Frank Lampard is facing huge issues at Chelsea because he is in charge of an elite football club despite not being an elite manager.
This is according to Arsenal great Perry Groves, who believes the Blues players ‘aren’t having Lampard and Jody Morris’ and that Frank accepted the Chelsea job too early in his career.
It’s all going wrong for Lampard right now, as Tuesday’s defeat at Leicester made it just two Premier League wins in the last eight games for Chelsea, with the Foxes moving top of the table.
Chelsea are now all the way down in eighth, nine points behind the league leaders and five points off Liverpool in fourth.
The pressure has been mounting on Lampard since this woeful run began just before Christmas, and now he is favourite to lose his job in the Premier League sack race with the likes of Max Allegri, Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers himself contenders to become the next Chelsea manager.
And Highbury hero Groves thinks the Chelsea players are not responding to Lampard as a manager due to his inexperience and lack of ability in the role.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Sports Bar immediately after the Blues lost 2-0 at the King Power Stadium, Groves said: “With Chelsea, the biggest worry is I don’t think the players are having Frank Lampard and Jody Morris as a coaching team, and they are not having Frank Lampard as a manager.
“There is no intensity and no desire.
“If you look at the goals: the first goal was from a short corner, it’s two-vs-one and nobody reacts to go out.
“The second goal is a long pass, then Jamie Vardy gets the wrong side of Antonio Rudiger who fouls him and all of a sudden James Maddison is completely unmarked.
“You look and think: where is Reece James?
“In the build-up, Reece James is three to four yards goal-side of Maddison, and as the ball travels in the air he gets three yards behind him. That just shows me there isn’t that work ethic and intensity to do your job for the team.
“Lampard played a 4-3-3 again; the midfield three of Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount is not strong enough when you are away at Leicester. It is not physical enough.
“Chelsea’s team is screaming for a 4-2-3-1; that is the best formation.
“But Frank Lampard is not seeing it, he makes no changes at half-time and keeps the same formation!
“I’ve said it before: When he got the job it was too early for him. He was learning his trade, and he did well last year in his free season because there was limited expectation and he couldn’t sign any players.
“But this team has gone backwards with £220m spent on it!
“He’s not an elite manager, and he’s at an elite football club.”
Despite his criticism of Lampard, Groves actually believes the Blues hierarchy will give him more time to turn things around due to his status as a club legend and one of the greatest ever Chelsea players.
Asked if Lampard will be sacked in next 48 hours, Groves replied: “If he wasn’t Frank Lampard, then he would be.
“But because he’s Frank Lampard and he’s a club legend and he was a great player, he might get a little more time.”
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