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| Frank Lampard |
If truth be told, my default setting is set to something with an edge of cynicism. I like to think I look beyond the superficial lead that is being ushered in by the well-paid PR machines. To be inquisitive over what’s really the driving force behind the stories. The actual truth of it all rather than just what they want you to see.
But Chelsea got me.
What a ridiculously callous decision Chelsea fans had to wake up to on Monday morning. Club legend, fan favourite, all-time top scorer Frank Lampard sacked by Chelsea Football Club. The nature of his dismissal was appalling. He deserved better. Everyone else will be quick to point that it was inevitable. It's what Chelsea have always done under Roman Abramovich so why would anyone expect anything different? Why wouldn't it be business as usual after a dip in form?
Chelsea certainly played the long game with their ‘project’ parable. When Antonio Conte was appointed and subsequently axed there whispers that Roman Abramovich did not want this quick overturn of managers anymore. That he didn't want to continually pay off people to go away. The seeds were planted. That Chelsea weren't looking for a quick fix and pay off but someone that the club could grow with. A legacy of Roman's own rather than just a string of P45s and trophies in their wake.
Without a doubt, the supporters deserved a boost to follow the short-lived reign of Maurizio Sarri. Who may have won the Europa League and finished third, but ostracized the fans potentially more than even Rafa Benitez. Which is a feat in itself. Never has an atmosphere been so toxic and I’ve felt worse going to matches than when that walking nicotine spectre was in the dugout. Wins felt like defeats. Fans who’d be going for decades wanted to turn it in. It was a strange time.
Roman Abramovich was aware of the growing unrest and wanted to reinvigorate the atmosphere. Another moment that fed into the project narrative. He saw the big picture, beyond the results and trophy the soul of the club and its fans. The owner saw that football at Stamford Bridge needed to return to being somewhere fans wanted to go rather than just feeling obligated because that's just what you do on a Saturday.
The scene was set. Here we hit the crossroads that made me buy into their whole grand narrative.
Chelsea could have made the ‘easy’ choice, one they’d done so many times before and appointed the proven coach. Max Allegri was a brilliant option at the time. A proven track record of success. Chelsea have a fantastic history with Italians in the Premier League. It was the logical choice.
The slightly more rogue option would have been Mauricio Pochettino. While there are more than a few who wouldn’t be able to get past his association with Tottenham or the fact that he’d not won a trophy. Ultimately, he is an excellent coach. He defied the odds and led Spurs to a Champions League final where they narrowly lost to a dodgy penalty. Players buy into him. He has managed time and again to make teams better than the sum of their parts, a testament to his man management as well as tactical nous.
However, for the first time since Roman choppered across London’s skyline, Chelsea did not go for the proven boss or the next bright young manager that had everyone talking. He chose to bring Frank Lampard home.
The moment Chelsea confirmed that Frank Lampard would be returning as boss was one of pure
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| Frank Lampard in training |
unadulterated joy for fans far and wide. Even the greatest skeptics among us put it aside to just enjoy it. They were almost giddy that Super Frank was back. It was wholesome. And now it's gone.
Frank Lampard had just a year of Championship management under his belt. He and Jody Morris did an admirable job leading Derby to the playoffs with the highlight of the season coming on a special cup night defeating Manchester United.
But he (and Jody) didn’t do it alone, Lampard had Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori among his ranks. With the young Canadian defender winning Derby’s player of the season and Mason Mount getting everyone talking - and drawing comparisons with another Chelsea midfielder.
It was never going to be smooth sailing with someone just learning their trade in charge. When you appoint a manager with little experience - you have to know there will be some learning on the job type moments. Mistakes are inevitable. There is no way that Roman Abramovich would not have known that the moment he picked Frank Lampard ahead of the more experienced candidates. The Chelsea board needed to manage expectations just as the fans had.
As Frank took charge, Chelsea had lost one of the best players ever as Eden Hazard departed for Real Madrid. He couldn’t be replaced because he is perfect and irreplaceable due to the transfer ban. So everyone needed to put their big boy pants on and strap in for the ride. Finishing in a Champions League place, reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League and an FA Cup final in his first season was better than I’d certainly hoped.
The summer of 2020 came - you could be forgiven for not remembering much about it as we suffered in lockdown together, but apart. But with the transfer ban lifted and all that Hazard money burning a hole in his pocket, Roman did what most of us have done during lockdown - had a little unnecessary spending spree. The only difference was Jeff Bezos didn't profit from Roman feeling spendy.
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| Reece James when Frank Lampard first knew him |
It was awesome. At least it was when it was happening. Another moment of fun twisted into a perverse poisoned chalice. At first glance, it seemed like Lampard's debut season success was to be rewarded with huge financial backing from the board. It was the biggest outlay of cash since Jose Mourinho’s heady early days. It was fun to see who Chelsea would bring in next. And more than a few of the new signings said it was Frank Lampard himself that had convinced them to join. It was all happening in SW6. Huzzah.
Unfortunately, for all of us, this was set to be a season like no other. There was no real pre-season to speak of. With 2019/20 finishing up at the end of the summer in the terribly named 'Project Restart' there was just a matter of weeks before 2020/2021 would be upon us. Sad times for footballers and their Dubai days before getting back to work.
