If Everton’s home match with Leeds United didn’t have enough riding on it with the Blues desperate for points to halt their alarming slide down the Premier League table, there is also the added spice of pitting Frank Lampard against his old ‘Spygate’ adversary Marcelo Bielsa.
Back in January 2019 when Lampard was midway through his first season in management with Derby County, a bizarre incident occurred at the Rams’ Moor Farm training ground.
An intruder – complete with what Lampard's assistant Jody Morris described as "bolt cutters" – was arrested and bundled off by police officers after being found lurking in the bushes.
It turned out that the football ‘Peeping Tom’, who observed Lampard putting his team through their paces and going through tactical manoeuvres, had been sent by their forthcoming opponents Leeds United with his car registered to them.
The Yorkshire club’s manager Marcelo Bielsa took the rap for the whole affair and the Argentinian – who still regularly conducts his press conference interviews through an interpreter – even called Lampard to try and explain his actions in broken English.
Fate would have it that the two sides would meet again in the end-of-season promotion play-offs semi-finals in May.
Although Leeds took the initiative with a 1-0 away win in the East Midlands, Lampard’s side stunned them 4-2 at Elland Road in the second leg.
With Lampard and Bielsa about to renew their rivalry at Goodison Park, the ECHO spoke to Richard Cusack, a senior sports writer who covers Derby County home and away plus Conor McGilligan, a football multimedia producer for Leeds United Live.
Richard recalls that he was shocked when the scandal first broke.
He said: “I was stunned. What was a member of Leeds United's staff doing on a main road just outside Derby?
“It was unheard of, really, I'd just never come across this type of incident before.
“There was a lot of emotion around it and it got quite tribal, too, with both sets of fans sticking up for their club.
“It was a real back-and-forth with the next press conference dominated by questions on 'Spygate' rather than a match that had taken place.”
Conor just wonders why Leeds felt the need to do it.
He said: “The 'Spygate' incident was definitely an interesting point in time for Leeds United and Derby County fans.
“Leeds had the upper hand on Derby that season, Frank Lampard was yet to get the better of Marcelo Bielsa as the Whites set a tempo that others struggled to match.
“Frank Lampard really irritated Leeds fans with his comments, the whole saga reignited an old school rivalry between the sides.”
The incident understandably became a hot topic in both regions with both managers discussing their thoughts on the matter.
Richard said: “If I remember rightly Lampard had already conducted his press conference for the game, which was on television on a Friday night.
“I think I speak for most fans of both clubs when I say the interviews before the game were the main event, not the action on the pitch.
“Lampard was really, really annoyed. He didn't like it and didn't think it was appropriate.”
Bielsa in contrast fronted up not just to spying on Derby but all of his opponents!
Connor said: “He did seem bothered, he definitely expressed himself thoroughly in a marathon press conference, one of the best of all time.
“In true Marcelo Bielsa fashion he explained the intricacies of his methodology, the stacks of dossiers lined up against the wall were unique examples of his preparation for games.
“After admitting he had sent people to watch every opponent's training sessions in advance of playing them that season, Bielsa spoke about the high levels of analysis that himself and his staff create.
“It was an hour-long football masterclass, I would say he was annoyed by the level of press attention this got, because for Bielsa – it's all about the football.”
What both our interviewees agree on though is that the whole affair didn’t really have a major impact when it came to events on the pitch despite the furore it caused.
Richard said: “At the time Leeds had Derby's number. They had battered them two games into the new season 4-1 at Pride Park and then eased to victory 2-0 in January a couple of days after the 'Spygate' furore erupted.
“In the Elland Road play-off game Lampard shocked Leeds and Derby fans by switching to a diamond that they couldn't handle and Derby won 4-3 on aggregate.
“Looking back it was all a bit of a fuss over nothing, really, because it soon transpired that Bielsa had gone into so much detail about every player on every club that those PowerPoint presentations alone surely did more to help than any 'spying'.
“Obviously you might be able to get a bit of a hint for team news, that's about all I can really think of that would have given Leeds the edge.
“Derby would have been soundly beaten that night anyway.”
Conor concurred: “I think it's naïve for people to think this isn't a common thing, preparing for an opponent can be done in a range of ways, this type of preparation isn't uncommon.
“The media attention it received really made this into an issue. Derby did overturn the fixture in the end, Leeds imploded, but psychologically 'Spygate' was never a factor on the pitch.”
The bad blood caused by it all continues to resonate though.
From a Leeds point of view, Conor thinks things might have moved on a bit.
He said: “This definitely increased the bad taste both clubs had for each other. Derby fans sided with Lampard, Leeds fans sided with Bielsa.
“The rivalry does seem to have taken on a new level of intensity in recent times.
“However, Derby gave Leeds a guard of honour at the end of the title winning season, which almost put a lid on the matter, for now.”
Richard is not so sure though and asked if it caused ructions among the fans, replied: “Loads. Obviously Derby didn't end up getting promoted and the following season Leeds got a guard of honour at Pride Park for going up as champions.
“Leeds director of football Victor Orta brandished a pair of binoculars at full-time which was a bit childish really.
“Derby and Leeds fans didn't get on anyway due to the Brian Clough and Don Revie fallout all those years ago.
“Rams fans sang about Leeds during their game against Hull City on Tuesday night, a chant that would not be appropriate for publication! As a story the whole thing was just brilliant.”
So with Lampard now in charge of Everton, how do those on either side of the ‘Spygate’ divide reckon he’ll get on with the Blues?
Richard said: “Lampard united the fans like we hadn't seen for a while at Pride Park and that made his departure all the more upsetting.
“The manner in which he left and the long, drawn-out nature of it all left a lot to be desired too but I wish him well.
“Derby had the lowest goal difference of the top six and relied a lot on the loan players like Mason Mount and Harry Wilson for an impact in games. Lampard signed a lot of players and most of them left for free last summer.”
Conor added: “I think Lampard is an interesting one. I thought at Derby he did ok, he was able to call a few favours in (Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori) which helped massively.
“However, you never felt an expectation at Derby, Chelsea was a similar one, the transfer ban enabled Lampard to call on youth players to take the club forward – when given funds, consequently the expectation grew and it didn’t work.
“Everton fans demand a certain level, they’ve spent a fair bit and will now expect results, can Lampard deliver this in a relegation dogfight? We will have to see.
“I do think on the contrary his man management skills will be the perfect stimulant for Everton at the minute.
“He has many young players at his disposal, which is where Lampard thrives. I think he’ll do ok.”
