Frank Lampard's return to Chelsea was not expected when Graham Potter was sacked on Sunday night. It was not feasible when Thomas Tuchel departed in September 2022. Very few ever thought he'd be in the Chelsea home dugout again when he was sacked in January 2021. Yet here we are.
The Blues have turned to their all-time top scorer and one of their greatest ever players in a time of need. This is, as he said, his club. Even in a time where Chelsea are far from the same club structurally to the one Lampard played for, less so again to the one he managed, a familiar face and voice has come back.
With a squad of players so large that they physically can't fit in the same changing room, a calming presence and club legend has the job of settling the ship. There is little pressure on the 44-year-old given he can't lose ground in the minds of the fans, only create new memories and help write new chapters in an already fairytale story.
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Lampard doesn't want the Hollywood ending though, he has already admitted as much. What he can do, more than anything, is help to spark a club that has lost a large chunk of itself over the past 13 months or so since it was put up for sale. "I'm confident in myself, have a good understanding of the squad, of course I've worked with a lot of them before," he said upon his second unveiling.
"But also the training ground, the stadium, the fans, what Chelsea fans want and I'll do my upmost in this period to give them what they want with my own hard work." That is Lampard through and through, Chelsea through and through. It is a strange atmosphere though.
Lampard signed Kai Havertz, gave Mason Mount his debut, purchased Hakim Ziyech and gave handed Christian Pulisic his first appearance in the league. Thiago Silva was also persuaded to join by the Premier League great and three years on is still turning out world class performances.
None of the players that were so heavily impact by Lampard would have imagined they'd be playing under him again, even if it does turn out to be just nine league games and two Champions League ties. It's a new type of challenge. For others, Noni Madueke, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Felix, here is one of the best players in his position for the past 20 years entering the fray from seemingly nowhere.
It's a chance to, if nothing else, embrace the vibes of Lampardian football. Despite the carnage and lack of structure to lots of it, Chelsea fans rejoice over the first spell between 2019-2021. It was a connection they thought was lost. Now it's back and Lampard's stance on three players in particular couldn't be any clearer.
Mount is the obvious starting point given his development under the coach. His parting message was simply: "I learned so much from you both. Thank you for everything."
Since then he has further explained the connection they formed. "He's had a massive influence," Mount said. "Obviously the faith he put in me, to bring me to Derby first of all, was invaluable. That experience in the Championship really, really helped me and then going back to Chelsea the faith me showed in me to play me, even in the tough times to stick with me, gave me a lot of confidence.
"And, yeah, we'll always stay in contact. I message him now and then. He's obviously a busy man but we message and the amount of support he's given me has really helped me improve as a player and as a person off the pitch. It's all thanks to him."
Mount's contract is an issue that fans may be hoping Lampard could help to reslove. The 24-year-old has a 'sign or be sold' ultimatum on the table and Lampard's arrival could impact that moving forward. He explained Mount's qualities during Euro 2020 (played in 2021), saying: “I taught him it! When he came to Derby he couldn’t do anything! He’s got the intelligence. He knows the right runs to go, he has the work ethic. He will run all day and give everything.
“That’s why, when you’re playing that midfield, he has to play in this team. He’s the best attacking midfielder in terms of pressing and jumping from midfield to win the ball back.”
Ther would be no surprise to see Mount back in the mix having been unused by Potter since coming off the bench against Tottenham in February. With Wolves up next he could be thrust back into the fold and will likely be joined by Kai Havertz. The German has struggled for form and had one of his most profligate games at the club in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool.
"With Timo and Kai, there was clearly going to be adaptation issues. I know that from being in it because they were shocked at the speed of training, they were shocked by the physical demands of the game," Lampard said of Havertz and Werner in 2020. "I remember Eden Hazard’s first year at Chelsea, he went on to be one of Chelsea’s best-ever players, but you looked at him in pre-season strolling around.
"Pretty much any player goes through those periods. Timo and Kai had that in the early days, Kai had terrible Covid as well which set him back quite a lot." Havertz never truly kicked on under Lampard and even for Tuchel he was inconsistent. Potter couldn't get more output from him either.
Lampard tried the German out as a deep midfielder, winger and No10 though he has been deployed more as a striker of late. "From working with Kai, desire is absolutely not any part of the issue," Lampard said in response to criticism of his attitude and languid playstyle.
"He has an absolute clear talent. He has a style where if things aren’t coming off people want to jump on, I have seen that in some amazing players over the years. But let me tell you, his desire, the ground he covers in games, is big. The numbers and the data are big.
"Is his confidence at this minute as right as it can be or will be? No, because he’s having a tough moment, as are other members of the squad. I can make comparisons to players who were here at a similar age to Kai: Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah. They went away, took time and came back and now they are absolute Premier League legends.
"I don’t want to build Kai up and put pressure on his shoulders, but with young players coming to this league people have to give them time and patience, and sometimes a little bit of wriggle room.
"It’s not that everything will happen in a few months or in one performance. In an ideal world we would be playing better as a team and you could just stick Kai in when everything is good. It’s not like that, but I definitely want to put to bed anything about a lack of desire.
"I know him well, he’s a good lad, and my job is to coach him like I coached the young players who came through last year and made real names for themselves, and to give him confidence and show my absolute support for him."
Another player that was in and out of the team and form under Lampard was Ziyech. He also hasn't hit the heights hoped of him in England and was close to leaving Chelsea in January. Lampard has previously been glowing of his praise for the Moroccan.
“He can find a pass and sometimes last season I felt we lacked that when we were playing against low-block defences,” the ex-Everton man said. “We saw a bit of his quality and personality against Krasnodar. The idea of receiving the ball and turning, facing forward and finding that pass before teams are set, that is what I’m excited about to see from Hakim.
“I really like him as a personality. I had conversations with him very early when we signed him and was struck by his confidence. There is an inner confidence which I love. We need players with confidence and personality who believe they should be here. He has been an absolute dream to work with.
“People always think that personality is about getting your foot in, shouting and fighting to the end,” he said. “Of course you require that in football, but sometimes personality is receiving the ball in tight areas when others don’t want to and make things happen … Hakim showed that and part of the reason he settled is because of his mindset.”
Lampard will be hoping to get the best of these three and the rest of the giant squad he has inherited as Chelsea face Wolves at Molinuex on Saturday afternoon.
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