The
appointment of Frank Lampard as Chelsea manager would represent a drastic
change of approach by Roman Abramovich. But would it make sense?
Roman Abramovich has never been one for sentimentality. His Chelsea reign is
best defined as a ruthless pursuit of success. In 16 years, there have been
13 managerial changes. The short-term approach has yielded 16 major
trophies, so it is no great surprise that they are allowing Maurizio Sarri
to depart despite his Europa League final win. Business as usual.
At the same time, though, it is impossible not to see sentimentality in the
decision to target Frank Lampard as his successor. The former midfielder has
shown managerial promise at Derby, reaching the Championship play-off final
in his first season in charge, but it is his storied history with Chelsea
that has driven his expected return to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard, of course, holds pride of place in Chelsea's record books. He
remains their leading scorer with 211 goals in 648 games. During his
glittering 13-year spell at the club, he was the driving force behind 13
trophy wins, including three Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions
League triumph. He is adored by fans and knows the club like few others.
Chelsea's new path
The appointment of a former player is not entirely new territory for
Abramovich. The Russian gave Lampard's former team-mate Roberto Di Matteo
the job permanently after he oversaw Chelsea's Champions League success
seven years ago. But it certainly represents a departure from recent
appointments.
Before Sarri came Antonio Conte, Guus Hiddink, Jose Mourinho and Rafael
Benitez. Some proved more popular than others, of course, but all four
arrived at Stamford Bridge with a long list of honours in tow. They were
established names with the pedigree to drive Chelsea to further success.
They were typical Abramovich appointments, in other words.
Lampard, by contrast, would be returning to the club with only a single
season of managerial experience behind him. Before his appointment at Derby,
he had not held an official coaching role at any level. Even Di Matteo,
sacked a few months after his appointment in 2012, had worked as Andre
Villas-Boas' assistant following spells in charge of MK Dons and West Brom.
Lampard's level of inexperience is therefore unprecedented for a Chelsea
manager under Abramovich, but so too is the situation the club now finds
itself in. Chelsea, lavish spenders for so much of Abramovich's reign, are
facing a two-window transfer ban - albeit subject to an appeal before the
court of arbitration for sport.
Different job
It is a different job now. Chelsea spent £129m on new signings last summer
to help Sarri overhaul their playing style, but his vision never really came
to fruition. Only a few weeks before the victory in Baku, Chelsea fans were
making their dissatisfaction clear with chants of "you don't know what
you're doing" at Stamford Bridge.
Who better to galvanise the fanbase than a club legend like Lampard? He did
not depart on the best terms when he opted to join Manchester City in 2014,
but he certainly received a warm reception when he returned to Stamford
Bridge with Derby in October. "Forever a blue, forever a legend," read one
banner in the Matthew Harding Stand.
His Derby side were unfortunate to lose that night and it is not difficult
to imagine how Chelsea fans would receive Lampard in their own dugout now.
His appointment would change the mood around the club and it should lift the
players, too. Lampard is a hugely respected figure in a dressing room which
still contains some of his former team-mates.
The squad he looks set to inherit no longer contains Eden Hazard, who
finally sealed his "dream" move to Real Madrid, but what's certain is that
the players who remain will relish playing for him. Lampard's managerial
acumen will be tested, but his reputation alone will give him the kind of
leeway never afforded to Sarri.
Youth over signings
Lampard can further endear himself to many Chelsea fans by steering the team
away from sterile, possession-based football they came to associate with
Sarri-ball.
"I want an aggressive team, a hard-working team, a team that are brave on
the ball and play exciting football because that is what we all want to
watch," Lampard said of his plans for Derby back in October. It is a
philosophy which is sure to resonate at Chelsea, where fans are craving a
more dynamic and flexible approach.
Lampard also seems an obvious candidate to finally make full use of
Chelsea's cohort of young players, something which takes on even more
importance in light of their transfer ban. Happily, in defender Fikayo
Tomori and playmaker Mason Mount, two of those young players have already
shone under Lampard on loan at Derby.
Indeed, Lampard has leaned heavily on young players at Pride Park. Harry
Wilson, 22, and Jayden Bogle, 18, became key players for him last season and
there have been opportunities for a string of other academy graduates, too.
"Since Frank Lampard came in, he has made it quite clear he wants a
meritocracy," said Darren Wassall, Derby's academy manager, in March. "The
lads know there's a pathway there for them."
It's an attitude which is unlikely to have gone unnoticed by Chelsea's
power-brokers as they face up to their transfer ban. Mount and Tomori are
not the only candidates who could return from loan to push for a first-team
place, after all. There is also Tammy Abraham, who scored 26 goals at Aston
Villa, and defenders Kurt Zouma and Reece James.
Some of those players are already known to Lampard and so too is Ruben
Loftus-Cheek. The 23-year-old, like fellow academy graduate Callum
Hudson-Odoi, is currently facing a spell out with an Achilles injury, but
Lampard has said the midfielder "has everything", and the respect is
certainly mutual.
"I studied him a lot in the academy with my coaches," said Loftus-Cheek
recently. "I aspire to be like that, a midfielder who has the ability to
score goals."
Who better to help him achieve that aspiration than the man himself?
It is just another factor behind Chelsea's bid to bring back Lampard. The
decision, like Petr Cech's return as director of football, holds a degree of
sentimentality not normally associated with Abramovich. But Chelsea are
embarking on a new path. The aim is to rediscover their identity.
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