Few people know Chelsea like Frank Lampard. From the passion with he speaks about the club, the honour he feels to represent the west London side and the 13 years he spent at Stamford Bridge as a player to his commitment to winning and the success he earned. The 44-year-old has experienced both chaos and trophies.
Frank Lampard said: “I think it is too severe. There will be elements of truth to it because I think ownership change can bring that. At the same time, I remember being at Chelsea when Roman Abramovich came in and people were panicking as much as they were excited within the club. It was all, will I keep my job? Will I get in the team? Who will they bring in? I look back and 20-odd trophies later [it was a success]. Those trophies didn’t all come in the first year so I do think with change you have to have perspective and give it time to work.”
Much has been said about the new hierarchy’s admiration for the work Tony Bloom and co have completed at Brighton in establishing the Seagulls as a Premier League side. Comparisons were inevitable when, following the signing of Marc Cucurella, Chelsea brought in Graham Potter and his team in addition to Paul Winstanley to a senior role as co-sporting director alongside Laurence Stewart. Can Brighton’s philosophy be replicated in the pressure cooker that Chelsea brings? Lampard reflected that all projects have to work through mistakes and that Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and their hierarchy have impressed him.
The 44-year-old admitted he had his thoughts from the outside as the takeover was being completed but believes the current owners are serious in their ambitions for the club.
Frank Lampard said: “There is a lot to it. Brighton’s level of expectation is to stay in the Premier League and then it’s to try to move up the Premier League and you get a different timespan and run at it. Everyone will have different versions. I went to Manchester City for the last year of my career and it really opened my eyes to a different model to Chelsea and for me that was great. At Chelsea in my playing days obviously the manager turned over a lot and we fortunately had a squad that managed to win a lot of trophies. When I look back I feel disappointed we didn’t win more leagues with more consistency. I think we should have done so there are always both sides to that. I think probably when I went to Manchester City and joined the City Group as such before I went to New York, it just opened my eyes to a slightly different way of doing it in terms of the vision and the set up and how they were still working towards something that felt like a longer [term] goal. As opposed to Chelsea which was like ‘Change it!’. Result! ‘Change it!’ Results! Both have worked in their different ways so I don’t think there is an exact model and I think it would be jumping the gun to claim now the owners are copying any model. Most models would have similarities that are successful and I think most are a process. We have seen it with Man City and we are seeing it with Arsenal. We have seen it with Brighton. Along the way maybe all of those models made some mistakes or some moves in the wrong direction and it’s how quickly you get back on track and keep driving in the right direction. And the first thing for me I don’t know enough about this – I have joined and I’m focussed on coaching the team. The first thing is the intention and desire, and the intention to bring something good to this football club. When the changeover was happening I was outside working at Everton or before that. I have got a big interest in Chelsea. I was just thinking Chelsea now is Chelsea where it has got to. It needs to be taken again in a good direction. We are a serious football club and the owners are that and now all the work begins because it is clearly in a position where we want to get better and so all the work has to be done on that front.”
Even with Chelsea’s struggles, not everything has changed. With 31 senior players Lampard and his staff are under pressure to pick the right combinations and to maintain the correct atmosphere in the dressing room.
The volume of players Lampard has to assess may be unusually big but the Blues boss does not see too much difference from when he was last in charge on that front. At the best clubs, good players need to be let down and left out.
Frank Lampard said: “I’ve had conversations with pretty much all of the players and I wouldn’t say they are difficult but honest, straight talking. When you come into something with such a short period I haven’t got much content to talk about, the slate is clean and players have the opportunity. It is difficult leaving players out, that isn’t just at Chelsea but any job. When I was here before I was leaving out four or five internationals through need. They are difficult situations and I get it from the player’s point of view but I have to make a decision. I will have those through my time here and as long as I can be clear and honest as to why people are out of the squad then I will try and do that. At the same time sometimes there is not a huge reason, sometimes it is a choice and people have to change your choice in how they train. We have to deal with it [the size of the squad], it is our job. Dealing with it means that firstly everyone feels involved and that they are getting the proper amount of attention and training. If you are splitting groups that has to be very clear what you are working towards, sometimes if you have had challenges on a matchday and you want to work 10 against 10, some players are out so you have them in and out or a group to the side. It is our problem, when I say problem that is probably not the right word we have to find solutions to everything and make everything work. I’m not going to harp on about it.”
The substantial investment that has been made in the club following the takeover and Chelsea’s likelihood of missing out on European football has led to some concerns around FFP. The Blues recently recorded a loss of £123million and in years gone by have alleviated pressure by player sales – often academy players that profit can be realised from. The futures of Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher are already looking uncertain in the summer. In Lampard’s last period with the club he gave a number of prospects their first opportunities in the first team in the form of Reece James, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and more. The Blues boss believes that the academy is an area of stability under Neil Bath and those deemed good enough will still be given their chance.
Frank Lampard added: “I think there is an appreciation of what that gives – from fans who always relate to young players and from owners and ownerships that like the fact you are developing players who are either huge assets for you or, if they are moving on, are also assets you can receive good fees for. I think any answer I give to that would be harking back to the past. My job as a coach was probably to develop as players as I could. It’s a pleasure for me to see players like Mason and Reece and now Conor and Trevoh Chalobah still here. They always have a real affiliation for the club having been through the academy. The decisions for some younger players to move on have not been mine. Tomori, for instance, Nathan [Ake], Tammy Abraham. They were club decisions at the time and that’s done. I think this club has one of the best academies in the Premier League and the world, and has done for a long time. Neil Bath should take great credit for that, running it as it is. In my time at the club I had a real good bunch of players who came through at the time and imposed themselves on the squad. The first thing you need is the quality of the player to be able to impose themselves in the squad in the Premier League – they don’t come along every day. But when they’re there there’s no doubt they’ll be appreciated by this club. They’ll get their opportunities when they deserve it. That’s just how it should run.”
