Chelsea Blues’ Clues: Problems Lampard needs to solve to avoid the sack
By Varun Dani
From a 17-game unbeaten streak to lonely win in seven games, Chelsea is tumbling and Lampard needs to fix some glaring issues immediately.
The narrative around Stamford Bridge has changed massively in the space of a month; Chelsea has gone from being a potential title contender to struggling for a top four finish, or so the media states. Frank Lampard needs to address these three vital problems immediately if he is to avoid the fate his predecessors suffered; the ghastly sack.
1. Rework the ‘Merit Policy’
Ever since he’s taken over as Head Coach in 2019, Lampard has seemingly adhered to a strict Merit Policy. The Englishman has often cited that the criteria for selection is the work put in during training and the performances in matches. No player, be it the club captain, a new signing or a hot prospect would be exempted from it. The policy paid dividends at certain points last season, as it prodded the likes of Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso to raise the standard of their game. It also rewarded players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Billy Gilmour and created an opportunistic theme at the club, one that rewarded hard work.
Fast forward to this season and the cracks are beginning to show. Lampard was gifted some expensive signings over the summer of 2020, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz in particular, and tasked with bringing the best out of them. The pressure of performing that task meant that he had to make these players exceptions to his cardinal rule, which would, of course, demoralize the rest of the squad.
Werner has been absolutely shambolic in the past two months, fluffing his lines as a goal scorer and being completely ineffective as a winger. While Lampard could’ve pointed at any energetic training performances earlier, nothing can excuse the German’s 13-game goalless streak, nor his manager’s insistence on playing him. All while Callum Hudson-Odoi, Abraham and Giroud look on from the bench, all of whom have shined in the limited game time they’ve been afforded so far.
Lampard has the earned the respect of the dressing room based on his legacy and principles, and should he show signs of being hypocritical, he will lose it instantaneously. Any manager who loses the trust of his players is a sacking waiting to happen.