Former Everton manager Frank Lampard has been named as Coventry City manager, and Sky Blues fans should be aware of these three facts regarding his time at Goodison Park.
The Chelsea icon was fired by the Blues in January 2023, with the club sitting second bottom of the Premier League after securing a stunning survival in the 2022/23 season.
He returns to full-time management after a brief stint as Chelsea’s interim manager following Graham Potter’s sacking in April 2023.
The ex-England star will face a difficult scenario, with fans still upset that Coventry ousted popular manager Mark Robins.
Lampard has a solid bond with Everton supporters.
The most beneficial aspect of Lampard’s time at Goodison Park was his rapport with the fans.
The former Chelsea man’s passion as his team survived with one match remaining in the 2021/22 season was not lost on the Goodison fans. He was the first manager that Blues fans have properly connected with since David Moyes as he genuinely bought into the club.
He clearly cared about the Toffees and wanted to thrive at the club, which was unlikely given the team’s off-the-field troubles.
He will need to rapidly create rapport with his new club’s supporters after replacing a popular manager who led the team to the play-off final in the 2022/23 season. Lampard’s Everton was a shambles tactically.
Lampard’s time in charge of Everton was hampered by a poor tactical approach, particularly during his first full season.
After realizing his preferred possession-based aggressive style would not work at Everton, the 46-year-old reverted to a conservative 3-4-3 formation, which helped the Blues secure safety in the 2022/23 season.
unfortunately, his long-term aim was to switch to a 4-3-3 formation with an emphasis on ball dominance and heavy pressing; unfortunately, the Blues squad was unprepared for that style of play.
The more expansive Lampard attempted to play, the more uncomfortable the players appeared.
There was never a clear transformation in the club’s identity on the pitch; Opta data at the time showed that his team was the third slowest at moving the ball up the pitch while ranking 14th in passes per sequence [The Athletic].
His team struggled to maintain or move the ball, created few clear chances, and was extremely susceptible in defence.
Off-field concerns hampered his stay at Goodison.
The main difficulty during Lampard’s tenure with the Toffees was the same one that the team faces today.
Off-field troubles plagued the former Chelsea player on several occasions.
Everton needed to make a huge sale to meet Premier League profit and sustainability requirements after losing nearly £400 million over four years, so Richarlison was the casualty.
Losing his best player, along with the fact that Dominic Calvert-Lewin was injured for a significant portion of his reign, hampered Lampard’s recruitment.
This was especially true for forwards; Lampard wanted Matheus Cunha, who ended up on loan at Wolves with the option to buy, and he wanted Danny Ings, but the Blues couldn’t afford him due to budgetary constraints.
His talent identification is strong, yet he may be better suited to the role of football director than manager.
In other Everton news, Sean Dyche may fire Abdoulaye Doucoure against Manchester United as he tries to keep his job.
For more Everton news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel to receive rapid updates directly to your phone.
Leave a Reply