We rewind to 2001. Coventry made the difficult trip down to the Championship, now the plan was to move back up to the Premier League in a short time. A short time eventually became 25 years. It took a Frank Lampard on the sidelines. For those who have followed the Chelsea legend’s miserable journey as a manager, this is certainly something to celebrate.
Lampard was brought to Chelsea in July 2019 after successfully managing Derby County. In his first season, he led Chelsea to a 4th place finish in the Premier League and the FA Cup final, despite the club being subject to a transfer denial. Expectations were jacked up, but already in January 2021, Lampard was kicked out of Stamford Bridge after a string of poor results. Thomas Tuchel was brought in and led the London club to the Champions League title. Tuchel was left as the saviour, Lampard got no part of the credit for laying the foundation this season.
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Then came another opportunity for Lampard when Chelsea’s new owners pressed the panic button in April 2023 and tipped out Graham Potter. Lampard was supposed to save the rest of the season, but ended up having a substitute that will be remembered for a more or less continuous negative streak of results.
For those of us who loved the English icon as a player, it was heavy to follow Lampard’s fall as a coach. Before his return to Stamford Bridge, Lampard had a very unsuccessful “guest appearance” as Everton manager. After this, he was linked to several coaching jobs, but it was not until 2024 that the opportunity came. Coventry became Lampard’s next club, on Friday he could be hailed as the club’s great hero after promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2001.
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Finally, we could celebrate Lampard again as the winner!
