20 April 2023 , 15:00
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There are plenty of excuses, plenty of mitigating circumstances, but there is no disguising Frank Lampard’s struggles as the manager of a Premier League football club.
He is on one horrendous run, losing 15 and drawing two of his last 18 matches.
Yes, he walked back into a basket case of a club when accepting the bizarre invitation to keep the bench warm for Julian Nagelsmann or whoever is next but that does not excuse the performances of his team so far. Todd Boehly’s buffoonery is, understandably, being highlighted as the root cause of Chelsea’s problems but Graham Potter did not perform well and Lampard is faring no better.
In his second stint as Chelsea manager, Lampard has lost four out of four and his side has managed 11 shots on target across those fixtures. The only goal they scored came from an outlandish deflection. It is dismal stuff.
Lampard might wonder what he let himself in for when he answered Chelsea’s call, not just a couple of weeks ago but, more pertinently, just under four years ago when he made the jump from Derby County.
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However, the lure of a big Premier League club is often irresistibly strong, not to mention lucrative.
It is a lure that might well be dangled in front of Michael Carrick this summer, whether or not he takes Middlesbrough into the top flight via the Championship play-offs.
There are strong suggestions David Moyes will leave West Ham United at the end of this season and Carrick would surely be on the shortlist for that gig.
Carrick has made his mark at Middlesbrough since taking over with the side in relegation trouble (Getty Images)But he has only been a permanent manager in his own right for six months. They have been six very impressive months, granted, his transformation of Chuba Akpom a testimony to Carrick’s coaching nous. Akpom is the leading scorer in a team that tops the Championship goal charts - a team that averages over two goals and two points per match under Carrick.
He has quickly developed a high-energy style and the plaudits are coming thick and fast.
Carrick clearly has the long-term potential to be an excellent English manager at the highest level but we said that about two men whose playing careers distracted many from Carrick’s fantastic talent.
And Lampard has crashed and burned at Chelsea and Everton and Steven Gerrard has done the same at Aston Villa.
Lampard has seen his Chelsea side lose EVERY match he's been in charge of since returning (Getty Images)Lampard has very little to gain from his final seven games in charge at Stamford Bridge and a lot to lose. Win them all and he still won’t get the permanent gig, lose them all and his managerial reputation will take another clean, painful blow.
A lot of great managers begin their careers by establishing a body of work and a style over a decent period of time. Lampard did not do that. Carrick can do it at Middlesbrough, even if promotion does not happen this time around.
He has good boardroom support, a good fanbase, a good staff. The foundation he would get from at least a couple of seasons at Middlesbrough would be ideal for a long career in the top echelons of management.
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Of course, we know how it can go. Carrick could take Middlesbrough up, they could be bottom after a dozen or so matches and he could get the boot.
But you would like to think Steve Gibson and Carrick already have a mutual trust and admiration that would ensure that does not happen.
Within the game, there is a widespread expectation that Carrick will, indeed, make it to the very top. But if he wants to know the dangers of making too big a leap too soon, then he only needs to look at Lampard.