IAN LADYMAN: By Chelsea standards, Frank Lampard has already failed once…but here he is
IAN LADYMAN: By Chelsea’s weird, warped and not-so-great standards, Frank Lampard has already failed once… but here he is, drafted as a steady hand only because he once played with distinction for the club. It’s MADNESS
- Chelsea didn’t have to fire Potter and a return to the past seems unwise
- Lampard’s failure at West London in 2020/21 was not clear, unlike at Everton
- It is unclear what would happen if Lampard saw a successful end to the season
Frank Lampard is not the worst solution to Chelsea’s problem. But as for their problem, that’s up to them.
How often do we see this happen in football? Fire a manager without thinking twice about what to do. It is common. So here we are again.
Graham Potter went over the weekend. There is an argument – thoroughly endorsed by some, but not my self – that it was the right choice. But firing Potter with no idea what to do next? Well, that’s a whole different story.
To summarize, this is not Tottenham. Not Potter to have to go. His continued presence at Chelsea was not about to set the house on fire, as Antonio Conte’s was a few miles north and east of Stamford Bridge. At worst, Chelsea would have lost to Real Madrid under Potter in the last eight of the Champions League and finished eighth or ninth in the Premier League.
So the logic behind jettisoning him – at great cost to a club under much publicized financial strain – was certain to attract a first-class and permanent replacement. Immediately. Instead, Chelsea are now considering a return to the past and not in a good way.
After watching from the stands on Tuesday, Frank Lampard looks ready for a return to Bridge
Lampard, just a few months after his sacking, is seen as a safe pair of hands for Chelsea
By Chelsea’s weird, warped and not-so-great standards, Lampard has already failed once. Certainly under a previous regime, but still failed. And since then he has failed again at another Premier League club and this time in a correct way. Lampard’s Everton went down.
But here he is, drafted as Chelsea’s steady hand on the back of qualifiers, no more relevant than the fact that he once played for the club with distinction. None of this is meant to denigrate Lampard. A personal opinion is that there might still be a coach in there somewhere. I expect him to do well on the bridge between now and the end of May.
The Chelsea legend experienced real failure at Everton as the club continues to struggle to survive
But where is the upgrade on Potter ahead of next week’s first leg against Madrid? Potter’s Champions League results at Chelsea include two-legged victories over AC Milan (5-0) and Borussia Dortmund (2-1), the latter only coming on the other side of the recent international break.
So here’s something that could have happened. Save Potter. Keep faith in Chelsea’s much-discussed reshuffling. And then, in the summer, think again. Think about the work of a season as a whole. And then make a decision.
But no. We have this instead. A return for Lampard in the short term. And then what? What if he wins all his remaining league games? What if he wins the Champions League?
Will Chelsea say goodbye again? Do they cross a legend twice? Or do they give a fired man a second chance? It’s like a twisted, sweat-soaked bad dream of a long night in the Football Manager video game. And this is also what it is. It’s madness.
