Harry Fletcher
Apr 06, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
In a move almost no-one saw coming, Frank Lampard has been announced as caretaker manager at Chelsea.
The former player and club legend is back in charge after being sacked as first team boss in 2021.
He returns to the club in a shock move following the departure of Graham Potter and ahead of the side’s quarter-final of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
Lampard was sacked after a poor run of form as Chelsea boss two years ago after initially bringing through players like Mason Mount and Reece James into the first team.
He then took over at Everton and lost his job there too after the Toffees found themselves in a relegation battle earlier this season - but not before he gave us a couple of brilliant memes.
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“I’m not getting ahead of myself,” he said at his unveiling. “I want to do the best I can to impact the club in this period and we will see what happens afterwards.
“This is Chelsea Football Club. We don’t want to be in 11th position... For me it’s not about unfinished business. That sounds a bit Hollywood. I just want to work and help the club as much as I can.”
The move has sparked a huge reaction on social media. Here are a few of our favourites:
\u201cMason Mount, now that Lampard is returning.\u201d— \ud83e\udda5 Carl Anka is OOO \ud83e\udda5 (@\ud83e\udda5 Carl Anka is OOO \ud83e\udda5) 1680774239
\u201chttps://t.co/VDg4zmzyE1\u201d— Simpsons England (@Simpsons England) 1680724918
\u201cFrank Lampard has already won against Ancelotti, Pep and Tuchel who are our UCL/ possible opponents \ud83d\udc40\u201d— Janty (@Janty) 1680771256
\u201cunfinished business\u201d— Adam Hurrey (@Adam Hurrey) 1644736103
\u201cMount to Felix when Lampard comes in\nhttps://t.co/8ITEK2SQ97\u201d— \u200f\u064b (@\u200f\u064b) 1680703045
\u201cFrank Lampard coming back to see Ziyech still at the club\u2026\n\nhttps://t.co/3wnvA4GjMp\u201d— Uber Chelsea FC (@Uber Chelsea FC) 1680731160
\u201cLampard walking into Cobham this morning \n\n\u201d— Jai McIntosh (@Jai McIntosh) 1680768562
\u201cFrank Lampard knows the club\u201d— The Exploding Heads (@The Exploding Heads) 1680734076
\u201cFrank Lampard - Managerial Career\n2018\u20132019 - Derby County\n2019\u20132021 - Chelsea\n2022\u20132023 - Everton\n2023 - Chelsea\n2024-25 - Middlesbrough\n2025 - Chelsea\n2025-26 - Vitesse\n2026 - Chelsea\n2026-27 - Levski Sofia\n2027 - Chelsea\n2027-28 - Leatherhead\n2029 - England (Soccer Aid)\u201d— Paul Watson (@Paul Watson) 1680720904
\u201cLampard coming back to save Mount\u2019s Chelsea career\u201d— Sumeet (@Sumeet) 1680716747
\u201cTodd Boehly introducing Lampard to the Chelsea squad\n\nhttps://t.co/6OJSgXZiFA\u201d— Troll Football (@Troll Football) 1680717892
\u201cLampard \u2018haha but no seriously\u2019 memes for 9 weeks\u201d— Zak (@Zak) 1680717176
\u201cSacked Lampard for Tuchel, saw Tuchel win a UCL, sacked Tuchel for Potter & sacked Potter for Lampard 7 months later after he almost relegated Everton\u201d— Dubois (@Dubois) 1680717239
\u201cLampard when asked why he picked a Mount Gallagher RLC midfield \u201d— Dubois (@Dubois) 1680785890
\u201cLampard getting the interim role and \u201caccidentally\u201d handing Mount a 10-year contract\u201d— Sumeet (@Sumeet) 1680707691
\u201cMount seeing Lampard at Cobham today\u201d— Felix (@Felix) 1680767639
Given his return some have speculated that Mason Mount will be brought back into the team, having struggled for first team football. as of late:
“I don’t know enough about it to talk about it, it’d be wrong of me to delve into it,” Lampard said on Mount’s situation. “Mason has always been a fantastic player for me. It’s absolute pleasure to watch him go on and be huge player here.
“I know he’s had a few slight injury problems. I know what I get from Mason, I want to see him perform on the pitch. We have a good relationship, I look forward to seeing him more. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, speaking to people helping me, I have my idea of where I want to go. Credit to Bruno [Saltor, interim manager] and Graham Potter, a good man and a very good coach. Things sometimes don’t align. I have my own ideas.”
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