Frank Lampard’s startling admission that Chelsea players are not fit enough offered another window into the problems at the club, as fan anger grows towards Todd Boehly.
Co-owner Boehly was confronted by frustrated supporters from the West Stand above the directors’ box during Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat by Brighton.
Two fans are understood to have questioned Boehly over his appointment of Lampard, who has now lost three straight games since being named caretaker manager. Blaming Lampard feels unfair, but the anger among Chelsea fans is clear.
A major factor behind the defeat was what Lampard described as a lack of “capacity”, a word he used three times in his post-match press conference. The data showed Chelsea were simply outrun by Brighton after Lampard tried to implement a man-to-man, high-pressing system.
Lampard defended his team’s intention to implement the plan, but he has inherited a squad of players that he feels are not as fit as their Premier League rivals.
“The team needs some physical work,” he said. “That’s important, because at this level you have to be right on the limit, and we are not on the limit. That can be a capacity thing with the players for whatever reason. It doesn’t matter how we got there, but it needs to be addressed now.”
The fitness issue in the squad is another result of the chaos behind the scenes at Chelsea. A 32-man senior squad is hard to manage, so individual coaching work for struggling members of the squad has not been to the same level.
There has also been huge staff turnover since the Boehly-Clearlake takeover last year, including the sackings of head physio Thierry Laurent and medical director Dr Paco Biosca. They left before an injury crisis hit the squad when Graham Potter was in charge, when up to 12 players were out at a given time.
Potter would admit that the injuries were not simply down to luck, with both Reece James and Wesley Fofana suffering setbacks during their reintroduction process into the first team.
The feeling among some supporters is that co-owners Boehly and Eghbali have botched their first season
James’s personal trainer, James Ralph, also expressed anger towards the club in an Instagram post last year: “I need to bite my tongue despite having a lot to say.” His view echoes those felt by others in similar situations at the club.
The turnover of players was matched by a gutting of senior backroom staff. In hindsight, a careful and slow change was needed and not an immediate overhaul of key departments.
That backdrop has left a difficult situation for Lampard, who says his training sessions are at a “low level” due to the workload of playing every three days. His ability to play his preferred back four and high-intensity style of play seems hindered, and is working against him as he aims to oversee a comeback against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Chelsea are 2-0 down from the first leg in Madrid and, if they are knocked out of the Champions League, Lampard will use free midweeks to work on the fitness of the players. But Chelsea will have nothing left to play for, with the Blues closer to rock-bottom Southampton than fourth-placed Newcastle.
The feeling among some supporters is that co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have botched their first season.
Despite spending more than £600million on transfers, Chelsea are on course to record their lowest points total and goals tally ever in the Premier League.
Fans unfurled a “Welcome Home Super Frank” banner on Saturday, but boos at the final whistle signalled an early end to the brief honeymoon period afforded to the owners for appointing a club legend.
