Chelsea: Frank Lampard is not building a team, but a legacy

No Chelsea manager has ever given as many debuts in one season as Frank Lampard. He is not building a team, but a legacy.

Frank Lampard comes from West Ham, a fact often forgotten in his overall legacy. He followed in his father’s footsteps and made his way from the academy to the first team with all the baggage that comes with that. But West Ham never really was home for him and as he made his way to Chelsea, he was looking for something else.

His career in Blue solidified him as one of the game’s all time greats. One thing he never really got to see at Chelsea, however, was the academy produce anyone to carry his torch forward for him. Only John Terry waved the flag for Lampard’s playing career at Chelsea.

Now Lampard is the Chelsea manager and he was brought in with a mandate to change all that. It has been a long season with a lot of ups and downs, but throughout Lampard has stuck by his mission. He does not want to build a team at Chelsea; he wants to build a legacy that lasts beyond his tenure unlike nearly every other Roman Abramovich era manager.

Lampard has given debuts to Billy Gilmour, Faustino Anjorin, Ian Maatsen, Marc Guehi, Armando Broja, and Tariq Lamptey. Beyond that group, he has integrated Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, and Reece James from the loan army. No Chelsea manager has ever debuted so many in one season.

Chelsea managers under Abramovich traditionally did not even look towards the youth until their second season. But it could never be said that they were the focus. Instead, they were brought in sporadically but never at the expense of the present. Lampard, however, knows that the only way to make a better future for the club is to take the hits now.

Yes, there was the transfer ban but there is little indication that Lampard would not have done this course of action regardless. Perhaps some of the more locked in first teamers would have been fringe or loaned out, but overall the commitment is the same for any manager like this. If a manager is willing to play the youth, they will do so when it is both convenient and inconvenient.

These players are not perfect and, given Lamptey’s case, not all of them will stick around forever. It only takes a handful to open a pathway that Barcelona and Bayern Munich had mastered in their dynasties. The hiccups will be there to start with, but after that the glory can be had.

Lampard is not interested in building a team like his former managers. He wants a legacy. He wants his time at Chelsea to outlast him in ways that will send Chelsea right back to the top. The season is not over yet and Lampard has already done more to build for the future than nearly all previous Chelsea managers. So long as he continues to do so, the future is bright for the Blues.