Another year, another Chelsea manager sacked. Anyone sensing a pattern here? Nonetheless, after Maurizio’s Sarri’s mutual departure, the Chelsea hot seat is once again available.

The current favorite for the job? Frank Lampard. Yes, you heard me correctly. As per The Guardian, Chelsea’s record goal scorer and perhaps greatest player in Chelsea’s history is reportedly set to take the next step in his managerial career, and re-join Chelsea Football Club. After retiring from his playing career in 2017, Lampard was hired as Derby County manager in 2018. Derby County, a club lingering around English football’s 2nd division, was the ideal starting job for Lampard. Lampard pretty much exceeded all expectations, falling just one game short of promotion to the Premier League.

But, with all due respect to Derby County, managing Chelsea is a vastly superior task. Today, I’ll take a look at how we can expect Lampard to set up tactically, his objectives for the season, and how I expect he’ll perform.

Tactics:

One of the main contrasts between Lampard’s coaching and that of Sarri (and before him, Conte), is his ability and willingness to adapt. At Derby County, Lampard used a variety of formations and tactics, adapting to the strengths of his players.

In the first few months, Lampard employed a 4-1-4-1 formation.

But Derby struggled for the first half of the season, leading Lampard to his first major tactical change. Under Lampard, wingers and central midfielders would often swap sides throughout a match, aiming to confuse the opponent with a barrage of positive runs into the box. However, this would cause serious problems for Derby in the midfield, as they’d only have a single defensive midfielder left to progress the play. Teams would often double up on that man, and as a result, Derby couldn’t progress the ball up the field. So, what did Lampard do? He took one of the central midfielders and asked them to drop deep in possession and operate in a double-pivot, essentially playing a 4-2-3-1. Once Derby were able to circulate the ball back up the pitch, that midfielder would simply return to their original role. At Chelsea, this could easily work with two of Kovacic, Jorginho and Kante operating together.

However, although the right concepts are there, it’s an entirely different question of whether or not he can follow through on those ideas. At Derby County, Lampard was no stranger to such problems. For example, although Derby finished 6th under his lead, they also finished in the same position in 2017/18, under previous manager Gary Rowett. Not to mention, the underlying stats for Lampard aren’t anything to write home about. On underlying metrics (xG, xGA, xP), Derby were expected to finish a staggering 19th in the Championship, given the quality of chances they’d created. They relied heavily on goals from set pieces, something which isn’t sustainable over a long period of time in the top flight. Lampard has to add some fluidity and more variation in his attacking philisophies, or Chelsea will find it difficult breaking teams apart.

Objectives:

To be frank, Lampard’s objectives aren’t as simple as finishing in the top 4, as was the case with previous managers. Chelsea are set to take their CAS ban on the chin, meaning they won’t be able to sign any new players until the summer of 2020. To add fuel to the fire,  star player Eden Hazard has left the club, and injuries to young talents Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi only add to the long list of headaches at Chelsea. With no proven striker, two key injuries, no star player, Lampard’s work is clearly cut out for him.

So, what will be expected of Lampard? Personally, I believe a top-6 finish and deep domestic cup run should be considered the target. A club of Chelsea’s stature should never only be aiming for the top 6, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

But, perhaps the real reason for Lampard’s return, is to re-establish a connection with the fans. Let’s be honest, it’s obvious to anyone that Sarri was hounded out of the club for non-football related reasons. The Stamford Bridge faithful simply didn’t connect to Sarri in the way they did with Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte in the past. Frank Lampard is here to re-establish that connection with the fans, and it should prove to be one of his easier tasks.

Overall, the board should expect a top 6-8 finish in 2020 from Lampard, taking into consideration the multitude of problems surrounding the club right now. Even the most optimistic of fans can’t be expecting anything higher than a 4th placed finish. It’s important to consider that Lampard has only 1 year of managerial experience, and is joining a club on the brink of complete collapse. “Collapse” may seem a bit melodramatic, and maybe I’m overreacting, but it’s worrying to see the direction that the club is heading. With rumors of two more ex-players joining Chelsea’s backroom staff (Michael Ballack and Claude Makelele), one can only hope that “bringing the old guard back” is enough to see Chelsea over this hump.

Prediction:

Overall, I think Lampard will achieve his main target, which is to re-establish the connection between the fans and the club. In recent years, Chelsea fans have felt disconnected from the club, as the board continues to remain secretive about p issues. Football in general has become so commercialized, and it’s easy to understand the plights of Chelsea fans. But then again, a line must be drawn. A connection, like hiring an ex-player, shouldn’t be sought at the expense of success. In this case, we’re extremely close to reaching that line. Yes, we all love “Lamps”, our record goalscorer, our legend, and now, our manager. But too many fans are satisfied with just that “connection”, and that shouldn’t be the case. First and foremost, the number one priority is success on the field. If Lampard can bring both, then fantastic.

In regards to the football, I do believe Lampard will initially struggle more than most expect. I don’t think many people realize the magnitude of the job, and the fact that he has no real experience. Were it not for his former ties as Chelsea player, would he really be considered for the job? Having said this, Lampard is certainly a smart individual and I’m sure if he’s given the time, he’ll be able to adapt the circumstances and produce decent results. If he continues with his system of high pressing and direct football, and Lampard should be set for success.

If Lampard is even half the manager he was a player, we’re in for a real treat. And hopefully Lampard’s appointment signals a new era for Chelsea, one of longevity and trust rather than drama and rash decision making. We had the Old Guard Era, the Hazard Era, and now, maybe just maybe, the Lampard Era has begun.