When Frank Lampard was announced as the interim manager of Chelsea after they had dispensed with Graham Potter’s services, there was a very real sense that he was coming home.
The Blues had been his club for many years and where he had enjoyed a stellar and trophy-laden career.
However, just four games in and that dream appointment has turned into a nightmare. Indeed, after four losses from four games and only one goal scored, Todd Boehly must be wondering how on earth he got it so wrong.
In truth, Lampard has never had the greatest managerial CV, but one can understand the logic of Boehly’s thought process in bringing back someone that the Stamford Bridge faithful surely still have a soft spot for.
With nothing left to play for but pride now in this 2022/23 season, it makes no sense in prolonging Lampard’s agony any further, with Sky Sports’ Paul Merson suggesting that the club make a change in the dugout now.
“They’ve spent £600million and haven’t bought a centre-forward. They have not got a goalscorer. Everybody they buy can play all the way along the front line, that’s no good,” he told the broadcaster with The Mirror publishing his quotes.
“It don’t matter who the manager is. They need to get the manager in now. They need to sort this out now. This is no disrespect to Frank, but they have got to go ‘right who do we want, who do we get’.
“You go in now, there’s four, five, six games to go, you can tinker, who’s about to be there next season, who’s not. He knows he’s only there for the short time anyway. Frank knows he was their for a short time, he was there for the Champions League games.”
It isn’t the worst suggestion in the world as it would give any new incumbent the heads up on where he feels the squad needs addressing ahead of the opening of the summer transfer window.
Targets can be assessed, players that are surplus to requirements can be informed and the new man in change can hit the ground running in pre-season.
Boehly isn’t shy of swinging the axe but whether he wants to risk the wrath of the supporters again is a moot point.