It has been another remarkable week in the history of Chelsea Football Club.
Head coach Graham Potter was sacked and then a member of his retained backroom staff, assistant coach Bruno Saltor, was put in charge for a Premier League game against Liverpool even though he had never picked a senior team before.
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Those two incidents provide enough to write about in themselves but now Frank Lampard, a great player for the club who was dismissed as head coach by Chelsea in January 2021 and by struggling Everton three months ago, has returned to be caretaker manager for the rest of the season.
Naturally, all this has led to Chelsea’s decision-making coming under a lot of scrutiny once again, so The Athletic has compiled a list of questions and answers to serve as a summary of the overall situation…
How did we get here?
To state the obvious, none of this was planned. Concern and doubts over Potter’s position had been growing since the 2-0 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur in February, despite a three-game winning streak last month putting the negative momentum on hold. But it is not as if the home game against Aston Villa last Saturday was billed as a ‘win or else’ situation for him.
The team Potter selected, particularly with Reece James and Marc Cucurella being played at centre-back when Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah were on the bench, was a topic of discussion up in the directors’ box. The 2-0 Villa win that followed was a disappointment, yet while conversations among the Chelsea hierarchy took place overnight, no firm decisions were made.
To emphasise this, the following morning the club’s media department sent out invites to the pre-match press conference for the Liverpool game on Tuesday night. It would be taking place around lunchtime on Monday, with Potter.
But co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley spoke to Potter within a few hours of that communication and at 8pm the club released a statement confirming his services were no longer required. There was sadness on all sides, but it was felt things had to change as was revealed in this in-depth read on what went wrong.
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With little time left before the Liverpool game, Bruno was put in charge along with another of Potter’s assistants, Bjorn Hamberg. The club’s under-21s coach Mark Robinson was also in the dugout for the match at Stamford Bridge.
But it was quickly decided that this setup could only be a short-term solution, and not just because of their lack of experience before a Champions League tie against the holders Real Madrid. Bruno and Hamberg found the situation difficult given their loyalty to Potter, who they had also worked with at previous employers Brighton.
When did they first come up with this plan?
The presence of Lampard at the Liverpool match — the first opportunity he had taken to see a game at Stamford Bridge since being sacked 14 months earlier, seemed more than a coincidence. His attendance had been arranged a fortnight earlier by the club’s director of football development and operations Neil Bath, who knows Lampard well having worked at Chelsea for more than 20 years.
And, in fact, Chelsea had first explored the possibility of Lampard returning weeks ago, before the morale-boosting win against Dortmund on March 7 that bought Potter more time. The club shifted through the gears once Potter was dismissed.
A major factor to take into account is the pursuit of a permanent successor for Potter. Stewart and Winstanley began drawing up a wishlist several weeks ago — all clubs do this so that all scenarios are covered.
Chelsea do not want to rush the process, knowing the importance of getting this decision right after firing two head coaches — Thomas Tuchel departed in September — this season already.
Contact has been made with candidates and Julian Nagelsmann, recently ditched by German champions Bayern Munich, and ex-Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique the main favourites at this stage. In Nagelsmann’s case, he does not want to take on another post until the summer and his situation is further complicated by him still being contracted to, and receiving compensation from, Bayern.
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Employing a caretaker manager to see out the campaign is seen as an ideal way to take the pressure off, and the notion of employing an interim coach from outside the club began to be flagged from Sunday.
Final negotiations with Lampard took place on Wednesday and terms were agreed then, although the 44-year-old did not sign his contract until the day after, before media duties yesterday afternoon.
So, why Lampard?
As the former Chelsea midfielder said, he knows this club. “I’m confident in myself, have a good understanding of the squad, I’ve worked with a lot of them before, but also the training ground, the stadium, the fans, what Chelsea fans want.”
Lampard has managed Chelsea in the Champions League, reaching the last 16 in his 2019-20 year and winning their group the following season before January replacement Tuchel went on to navigate them through the knockout stages to lift the trophy.
His in-depth knowledge of the west London club he played for from 2001-14 and of several members of the squad means he is comfortable taking over, needing no settling-in period — something that is vital with a Champions League quarter-final first leg away to holders Real Madrid coming up on Wednesday and the return six days later.
But a key factor is the galvanising impact on much of the fanbase, particularly the match-going supporters. Regardless of how his first spell as coach ended and that he only lasted a year in his next job at Everton, Lampard is guaranteed to be revered for life at Chelsea because of his exploits as a player. He is their all-time leading scorer with 211 goals and helped them win three Premier League titles, plus the 2011-12 Champions League, during his 13 years.
It is hoped the atmosphere at games will be lifted by having such a popular figure in the dugout and the reaction on social media to his first press conference implied his return was having the desired effect.
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A statement from co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali went a long way to explaining this:
“Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.”
As for Lampard, the decision is a no-brainer. Not only does he get to work for the club he loves most again, it is an unexpectedly quick chance to prove himself as a coach with a member of European football’s elite.
