Frank Lampard is back in the Premier League as the captain of the Everton ship. He had an indifferent stint with Chelsea that spanned around 18 months (July 2019- January 2021) – there were good days, and there were not so good days. As good a player Lampard was, the stint with Chelsea as manager didn’t turn out well for him. But since it’s just the inception in his managerial career, he deserves a bit of slack. Many believed Chelsea handed him the duties a tad too soon and also relived from the same too soon. But let’s not go there at the moment.
Off the blocks
As Lampard has had a taste of management at the highest level, he will face even more scrutiny, criticism, and spotlight on what he does at Everton. When he took over from Maurizio Sarri in the summer transfer, Chelsea had some problems and transfer restrictions. Given the situation, what he managed to do was not bad, to be honest. In fact, many lauded him for what he was able to do in his very first season. Chelsea managed to finish 4th in the Premier League behind Manchester United on goal difference. So, Lampard was off the blocks quickly as a Football manager, in spite of all the challenges he faced in his early days as the Blue’s boss.
Good, bad to Ugly
The next season, however, didn’t turn out to be pleasing. Neither the fans nor the management was impressed. As Chelsea placed 9th in the table, 11 points behind the leaders halfway through the season, the board sacked him. Having been short-handed the previous season with a transfer ban, Lampard made up for it spending a generous amount of £222.5. Chelsea acquired the likes of Werner, Havertz, Ziyech, Chilwell, Thiago Silva, and Edouard Mendy all in the summer transfer window. The addition of those players had given hopes of unprecedented success, but things went south pretty quickly. Lampard had built a squad that could terrorize the opponents, but he was found wanting when it came to utilizing them. And a compilation of all these factors saw Chelsea showing him the door.
Since then, Chelsea with almost the same group of players has been one of the top sides in Europe. Things went sour for Lampard at Chelsea FC in the end, but the recent success of Chelsea shows that he was doing most of the things right.
New Beginning
Now that he is back in Premier League, he has a chance to make amends with his history. Experience only makes one better – be it good or bad. The best of them learn from their mistakes quicker than the rest and from what little spark we have seen in his management, he is still capable of joining the ranks. He has been in the thick of things even before taking the mantle of Everton Manager. He’s the one behind the recruitment of Dele Alli on a permanent deal and Donny van de Beek on loan. It’s a clean slate for him that gives him the opportunity to make a mark of his own this time as a manager. Good luck Frank!
