Four defeats in four - Frank Lampard may never manage again

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 19 Apr 2023 15:26 BST
• 4 min read

Frank Lampard is at risk of never managing again in the Premier League after a disastrous start to his second spell as manager of Chelsea.

Lampard returned this month to Chelsea as interim manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Graham Potter.

It was hoped that Lampard would galvanise the squad in the closing weeks of the campaign in what has been a shambolic season for the club.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea put ENTIRE squad up for sale

But Lampard's return has been an unmitigated disaster so far.

Chelsea have lost all four of their matches, scoring just one goal and conceding seven in defeats to Wolves, Brighton and Real Madrid twice.

The 4-0 aggregate loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday means Chelsea are out of the Champions League with no chance of returning next season.

The performances have been even worse, with Lampard's team selections and in-game changes often bizarre.

The latest example of this was in the second leg of the quarter final on Tuesday when, despite trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Lampard deployed a 3-5-1-1 system with Connor Gallagher as the number 10 and no attackers on the pitch.

Unless Lampard can lead Chelsea to a very strong end to the season, it is hard to see any Premier League club giving him another chance of a job.

Lampard's last 18 matches as manager - at Chelsea and Everton - tells its own story. He has won one, drawn two and lost an incredible 15 of these 18 games.

He was sacked as Everton manager in January after less than a year in charge and with the Toffees down in 19th position in the Premier League.

Lampard's first spell at Chelsea

Lampard’s first spell as manager at Chelsea ended badly also.

After finishing fourth in his first season in charge in 2019-20 and runners-up in the FA Cup, Lampard endured a dismal first half to his second campaign.

Lampard was eventually sacked as Chelsea manager at the end of January 2021 after a dreadful run of form saw the club fall to ninth place in the Premier League table.

Having spent €250 million the summer before on big-name signings such as Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy, this was deemed unacceptable for a club expected to challenge for the Premier League title.

He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who subsequently led Chelsea to Champions League glory at the end of that season.

Lampard's second spell has been even worse than the first so far, and he is now fighting to save what is left of his managerial reputation.