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There is rarely a good time to have a bad month as Chelsea manager, but for once, Frank Lampard’s time has failed him.
Eighteen months into his tenure, the results are failing, the form is failing, and information is leaking through the corridors of Stamford Bridge that the owner is not satisfied.
Roman Abramovich invested no more than £ 200 million in a record spending summer anticipating a performance no better than last season.
The big signings have not settled down well. Timo Werner started off encouragingly, faded away and now seems completely devoid of confidence, while there has been barely a flicker from Kai Havertz. The most expensive goalkeeper in the world is a substitute, and marginalized senior players seethe with discontent just as marginalized senior players do at a club where the owner is known for his lack of patience.
Perhaps more than anything, Thomas Tuchel has just been fired by Paris Saint-Germain.
Tuchel has fans at Stamford Bridge. The 47-year-old German has been in his sights before and has made it clear that he is not interested in taking a break. In short, he likes the job.
He can boast of the experience that Lampard cannot, with Borussia Dortmund, develop young players within budget limits, and with PSG, where money was not an issue but egos and entourages.
The persistent issue of managerial nous has preoccupied Lampard since his appointment. It provides the backdrop, as every bad result is scrutinized for errors. Was it the right equipment? The right tactics? The right substitutions?
How was your body language? Did he say the right things?
There are no shortcuts to experimenting and Lampard chose not to put it in his back room staff. Nor in his team, showing more faith in young people than in veterans. So far, to his credit, Lampard has called for a response to every setback and his status as a club legend has bought him time.
There was a slump at this stage last season. Chelsea lost four of five in the Premier League, won at Tottenham, improved and spluttered again before blocking gave him a break.
The loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup final was hard to swallow. Ending the season without trophies can be fatal at Bridge and still finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League after a transfer ban and the sale of Eden Hazard had to be a success.
They remain mitigating: there is no preseason, there is no time to prepare and organize six great signings. Havertz has been hit by a strong Covid-19 fight, Hakim Ziyech has been prone to injury.
Abramovich, however, will feel as if his summer spree should have beaten the pandemic. With their ownership structure, Chelsea were able to attack in the transfer market while others suffered. And others did suffer, no team has had a clear speed at the top as it has in previous seasons.
Lampard’s team rose to the top with a win against Leeds on December 5, but just four points from the next six games leaves them with nothing to offer in the name of progress. Chelsea has 26 points from 17 games, compared to 29 on the same stage last season. With Maurizio Sarri, in 2018-19, they got 37 points in the first 17 games, and the fans did not enjoy it so they booed.
In 2017-18, the second season of Antonio Conte, they added 35 points. In Conte’s first season, they scored 43 points, were on top and on their way to the title.
This season has a different form. Many teams are well matched and the table is congested. There is even a chance that there will be a real title race and Chelsea will be in the pack.
They are three points behind the top four. Three wins in a week transform the mood, as Mikel Arteta can attest, although the Christmas and New Year calendar was a punishing experience for Lampard.
His team faced Arteta’s Arsenal on Boxing Day, then ran into the best football of the season from Manchester City.
City, fresh and rested, made Chelsea look ragged and disorganized. Even N’Golo Kante, the very essence of consistency, struggled when the Blues were overwhelmed in midfield.
Not only was Lampard unable to produce a solution, but he seems to be in danger of losing the course forged in his first season, when the advancement of the academy graduates generated a special energy and spirit.
The signings intended to reinforce have put his managerial acumen to the test. Apart from Olivier Giroud’s eight goals in eight games, the marginals have not stepped up when necessary.
It could curse your luck. Arsenal had a win and City can do this to any opponent, but Lampard knows the rules at Stamford Bridge.
He was there long enough as a player and benefited from his instability when he replaced Sarri, sacked despite qualifying for the Champions League because he bored both the players and the fans.
There will always be a reason if a reason is required. Lampard knows there will be a clinical evaluation at the board level.
He knows that regardless of the loyalty of the Chelsea faithful and the media support, his future will be open to question.
Historically, Abramovich pulls the trigger mid-season if he fears for the club’s status in the Champions League.
The last time was when Mourinho was fired 16 games in the disastrous third season of his second period.
Since then, the Russian made a decision, lined up a successor and waited until the end of the campaign to change. Waiting again could free other candidates, including the highly regarded Julian Nagelsmann of RB Leipzig.
Either way, Lampard knows how this plays out if he can’t change it quickly.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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