Frank Lampard is perfect for Chelsea – it’s about time someone like him got a chance at a top club
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FRANK LAMPARD is exactly who Chelsea need right now.
I think he would be a very good appointment as manager and I understand why owner Roman Abramovich would want him.
Because of their transfer ban, Chelsea are in a tough situation.
They are finally going to have to bring some of their youngsters through and use some of their players coming back from being out on loan.
And Frank Lampard will know a lot of them better than most.
In fact, he managed two of their most promising prospects at Derby last season — Mason Mount, 20, and 21-year-old Fikayo Tomori.
He had a very decent first year of his managerial career.
He just failed at the final hurdle in the Championship play-off final but he did very well to get Derby there.
And for him, I think the Chelsea job is almost impossible to turn down.
If or when it happens, it will be the proudest day of his life. Yes, it is a risk, but you tell me a job that isn’t?
Every manager I speak to says the same sort of things.
They are having problems with the owner or the chief executive, or it is not the same job that was given to them when they first agreed to take it.
From that perspective, any job Frank left Derby for would be a risk.
But will he get a little bit of leeway and more time at Chelsea because of their transfer ban? Yes.
Does he know the football club better than anyone else? Yes.
Do the fans want him in there? Absolutely, yes.
They will welcome him with open arms and will be desperate for him to succeed because of who he is and what he achieved at the football club.
So when you put all that together, it is a no-brainer for Frank.
It also might help that he has already got an existing relationship with Roman.
But that does not mean the pressure is off. History tells us at Chelsea that even if you win a trophy, it might not be good enough.
They hire and fire and it has worked for them.
So whoever goes in cannot complain with whatever happens at the end of it because you know how they operate.
People will also be quick to judge Frank and will be ready to say great players don’t always make great managers.
And while that is true, you can tell Frank has all the attributes to be a successful manager.
I was England captain when he won his first cap in a friendly against Belgium in 1999.
He went on to become an unbelievable player, gaining 106 caps, and he is so knowledgeable about the game.
I spent last summer with him in the BBC TV studio at the World Cup in Russia. And as a pundit, he was exactly the same as he was on a football pitch — honest, professional, hard-working, knowledgeable and very good at his job.
You could see then he was desperate to get into management.
And it is great for the English game that some of the best players of Frank’s era — like Steven Gerrard and John Terry — want to be managers and coaches as they don’t have to.
In recent years, the Big Six clubs have avoided appointing English bosses.
Tim Sherwood was the last one when he was in charge at Tottenham for six months in 2013-14.
And Chelsea have not had an English manager — or even a British one — since Glenn Hoddle left for the England job in 1996.
So it is about time someone like Frank was given a chance at one of our top clubs.
And if he goes there and does a good job, that might encourage others to do the same. I wish him all the best.
TOON FURY
WHAT the hell is going on at Newcastle United Football Club?
It looks complete and utter chaos and the lack of communication from the club is embarrassingly bad.
Their world-class manager can walk away in a week’s time for nothing.
But the only thing official we have heard from the club this summer is, ‘We are putting season ticket prices up five per cent’ and ‘This is our new home kit’.
Why can’t anyone come out and say what the situation is with Rafa Benitez, as well as the proposed takeover, instead of just saying ‘no comment’?
Where is the respect for the thousands and thousands of loyal fans?
There is not a jot of thought for them even though they are the lifeblood of that football club.
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They have been there a lot longer than Mike Ashley - and will be there long after he has gone.
So inform them if their manager is staying or going, instead of informing them of increased season ticket prices and new kits.
They deserve so much better as they are the best fans in the country.
Nothing surprises me at Newcastle any more.
But for the club to stay silent and seemingly let someone as talented and as special as Benitez leave for free, it really is a terrible situation.