Gary
Neville believes big expectations fuelled by Chelsea's bumper transfer
spending cost Frank Lampard.
Lampard was sacked on Monday morning, just 18 months after taking the helm
at Stamford Bridge, with the club ninth in the Premier League table.
The Blues' all-time leading goalscorer secured Champions League
qualification and an FA Cup final spot in a successful first season in
charge but though he was given more than £200m to spend on new players in
the summer in a bid to close the gap, Chelsea are 11 points behind leaders
Manchester United and five off Liverpool in fourth.
"I'm not wholly surprised, as much as I would've been this time last week,"
Neville told Sky Sports News.
"There were rumours starting to surface towards the end of the week that
Frank was coming under pressure. When that happens at Chelsea, the end is
pretty much a consistent one whereby the rumours start to come out and then
it happens pretty quickly.
"I was a little surprised when I heard the news given that Frank has only
had a short amount of time with a new group of players, but he was given a
period last year when the club were under a transfer embargo, and that
almost shielded him.
"He did a great job in that period but the minute the club started spending
the money that they did in the summer and brought those players in, it was
always going to bring a lot more expectation. We know what happens at
Chelsea when more expectations come, in the sense that they want instant
results.
"With one of the biggest budgets in the league and the biggest transfer
spends comes greater expectations, and at Chelsea over many years their
approach to managers has been very consistent. Frank knew that when he took
the job.
"I don't think he'd want anyone to feel sorry for him. He'd just want an
understanding of the fact that he went into a club that has always been like
this with managers and he knew that he would've had to succeed straight
away.
"The inconsistent form and results of the last six weeks has cost him
probably a lot sooner than he would've imagined because of the fact that
he's a club legend. All of us would've perhaps felt he'd have been given a
little bit more time than he has been, but I suppose it's unsurprising in
the way in which it's happened.
"My problem with Chelsea in the past is that it's always felt that the
players have stuck the knife into the manager at times; I would hope that
it's not happened on this occasion."
Did Lampard deserve more time like Arteta
and Ole? It's different at Chelsea...
Mikel Arteta and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have withstood recent spells of
pressure at Arsenal and Manchester United respectively but Neville believes
Lampard would have been under no illusion as to the demands and methods at
Stamford Bridge.
"The clubs are completely different models compared to Arsenal and
Manchester United," Neville said.
"I know United sacked David Moyes after eight months but that was pretty
much a unique situation. United normally give managers a couple of years or
so, Arsenal have historically given managers time, but Chelsea have never
been like that.
"Frank knew that when he took the job and knew it was the case from day one.
He knew he wouldn't get three years come what may. It wouldn't have been
explained to him that he needed results to get Chelsea to the top of the
league. Spending all that money in the summer accelerated that.
"In a perfect world, you'd always say that managers should get two to
two-and-a-half years to prove himself, but at Chelsea that's never been the
case.
"It's incomparable to say that Manchester United and Arsenal treat managers
in the same way as Chelsea. They have a different model and a different way
of doing things that's been successful for Chelsea and Frank knew that when
he took the job."
'Lampard will be a better manager for
experience'
Lampard was appointed Chelsea head coach on a three-year deal back in July
2019, after leading Derby to the Championship play-off final in his first
season in management.
Neville believes Lampard had to seize the opportunity and insists he will
benefit from the experience in the long term.
"Frank was left with no choice but to take the job. It's OK some people
saying 'you can pick and choose your jobs, maybe he wasn't ready for it',
but there's no way you can turn down the Chelsea job if you're Frank
Lampard.
"The biggest thing that I would hope now off the back of that Chelsea job
that Frank is able to build a brilliant managerial career.
"He's a better manager today, I can guarantee you, than he was at the start
of this season and certainly at the start of last season.
"He's had two-and-a-half years in coaching, a year at Derby and a
year-and-a-half coaching at Chelsea.
"Last season, with a transfer embargo, it was about young players coming
through. This year, he's had to put together a team very quickly with five
or six new star signings and obviously that's been a little bit more
difficult but that would be the case for many managers.
"I just hope that he's able to now go straight back into it and get another
job and continue his managerial career.
"It's a big moment for Frank and for Chelsea, but having seen what we have
over the last 10-15 years at that club, all of those who have been sacked
have gone on to manage and I'd hope that's the same for Frank."
Is Tuchel the right man to succeed
Lampard? A warning...
Thomas Tuchel, who left PSG in December and previously managed Borussia
Dortmund, is set to be Chelsea's next head coach, with plans under way to
appoint him before the game against Wolves on Wednesday.
"He's managed at big clubs and he's got a lot of experience," Neville said.
"He knows a few of the players who are currently at Chelsea. It's another
top manager who is coming into the Premier League.
"We've been blessed over the past few years with some absolutely outstanding
managers to see the league rise to being the best in Europe again with the
performances of clubs in the Champions League improving, with Pep Guardiola,
Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino getting to semi-finals and finals.
"Tuchel is another manager who has got that sort of pedigree, so it's a
great addition to the Premier League if he does come.
"It's Chelsea, and that's what Chelsea do. Frank is not a victim of his poor
performance as a manager, he's just someone who's been exposed to Chelsea's
model of releasing and employing managers every 12 to 18 months if things
don't go as well as they want. That's a pretty high standard that they live
to.
"I don't worry for Frank. I'm sure he'll go on to have a great managerial
career as I feel he handled himself fantastically well in that job. It's a
tough job and he's done well at it.
"Tuchel will be exposed to exactly the same rules as Frank. We'll be talking
about him being let go in the next 18 months to two years, I'm pretty sure
of that."
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