Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board made the ruthless decision to fire Lampard, 42, after 18 months in charge at Stamford Bridge after a run of five defeats in their last eight Premier League games left them five points off the top four.
As recently as Dec. 5, Chelsea were top of the Premier League table but Lampard’s young side have spiralled down the league with poor performances matching their defeats. It is believed the board were concerned with the lack of progress of the squad and that the youngsters lacked confidence.
Add to that over $300 million spent on new players this summer, and pressure was piled on Lampard in just his second season in charge of the club where he is the all-time leading goalscorer.
Thomas Tuchel up next for Chelse
Chelsea said they will ‘be making no further comment until such time as a new head coach is appointed’ but our partners at Sky Germany believe Thomas Tuchel will be in charge in a few days’ time. Maybe even for the game against Wolves on Wednesday.
Tuchel was fired by Paris Saint-Germain in December but his quality as a coach is undoubted and he’s improved young players at Borussia Dortmund and PSG and that will be his main task here. He will also be tasked with improving Chelsea defensively and making them better tactically.
New signings and fellow Germans Kai Havertz and Timo Werner will be his main projects to work on, while Tuchel also coached Christian Pulisic at Dortmund, so this could work out well for the USMNT star as Tuchel really kickstarted his career in the Bundesliga.
Tuchel has long wanted a move to the Premier League and after he guided PSG to the UEFA Champions League final last season, this seemed like this natural next step.
However, this firing seems harsh on Lampard, especially after the transfer ban last season as he guided Chelsea to the top four and the FA Cup final under very tough circumstances. But Chelsea are a ruthless club and Tuchel is one of the top coaches in Europe and is available right now.
The fact that Abramovich made a public statement shows just how much he respects Lampard, as Chelsea’s owner rarely speaks about the club and decisions made.
Lampard’s fate has been sealed, perhaps for a while, but he will likely get another Premier League job after showing glimpses of what he can achieve in tough circumstances
