Chelsea are a club used to sacking manager. Some may even say it’s in the club’s DNA since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over in 2003. Season after season managers have started knowing anything but the best season for Chelsea, and their position becomes under threat. And when they do eventually get sacked, Chelsea turns to the next available highly rated and hugely successful manager. This can be seen in the previous appointments in the Abramovich era, where Jose Mourinho, Andre Villas-Boas and Carlo Ancelotti all took over after managerial sackings and possessed brilliant managerial CVs upon arriving at Stamford Bridge.
This was exactly the case last summer when Antonio Conte failed one season after winning the Premier League. The Italian got sacked and was promptly replaced by a manager who played football Pep Guardiola described as the ‘best in Europe’, Mauricio Sarri.
However, this summer, Abramovich has gone down a much different route and looks certain to hire former Chelsea star and inexperienced manager, Frank Lampard. This is a huge turn of events for a club that only hires highly rated and successful managers. Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Andre Villas-Boas all turned up at Stamford Bridge with CV’s ladened with trophies. However, Chelsea have chosen to go down the route of hiring a former player, who connects with the fans and will look to build the foundations of success rather than come in and immediately succeed.
If Lampard is hired, then Abramovich will need to be patient this time around, and ensure he doesn’t sack the Englishman even if the club finishes trophyless and outside the top four. And with a transfer ban for the entire 2019/2020 season, it remains a huge possibility that Lampard suffers such a season, especially as Chelsea require a huge overhaul of the current squad.
Chelsea have already committed to going through another change, and clearly, have a plan in mind. To then go against that plan and sack Lampard will set the club back years, especially when you look at the relentless pace Liverpool and Manchester City are setting at the top of the Premier League. Chelsea need to follow through with the plan to build the foundations of success under Lampard if they want to catch English football’s current powerhouses.
