line-up itself was questionable but the lack of identity and system is another major concern for Chelsea. It's been essentially the story of their season – it's something that prospective new head coach Mauricio Pochettino will desperately need to address should he be appointed as expected.
If he somehow didn't already know, Pochettino will now be well aware of the magnitude of the job he has on his hands at Stamford Bridge. This team needs an identity, a system, something to cling on to when things aren't going their way.
At the moment - and it's difficult to blame Lampard for this because of what he's walked into - there's absolutely zilch. These players continuously don't look like they've taken to the pitch with one another, game after game.
Where is the Chelsea Factor?
Manchester City vs Arsenal also took place on Wednesday night. That was a game with such huge implications with it being dubbed by many as the Premier League title decider. That was undoubtedly the bigger game.
However, there was no real urgency from a lot of supporters to even watch Chelsea against Brentford. Again, as mentioned above – who can blame them?
It was 90-or-so minutes we've already seen umpteen times this season. Especially at home, the match just seems to be so slow and predictable. The atmosphere was flat but that needs to be helped by the players.
The one thing supporters want more than anything is results, but actually having an entertaining team to watch cannot be that far behind. At the moment, Chelsea haven't got that. The board view Pochettino as the man who can achieve both.
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