"Football? Bloody hell!" - Sir Alex Ferguson.
At the beginning of the 2020/2021 English Premier League season, the top EPL clubs that had their club legend as Managers were Chelsea (Frank Lampard), Manchester United (Olé Gunar Solskjaer) and Arsenal (Mikel Arteta). Eight games in, nobody had the slightest incline that the first casualty among the top six will be club legend and record goal scorer, Lampard, but here we are.
Chelsea owner, billionaire Roman Abramovic is not known for patience; deliver or the highway. It is even a wonder that Lampard lasted this long putting into perspective the Russian's 'love' for hiring and firing. Many will attribute his out-of-character patience with Lampard to the fact that he is a Chelsea legend. A fact that didn't buy him an extra day at the office in Stamford Bridge. Reports say that he was barred from Cobham the morning of his sack when he wanted to go say his goodbyes. A move many like me see as disrespectful.In my opinion, Frank Lampard was not ready for the Chelsea job. Yes, he did pretty well in Derby County but then the EPL is a different ball game. Another angle to it is that Chelsea management should have been a bit more patient. At the time of sack, Solskjaer was in a worse spot (last season) but United did not consider firing him but maintained faith to the chagrin of United supporters. Patience however, is a character you don't find in any quantity at Stamford Bridge.
Few games from now we will see if the new Chelsea gaffer, Thomas Tuchel will bring out the best in Lampard's misfiring favourites; Mason Mount, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. We will also know if ardent Chelsea supporter, Chinedu Ifechelobi will see the need to come up with an epistle vilifying or commending Super Frankie. Until then, it's game on.
Photo credit: Sky Sports
Nice one.
ReplyDeleteYou said “...eight games in...”; did u mean to say “eight months in”?
Anyway for me, I think Lampard was lucky to have stayed this long, considering it’s chelsea, a club that’s changed manager over 16times in 14years. With Chelsea under Roman Abramovic, there’s always going to be one response by the management for any Manager that doesn’t perform quick miracle.
Eight games in. Because at the time, Chelsea were 5th on the log with Liverpool, City, Leicester and Arsenal above them. Manchester United were 12th
DeleteRoman, Onye Highway ��������
ReplyDeleteRoman, Onye Highway 🎵🎶🎵🎶
ReplyDeleteLol...no be small highway!
DeleteRoman suppose to give him a little time, he was once a legend in the club
ReplyDeleteWell... apparently the thinking at the club is that he wasn't ready for the Chelsea job hence the sack
DeleteSuper Frankie is a club Legend, nothing will take that from him, he's one of the best to ever do it at Chelsea but that's just about it. I was among the first group of fans clamouring for him to be announced as Chelsea's boss, at the time I didn't put his lack of experience into consideration and that's what came back to hurt us all at Cobahm. All in all he tried and also frustrated all of us in the process. He didn't need time with the club, he'd have gotten us relegated or languishing in 15th or so, he needs time as an assistant coach or at a smaller club for a number of years then he can come back. Now I have a coach and his name is not Frank Lampard. I've since welcomed my coach TuChelsea
ReplyDeleteI honestly wish he used the time before the Chelsea hire to mend his relationship with JT. Imagine if he had JT behind him. Just maybe it would've made a difference seeing as the former Skippo has a solid relationship with Roman and the supporters
DeleteHe was not ready for the job. You could not say what his game plan was. He did ok with Derby and not pretty well. The season before he joined, Derby finished 6th on the table. 2 or 3 seasons before that,the finished 5th. As a Chelsea fan, I think this was the best decision for the club. Not sure if I'm a fan of Tuchel but let us see. I also couldn't figure out his game plan with PSG but I pray we see the Tuchel of Dortmund
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll rather say he did pretty good with Derby. Taking them to the playoffs is no mean fit. Personally too, I think in a little way, the Chelsea board was rather impatient (as expected) but largely, he wasn't ready for the Chelsea job just yet.
DeleteOh well, no one is surprised. This impatient approach to club football by Abramovich may do more harm than good in the near future.
ReplyDeleteBro Roman is a businessman and that fact reflects on his football dealings as expected
DeleteOh well, no one is surprised. This impatient approach to club football by Abramovich may do more harm than good in the near future.
ReplyDeleteWhich club injects up to five players from different leagues in one season and expect them to produce good results in the same season? Tuchel is set for failure too. What the owner of Chelsea wanted from Lampard is impracticable. It took even the best coaches- the likes of Klopp and Pep a while to fix things. Let's not even go to ManU and Arsenal. There were no preseason games, so it was given that the league will be the experimental ground. Lampard should thank his stars that he left when the fans still had positive sentiments towards him, because it will get worse before it gets better, and woe unto the manager that will ride that storm.
ReplyDeleteI must say, you've solid points. But then bro, football is also a business for many and in this type of business, patience is almost never a virtue. Roman is like a sole administrator and therefore expectancy at the club won't be the same as it is in clubs run by boards or owners aren't directly involved in it's day to day running. We all knew it will take time but even Frankie didn't do himself any good. Sometimes it seemed that for reasons best known to him he favoured some players considered fringe over those tested and to an extent, trusted. I want to believe it's a point that stood against him too. Chelsea supporters were beginning to turn on human already. In some games nobody watching understood his plans. That said, knowing Roman Abramovic, the sack was imminent
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