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The sack of Thomas Tuchel on 7 September last year, the slap in the face of Burley on 2 April this year, the announcement of Frank Lampard's succession as interim manager on 6 April, and the investment of more than €600 million in the two transfer windows this season, these simple facts put together, Chelsea under new boss Burley is really no ordinary club.
The most wonderful thing about this back-and-forth is not only Burley's "double negative", but also that he has found the legendary Blues midfielder and former former coach and signed him until the end of the season, which is equivalent to going around in circles and returning to the old road of (failure) two years ago.
Burleigh's respite
Of course, Chelsea's recruitment team is still working on a new manager for next season. Spaniard Luis Enrique seems to be the hottest at the moment, and talented names like Nagelsmann are also in the ranks.
Since it's just a temporary worker, why do you have to find such a somewhat sensitive name? Many people are puzzled, after all, Frank Lampard was not beautiful when he walked back and forth. In January 2021, Frank Lampard became the last manager of the Abu era to leave due to poor results: the race for four was at stake, and the Englishman was also the lowest scoring average of any official manager in the Abu era. To make matters worse, after re-employment at Everton in January last year, Frank Lampard almost brought the Toffees to relegation this season, only to be sacked at the end of January.
Burley and partner Egbarry said in an official statement: "We want to provide a clear and stable plan for the club and our fans for the rest of the season. We still don't want to give up any chance to succeed, and Frank is the right person to lead us to the finish line, and he has all the good qualities to get the job done. ”
However, in the eyes of onlookers, such a "legendary return" is more like a farce. Social media quickly filled with mockery of Chelsea: "Frank Lampard has come to take Chelsea to relegation" and "Lampard will finish his unfinished (relegation) career at Everton". The Daily Mail also had a commentary article saying that Frank Lampard, who has already failed once, is now used as a means to stabilize the team and is crazy.
Onlookers scoffed, but it was difficult for the team's fans to say no, skeptics were unlikely to explicitly object, and many were looking forward to it, so it seemed that Burleigh's move was really "cunning". One even wrote: "I'd rather see Frank Lampard relegated with Chelsea than see Porter's face near the club again. That's right, when it comes to 'Super Frank', I'm so biased. Obviously, the aura of the "magic lamp" at Stamford Bridge has not completely faded since the failure of the last coach, and those Blues fans who still adore him also hope that the idol will get a chance to turn around.
Speaking of chances, Frank Lampard's cousin, former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp, gave the impression before the announcement that Frank Lampard "would say yes without even thinking about it": "He loves this club dearly and no one cares and knows this place better than he does." Frank Lampard himself said: 'It was an easy decision. Xiao Lei believes that this cooperation may have a win-win outcome, on the one hand, Burleigh must have a special intention to consider letting the famous temporary leader, which can buy him some respite; On the other hand, Frank Lampard also needs to re-prove himself, and Chelsea still have the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, which is both a difficult time and an opportunity.
Push the young man again
Announcing Porter's departure, Chelsea appointed assistant coach Bruno Salto, who also commanded Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Liverpool, as caretaker coach. Switching to Frank Lampard rather than letting Bruno finish the season could theoretically do more good than harm. The point is that Bruno is from Brighton with Porter and has no previous solo coaching experience, which makes it difficult to bring something new to the team, both tactically and psychologically. Frank Lampard, on the other hand, has the advantage of acquaintances and despite his unbearable past, he has yet to lose his popularity and appeal at the Bridge, which may help bring the team together.
With the current situation in the Premier League standings, Chelsea, provisionally 11th, is practically not in danger of relegation. With the bottom nine teams in the table in a mess, the Blues nine points above 12th and 12 points above the relegation zone, and "Frank Lampard will take the team to the Championship" is just an exaggerated joke. At the same time, due to the turmoil of the Porter era, Chelsea have no room to struggle upwards at the moment, the Champions League ticket has long been gone, and other European qualifications are of little significance and few opportunities remain. In this situation where there is no village before the village and no store, letting go and letting old acquaintances give it a go will not be too costly, and it can also divert some pressure from fans. If you can still gain something, it will be even more profitable.
Frank Lampard led the Blues back then, bringing out young players such as Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Reece James. Now at the Blue Bridge, Chelsea fans also hope he can reinvigorate the in-form Mason Mount and even re-develop a few more capable young players. While Tuchel and Porter were in a difficult situation before, one of the main reasons was the lack of attack, compared to Frank Lampard's biggest shortcoming of "not being able to defend", so in an ideal situation, the former England midfielder may really be able to make a difference to the Blues.
The Di Mateo miracle is not easy to repeat
But wishes are beautiful, and it's hard to say how cruel reality will be. When Abu abandoned Frank Lampard to choose Tuchel, one of the most talked about reasons for changing managers was "the English can't use Werner and Kai Havertz", which has shown that Lampard is not yet a top coach who can play flowers in his own hands. At Everton, much of the failure is due to the club's chaotic management, and the pits dug in the past are too big to give the manager enough support, but Frank Lampard has indeed not made full use of the resources available, and overall it still feels like a master.
Today's Chelsea are certainly not Everton without money to buy people, but Burleigh has spent more than 600 million euros to buy a large number of newcomers, either far more famous than strength, or still need a long time to polish, with two months left in the season, it is doubtful how much work Lampard can do. Of course, we cannot rule out the existence of miracles in this world, as Xiaolei said: "Don't say it's impossible, Di Matteo has done it and won the Champions League as an interim manager." Stranger things have happened in the world of football. "But to be fair, was the Blues' squad comparable to the current team that only bought high and nothing high?
And don't forget that Frank Lampard's past experience in leading the Champions League knockout stages was also completely unpleasant. As the third English manager in Champions League history to lead a team to a knockout stage, his record in the 2019-20 season was 1-7 in the quarter-final, leading Chelsea to a bloodbath by Bayern Munich. For the next match against Real Madrid, there is less than a week left to prepare. Regarding the new interim manager and the Champions League, the Daily Mail commented: If Frank Lampard does a miracle, can Chelsea find another official manager? Frank Lampard himself avoided talking about the turnaround: 'Di Matteo did a great job and stayed, but that's not the case now. The most important thing nowadays is to straighten out the work at hand. ”
On reflection, Chemsea's hierarchy may not have expected Frank Lampard to do anything, but simply wanted to borrow his prestige and enthusiasm for the club to ride out the current difficult period relatively smoothly.
Author: Yan Yu
This article was originally published in the Sports Plus app
The image comes from the Internet