The midfield problems at the root of Frank Lampard’s early defeats as Chelsea manager will have been familiar to anyone who followed the ups and downs of his playing careerC enturies from now, when the world is a wasteland and football exists only in the ruins of stadiums half-buried in the desert, there will still come a wind through the dusty valley and on its breath will be the question: “But if they were great players, why couldn’t they play together?”The few surviving humans will huddle in caves, squabbling over the meagre crops that remain, divided implacably into two tribes, the Gerrardites and the Lampardians, deaf to the various efforts of minority groups such as the Barryists and the Hargreavesians...
There were promising signs in the Super Cup defeat by Liverpool but the new man at Stamford Bridge has to start winning soonAfter losing badly to Manchester United on the opening day, Chelsea’s performance against Liverpool in the Super Cup, even if they did not quite manage to win, was very impressive.It is hard to say at this moment what a good season would look like for Chelsea, with a transfer ban and a young, inexperienced manager who promises to field young, inexperienced players. The fact Frank Lampard is in charge, a man with so much goodwill from his time at Chelsea as a player, will buy the team a little time but what are the minimum expectations? I feel...
Former midfielder returns as manager with the express aim of making the club more competitive in the leagueThe buzzword was realism, a theme maintained whether Frank Lampard was raising the new Chelsea shirt to the pop of the flashbulbs in a cluttered suite high in Stamford Bridge’s west stand, or had retired to the directors’ lounge for a marginally more intimate assessment of what awaits as the club’s head coach. And yet, even with the star player sold and a transfer ban blocking significant incoming business, it rapidly became clear the new man is not one to flee from expectation. Related: Frank Lampard admits Chelsea job is 'biggest challenge' of his career Related: Ander Herrera signs five-year deal with PSG...
Lampard gets it, Solskjær too. Sentimentality goes a long way in football – but it takes more to win a titleIn most lines of work your job application would discarded straight away if you listed “getting it” as a key skill. Be aware that it might come across as slightly vague, a bit fluffy, damning evidence of a lack of substance. You would probably be written off as a spoofer attempting to blag your way through life. A bluffer. A charlatan. A fraud.Unless, of course, you happen to be applying for a job as manager of a football club grasping for a way to connect with a discontented fanbase. Then it makes perfect sense to place a heavy focus on...
Zinedine Zidane’s exit from Real Madrid on the same day Frank Lampard took over at Derby County underlines the insanity of the world the former Chelsea midfielder is enteringFrank Lampard was minutes into his new job as Derby County manager when the news came through that a vacancy had just cropped up at Real Madrid. “He certainly quit at a good time,” Lampard said, thinking on his feet. “I don’t know Zinedine Zidane’s plans but he will want a holiday, I’m guessing, before he does anything else. You can’t beat that for going out at the top, though. Maybe that’s a lesson to us all.” Related: Frank Lampard spoke to other clubs before becoming Derby County manager Related: Zidane is...