All is quiet on the Chelsea, Frank Lampard, Jose Mourinho front

Chelsea, Frank Lampard, and Jose Mourinho were once closely connected. Times have changed, but it has been surprisingly quiet in the build up to Tottenham.

Once upon a time, Jose Mourinho called Frank Lampard the best player in the world. He rated his midfield maestro highly and pushed him hard. Lampard was well on his way to being a star before the Portuguese manager came to Chelsea, but he took the Englishman to the next level.

That was a long time ago. Mourinho has since left Chelsea twice. Lampard did too, with his time at Manchester City prompting Mourinho to call the Lampard/Chelsea love story over. The quote would reappear when Mourinho took the Manchester United job and more recently the Tottenham job.

Mourinho was even critical of the youth revolution that Lampard had finally brought to Chelsea. Likely knowing he was close to the Spurs job, Mourinho further said he was worried about Chelsea, prompting Jody Morris to joke and many to take that too seriously. The split between Mourinho and Lampard has been steadily growing for half a decade now. This week, however, it has all been quiet.

Mourinho is hardly afraid to go after Chelsea managers when he is the opposition. He did so with Antonio Conte and Conte made the mistake of snipping back. Thus far, Lampard has kept a cool head when anything Mourinho has said has come up. This could have been a week where Mourinho started throwing shots at Lampard but he has not thus far.

Obviously that could all change when the pre match pressers occur. Maybe Mourinho, early in his tenure, has decided now is not the time to start poking others. Maybe he has recognized Lampard has not taken the bait thus far so the trap is not worth it to set. Or maybe it is something else entirely.

This match is meaningful to both sides and on some level, both managers will be thinking of the last time they faced off over a year ago. Derby County required a fair bit of luck and a penalty shootout, but Lampard got the better of his former coach. Mourinho might view that as an outlier, but it remains a bit out of character for him to have not brought it up at all recently.

Lampard, for his part, seems to simply be focused on Chelsea. Manger feuds are few and far between anymore but Lampard has simply not given any indication that he would join someone in the mud. Mourinho thrives on that at times but there may be a bit of professional courtesy going on at the moment.

Chelsea versus Spurs will be a big match for both sides in their pursuit of Champions League next season. The season has a long way to go yet and one game will not determine how things will ultimately play out. But it is important and it will be remembered.

Both parties are keeping things quiet and calm for now, but when the first ball is kicked that may go out the window quickly. This has been simmering for years. It will have to boil over at some point.