Predicting Frank Lampard's Tenure As Everton Manager

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Published by Chris Jenkins
25th Feb 2022
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Frank Lampard is one of the most successful English footballers of all time. During his career as a player - he is widely known as an amazing midfielder, both for Chelsea and as an England international - there is little he didn’t manage to achieve as a player. Now, Lampard is facing a fresh challenge, the journey to carve out a place as a successful manager.

He is just a few years into this journey and has had varying success as a manager, but as a young hungry manager, it is fascinating to consider what he might do now that he has taken over the reins at Everton FC after Rafa Benitez was sacked.

In this article we’re going to take a look at the style of play Lampard may implement in Goodison Park for Everton, as well as how his new signings will impact the squad. So let’s get to predicting Frank Lampard’s tenure as Everton manager.

 

Managerial Career So Far

Frank Lampard started his managerial career at Derby County FC, who played in the Championship (the 2nd division of the English Football League).

His time at Derby was fairly successful, as he guided the club to the play-off finals in the hopes of gaining promotion to the Premier League. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful, but they came very close.

After this, he was linked with the vacant Chelsea manager position and offered the job a short time later. His first season at Chelsea came with a transfer ban in place, so he already had a difficult job on his hands.

Due to this, expectations were not too high. However, Lampard managed to guide the club to a Champions League qualifying spot and an FA Cup Final.

All in all, his first season in charge of Chelsea was viewed as a huge success. He also introduced and coached many players from the youth set up tuned now stars in their own rights such as Reece James and Mason Mount. Lampard brought Mount to Derby County on loan whilst he was manager.

Frank Lampard’s second season began well but he hit a rough patch and their league form suffered as a result. Chelsea is notorious for being a very trigger-happy club when it comes to the hiring and firing of managers, so he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel halfway through this season.

Since then, Lampard has taken some time off. He has been linked with a number of jobs this year out of the game and even had a few interviews, but he claims he was waiting for the right club to come along.

When the Everton job came up, he was on a 3 main shortlist alongside assistant manager Duncan Ferguson and Vitor Pereira to become manager and Lampard was ultimately successful.

 

First Signings For Everton

Lampard wasted no time in bringing in new signings for the club, with Dele Alli signing for £40 million from Tottenham and Donny Van De Beek signing on a loan deal from Manchester United. These arrivals occurred quickly after Lampard’s own arrival at Everton.

These players will help to add a much-needed boost to Everton’s midfield set-up, in which there has been a need for a creative player such as Van De Beek to complement the work ethic of players such as Allan and Doucoure.

Dele Alli has been under scrutiny for quite some time, but by bringing him to Everton, Frank Lampard can hopefully rejuvenate the career of a player who was once a huge prospect in English football.

 

New Backroom Staff

According to reports, Lampard had been planning his return to football meticulously for quite some time. This means that when he took the Everton job, he had a whole set of staff set to join him.

With experienced coaches such as Paul Clement (former assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at several clubs) joining him, he is surrounding himself with experience, whilst looking to implement a new footballing philosophy.

Former teammate Ashley Cole has joined Lampard at Everton, and this is great news for the defenders at the club. Cole is often cited as one of the greatest left-backs to ever play the game, and his arrival may seem to be beneficial to young players such as Jonjoe Kenny.

 

Style Of Play

Frank Lampard likes to implement possession-based football with an intense press. This was highlighted in his first game in charge against Brentford in the FA Cup, in which Everton had a lot more success compared to the style of former manager Rafa Benitez which resulted in a brilliant 4-1 win for Everton.

Whilst this isn’t anything to get too excited about, Everton fans were refreshed to see an Everton team move the ball forward. The team being able to string together a series of one-touch passes did lead to their victory over Brentford, this was a style of play that Everton have been crying out for quite some time.

Although many of the players in the team may not be the most fluent on the ball, this is an effective method when working together as a unit and supporting each other. The press off the ball creates pressure on the opposition, and winning back possession allows Everton to quickly move the ball around the pitch to create an attacking threat.

This all suggests that perhaps Rafa Benitez wasn’t simply dealt a bad hand in terms of players; though he did get unlucky with injuries during his time at the club.

 

Youth Players

Frank Lampard has been notorious for introducing youth players into first-team football. He was the person who gave players like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham the chance to start for Chelsea, coaching them into good prospects who went on to win the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in the same season that Lampardw as sacked.

Could we see him do something similar at Everton? Players such as Anthony Gordon, Lewis Dobbin, and Nathan Paterson could really benefit from having Lampard around. This could be a huge advantage for the club when it comes to future signings as Lampard may opt to buy younger players who he could mould into the future of Everton FC.

 

Final Thoughts

Whilst it is unlikely that Frank Lampard will work miracles at Everton, it is good to see a relatively young manager with a vision take over. If the board at Everton puts their trust into him, they might actually start to resemble a club that can build something tangible.

Although Everton fans do have a feeling of optimism, they do not expect someone to come in and start challenging for European football immediately. They simply want to see some form of progression and a team that fights with passion, drive, and determination.

If Lampard can instil his own philosophy at the club and build the foundations for success, then Everton may be in a position to consistently challenge European football by the time their new stadium opens its doors. Only time will tell.

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