Official: Frank Lampard appointed Caretaker Manager until the end of the season

[CarefreeMuratcan]

Chelsea FC has announced that Frank Lampard has been named Caretaker Manager until the end of the season.

The move marks a return to Stamford Bridge for Frank who enjoyed an illustrious playing career with the Blues, winning the Premier League on three occasions and the UEFA Champions League in Munich. He managed the club for 84 games, including guiding us to an FA Cup final.

Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said:

'We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. 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.

'We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.'

 

[Rob B]

Football is about emotion and sentiment for me,  so watching his press conference a moment ago,  I’m on cloud 9.

Absolutely idolise the guy.   And I’m gonna put my neck on the line too, I think he’s gonna do well. 

[Blue Moon]

36 minutes ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.'

Really? So he can make a pitch for a striker?

[thevelourfog]

Really interested to see what the reception will be at the Brighton game.

Also really interested to see how, if at all, performances (ideally results, but the brutal truth is they don't hugely matter between now and May) change. It's harsh, but I think we already know Lampard is not an outstanding coach. So how much difference will just not being Potter make? It would not surprise me if the answer is ... A lot!

Hopefully he does well enough to get a job offer at a good level soon after, but not well enough for Boehly's itchy fingers to reach for the stack of eight year contract proformas!

[JaneB]

6 minutes ago, Rob B said:

Football is about emotion and sentiment for me,  so watching his press conference a moment ago,  I’m on cloud 9.

Absolutely idolise the guy.   And I’m gonna put my neck on the line too, I think he’s gonna do well. 

This is what worries me.  I'm watching his press conference and welling up already and I don't want to feel like that.

As for what he said about Mason Mount..... 

[thevelourfog]

1 minute ago, JaneB said:

This is what worries me.  I'm watching his press conference and welling up already and I don't want to feel like that.

As for what he said about Mason Mount..... 

What did he say?

[JaneB]

5 minutes ago, thevelourfog said:

What did he say?

Well I can't remember word for word but all the right things!!  He was asked specifically about him.  He was full of praise, 'been a fantastic player for me' and looking forward to having lots of chats with him etc. etc.

He did say (from memory) that 'I know what I get with Mason.....'        In other words  'I have no doubts about him whatsoever' 

[My Blood Is Blue]

Welcome back Frank! Personally, I am delighted to see him back for the remainder of the season.

Im not expecting him to make a huge difference in terms of where we end up finishing, but it somehow feels better to me that we have a Chelsea man in charge to get us to the end of this really ridiculous and painful season. He’ll bring a bit of a buzz back to the bridge and to Cobham and will lift the spirit of a group of players who have had their confidence wiped out.

Frank may or may not leave us in a better position in the league table when he leaves, but he will leave us in a better position in terms of morale and confidence, which will be a good thing for whoever takes over.

Good luck Frank, thanks for coming back, again.

[JaneB]

Lampard delighted to be back at ‘his club’ | News | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club (chelseafc.com)

[Bob Singleton]

 

[Max Fowler]

Loved watching Frank's press conference.

I do think it's a bit of a cynical ploy from the owners at getting fan support, but I have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

He may not be the best manager around but he's great at understanding the emotion in football (see Everton).

I do think this is a great opportunity for him to resurrect his career - he couldn't turn us down.

Imagine if he delivered us the CL. Would put him back on the map as a manager and would be an incredible story.

SU-PER, SU-PER FRANK!

[My Blood Is Blue]

3 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

Loved watching Frank's press conference.

I do think it's a bit of a cynical ploy from the owners at getting fan support, but I have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

He may not be the best manager around but he's great at understanding the emotion in football (see Everton).

I do think this is a great opportunity for him to resurrect his career - he couldn't turn us down.

Imagine if he delivered us the CL. Would put him back on the map as a manager and would be an incredible story.

SU-PER, SU-PER FRANK!

Yep, not ashamed to say that the club and owners have got me on this one, it’s a very smart move. 

Gives me a reason to keep invested in the remainder of this season now, in addition to the CL.

[Mark Kelly]

I cannot see a scenario where giving it to Frank to see out the season can be anywhere near as bad as giving it to Potter or Potter-Lite that we had against Liverpool.

I think the owners have had a first year from hell and it's entirely of their own making but I like Frank being back even if its just for a bit.

[chara]

After the blanket of grey sludge over Chelsea for the season.... ( all the trauma of the last one...HMG induced.).and all of us ,the sheer pleasure of seeing Frank back at SB without pressure is like watching a glorious sunrise.

Nothing to do with the harsh reality of the game and none of us have any expectations for the rest of the season except we would all like to smile on match day..the results ..win lose or draw...of no practical importancs. (Still hate to lose.)

Welcome home Frank.

I did I quick none researched self survey and I think I came up with14 players Frank knows well.

Just put out a balanced side and don't insult our football intelligence...not much to ask of anyone ..is it?