He knows what it takes for a coach to make an impact on a squad when taking over with just a few months left in the season, having played under Guus Hiddink and Roberto Di Matteo in 2009 and 2012 respectively. Hiddink, who took over in February of the 2008-09 season, lifted the FA Cup that May. Di Matteo was promoted from assistant manager in March 2012 and Chelsea won the FA Cup and Champions League under him two months later.
When asked by The Athletic if seeing how those two conducted themselves will help him now, Lampard said: “I’ve got real fond and good memories of both managers. In terms of the success under Robbie (Di Matteo), the Champions League, I saw how he affected the group and the personal relationships he had and the football instincts he had. In Guus’ own way, similarly, he had a great personal touch, great football brain. So those little things that I remember from those periods, I will try and take them because this is a job that is in hand, it’s in front of me, so I’d be stupid not to rely on some things I felt were good, but I also have to do things I think are right now.”
A small delay in announcing his backroom team of Joe Edwards, Chris Jones and the former Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, is thought to have been caused by discussions with Everton relating to the terms of their exit, which was all very amicable.
Could Lampard get his old job back permanently?
That is unlikely, although if he takes Chelsea to Champions League victory in Istanbul in June, it would put the board in a difficult situation.
While not completely ruling it out, Lampard is realistic.
After being asked if he had been told the post was only until the end of the season no matter what, he replied: “No, but the role and the explanation of my role speaks for itself in the period that I’m here for. On that term, I’m not getting anywhere ahead of myself. I want to do the best possible role that I can, impact the club in the best way in this period.
“After that, we’ll see what happens.”
The focus will be on looking at and talking to the names on that shortlist of potential permanent successors while Lampard sees out the season’s remaining games.
What impact will this decision have on certain players, starting with Mason Mount?
Mount has been a peripheral figure of late due to a combination of a loss of form and niggling injuries. It will be a surprise if he is not back in the first XI now, though. Lampard is a huge admirer, having taken the attacking midfielder on loan while in his first managerial post with Derby County in the 2018-19 Championship and then played him regularly when Chelsea coach. He made him captain for the first time in what proved the last game of that initial reign, against Luton Town.
There is speculation that Lampard’s return could have a positive impact on Mount agreeing a new contract.
He has just over a year left on his deal and negotiations over an extension have reached an impasse. Several clubs are looking to take advantage of the situation to sign him this summer. Having Lampard back on the scene can only be a help, rather than a hindrance, to efforts to get Mount to stay at Chelsea.
Who else could be affected?
It will be fascinating to see what Lampard does over the goalkeeping situation.
Kepa Arrizabalaga became first choice at Chelsea under Potter, but Lampard dropped the Spain international in favour of Edouard Mendy in 2020. Mendy has not played for the club since November, partly because of injury, and he will surely see this as an opportunity to resurrect his career.
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Another player on the periphery, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, also has cause for optimism. The striker has played for just 131 minutes since his last start in November and was left out of the Champions League squad altogether. But Lampard wanted to sign him for Chelsea in 2020, so clearly rates him.
He also wanted to acquire Mykhailo Mudryk for Everton last summer. The Ukraine international joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk instead in January for an initial £62million. Mudryk has struggled in these early months at Stamford Bridge, but the arrival of Lampard may help.
Given Lampard’s record of trusting academy graduates, they will be encouraged too, although one who might have cause to be concerned is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He has made 28 appearances this season but was loaned to neighbours Fulham when Lampard was first in charge.
Are there any further clues from Lampard’s first spell over who will play?
As has been well documented, a lot of signings have been made in the last two windows, so Lampard will not just be reuniting with players he worked with between the summer of 2019 and January 2021. But from the swollen squad that he will have at his disposal, 13 played various roles under him, with four of those 13 being signed while he was in charge.
A look at the table below demonstrates who Lampard favoured.
Mount was the only player to rack up more than 4,000 minutes under him, and captain Cesar Azpilicueta was trusted with plenty of game time. However, adjusting for available minutes — removing time from our data set where the player was injured or suspended — Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante emerge as two of Lampard’s favourites, both playing over 70 per cent of the possible minutes.
While it is important to remember that Reece James, Hakim Ziyech and Loftus-Cheek had injury issues, it is interesting to see Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic were entrusted with a smaller share of the minutes than the rest.
With a host of new players to contend with, it will be fascinating to see if and how Lampard integrates old favourites into the starting XI.
What are the targets?
There is hope Lampard can help Chelsea progress in the Champions League, but there is recognition of the task at hand. Just beating Real Madrid, currently champions of Spain, Europe and the world, over two legs to make the semi-finals will be some achievement.
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League having played 29 of their 38 matches. A winning run over the remaining nine could still see them qualify for next season’s Europa League or Europa Conference League even if a top-four finish and the Champions League place that goes with it is beyond them (Manchester United are currently fourth, with 14 more points and a game in hand) — and Lampard intimated that is an ambition.
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He said: “European football is really important. We’re in a situation now where we’d all love to get there but the reality is we have to win games to give ourselves a fighting chance of being there. Chelsea has a history of being in Europe but if I set high bars for myself now, they would be useless anyway. It’s more important about how I work.”
(Top photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)