Chelsea have made some very strange managerial appointments over the years.
Avram Grant hadn’t managed outside of Israel when he was given the job at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter’s greatest achievement was one top-half finish with Brighton before he was hired by Chelsea.
Frank Lampard may be a Chelsea legend, but, in hindsight, hiring Lampard after just one full season in management in the Championship with Derby County was a strange choice.
Chelsea went for Lampard after Maurizio Sarri’s departure.
Lampard dismissed his links to Chelsea while he was at Derby, but, ultimately, he was given the job in the summer of 2019.
Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, Lampard has been discussing his managerial career so far, and even he admits that it was very unusual for him to get such a high-profile job after just one year of management.
Frank Lampard says Chelsea appointment was very unusual
Lampard spoke about his arrival at Chelsea.
The current Coventry boss admitted that it was strange for him to get the Chelsea job with such little managerial experience, but he was confident that he could do the job.
“I just got on with it and to then be on the other side is somewhat surreal, there’s no doubt. But I went back, I went to Chelsea, even after just one year of management, it was very unusual to get the Chelsea job then and I understood the circumstances, the ban, my playing career, all those things aligned for me slightly. But I had a real sense of confidence that I could do it,” Lampard said.
Frank Lampard’s managerial record before becoming Chelsea manager
Of course, Lampard’s status as a legendary Chelsea player weighed in his favour, but, in terms of what he’d achieved as a manager, this was a strange choice.
Indeed, Lampard didn’t even do that remarkable of a job with Derby County, as the stats show.
| Frank Lampard record at Derby | |
|---|---|
| 57 | |
| Wins | 26 |
| Draws | 15 |
| Losses | 16 |
| Win percentage | 46% |
| League position | 6th |
Lampard finished sixth in the Championship with Derby – which is exactly where they’d finished the season prior under Gary Rowett.
There’s a real argument to make that Lampard should’ve done better with that side too. After all, he had the likes of Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Harry Wilson at his disposal, three players who have gone on to much bigger things.
Tomori was a Tottenham target in the January window, while Manchester United signed Mount last summer – meanwhile Wilson is at Fulham, performing admirably at a Premier League level.
This was a strange appointment, and while Lampard didn’t do a terrible job at Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel quickly showed that this team could achieve much more under a more seasoned manager.
