After he had led the squad he had newly inherited to a sound 4-1 victory over Brentford at Goodison Park, Frank Lampard was duly feted with a warm reception by Everton fans, which has not always been the case for his predecessors previously hired by owner Farhad Moshiri.<\/p>\n
Although Lampard is only one game into his new reign as Everton gaffer, the former Blues icon has already shown he\u2019s ahead of most of his recent predecessors in one key respect and Phil Kirkbride, the Everton correspondent from the ECHO, recorded it aptly from Saturday\u2019s game, writing:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took only 50 minutes for the Gwladys Street, so often the thumping pulse of the Everton fan-base, to sing his name. The rest of Goodison joined in before the tie was over and then, again, after it was done and dusted.\u201d<\/p>\n
That in itself is no mean feat considering that only Carlo Ancelotti, the manager with whom Lampard won a Premier League and FA Cup double at Chelsea in 2010, was the only one among those hired by Moshiri to be accorded that rare honor.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, with a glittering CV that spoke volumes for itself \u2013 with three Champions Leagues and major honors in all of Europe\u2019s \u2018big five\u2019 football nations \u2013 the Italian enjoyed unrivaled approval at Goodison and chants of \u201cCarlo Fantastico, Carlo Magnifico<\/em>\u201d bellowed out raucously from the 1-0 Boxing Day win over Burnley at home.<\/p>\n Lampard \u2013 like most other managers \u2013 does not have such impeccable credentials to boast of after just two previous tenures at Derby County and Chelsea which could only perhaps best be described as \u2018mixed\u2019.<\/p>\n However, for what it\u2019s worth, here finally stood a figure in the home dugout at Goodison who \u2013 although at best is something of an unknown quantity from a managerial perspective \u2013 Evertonians have immediately taken to their hearts.<\/p>\n It is also worth noting that Lampard is now leading a gifted bunch of individuals who were second in the table as recently as Boxing Day last season. While a standing as lofty as this may be temporarily above their station, the Evertonians should at least be safely encamped inside the top half of the Premier League given the talent they do indeed possess.<\/p>\n Inexplicably, they had meandered and totally lost their sense of direction under the controversial Benitez but that\u2019s another story altogether.<\/p>\n Finally, even though it\u2019s still too early to prognosticate, after such a long and despondent run under the former Liverpool manager, Evertonians now have a decent chance to salvage a measure of pride, passion and hope to regain their dignity and identity albeit under a Londoner whose heart-sinking goal had brutally condemned their club to defeat in their only cup final since 1995.<\/p>\n Lampard knows this is just the beginning \u2013 there are plenty more fierce battles to be fought between now and May, with the fervent hope that better days lie ahead after that.<\/p>\n He for one now knows that he at least has the backing of those folks he labelled a \u2018People\u2019s Club\u2019 in a statement that echoed Moyes\u2019 words almost two decades ago.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"