Premier League English

Frank Lampard’s brutal sacking proof of player power still dictating Chelsea policy

The Frank Lampard saga has come to a premature end for the Blues legend as expected, but not hoped for, by those who are familiar with the club hierarchy’s modus operandi where managers are concerned.

Chelsea have called time brutally on their club legend Lampard after only 18 months in charge when owner Roman Abramovich once again spun the barrel of his favorite Russian roulette revolver and fired at the Blues legend on Monday, with ex PSG boss Thomas Tuchel expected to replace him almost immediately.

And with that ends the Frank Lampard era at Chelsea where, at the first sign of difficulty at Stamford Bridge, Roman Abramovich pulled the trigger. Lampard’s leading the Blues to the top of the table with a 17-match unbeaten run in December had long been erased.

Although Abramovich is well within his right to act as the owner of the club if he does not envisage a return to glory, what rankles with fans, however, is the toxic atmosphere behind the scenes that contributed to the dismissal of Chelsea’s greatest legend.

Player power still dominates on King’s Road, where it has reigned rampantly since Abramovich’s arrival – something that Lampard himself can attest to, with several managers being shown the quick exit while he ruled the dressing room with fellow influential stars John Terry, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech.

And now the former Blues boss has himself become the last victim of a hatchet job from the inside since the first day of the season.

Although it has been a tough year for football, wrestling with a pandemic that has done a demolition job on the financial coffers of most, if not all, clubs, Chelsea went on a lark and forked out out over £220m on players during the transfer window. The problem wasn’t getting the new additions in – it was more getting players out.

Several senior stars, all internationals, quickly became surplus to requirements – Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso, Jorginho, Kepa Arrizabalaga – not mentioning the various fringe players who already had no future at the club such as Tiemoue Bakayoko, Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater.

Many of the hangers-on were not expeditiously offloaded and this was what began the eventual rot for Lampard in ending his tenure prematurely at Stamford Bridge. Over the following months, the players remaining on the sideline engaged in a cloak-and-dagger conspiracy, scurrying along the dark corridors of power to murmur their discontent with the ex Blues boss.

One player actually told The Athletic that Lampard staying on for the rest of the season would have been a “catastrophe”, while another grumbled about how training was tiresome and grueling, with none of these complaints made during Chelsea’s 17-match unbeaten streak earlier this season or last year when they clinched the top-four and made the FA Cup final.

The snipers’ rifles only came out when the squad’s form began to dip and the cross-sights were trained on Lampard.

Lampard, being only in his second managerial gig, can easily be forgiven for not being the perfect manager with finely-developed tactical nous. But players not giving their all can never be forgiven, particularly for those whose mentality is “me first, club second” among the current crop.

Players like Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham have earned their well-deserved respect the hard way on the pitch giving their all, but for those who have not been able to achieve the same, it’s the unholy huddle resorting to the clock and dagger approach.

Abramovich had the chance to break the undesirable stronghold of player power at the club when he signed on Lampard but he again took the easy option with a soft ear open to the toxic murmurings that filtered the air.

It will only embolden those who conspired to bring about Lampard’s downfall and weaken the authority of any new coach hoping to bring a new era of radical change at SW6 in the future.

One can only wish Thomas Tuchel well when he steps in to take over t hese next few days.