Amid speculation that Roman Abramovich is considering sacking Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, today we are going to pick the bones out of what is happening at the Blues, and why getting rid of Frank would be a mistake. I sat with the brilliant Roger Wolfson at the beginning of this season and we had a lengthy chat about Chelsea and how this could be a great season for them. So far the team has not been bad but they have failed to live up to the expectations of some. Despite this, the reality is that the season so far has been so strange that Chelsea really are not out of the running for the title, and here is our breakdown of where they are at the halfway stage.
Reasons Not To Get Rid of Frank
We know that Frank Lampard doesn’t have a wealth of experience in this job, but that was known at the point of hiring him, which is why criticizing him for it now would be wrong. Lampard is learning on the job and we have to remember the fact that last year he had to scrape through the season with kids, given that he was banned from making any transfers. This was always going to be a transitional year, and that was known before the season began.
New Signings
The club spent big in the summer and welcomed in some fantastic signings. What people so easily forget however is just how tough it is to change clubs and countries, and to settle in right away. There is absolutely no doubt that Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech are world class players and it won’t be long before they start to really show that. These players are still settling in and the Chelsea players are only just getting used to their new teammates. This will take time but it will click very soon.
Down Not Out
Chelsea currently sit in 8th spot, 7 points adrift of Manchester United in 1st and 3 points away from 4th place. Even Frank would tell you that next season would be one where they would have expected to challenge for the title, this is certainly a year early as we are now. This is why there is no real reason to panic here, there are still 20 games remaining and that top 6 is dropping points against teams that you would genuinely expect to beat. With so many dropping points Chelsea just need to sort out the issues and keep on winning. There is no doubt at all that this Chelsea team can finish in the top 4 this season, which is what the aim would have been in the beginning.
Ultimately this is a team with too much talent and until Frank knows his best team, there is no way that he is going to be able to go on a good winning run like the club needs. Having said this, given the wealth of talent, this is a Chelsea team which will be just fine.
Roger Wolfson – How I Went From Zero to Running 5k
