Few, if any, saw it coming. The appointment of Frank Lampard to replace Graham Potter has continued to generate ripples among football pundits as well fans, and understandably so.

It is difficult to come to terms with the rationale behind Lampard’s choice from an economic and football point of view.

There are many questions begging for answers. But decisions are there to be made and risks to be taken.
Chelsea have called the shots. The conversation now is over the likely impact of Lampard’s appointment as caretaker manager on Chelsea’s already shambolic season.



In a statement announcing his appointment, the club’s owners — Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali — said: “We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.

“As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.

“We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.

‘We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”

Chelsea are enduring one of their most difficult seasons in history. Currently out of the top 10 on the English Premier League (EPL) log, the club appeared clueless and bereft of ideas to salvage their wobbling run.

And this is a major reason many are not excited about Lampard’s return. There is no doubt Lampard remains one of Chelsea’s greatest players in history. A leader on and off the pitch, he led the club to many titles and dazzled fans with his mesmerising dribbles and surreal goal-scoring ability as a player.

However, the same cannot be said of him as a coach. His failed stint as Chelsea’s manager between 2019 and 2021 is still fresh in the memories of many.

Lampard is far from a top coach at the moment. He still has a long way to go to become a coach to be reckoned with. That Everton fired him amid relegation fears not long after he was appointed showed he is no quick fix for Chelsea at the moment.

He may be loved by many Chelsea fans — one of the major factors that influenced his appointment amid growing anger among the fans — but he offers no quality, at least on paper, that guarantee Chelsea will end the season on a high note.

“In truth, Lampard’s managerial career has been on a downward trajectory since he guided a youthful Chelsea squad to a top-four finish at the end of the 2019-20 campaign, despite a transfer embargo,” Goal’s Krishan Davis wrote.

“It is a nice story, and the best outcome would be for him to pick up some decent results, haul the Blues out of mid-table and leave after a job well done and with his reputation restored.

“But there are huge question marks over whether he has the experience or quality as coach to do what Potter and Thomas Tuchel before him failed to.”

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