The crushing run of results in December and humiliation by Manchester City has seen a solid start turn into pressure on Frank Lampard’s position at the club. Where did it go wrong and should Chelsea sack Frank Lampard?
At the start of December, everything looked rosy. The club had qualified for the next round of the Champions League and were knocking at the door at the top of the table.
Since beating Leeds in the only Premier League game of the season where Chelsea fans were in attendance on the 5th of December there have been four defeats a win and a draw. Whilst dropping points is inevitable it is the manner of the performances that are most concerning.
After fixing leaks at the back early in the season, problems have sprung up literally everywhere else.
The midfield looks unbalanced and unable to control games and in attack we look clueless.
Timo Werner can’t score for toffee and Kai Havertz seems to be struggling to locate the pitch let alone his cutting edge.
These problems need to be addressed fast.
It is clear that Frank Lampard does not know his strongest team and cannot rely on some of the new signings at the moment (we hope they come good with time).
With Pulisic and Ziyech back, there should be a better creative base to work from. I think dropping Werner and playing Giroud or Abraham in the short term may be an effective way to turn around things going forward.
The major work though seems to be in midfield where we need to find a combination that has creativity but still some creative steel. Part of this will be getting N’Golo Kante back to his best.
Chelsea have struggled since beating Leeds with fans in attendance
Should Chelsea Sack Frank Lampard?
In our opinion it is still far too early for any talk of changing manager.
Since last season the club should be seen as a project and blips and teething problems are inevitable. The entire league is wildly unpredictable and a few good results would still see us surge up the table.
Given his stature, the job he did last season and the lack of sensible alternatives Lampard should be given the whole season to show what he can do.
After all, I think a Chelsea legend deserves more than a few games to turn around a poor run of games.
Even if things continue to deteriorate in the coming weeks, we are not fans of changing managers mid-season particularly when they are icons. It encourages the club to do stupid things like make Rafa Benitez a temporary kit man.
This blog does not think Chelsea should sack Frank Lampard.
The problem for Frank Lampard is that Roman Abramovich does not share our views on managerial appointments. By his standards waiting this long is patient.
Whilst we would encourage patience and point out we are still rebuilding. This is not the same scenario as last season.
Lampard is not fixing and making do with a splash of youth anymore. A solid first season and an end to the transfer ban have seen spending and expectations rise.
Fans and more importantly ownership will be expecting a return on their £200m investment
I think that the games against Leicester and Wolves are likely to be the measure of whether he is given more time. A couple of positive results and all will be forgotten. Lose one or both and well I think Lampard could be asked to leave.
