In a shocking turn of events, Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has been appointed as interim Blues boss until the end of the 2022/23 season – a decision that former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan found ‘laughable’ on talkSPORT.
On Chelsea’s decision to appoint their former manager, Jordan said: “I think it would be laughable. I think Frank Lampard was an abject failure towards the end at Everton.
“I think the culture at Chelsea was poor towards the end [of Lampard’s first tenure]. Players that have now gone – I grant you Rudiger – Frank marginalised.
“I’m sorry, Frank’s a nice fella but that’s irrelevant. Why would Frank want to do it? It’s diminishing him. He’d be doing everyone a favour by turning up and getting a gig and second of all, you’ve been down that route. They should get on with appointing a big name manager if that’s what you want to do.”
Lampard has managed Chelsea previously – he was given the job on July 4, 2019, after he left his position at Derby County. At Chelsea, he led the Blues to an FA Cup final in 2020 – sadly, this was one of very few highlights during his Chelsea reign.
After a poor run of form where the Blues won just two out of eight Premier League games, Lampard was officially sacked on January 25, 2021. Following this, he was given the manager’s job at Everton – similarly, he underperformed and was relieved of his duties.
Lampard’s managerial pedigree is shallow at best – however, it may not be such a terrible move. He’s very well respected at the club – perhaps a figurehead such as Lampard could be just what Chelsea need in the short term to bring the feel good factor back to the club the same way Manchester United appointed fan favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to bring positivity and good vibes back to the under-performing Manchester United team at the end of Jose Mourinho’s tenure there.
It seems unlikely Chelsea will follow what United did and make their “feelgood factor” manager in Frank Lampard the permanent boss which United did and ultimately proved to be a bad move as Solskjaer did not produce the results or trophies they craved.