In a seismic turn of events, Chelsea Football Club has sacked Frank Lampard as the club’s manager. Blue’s owner Roman Abramovich said that it was definitely a difficult decision to part ways with the club legend. He praised Lampard’s ethics and integrity but believed it was best to change managers under the current situation.
According to the reports, Chelsea has been planning to hire former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Thomas Tuchel as Lampard’s successor at Stamford Bridge. The club has hoped that Tuchel will overhaul the team which was struggling under Lampard. In the 2020-2021 season, Chelsea finished 9th in the premier league table. Yet, the majority of Chelsea fans have shown continued support for the icon
Frank Lampard In A Rocky Career As Coach
The former captain returned as the head coach in July 2019 and inherited a very risky team condition. It was facing a transfer ban by FIFA and its star player Eden Hazard was also on his way to Real Madrid. The ban was regarding the breach of transfer rules involving 69 academy (young) players under the age of 18. Reportedly, the players were unregistered and still allegedly played for Chelsea.
Frank Lampard was the first Blues coach in history to explore the club’s academy and promote graduates like Reece James, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and Fikayo Tomori. Transfer ban kept him from scoring a star footballer from the window. But, these four players hand-picked by Lampard seemed promising as compared to some experienced first-team players like Olivier Giroud and Ross Barkley.
Surprisingly, these younger even performed better than 6 major summers signing Chelsea did to improve its standing on the table. All 6 players Eduardo Mendy, Timo Werner, Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, and Thiago Silva only managed to draw 0-0 against Sevilla in the Champions League. It raised questions for Chelsea to justify their 220 million USD spending spree on these players.
Chelsea won Europa League and finished third in the premier league which Liverpool won. Finishing in the top five without Hazard’s influence might still be tall order. Lampard also led the team to win his last match 3-1 against Luton Town but Blues went on to sack him anyway.
Reactions From Other Managers
It was definitely the biggest football news lately which divided opinions by various managers. Ex Liverpool captain and current Rangers boss, Steven Gerard has expressed disappointment in the development. He added that it was a time when he needed support from his club but Chelsea did not care. He alleged that’s what Chelsea does and it was not surprising for him.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola agreed with Chelsea’s decision in changing managers. He opined that winning is the most important part and such changes are probably important to improve results.
Was Chelsea Right In Its Decision?
The opinion remains divided on the matter but experts have acknowledged how Frank Lampard has scouted young players for the future of the club. Lampard said in a statement that he has been disappointed for not given enough time and got sacked only in 19 months.
He asserted that he was proud of his achievement in bringing these brilliant academy players to the first team.
On the other hand, Thomas Tuchel is a manager of his own style, ideas, and tactics. However before PSG sacked him, he lost his credibility in the dressing room for many reasons. Reportedly, he made players furious by playing them out of their positions, relying on Neymar and Mbappe too much, and falling out with players, colleagues, and media.
He tried to adapt to the environment in Paris but failed to build his own identity. He wanted to be loved by everyone so much that he let go of his own principles. The same thing happened with Lampard but he was not a tactical coach like Tuchel is. The new coach would still have to do what Frank Lampard could not do in his term; decide the line-up of the first team.
