Frank Lampard will have known more than anyone that when a Chelsea manager goes on a bad run that the consequences can be dire.
During his playing career in the west of the capital, Chelsea's record goalscorer saw his fair share of managers come and go through the doors of Stamford Bridge. Lampard will have been under no illusions when he took the job.
A fourth-place finish under a transfer embargo and having sold Eden Hazard to Real Madrid was a brilliant achievement for Lampard in his first season. It exceeded all expectations and Roman Abramovich will have been thrilled.
But no matter how much of a club legend you are, that doesn’t change the fact that if you are working for the Russian owner then you need to be getting results. You are not judged on the style of play, or the number of youth players that you bring through. If you don’t win games, certainly losing five in eight, then you’ll be under pressure in a big way.
You suspect Lampard might have known what was coming. From the defeat to Arsenal where he lambasted his players in public to the dire loss at Leicester City last time out in the Premier League, the writing was on the wall.
It was a question of when, not if.
Maybe that’s why Lampard made Mason Mount his captain for the Luton Town victory. As if to prove a point that “look what I have done with this player, this is what happens when you give youth a chance.”
Mount has featured in 80 of the 84 games Lampard had in charge of Chelsea, which was a remarkable workload for a player who was establishing himself at the top level. Lampard has moulded Mount into one of his best players however and has left a legacy at the club as a manager.
Establishing Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James as Premier League calibre players is something the now former manager can be proud of. You suspect Billy Gilmour would have made the step up sooner rather than later on Lampard’s watch.
Now it seems as though Thomas Tuchel will be the man taking over from Lampard, a coach who is well-known for having fiery confrontations with those above him at a club. It’ll be interesting to see how this move plays out for Chelsea.
Tuchel will have to take on Lampard’s squad, with no time to sign new players before the transfer window shuts on January 31 so he will need to work with the likes of Mount, Abraham and James to enable Chelsea to reach the top four.
That is likely to be the only requirement from Abramovich to Tuchel - get the club in the Champions League. Failure to do that and you suspect we could all be here again in six months time, unless Abramovich is willing to accept a potential Europa League spot or nothing at all and is feeling particularly charitable.
The Russian owner never gives statements on sackings of managers. He broke that mould for Lampard’s dismissal, such is the high regard he has for the club’s record goalscorer.
“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.”
Those words might seem hollow to Lampard, who is now out of a job but you suspect he won’t be for long. A little bit of media work to perhaps tide him over until his next gig, we shall see. But Lampard won’t be out of the dugout for too long.
There was no way he was going to turn down his dream job when it came calling after Muarizio Sarri departed west London. Lampard will have learned a lot over the last 18 or so months and he will be a better manager for it.
But, he knew what was coming. Probably from the moment he shook hands on taking the role.
