Frank Lampard - After such an outstanding first season, it's such a shame it ended the way it has.

It has been a tough week as a Chelsea fan with the sacking of Frank Lampard. Although tough to take, and looking at the Leicester game, in particular, it was clear that for whatever reason, a change was needed. 

I have said it in my videos on my YouTube channel, it felt the same to me as it did when Jose Mourinho left Chelsea for the first time. Every single Chelsea fan who lived through that period will always remember where they were or what they were doing when that was announced by the club. If we were asked to bet if the same would happen to Frank Lampard after a strong first season we would have rather spent the money at best real money online pokies instead. Although most of us are working from home due to the current COVID pandemic, we will still remember what we were doing when the same happened to Frank Lampard. 

In the days that have followed the announcement made for once by Roman Abramovich, which let’s face it came through the perceived reaction they would expect from the majority of the Chelsea fanbase, I have sat and looked back at his time as manager of the football club to understand why on earth it went wrong so quickly in this second season. 

The first season was all about working with the players already here and implementing those academy players returning to the club from their loan spells at various clubs. The majority were familiar and having worked with Jody Morris within the academy during the time spent working on his coaching badges, Frank Lampard had the knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the tools he had to work with. 

Chelsea finished 4th with the transfer ban, losing Eden Hazard and with the academy boys heavily involved with the first team which was an outstanding achievement for the Chelsea fans bearing in mind Lampard’s lack of managerial experience and all the other factors. Given the odds on Chelsea achieving qualification for the Champions League at the beginning of the season, you would have been better off spending your money at roulette en ligne France. Most of us would see a challenge to finish in the top six as an excellent outcome but to go above and beyond that in his first season was amazing. 

However, as more and more revelations have come out, it appears that it was not good enough for the Chelsea hierarchy and immediately put pressure on the manager despite being backed to the tune of over £200m with new signings to plug the gaps we all saw in the Chelsea squad. 

The aim for every club at the beginning of each season is to improve on what they have available first and foremost, then to improve their overall performance based on the previous season. Having finished thirty-three points behind the champions Liverpool, it was clear that we needed to close the gap. 

The problem that Frank Lampard has had this season is that he has never once had a fully-fit squad to choose from and to pick his best eleven. Players were asked to fill in roles that didn’t suit their natural game, the rotation of players became an end to a means based on that and the hectic schedule this season. There is an argument that Frank Lampard does not know his best eleven or the best tactical shape to get the best out of those eleven players. He didn’t get the chance to work on it. 

A seventeen-game unbeaten run was good and took Chelsea top of the league earlier in the season albeit against sides lower down the table. The direct rivals we had faced we had drawn against and failed to beat. However defeats against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Leicester and how they played out with all the investment being made in the summer, it was clear that Chelsea had no real improvement since the previous season. 

Rumours of player unrest, a lack of motivation, players being ignored on the training ground if they were not involved in the match-day squad, and reported bullying (which has been denied by all involved) have soured what we all believed to be an exciting time under a Chelsea icon. 

Frank Lampard’s reputation at this football club and his legendary status will never change. It’s just a shame that as a manager it never played out the same way.