One of the names that was inevitably going to be linked with the Chelsea job is Frank Lampard. He has held the post twice before, once on an interim basis during the BlueCo era. He is currently enjoying arguably the biggest success of his managerial career, as he has guided Coventry City back to the Championship.
When Lampard got the job, Coventry City were viewed as relegation contenders from the Championship. And the Englishman’s reputation as a manager was not brilliant either after a few high-profile failures. So, it would be safe to say that he has exceeded all expectations and deserves all the plaudits he is getting at the moment.
Lampard does not get enough credit for his first spell as Chelsea manager. He guided a roster full of youngsters to Champions League qualification despite facing a transfer ban. And they had started the following season brilliantly as well, before losing their form midway through. It was Thomas Tuchel who guided that team to Champions League glory by the end of the campaign. The squad had been largely be the Englishman though.
Now, he is being linked with a return to Chelsea after Liam Rosenior was sacked. But he refused to be drawn into that conversation, without ruling anything out either. He said to Sky Sports:
“It’s a difficult patch, for sure, and we as managers know that in those difficult patches, the consequences that can be. And I think we all have to be big enough to understand that.
“But as a football club, they’re in a difficult patch. They have a chance probably to be able to get something out of the season with the FA Cup and the league position, if they can make that better, but it’s Chelsea’s business.
“Chelsea’s a big part of my life but at the moment it’s their business and my business is here.”
Lampard refuses to be drawn into Chelsea rumours
One would imagine that if the job presents itself for a third time, Lampard would consider it. That being said, it might not be the best one for him at this time.
He has significantly enhanced his reputation at Coventry City, has a settled team and even if he fails in the Premier League, there is a good chance that they will keep him as manager. On the other hand, we all know what that means at Chelsea. More importantly, Lampard knows, having spent the majority of his career playing for the club and had a couple of spells in the hot seat as well.
From a Chelsea perspective, bringing back Lampard would be another risky appointment. And BlueCo cannot afford to get it wrong once again.
Lampard is a Chelsea legend, will always be. But right now, it just does not feel like he is what the club need, and vice versa.
BlueCo must target a serial winner
Of course, it is not easy to go out and sign a top manager. Especially if you are Chelsea, whose project is under severe scrutiny at the moment.
BlueCo might have a very difficult time convincing a top manager to take the job at the moment. Then again, we saw the likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur not too long ago. What the ownership need to do is back the next manager and give him more say on things. The current model simply does not work. After four years, it is time to accept that and not stubbornly continue on the road to failure.
Someone like Xabi Alonso would be great. He showed us what he is capable of at Bayer Leverkusen. And while his Real Madrid spell was not great, he did a lot better than the quick sacking suggests. Someone like Xavi could be interesting as well. He is someone who won a La Liga title with Barcelona while working under financial constraints and a squad largely built with youngsters.