Edited April 6, 2023 by chara

[Bob Singleton]

@Mark Kelly  Agreed.  Potter needed to go. Bruno didn't look like he wanted to be in the job on Tuesday. Not sure there were many options available on an interim basis, so Lampard is at least someone who knows the club, knows some 12-15 of the current squad, and has a "connection" with the fanbase. Given some of the decisions the new owners have made, this one could have been a lot worse.

[chara]

I fail to see a down side to all this....Frank is no fool and I'm sure he sees the appt as exactly what it is.an "Interim".

Better Frank than Bruno ..or anyone for that matter...nothing to prove and although wonderful to dream of the "Big One" it;s hard to see that as anything but a dream...(on the other hand..."If You don't have a dream...how you have a dream come true?")

As mentioned elsewhere his first season had a lot of positives and the three players who arrived with a fanfare and the "answers" proved to be quite the opposite...and still are...one is still sulking it seems and the other one appears to still be recovering from the bad covid!

Lets just enjoy as best we can seeing a Chelsea identity for the rest of the season.

[Blue Moon]

... and, let's be honest, a son of Frank Lampard Senior is unlikely not to have inherited the ability to kick the odd arse or two.  Maybe what is needed. Who knows, we might just get a cup after all ... Leicester did, against all the odds ... onwards and upwards ...

[jasonb]

Have a feeling we will rise to 6th in the table and reach a CL final, thought this before Frank yet had thought I had it wrong under Potter.

Now think it is on again as Frank's personality fires them up for a dynamic end to the season.

[blueandproud]

Welcome back club legend, albeit temporarily.  Proper Chels and a bright intelligent man.  I'd rather him than some other people I could mention.

Good luck for the rest of the season Frank!

[Michael Tucker]

6 hours ago, blueandproud said:

Welcome back club legend, albeit temporarily.  Proper Chels and a bright intelligent man.  I'd rather him than some other people I could mention.

Good luck for the rest of the season Frank!

This. 

[ROTG]

Hopefully Frank had done some lessons learned from his stints at chelsea and Everton.

My number one LL for Frank is to be active in the technical area for 90 minutes coaching the side with arms waving, encouraging the players arguing with the dippers coaching staff etc. I was never a fan of frank standing or sitting in the technical area with his arms folded and looking bemused/p*ssed off. If he does that this time the team will follow suit and we are back to Team GP of zero confidence and will collapse like a house of cards.

[xceleryx]

Quite happy to have Frank back on board. No real expectations and a bit of a free hit for him until the end of the season, even if all gain is a bit of enthusiasm injected back into things. 

Looking forward to seeing what his first squad will look like.

[ROTG]

2 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Quite happy to have Frank back on board. No real expectations and a bit of a free hit for him until the end of the season, even if all gain is a bit of enthusiasm injected back into things. 

Looking forward to seeing what his first squad will look like.

One hope he can raise the bar in performance by utilizing the players he knows and trust.

Measuring if Frank is quite simple IMO

Team GP Last 9 PL  games "not including Bruno's game against the dippers: Played 9, Home 5, Away 4 = 10 points

SFL remaining 9 PL games: Home 4, Away 5 - total Points 27  ; SFL marking after 9 Games: 0-8pts  Should have stuck with Team GP,  9pts GP Clone, 10 - 15pts Good Upward trend for next head coach, 16-20pts  Excellent, 21 - 27pts Outstanding. and thanks SFL for getting the team into the top 6 and here is your bonus from TB Bye..

 

[Ham]

2 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Quite happy to have Frank back on board. No real expectations and a bit of a free hit for him until the end of the season, even if all gain is a bit of enthusiasm injected back into things. 

Looking forward to seeing what his first squad will look like.

If his first 11 includes Havertz as a striker, I'm done. 

 

 

[martin1905]

40 minutes ago, ROTG said:

One hope he can raise the bar in performance by utilizing the players he knows and trust.

Measuring if Frank is quite simple IMO

Team GP Last 9 PL  games "not including Bruno's game against the dippers: Played 9, Home 5, Away 4 = 10 points

SFL remaining 9 PL games: Home 4, Away 5 - total Points 27  ; SFL marking after 9 Games: 0-8pts  Should have stuck with Team GP,  9pts GP Clone, 10 - 15pts Good Upward trend for next head coach, 16-20pts  Excellent, 21 - 27pts Outstanding. and thanks SFL for getting the team into the top 6 and here is your bonus from TB Bye..

 

Completely unfair.

Look at Potters last 9 games, only 3 teams who were in the top half of the league and only Tottenham in the top 4.

Liverpool (a)

Fulham (h)

West Ham (a)

Southampton (h)

Tottenham (a)

Leeds (h)

Leicester (a)

Everton (h)

Villa (h)

Our next 9 games which have  6 teams in the top half but also  the entire top 4 and 5 of the top 6.

Wolves (a)

Brighton (h)

United (a)

Brentford (h)

Arsenal (a)

Bournemouth (a)

Forest (h)

City (a)

Newcastle (h)

The only two teams we have beaten this season, that we have left to play are Bournemouth and Wolves.

Potter achieved 9 points in the reverse fixtures so that would be a better guide on how to judge Frank, if you feel the need to.