Frank Lampard

Am I the only one who doesn’t see how he’s done such an incredible job? The pundits in particular John Cross were drooling over him on Sunday Supplement this morning talking about a ‘contender for manager of the season’.

I look at them & think they’ve got the 2nd best squad behind City in the league & they’ve probably got the 3rd or 4th best first team in the league
(not much in them & Man Utd) & they’ve finished 4th.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s English that Lampard is getting all this hype but it’s been made out that Hazard was the only quality player they had. Kante’s the best in the world in his role, Jorginho, Kovacic, William, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Pulisic, Giroud etc all top class. Barkley, Loftus Cheek, Alonso, Pedro, Christensen, Zouma, Kepa all very good footballers.

They basically swapped Hazard for Pulisic & have a load of the best youngsters in the country (Abraham, Mount, James) another year older from the team that finished 3rd last season & won the Europa League.

I just think he’s done an OK job but it was the same at Derby when pundits were saying he’d done an outstanding job & I was thinking I’m pretty sure they’ve just finished exactly where 90% percent would expect them to.

 

I stopped reading at Frank Lampard, sorry

 

Completely agree. He's done ok, but considering the squad he has he should be finishing in top four with games to spare. Don't see how he should be a manager of year nominee when Ole at man u isn't.

 

Intelligent knows what he’s on about I think he will be a top manager

 

Wot thy orrer bart, reight player back int day. Scuffin looking but a reight player

 

I can see your point but lampard also got pulisic in this year, who cost 60 mil-ish. And I also think Jorginho was always a good player and both he and Sarri were harshly treated by the press and Chelsea fans. Kepa could also have been considered a flop for both Sarri and lampard so I don't get that argument. I would also argue that Chelsea needed less reinforcements that man u did.

Saying all that, I think he's down a decent job, much like Ole has. But I just don't understand the calls for lampard being manager of the year. Both Wilder and Rodgers have over achieved considering their squad and Liverpool (as much as I detest them) have been excellent.

 

Wi talking 70's by the way.

 

Sorry, the post further down the thread was supposed to be a reply to your comments but I clearly buggered that up.

 

I don’t really see the transfer ban as a negative & they were allowed to get the Pulisic deal done in January 19 for him to come a few months later so it was a bit of a farce anyway.

I think the transfer ban probably did him a favour. A lot of the time having a pretty stable transfer window is what clubs need. You don’t want to be changing more than 3 or 4 players & when you’re getting several outstanding youngsters coming back from loans & Pulisic coming in it’s not exactly a bad situation to be in.

 

I think it was Lampard that had written Giroud off. For months he wouldn’t play him over Abraham or Batshuayi.

Interesting point on Spurs & Arsenal. Never thought of it that way. The points totals for 3rd & 4th are really low. Very little between 3rd & 10th.

 

Premier League this season he should be in the top 3 managers with Klopp and Wilder for what he has achieved. He has proven straight away that what he did with Derby wasn't a fluke and that he got this job on merit and not just because he is a legend there.

He couldn't sign anyone, lost his star player, improved guys who hadn't done much for a while and has brought on some brilliant English talent that will help our national team. All whilst having a keeper who doesn't make life easy for them with his lack of clean sheets.

This season was about a transitional period so he had overachieved.

 

He's done a decent job. Top two aside, it's been a Premier League lacking in quality. United have looked strong since the lockdown and ended up finishing above them. Wolves gave it a good go, and fell away towards the end, similar to Leicester. Tottenham were miles away, still look average but have somehow managed to finish 6th. Arsenal have been basically non-existant. With their squad you'd expect a top 4 finish, and he's delivered that. Not manager of the year level at all.

He's received a lot of praise for giving the kids a go, without really having any other option. Let's be right, we're talking about a team that have been dominant at academy levels for years, but no manager has ever given them a chance, not to mention all the players they have had out on loan. Fair play, Abraham was scoring for fun before his injury, Mount has probably been their best player this season, and James/Tomori have come through, but the remainder of the squad was already strong. Their squad is probably second to City in quality in depth.

 

I still can't get my head around Liverpool being Champions with such a small squad of players that can change a game. Man City and Chelsea two strongest squads. I think the transfer embargo gave Lampard something to hide behind regarding expectancy to be honest. They only lost Hazard and have a massive squad.

I think Arsenal, Tottenham and at a push Everton will be closer next season.

 

He did nothing special at Derby and probably underachieved if anything given the squad.

 

I think Man City are more bothered about the Champions League and rather than fight it out hammer and Tong with Liverpool accepted their fate when the gap got to more than a couple of wins. That's why Chelsea look to have missed an opportunity to me.

 

I think he's done an incredible job especially considering their transfer embargo and the lack of experience within the squad.
On a wider thought, the more young British coaches in the Prem and Champ the better.
Apart from Austrian coaches of course

 

Is he a good coach though. He's managed in the Championship with a solid club for that level with a decent squad and then gone onto Chelsea and done the same. You or me could have probably done that.