The financial structures of modern football mean steady progression is unworkable and few former players taking the reins of an elite club are likely to have had adequate preparationEverybody wants their own Pep Guardiola. That is the dream. You take a club legend just beginning his coaching career, stick him in charge of the reserves for a season, give him the top job, then watch as he revolutionises football with a squad based around academy products and wins three league titles and two Champions Leagues. It’s not just winning, but winning your way.That’s why so many major clubs have turned to former players with limited or no first-hand managerial experience: Juventus with Andrea Pirlo, Chelsea with Frank Lampard, Arsenal with...
The Chelsea manager is staying calm amid a slump but he must be proactive and not simply wait for hard work to pay offFrank Lampard’s autobiography is called Totally Frank. It was written in 2006 when the then Chelsea midfielder was 28, rendering it – at best – Partially Frank, Prematurely Frank, Avariciously Hasty Frank.Anyway, there is a passage in the book from the summer of 2005, when Lampard gets wind of a rumour that the winner of the club’s player of the year award gets invited on to Roman Abramovich’s yacht. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Lampard tells himself. And so at one home game he musters the courage to ask the Chelsea owner if the rumour is true. Abramovich...
Manager’s points return of just 50.98% and muddled planning has left playing legend looking vulnerable to the sack The good news for Frank Lampard is that it’s not as bad as José Mourinho’s second spell, but that’s the only good news. Sunday’s 3-1 humbling to Manchester City means Chelsea have taken 26 points from 17 games this season, 50.98% of the points available. Mourinho, in 2015-16, was on 31.25% when the axe fell.But in terms of final seasons, 50.98 is worse than Andre Villas-Boas, worse than Mourinho first time around, worse than Antonio Conte, worse than Carlo Ancelotti, worse than Maurizio Sarri, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Robert Di Matteo and Claudio Ranieri. If the corridors of Cobham hiss with intrigue, there...
Chelsea’s expensively-assembled unit lacked intensity and were vulnerable to Pep Guardiola’s exhilarating sideWith 43 minutes gone at Stamford Bridge Phil Foden could be seen gliding through the debris, the ruined city walls of Chelsea’s right flank.There were two sky blue shirts waiting inside him for an invitation to score. Foden skimmed the ball inside to Ilkay Gündogan, who chose that moment to perform a reverse‑pirouette, mid-air heel-dink that pinged just past the post. Related: Phil Foden excels in Manchester City's emphatic win over lacklustre Chelsea Related: Frank Lampard plays down pressure after Chelsea slip to meek defeat Continue reading...
The Swiss midfielder has had a strange Arsenal career of ups and (mostly) downs but his goal against Chelsea could be a catalyst for the club and its managerWith 44 minutes gone, Arsenal 1-0 up and producing a performance of rare verve and energy, Granit Xhaka took a step back and stood completely still, staring at the top right-hand corner of the Chelsea goal.Bukayo Saka had been fouled 10 yards from the intersection of penalty box and penalty arc. A free-kick for Arsenal was reward for Saka’s fine, driving performance. Above all it looked as if it would be a chance to run down the clock on the half. Related: Arsenal relieve pressure on manager Mikel Arteta with win over...