Why does Frank Lampard remain in charge of Chelsea?
Frank Lampard must be filled with so many uncertainties if this is allowed to continue until the end of the season. True, he has always preferred to present himself as a more answers-oriented individual, but the human psyche is dark and deep, and quiet eventually comes for everyone. Even he must be contemplating some of the important questions as he sits there today in the priceless isolation of a weekend without a game for Chelsea.
Why is Frank Lampard still Chelsea's manager, for instance? A starter is available for 10. What exactly is he doing there, in the end? A man must be active, it is true. But there must be a more effective approach than this.
As always, the temptation is to attribute Machiavellian goals. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Lamps has always carried the distinction of not being regarded as a thicko, which is uncommon among football players in general. The ruthless tabloids would come up with many methods to show the world that your Beckhams, Rooneys, JTs, and the rest of them were as dull as corned beef in a can. With Lampard, things were never that way.
Frank, though, was the wise one. And not only smart, but also connected. Long before they were in office, he would casually add that he knew David Cameron and greatly admired George Osborne. Even the front page of the newspaper made a commotion in 2015, when his playing days at Manchester City came to an end, reporting that the Tories had recruited him to run for Kensington's safe seat. Even so, he was far too cunning to attempt to become a jobbing MP. Even just the pay reduction would have shocked him.
Therefore, the cynical assumption has been that Frank has a plan while he has been marching up and down the line as Chelsea's interim manager these past few weeks. He has figured out how to play this. He is aware that the unpleasantness right now is only a brief downturn. Remember that Lampard played for Chelsea before Roman Abramovich acquired the team? Very few people in the world of football have had a closer look at the overwhelming, unstoppable buoyancy that huge financial infusions ensure a team.
In essence, that is what most people think Frank Lampard is relying on. The 78 clubs that make up the top divisions in Spain, Germany, France, and Italy put together spent less money in January than Chelsea did. Seventy-eight! Some combination of those Chelsea players would eventually find a way to move back up the table, even if James Corden's ChatGPT hologram was in command.
After Chelsea's humiliation at the hands of Real Madrid last week, he predicted that "people will make a lot out of this season for Chelsea." "Because [in the past] we've been so successful. The truth is that this club will return. It wasn't a rallying cry or a display of inflated bravado. Football at the highest level is depressingly simple. Spending is followed by awards. Chelsea will soon receive theirs.
Given that everyone is aware of this, Frank of course accepted the offer to fill in for the remainder of the season. He undoubtedly did. Anything for the team that made him (and the other way around, he would probably believe). And if one victory led to another and he forced a choice on the club's top decision-makers, so be it. Who wouldn't seize the chance to enter that chain of command and see where it led him?
The issue with this is that it ignores a fundamental truth that Lampard must currently understand better and more intimately than anybody else in the game. He lacks skill in this area. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he lacks the necessary qualities, proving this without a shadow of a doubt.
He initially failed at Chelsea. He was an Everton failure. He is now failing once more. He must be aware that whatever the top managers possess, he does not. That is why he is subjecting himself to such a perplexing ordeal. He is a prosperous man. His life is going to be wonderful. He has no justification for selecting this form of humiliation.
But it's not just for him, either. It must also be a question the club is posing. Why precisely is Lampard still in charge? Since taking over 16 days ago, he has played four games, lost four, scored one goal, and given up seven.
He has led them out of the Champions League and into the mid-table dead zone, where the season still has six weeks to go but Chelsea have nothing to play for, with the skills and tenacity of a sherpa. They won't get promoted or make it to Europe. For the remainder of the season, they serve as an unclub. using a non-manager.
Early in April, Graham Potter was fired. Since Mauricio Pochettino has been unemployed since last July, he is reportedly the front-runner to succeed. Other candidates have included Luis Enrique, who has been jobless since the conclusion of the World Cup, and Julian Nagelsman, who has been available since mid-March. However, both have appeared to lose interest in the position. They might have been concerned that Todd Beohly would simply hire everyone, like he did with the players.
Chelsea needs whoever they choose to start right now. There is a lot of work to accomplish. What the hell the new guy is going to do with the squad needs to be figured out. Thiago Silva's high comedy statement that the dressing room isn't large enough for the team's roster speaks for itself.
The following manager will have to start evaluating who he has, who he needs, and who he wants to fire. Instead of tackling it head-on in the summer, you'd have thought it would make much more sense to do that in the seven games they still have left. Evidently, no.
No, as the season winds down around them, Chelsea appears committed to maintaining Lampard in the position. And in some ways, it's encouraging. Football is today a sport fully governed by statistics, with every decision going through an algorithm. Everything that it does is based on numbers and analysis.
In every way, Lampard's tenure as manager of Chelsea defies reason.
