“He will feel that he was pretty harshly treated” – Alan Shearer claims Frank Lampard was ‘used’ by Chelsea
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard is back into management after taking over proceedings in the Everton dugout. This is his third job since he first started at Championship side Derby County back in 2018. After a successful season with the Rams, the Blues swooped in and offered their legend a job at the club.
However, Lampard wasn't able to deliver on the high expectations that the Chelsea job demands and was sacked after a season and a half in January 2021. The west London club definitely do not regret that decision one bit.
Thomas Tuchel immediately improved their team and helped them to a Champions League title in just six months. It was a sad end for the former Chelsea midfielder as boss, given his legendary status at the club. The fans wished that he would succeed but the results had stopped coming after a point.
The Premier League's all-time top scorer Alan Shearer, who often appears as a pundit, always spoke encouragingly of Lampard when he was managing the Blues. The legendary striker came out in support of the former midfielder turned manager while speaking to Premier League productions.
"He will feel that he was pretty harshly treated at Chelsea. Perhaps he feels that he was used at Chelsea, for who he was and the situation that they were in."
When Lampard arrived at the west London club in 2019, a transfer ban was imposed on the club for having players under the permitted age on trial without their proper registration. Shearer thinks that despite this handicap, the former Chelsea boss has done a decent job in his time at the Premier League giants.
"I think he did a reasonable job, given the circumstances, when he couldn’t sign and he had to play a few of the youngsters. And they were successful for him."
The former Newcastle United striker has backed the 43-year-old to use his experience from his previous jobs, put it to good use at Everton and succeed. He said:
"I think he could do a good job at Everton and he will certainly want to."
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard tastes Premier League defeat on his return to management
Frank Lampard took over from Rafael Benitez at Goodinson Park and took the job with the Toffees in a state of mess. In the last 15 Premier League games, Everton have only won just once. They currently sit in the 16th position with 19 points, with only a two-point cushion on the relegation zone.
Lampard's first game in-charge felt like Everton could have some sort of new manager bounce when they cruised to a 4-1 victory in the FA Cup against Brentford. But those hopes did not last long as the Merseyside club were outclassed by Newcastle United in the away fixture.
The former Chelsea boss handed debuts to winter signings Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek from the bench, but the two could not impact the game in any manner. Everton looked all over the place and hardly got a grip on the game. Their defending was lazy and their lack of urgency was visible.
Eddie Howe's side were better in every department in their 3-1 victory and would feel really encouraged as they are finally out of the relegation zone. Lampard needs to put his thinking cap on and do whatever he can to get the best out of his players. Otherwise, a relegation battle doesn't look too far off at this point.