Written on the 25th of October 2019.
On the opening day of the 2019/20 Premier league season, Frank Lampard was the casualty of a Record that stood for over Four decades.The biggest defeat for any Chelsea Manager in their first Official game since 1971. Chelsea lost 4-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Perhaps, not many avid followers of the Beautiful game or even True Blues would’ve predicted that less than three months later, they would be on a Six-game Winning streak in all competitions. Seven points ahead of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s men in 4th place & fresh from a Resounding victory at the “Amsterdam ArenA” against an Ajax team that averages 3.1 goals/game in the Dutch Eredivisie this term.Lampard’s return to his old stomping ground as manager has been an eventful one to say the least. His predecessors may have looked forward to a massive transfer budget upon their appointment, but the Englishman didn’t have such luxury. Apart from the transfer ban placed upon them by Football’s governing body (FIFA), he was faced with the challenge of making Chelsea feel like Chelsea again & most importantly, do what no Manager under the Roman Abramovich era has ever done – Make use of their Talented youth players. He didn’t have a choice, right?In the 21st Century, no Club has won more FA youth cups than the Blues. They’re also the most successful & the last English side to win the UEFA Youth league. This hasn’t stopped the Chelsea Front Office from loaning numerous talents to other European sides. 43 Chelsea players were on loan in 2018/19 & as expected, the eyes of the world looked carefully on what was going to unfold.In 1999, a 20yr old Frank Lampard was part of a West Ham team that benefited from Harry Redknapp’s belief in youth. The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole & Michael Carrick may have won over 50 trophies between them, but none of that would’ve been possible if Redknapp hadn’t given them a chance in a team that featured the great Paolo di Canio in it. Lampard replied to a question from Nigerian Sports Journalist, OJ Babatunde, just few hours after Michy Batshuayi had sunk Ten Haag’s men at the death; on the part the Transfer ban played on his plans & his reply was a perfect explanation of what he’s done so far. “My Feeling when i got the job was that the time had come for these young players & I know them well & trust them. My Idea was to give these young players to show that they deserve to play. I would rather not have had a transfer ban because this is a club that always tried to improve. Turns out we didn’t have the opportunity to do so. People think that the choice of the players is a necessity, I’ve got to play Mason Mount & Tammy Abraham. That’s a disservice to Olivier Giroud & Michy Batshuayi & also a disservice to Ross Barkley. I have options in the squad and it’s a very strong group at the moment.”What struck me was Lampard’s emphasis on “Trust”. Fikayo Tomori & Mason Mount may be key figures of his Chelsea side this term, but not many knew they were the Mainstay in the Derby County side that made the Championship Play-offs & knocked out Jose Mourinho’s Man Utd in the Carabao cup last season. The two made the starting team for a combined 78 times, out of a possible 88. That’s a staggering number of games for two players with an average age of 20.After a slow start to the season, The All-time record Goalscorer of the “Pride of London” finally got his 1st win at the Bridge. Chelsea eased past League 2 side, Grimsby Town 7-1 in the Carabao Cup. The Matchday squad featured ten academy graduates. A defining moment in the “New Abramovich Era”. Lampard’s belief in youth now looks to be paying off. Chelsea’s win in Amsterdam was a fantastic proof of his work so far. The Blues had what has been lacking from Antonio Conte’s ill-fated last season to Maurizio Sarri’s Italian version of Total football; Pragmatism & Grit. A back three of Zouma, Azpilicueta & Tomori thwarted all attacking moves from Last season’s Semifinalist. Lampard perhaps showed his Managerial masterstroke by bringing in Pulisic & Batshuayi just five minutes apart. The latter known for scoring vital late winners (From the goal that won Conte the league in 16/17 to sinking Diego Simeone’s men in one of the final games at the Estadio Vincente Calderón). It proved to be a Chess-master move as Daley Blind & Tagliafico found it difficult to contain the duo. It all culminated in a Memorable 1-0 win.Frank Lampard is just in his second year as a Football Manager at the highest level, of course there would be some Bad periods were results do not go his way (who doesn’t have them?), but he’s en route to re-establishing a club Jose Mourinho made special almost two decades ago. There is a saying that “Not all great footballers make great managers”. It sure looks like the 2005 FIFA Player of the year Silver Award Winner is here to rewrite history.
Dezreport 