When the dust settles, Frank Lampard has to be magnanimous enough to admit that he just wasn’t good enough for the Chelsea manager’s job.
The former Blues midfielder had done well enough at the beginning of his tenure, however, once he’d spent £200m+ on new players and not got the best out of them, the writing was on the wall.
MORE: Chelsea legend has ‘no complaints’ over Lampard sacking
Speaking on BT Sports ahead of the Wycombe Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup tie, and cited by football.london, it was perhaps expected that pundit, and former team-mate of Lampard’s, Rio Ferdinand, wouldn’t throw his mate under the bus.
Thomas Tuchel is the man set to replace Frank Lampard at Chelsea, in a German-focused plan that seems to have been devised to get Timo Werner and Kai Havertz on track… pic.twitter.com/gTgYyUxdkC
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) January 25, 2021
His excuse for Lampard’s shortcomings is laughable, mind.
“Without the fans there, they (the Chelsea board) don’t see the emotional connection between the manager and the fans which Frank undoubtedly has,” he said.
“Everyone was clamouring for him to come into the club, the first year he did remarkably well, got them into the Champions League with the transfer embargo. Now he has had money to spend and that brings different pressure and expectation.”
Whilst it’s accepted that having no supporters in the grounds and therefore no atmosphere is making life a little different for those on the pitch, that’s no reason for players costing £70m+ in some cases not being able to put the ball in the back of the net.
Perhaps it was the right job at the wrong time for Lampard, and his sacking almost certainly had nothing to do with no supporters at the Bridge.