Easy Route for Lampard?

A transfer embargo, the loss of Eden Hazard and having to blood multiple you players. Many would argue, and have argued, that now is a particularly difficult time to be Chelsea manager.

It’s certainly true that there a few things stacked against new Blues boss Frank Lampard. They will be difficult to cope with it, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a particularly had time to be the manager of Chelsea.

If anything, it makes it probably the easiest time it’s been since Roman Abramovic took over in 2003.

Since Abramovic’s takeover, Chelsea has been a club driven towards trophies. Claudio Ranieri could not deliver anything, and in came the hottest manager on the planet Jose Mourinho.

Things turned sour, and in came Avram Grant. Then Luiz Felipe Scolari. Then Guus Hiddink, then Carlo Ancelotti, and on and on. Since 2003, there have been 13 different managerial appointments (we’re counting Hiddink), with 12 different managers.

The general remit has been trophies, and most have delivered to some extent. But when the wheels started to come off, it was a quick cut and shut. On to the next boss. Even Roberto Di Matteo - who finally won the most coveted prize of them all, the Champions League - was given the boot just a few months into the following season.

Tired of just being gruelling winners, Chelsea brought in Maurizio Sarri for the 2018-19 season. The Italian had delighted with his attacking football at Napoli. But the squad and Sarri didn’t quite align, and the ex-banker was more happy enough to leave for Juventus. You can hardly blame him, considering the treatment he was given from his own fans.

But now, an old favourite is home. Lampard is a Chelsea legend and rightly so. He is their record goalscorer and was a key part of their success during his playing career. Football fans are painfully fickle but there should still be plenty of goodwill for him.

And then there are the circumstances to consider. The embargo, the loss of Hazard, the youth players. They make life tough, but also give Lampard something of a free pass.

If Chelsea don’t finish in the top four, it would be understandable. There is no particular hunger for a trophy. Only for a rebuild, to bridge the gap while under a transfer embargo and help embed the youth.

That said, it’s hardly like Chelsea’s youth players are a bunch of untested nobodies. Tammy Abraham has Premier League experience, and has scored goals for fun in the Championship. And Mason Mount put in some stellar performances last season for Derby under Lampard too. He is rated as one of the best young English footballers.

And throughout the team, there is still quality. With players such as N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud and Pedro, it’s hardly like the Chelsea squad is devoid of any proven Premier League players.

It’s far from perfect, but the situation is not as bleak as it may seem. These issues will still likely give Lampard something of a free pass though, with little expectation to win trophies.

It is something unheard of for Chelsea managers in the Abramovic era. Lampard is probably the first manager to be in such a situation under the Russian. While his circumstances aren’t ideal, they afford him time to try and develop himself as a manager, without such a large amount of pressure on results.

That considered, now is an easier time than any to be Chelsea manager.