The lack of preparation for teams across the board was disastrous. Managers up and down the league voiced their concerns for players well-being as well as the inability to plan. But Chelsea had six new first team players from four different leagues that needed to integrate into an already young and inexperienced first team. You can't just close your eyes, click your fingers and it all just falls into place.... it takes time. Time that Frank Lampard would not be given. Didier Drogba is one of the finest examples how an early struggle in the Premier League can lead to later brilliance given time and patience.
The weird condensed season also means the games come thick and fast. Because why not play just as many games but in even less time when the schedule already feels crowded. So the time on the training ground together as a team, again, very much reduced to that of a normal season. All of these new players not only didn’t get a pre-season together, they don't get the typical training sessions afforded when the world is a dumpster fire burning down around us all.
Save for a brief blip of two odd matches, there have been no fans in stadiums. Twelfth man may be a tired cliche, but when Chelsea’s form took a dip, having thousands there urging you on could provide just the lift needed. Especially with the average age of the squad being the youngest it maybe ever has. Players shouldn’t ‘need’ fans to to drive them. But without a shadow of a doubt it has influence over their performance. The Premier League is a game of fine margins. An edge like that can be the difference between a dismal draw and an exciting win. There was a palpable difference in the performances of the home teams in the few matches that had fans. Imagine what it would have done for the young and new players morale to be able to experience that support first hand.
This season is weird full stop. Anyone can beat anyone. And with unexpected results turning up on a weekly basis, no one really know what could happen. Even the best football minds couldn’t predict half of the results that have been thrown up this season. It has done a madness. Just six weeks ago Chelsea beat Leeds to go top of the Premier League, and while form has left little to be desired since then - they are still just five points off of Liverpool with 57 points still to be played for.
Chelsea went on an unbeaten run of seventeen matches across all competitions before this slip. Why couldn't Frank Lampard turn it around this season. It is a year where a couple of good results quickly gets you back in top four. Anything can and will happen,
To the Chelsea board - what was the point of it all? Why appoint a manager that you know will need time. Bring in players that you know will need time. And then not give them time? Why not just have appointed the proven boss when you had the chance? Why the performance of it all? Why bring back the most unilaterally popular player to get rid just 18 months later?
What an abhorrent decision it was to let Frank Lampard go on Monday morning.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola both came to the Premier League as established and successful managers. They had honed their style and picked up trophies for their efforts. Neither were a success at the start of their reigns in the Premier League. Both the subject of mockery. I think we all remember the 'bald fraud' jibes. But both clubs have given them time to stamp their authority on their teams and learn from mistakes. It’s paid off in dividends. Even Man United’s faith in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to finally be paying off. It takes time.
Chelsea have always taken a different approach to management. While often criticised it has been a blueprint to success. But this time it felt different. And yes there are more than a few who will mock my naivety and question why it should be different this time.
It's not because Frank Lampard is a club legend and given a free pass. It did feel different. A conscious choice was made to bring in an inexperienced manager. Different. His predecessor was let go not for a slump in form, but in part because he had negatively impacted the mood around the club. Academy products weren't after thoughts, but skillfully integrated into the first team and finally making an impact. And for all the talk around overall club spend on players, no manager has properly been financially backed like this in 14 years. It all felt different this time.
Getting rid of Frank Lampard in this moment makes no sense despite what the social media 'fans' have to shout about. In the grander scheme of things, Chelsea seemed to be heading in the right direction - results since the beginning of December aside. These are not players or a boss for the now. In this weird season. Where everything has already been turned on its head. These are players and a boss for the long-term future. A young group of players who could grow together under a boss that understood what it’s like. It was meant to be magic not madness.
Frank Lampard wasn’t perfect. No one is. But he has an enthusiasm for the game, the fans and the club that can’t be matched. You just have to look at how he celebrates the goals on the touchline. And if his work ethic is even half of what it was as a player, he will toil tirelessly on the training ground with the squad to get it right. He will learn from his mistakes and grow into a brilliant manager. Chelsea should not have brought him in if they weren’t prepared to accept a few bumps along the way. When the club signed Lampard as a player he wasn’t a finished product. Claudio Ranieri saw something special in him and it’s fair to say Frank more than repaid Ranieri and Chelsea’s faith. He would have done it again as boss, I have no doubt. It would have just taken a little time.
Things really weren’t different this time. I grew up believing in fairy-tales and still want my stories to have a happy ending. Chelsea have shattered the belief that I had. I bought into their purported project. I was prepared to wait for success because it would have meant just that much more with someone like Frank Lampard leading the way. I want something to believe in. Someone to root for. Chelsea have taken that away. And for what?
Thomas Tuchel has fallen out with the board at Borussia Dortmund. Thomas Tuchel has fallen out with the board at PSG. Thomas Tuchel has fallen out with the big personalities in his dressing rooms. Is this really what it was all for? Time is already ticking on his inevitable exit - but I guess it always is at Chelsea.
Frank Lampard may have got the job before he was ready. But it showed a leap of faith that was exciting and new and something that unified fans. It was the promise of something different. It finally saw Chelsea’s academy products shining. Under a boss who’s known them since they were little kids. It was a fairytale that didn't get the ending it deserved.
jb x
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