Sacked! Lampard out as Chelsea manager after 18 months

Photo: Frank Lampard was sacked as Chelsea manager on Monday. He spent 18 months in charge at the club.

Chelsea have pulled the plug on manager Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge and a spell of poor Premier League form. Former PSG and Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel is expected to replace him. Frank Lampard is the second English Premier League (EPL) manager to get the boot in the 2020/21 season.

After Lampard’s illustrious playing career which took him across five clubs, he took up a managerial job at Derby County in 2018, leading the club to the finals of that season’s Championship play-offs. Soon thereafter, he took over from Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea’s head coach, guiding them to 4th place and a FA Cup Final which he lost 1-2 to Arsenal in his first season.

Lampard’s managerial career at Chelsea got off to a shaky start with a thumping 0-4 loss to Manchester United at the Bridge. His first victory in his new role came in August 2019, when his side defeated Norwich 3-2 in a nail-biting encounter. Life on the touch line continued to be a roller coaster ride for Lampard as he launched a string of expletives at the Liverpool bench during Chelsea’s 3-5 Premier League loss in July 2020.

Lampard did not sign a single player during his first season as the club were operating under a transfer embargo.

After grabbing the final Champions League spot, Lampard them dipped into the transfer window and acquired Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, Edouard Mendy for over 263 million to strengthen Chelsea’s bid to challenge for trophies. It is the most Chelsea have spent in one summer, eclipsing the £186m they invested at the start of the 2017-18 season.

Despite qualifying for champions league knockout stage with two games to spare they sit ninth in the Premier League after last week’s defeat at Leicester City, having won once in their past five league matches.

The Blues have suffered five defeats in their past eight league games, as many as they had in their previous 23. His final game was Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win against Luton, leaving him with a record of 28 wins, 11 draws, and 18 losses from 57 games.

Lampard’s points-per-game average of 1.67 is the lowest of any permanent Chelsea manager in the Premier League. During the Abramovich era, only Andre Villas-Boas (47.5%) has a worse win rate than Lampard’s 52.4%, in all competitions among permanent Chelsea bosses. In contrast, Jose Mourinho’s win rate in all competitions during his first spell in charge was 67.03%, while Sarri, Antonio Conte, Avram Grant, Carlo Ancelotti and Claudio Ranieri all had win rates over 60%.

It is hoped that Tuchel can rejuvenate a team that is five points outside of the top four, and an announcement could be made within 24 hours. Tuchel remains the most successful coach in Mainz history, averaging more points per game (1.41) than the man who took them to the Bundesliga for the very first time back in 2005/06 – Jurgen Klopp (1.13). He departed Paris Saint-Germain with a record of 95 wins, 13 draws, and 19 defeats in 127 games. He has the best win percentage in Ligue 1 history (75.6%0 and the highest average of points per game.

Lampard, a creative and technically gifted box-to-box midfielder, began his career in 1995 at West Ham United, the club where his father, Frank Lampard Sr., also played. He is best known for his time at London rivals Chelsea, whom he signed for in 2001 for £11 million.

In his thirteen years with the club, Lampard established himself as a prolific scorer from midfield, becoming Chelsea’s all-time leading goal scorer, with 211 goals scored in all competitions. He also won three Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, four FA Cups, a UEFA Europa League title, and two Football League Cups. In 2005, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year, and finished runner-up for both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. After leaving Chelsea, Lampard played for league rivals Manchester City and Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City before retiring in 2017.

Lampard is one of nine players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is fourth in the Premier League’s all-time assists ranking, with 102 assists. Lampard also holds several Chelsea and additional Premier League records and has won PFA Fans’ Player of the Year and the FWA Tribute Award. During his career, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year three times, finished as the Premier League’s top assist provider three times, and was named in the FIFPro World XI and an MLS All-Star. He was named in the Chelsea Team of the Decade as voted for by Chelsea fans.
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