What happened for Chelsea to sack Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel is increasingly clouded in mystery. Simply put, that is the point. Chelsea has done this before. Kick up enough dust and what is really going on becomes clouded. The Blues knew that this would have to happen following Lampard’s sacking. It is a PR campaign and even if it is pretty obvious, it is needed and the confusion might even be warranted.
The most outward looking step to this plan is to muddle the waters of which rumors are true or not. In the wake of Lampard’s sacking, there were dozens of stories that came out about his relationship with the board and various senior players. But as time has gone on, what is fact and what is rumor has gotten muddled more and more.
Much of this centers around Antonio Rudiger who, according to one rumor, went to the board in protest against Lampard. That was from Matt Law who, at least previously, had sources in the club. The Athletic very much has sources too and they were able to snag an interview with Rudiger where he denied Law’s reports. This comes after Rudiger has been radio silent since the sacking, with only Tammy Abraham and Cesar Azpilicueta making any comments on the situation via Twitter.
The “situation” here meaning abhorrent abuse against Rudiger. On the one hand, many opted not to believe Law’s reporting simply because it didn’t suit the story in their minds but at the end of the day Law was merely reporting on information he’d been given. On the other hand, many sad sorts took that as an excuse to spew the most vile abuse at Rudiger. His interview, where he is of course not going to say “yes I did it”, was needed to at least get his side of the story out.
It’d be hard not to see the club’s hand in this and other rumors in recent weeks. For every rumor of a fight between Lampard and the board or players from one reputable source, shortly thereafter another reputable source would say something to cast doubt on the rumor. Many fans are simply choosing to believe the narratives that already sync with their own story, but the board is surely ensuring information is leaking from all sides. Perhaps it is simply an attempt to find out who in the club is leaking where, or perhaps it is merely to increase confusion. Afterall, few would slam a player for something they are denying publicly given the tribalism of the sport.
Then there is the more wholesome and supporting side of the PR campaign. Chelsea has been extremely eager to trot Thomas Tuchel out in front of a camera thus far. It helps that, following a down period, that Tuchel is a very upbeat and positive person at the moment. He’s got dream for the club and even though fans have heard that song and dance before, they want to believe. The club knows this given how much experience they’ve had at it.
The club is also hyping up the mood of players, especially the ones they know are getting questioned on social media. Could the prematch tweets including Rudiger or Marcos Alonso be coincidences? They could be, but Chelsea was sure to put Callum Hudson-Odoi front and center any time there was a transfer rumor or fans were begging to see more of him. Again, they can feign innocence but it comes with a knowing wink.
Even Tuchel’s first two lineups have an air of PR about them. Players that had few minutes in the closing stages of Lampard’s tenure are suddenly back in. Tuchel has said that is for experience but that rings hollow when he says Alonso is starting for his height when Ben Chilwell has some of the team’s best aerial numbers. It’s not even wrong for him to pick the first few lineups this way. Winning over the players that might be the most disgruntled or have the loudest voices makes perfect sense, especially when joining midseason. As much as a manager or fans want to see the “best XI”, ultimately being a coach is a lot of man management and that means picking the players that need that management the most sometimes.
Of course, this all has a point too. When Chelsea was rumored to sign Lampard as manager, one concern was the fallout that might come with a Lampard sacking. While the sky didn’t fall down, it did show some cracks for some. Chelsea had to quickly move on from Lampard. Mudding the waters as to what happened and who is to blame is one side of it, but quickly going all in on Tuchel was another side of it.
Ultimately though, it is all about what happens on the pitch. Few will care if Rudiger or Alonso played a role in Lampard’s sacking if they go out and perform. Lampard’s sacking, following a near two months of losses, will look more justified if Tuchel rights the ship. In the meantime, Chelsea will continue the PR campaign to take the spot light off players like Rudiger and Alonso while putting it on Tuchel and his new look Chelsea team. It is obvious what Chelsea is doing, but it is also something that is necessary after sacking a legend.