Chelsea prepared Frank Lampard perfectly: 11 lessons from his 11 managers

The succession of managers Chelsea Football Club has had over the last 16 years of Roman Abramovich’s tenure is all starting to make sense. Chelsea’s very own Harry Potter has finally graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to take on the role of Professor Dumbledore.

Frank Lampard has picked up all the tricks of his previous headmasters. Their time at Chelsea FC was just long enough for them to impart their particular brand of magic into the mind of the young Lampard.

To muggles – those poor souls that don’t follow Chelsea – it looked crass and outlandish, arrogant and foolish. The quick turnover of managers was, even for Chelsea fans, short-termism in the extreme. However, no one could have known it was all part of a cunning plan dreamt up by those who run the football club.

1. Lessons 1-6: How to manage a club like Chelsea

Lampard’s first mentor in his development, and perhaps the person who should be most credited with where he is now, was Claudio Ranieri, the Tinkerman. He is one of football’s good guys. An old school manager, Ranieri knew when to put an arm around a shoulder and when to gently entice a performance out of a player with some kinds words.

The media loved him for humorous quotes and, as far as Chelsea were concerned, not only did he buy Lampard but he taught him his first lesson: humility. With that in the bag, the time for the Italian had come to make way for a younger man.

Next up was Jose Mourinho. He was the antithesis of Ranieri. Like Lampard is now, Mourinho stepped into the Stamford Bridge hot seat at the relatively young age of 41. He arrived in a blaze of self-promoting publicity and not short in the self-confidence department.

The Portuguese one’s ability to deflect the media spotlight from the players to himself became a feature of his time with the club, and lesson number 2 for Lampard.

Mourinho’s tactic of arguing with those in authority was his modus operandi. Managing Derby County last season, Lampard got himself sent to the stands during the latter stages of a 1-0 defeat at Rotherham. Already down to 10 men, Super Frank displayed his inner Mourinho for the first time as manager.

Deflecting attention away from the players was not the only thing Mourinho taught the potential players-turned-managers in his midst. His win-at-all-costs siege mentality was perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned across Lampard’s whole career.

Wherever Jose Mourinho went, the world was always against him. The longer his time in management passed, the worse he got. Lampard must use that idea to create a group who fight for each other but stop short of causing the whole ideal to self-implode. Eventually, it did just that and Mourinho was history… for now.

Following on from Mourinho, Avram Grant and lesson number 3. The teachings of Grant would be brief but vital nonetheless.

Avram Grant was a close friend of Roman Abramovich and imparted the art of delegation into Lampard’s mind. Grant took over mid-season and let the players take care of business on the field of play. Left to their own devices they finished second in the Premier League, two points short of Manchester United, and narrowly missed out on winning the Champions League.

Having a shared responsibility with John Terry, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba taught Lampard to take ownership of his personal mistakes during a game, giving him the chance to turn those errors around. It’s easy, as a manager, to be dictatorial in how you go about your job, but trust in the players and they will repay that debt of trust given time.

With that lesson learned, Abramovich turned to a former international manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Brazilian arrived having taken Portugal to the semifinals of Euro 2008 and had previously won the World Cup with Brazil.

By the very nature of the job, international management is about managing self-centred, egotistical, power-crazed prima-donnas at the height of their game. Chelsea were fortunate to not have those issues, but players who maybe thought they were better than their immediate peers were prevalent across the world.

Managing a team like Chelsea would inevitably bring Lampard into contact with them, and coping with their foibles is a desirable asset for any manager. By the time February had arrived in his first season, though, Scolari was deemed surplus to requirements and Lampard had learnt lesson number 4: how to deal with player power.

Lesson number 5 in Frank Lampard’s development came from a former player now sadly departed. Such was Ray Wilkins’ quality as a man he instilled – in just six days – the belief that Chelsea’s youngsters should always be given a chance. That was all it took.

As a product of Chelsea’s much-maligned academy, Wilkins knew fans would always back players who had taken that rarest of paths to the top. With Jody Morris, Joe Edwards and Eddie Newton – all former academy staff – joining Lampard, Ray Wilkins would be pleased to see all those young men being given a chance. Lampard worked with Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori last season and that looks to only be the beginning as far as Chelsea’s “yoof” are concerned.

It’s a great sadness that Ray Wilkins is not here to witness another true Chelsea Blue taking the reins as he once did. Hopefully, somewhere, he’s watching and discussing it.

Guus Hiddink was another quick fix for Chelsea. Someone else linked to Abramovich, he arrived as an interim manager whilst managing the Russian national team. He juggled both jobs for just over three months, taking Chelsea to an FA Cup Final victory over Everton.

Like Ranieri, it was Hiddink’s calm authority that would have impacted Lampard.

The louder someone shouts, the less they are generally heard. If you’re a footballer that applies double. Watch any kids’ game of football: the teams where the coaches are constantly yelling and screaming produce the most disjointed performances. A level-headed approach to giving out instructions will always win over those that rant. Obviously, there are exceptions.