Chelsea sack Lampard LIVE: Abramovich issues statement as Thomas Tuchel to be appointed new manager
Frank Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea and is set to be replaced by the former PSG manager Thomas Tuchel
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Chelsea have sacked head coach Frank Lampard today, with former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel set to replace him.
Chelsea defeated Luton Town 3-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday thanks to a Tammy Abraham hat-trick, but it appears that result has not relieved the pressure on Lampard, whose side have underwhelmed in the Premier League this season despite the club having spent £222m on transfers last summer. The Blues brought in striker Timo Werner, midfielders Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, defenders Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva, as well as goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, but sit ninth in the top-flight table on 29 points – 11 behind leaders Manchester United at the exact midway point of their Premier League campaign.
Former Chelsea midfielder Lampard was appointed head coach at Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2019/20 season following a term as manager at championship side Derby, a role that marked the first senior coaching role of his career. And the 42-year-old’s inexperience at the top level has told this season. Follow live updates below as the news emerges.
‘RE-SIGN RICE’ CAUSED RIFT
Frank Lampard’s insistence to re-sign Declan Rice from West Ham caused a rift between himself and the Chelsea hierachy.
According to The Athletic Lampard wanted the club to sign the West Ham midfielder and pushed for him again ahead of January.
But some at Chelsea had reservations about re-signing an expensive player who was released from their own academy as a teenager and it didn’t happen.
LAMPARD’S CHELSEA STATS
Coupled with Roman Abramovich’s well known ruthlessness is sacking managers Frank Lampard's statistics as Chelsea boss go some way to explaining the decision to let him go.
Lampard's points-per-game average of 1.67 ranks as the 4th lowest of any Blues boss in the Premier League.
In the Roman Abramovich era, only Andre Villas-Boas (47.5%) has a worse win rate in all competitions amongst permanent Chelsea managers than Lampard (52.4%).
The club also rank fifth for total points taken in the league since the start of last season with 95, five points less than Leicester and 11 fewer than Manchester United.
TUCHEL FAVOURITE TO REPLACE LAMPARD
In their official statement about Frank Lampard’s sacking Chelsea stated ‘The Club will be making no further comment until such time as a new Head Coach is appointed.’
Thomas Tuchel is the hot favourite to replace Lampard with Sky Germany reporting that he will be in charge for Chelsea’s game against Wolves on Wednesday evening.
The favourite to replace Frank Lampard as Chelsea manager
The Chelsea hierarchy have lost faith in the club legend who is set to be sacked on Monday
ABRAMOVICH TALKS LAMPARD
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has thanked Frank Lampard for his integrity and work ethic but an official statement from Chelsea Football Club states that due to current performances and results a change in manager was needed.
Abramovich said:
This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him.
“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.
“On behalf of everyone at the Club, the Board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as Head Coach and wish him every success in the future. He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.”
LAMPARD SACKED
Frank Lampard sacked by Chelsea with Thomas Tuchel set to replace him
Former Blues midfielder leaves the club ninth in the Premier League table, 11 points off top spot after a summer transfer window of massive spending
‘I’M A FIGHTER’
Speaking before yesterday’s match versus Luton Frank Lampard said:
I’m a fighter first and foremost. It’s how I managed to make a career out of the game as a player. When I packed up, I could have easily stayed in the media or come out of football altogether.
"I didn’t need to get back in. I got back in with a desire to be successful. I didn’t have blinkers on. I knew that there will be tough times and things that you can’t control like you did as a player."
HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?
The moment he goes on a bad run of four-five games, Chelsea will decide to make a change,
“Lampard won’t last long if there is a serious downturn in form, especially after all the money that’s been spent. He’s in a very precarious situation and I can only see it going one way.”
That’s a quote from one of The Athletic’s sources from back in August 2020 after Lampard spent £222million on new signings over the summer.
Lampard’s relationship with influential Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia apparently deteriorated and Ralf Rangnick was offered the top job on an interim basis last week but turned it down.
RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann was on the list to take over before a deal was struck with Thomas Tuchel before the Luton game.
TUCHEL AGREED TO CHELSEA JOB BEFORE LUTON
Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella reports that Thomas Tuchel had verbally agreed to take over as Chelsea manager before the Blues defeated Luton Town 3-1 in yesterday’s FA Cup fourth round:
ABRAMOVICH AIMING FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Reportedly Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich decided to sack Lampard in a bid to save Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Thomas Tuchel’s reported appointment is aimed at bringing the best of out new signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, his fellow German compatriots.
Tuchel’s appointment will also be seen as somewhat of a risk, given Chelsea were warned off him during Antonio Conte’s reign because of his fall-outs with his former employers.
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