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When Chelsea signed Timo Werner (£ 47.7 million) and Kai Havertz (£ 71 million) for a combined total of £ 118.7 million last summer, it was clear that the club was making a long-term investment in the future. . At the age of 24 and 21 respectively, the two German forwards arrived at Stamford Bridge with only bright things ahead of them, and Chelsea beat the competition of the best clubs in Europe to close the deals.
It was a similar story with Hakim Ziyech (£ 36 million from Ajax), Ben Chilwell (£ 50 million from Leicester) and Edouard Mendy (£ 22 million from Rennes). Chelsea spent a lot preparing for the 2020-21 season because not only did they want and need to strengthen manager Frank Lampard’s team, but because billionaire owner Roman Abramovich and CEO Marina Granovskaia were determined to prepare the team for the future and make sure that the club can compete for the highest honors for the next 5 to 10 years.
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Planning ahead is the basic tenet of any smart business and Chelsea have always made deals with at least one eye on the future since Abramovich bought the club in 2003. Their approach has always been pretty simple: buy the best players and then leave the coach. to get the best of them and get a return on investment in the form of significant trophies. And as 2021 marks the 18th year of the Abramovich era at Chelsea, nothing has changed, so Lampard will know that he is on track to meet the standard set by the club’s demanding Russian owner.
No Abramovich-appointed Chelsea coach has been in charge for more than two seasons without winning a trophy, putting Lampard under pressure before he kicked a ball this season after he failed to win the trophies during his first year in the post. But sources have told ESPN that Lampard could still become the first coach to break that cycle if he doesn’t win a trophy this season.
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Abramovich and Granovskaia understand that the club is in a period of transition and that the man who enjoyed great success as a Chelsea player is making the team younger and hungrier by providing opportunities for players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham. and Billy Gilmour. Take away his Chelsea legend status, however, which has given Lampard patience that others might not have had, and his results so far have been below average. His team starts in 2021 outside of the top four after having lost three of their last five Premier League games, and as Abramovich has shown in the past, if a team is not performing to their high standards, it is the manager who pay the price instead of the players.
Lampard, center, needs to get better performances from last summer’s star signings like Havertz, right, if he wants to go all the way at Chelsea. fake images
If Lampard is to survive and prosper as Chelsea manager, he needs to deliver better results and better performances from his expensive players. There’s no getting away from the fact that Lampard is not making the Werner and Havertz signings work, and that doesn’t bode well for the 42-year-old. The immediate challenge is to find a way to get Werner to score again and establish a suitable role for Havertz, who so far seems lost in the Chelsea jersey.
Werner has scored just four Premier League goals in 16 appearances to date and has scored none in his last 12 appearances for the club in all competitions. Lampard has deployed him down the middle and across the width, but nothing seems to work and Werner’s confidence wanes with each game. He was retired after just 45 minutes of the 3-1 loss at Arsenal and fell to the bench for Monday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, so he cannot be sure of a starting spot against Manchester City. on Sunday.
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If it weren’t for Olivier Giroud scoring eight goals in his last eight games, the focus on Werner’s failures would be even more intense. Giroud, who Chelsea were keen to let go of last January, has saved his team and manager from serious scrutiny with his performances in recent weeks.
However, while Werner is clearly struggling, Havertz is having an even worse time than his teammate in Germany. His inexperience is a factor and Havertz needs time to adjust to English football, but when he signs you for £ 71 million, patience is in short supply.
Lampard doesn’t seem to know how to use Havertz. The youngster was played on the right by Leverkusen and admits to preferring the role of No. 10, but has not fit into Lampard’s system, where he even played as a center forward in the earlier season loss to Liverpool.
What happens next is a test of Lampard’s managerial and coaching skills. In his first job at Derby and in his first year at Chelsea, he succeeded in giving young players a chance and allowing more experienced professionals to do what has always served them best. But now he’s expected to raise the bar and show that he can work with top-notch stars and young people. If it fails, history shows that another manager will soon be asked to take on the same task.
Source: espn.co.uk
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