Frank Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea after the club’s hot five-game losing streak in the last eight Premier League games.
The rot that has settled this season sees the Stamford Bridge suit in ninth place – and former PSG boss Thomas Tuchel is expected to be hired imminently.
Here, SportsmailDANIEL MATTHEWS takes a look at the situation where everything went wrong for Lampard in his dream job …
Frank Lampard was dismissed by Chelsea after the formidable turmoil of his team this season
TRANSFER SPLURGE
It was a strange occurrence of Lampard’s spell that his fortunes traveled in opposite directions to Chelsea’s power in the transfer market.
At first, the two-window ban (later halved) that came in last summer has made it less attractive to other more experienced bosses.
And, crucially, he provided a Lampard with a tampon.
Chelsea, throwing 230 million pounds on new faces, including Timo Werner, put Lampard under control
The manager enjoyed an impressive first season – keeping Chelsea in the top four with a young and inexperienced team.
But the lack of signatures also prevented some criticism. This disappeared in the summer, when Chelsea spread 230 million pounds on the new recruits.
A source considered that the expense gave Chelsea the excuse to make a change if – or when – the results started to change.
INVOLVEMENT OF RE-SIGNING RICE DECLANATION
Yes, Chelsea sank deep into their pockets last summer. But what about those they didn’t bring?
Lampard was eager to sign the West Ham Rice talisman, which could enter the center or midfield.
And no wonder, in the manager’s first season, Chelsea’s back line had been a constant headache; Kepa’s failures undoubtedly masked the disarticulated unity in front of him.
However, it is reported that Rice’s pursuit annoyed Lampard’s bosses. It is said that they were reluctant to pay big money for a player they had released as a child, fearing that it would seem embarrassing.
Chelsea have not signed West Ham’s Declan Rice for fear of embarrassing them
FIGHTS WITH NEW PLAYERS
As it turned out, the Chelsea hierarchy was left red with some of the signatures they sanctioned.
Of course, Edouard Mendy was a stabilizing influence in the goal, while Thiago Silva added the know-how in their defense. The £ 50 million man, Ben Chilwell, has paid in recent weeks, but a significant upgrade remains on the left.
Further, however, Lampard had problems with three players who cost £ 180 million.
Chelsea’s big money signings showed formative lightning, but they fought hard under Lampard
Hakim Ziyech (38 million pounds) showed flashes of genius when not upset by the injury.
Timo Werner (£ 53 million) looks like a suit of the striker they signed – the goals have dried up and his confidence has disappeared.
As for Kai Havertz (89 million pounds), the 21-year-old suffered severely with Covid and fought for any form.
BAYERNAL HUMILIATION
It was no shame to lose to Bayern Munich last season. After all, everyone fell in front of Hansi Flick.
But the way Chelsea lost in the Champions League was telling.
In the last 16 stages, they were lucky to lose only 7-1. Lampard himself called the first stage a “hard lesson”, and the return game in Germany was no less harsh.
Chelsea were lucky to lose just 7-1 in total against Bayern Munich last season
It served as a clear illustration of how far the club had fallen behind the European elite.
That decline was far from Lampard’s fault. But the way Bayern played with Chelsea’s young side put their development in a pretty clear perspective.
Their fights against the best teams in the Premier League this season have also been worrying.
ROAD CAMERA PROBLEMS
The task of maintaining unity among a bloated team is never easy. It becomes more and more difficult as the shape begins to decline. It is almost impossible at a club where the politics and power of the players have been for a long time.
Even before the recent matches, according to a source, there was a feeling that Lampard’s players had fallen into the camps – those he trusted and those he was not convinced of.
Antonio Rudiger, a great personality in the team, was among those briefly frozen at the beginning of this season.
Lampard’s team fell into two camps – reliable players and those he was not convinced of
Other reports on Monday say that this has led to a manager distance with the players – except for the ones he liked. And relations could not improve when Lampard hit his players publicly in recent weeks.
But the manager’s cause was not helped by Chelsea’s failure to shed more dead wood last summer.
Kepa’s future has become a point of contention, Lampard eager to replace him, but the club does not want to lose the goalkeeper for a reduced fee.