After yet another reverse under his stewardship, Frank Lampard wasn’t ready to let his Chelsea squad get away with a poor standard of performance against Brighton.
Things were looking up for ‘Super’ Frank on his home return to the dugout, with the crowd showing their appreciation by unfurling a huge banner and chanting his name.
When Conor Gallagher put the hosts ahead, everything was rosy at Stamford Bridge.
The mood quickly changed, however, as first Danny Welbeck struck before half time, and then Julio Enciso fired a rocket past a flailing Kepa Arrizabalaga to give the Seagulls all three points.
That meant three defeats in three games for Lampard and his men with only one goal scored – and a Champions League return against Real Madrid in a few days. Clearly, the dream return has turned into a nightmare in west London.
Rather than accept some of the blame himself for tactics that appeared woefully inadequate – and saw Kepa apparently giving out tactical instructions to his defenders (pictures courtesy of Sky Sports) – he went to town on his players in his post-match interview.
That’s exactly how clueless we are atm ? nothing other then just vibes pic.twitter.com/gwPeWF1EWz
— Muhammed Naeem (@muhammednaeem7) April 15, 2023
“I’m disappointed on every level. The better team won. They could have won by more. They played like a team. They’ve been together a long time,” he was quoted as saying by Goal.com.
“Not good enough. All the basic parts of football – to fight, to run – we were short on.”
BBC Sport also noted his words: “I’ve been at the club nine days. I don’t like what I saw today.
“I’m not going to try to dress that up in any way. There should be a feeling when you play for Chelsea where you’re proud.
“To get there, there needs to be a new energy. That needs to come back. At the moment we’re not in the perfect place.”
If he’s already turned on them in the space of one week, then many will surely be thankful that this only appears to be a short-term appointment from Todd Boehly.
Think of it as an experiment that’s quickly going horribly wrong.