Lampard was not ready for Chelsea job, says Jorginho

The Blues legend failed to have a long tenure as manager, losing his job after less than two seasons on the bench

Chelsea star Jorginho believes that the Blues job proved too much, too soon for Frank Lampard, whom the Brazilian claims did not have the necessary experience for such a post. 

Lampard was appointed Chelsea manager in 2019 after a single year at Championship side Derby County. 

And while he had a decent debut season back at Stamford Bridge, a string of disappointing results this term saw him lose his job in January. 

What was said? 

“Look, I’ll be really sincere here on Lampard. I believe, given he was a legend at the club, he skipped some steps necessary for learning before moving to a big club,” Jorginho told ESPN Brasil.

“He came to a club where he is a legend, without having experience at other clubs. I think he came too soon, skipped a few steps ahead and wasn’t ready for a job at this level, to be honest.”

The bigger picture

Lampard was a playing idol at Stamford Bridge, where he spent more than a decade following a move from West Ham in 2001. 

The midfielder made over 600 appearances for Chelsea and scored more than 200 goals, while leading the club to three Premier League titles and the 2011-12 Champions League among other honours. 

Once Maurizio Sarri stepped down from the Blues job in the summer of 2019, Lampard immediately became the prime candidate to replace him despite his scant coaching experience – one term with Derby, whom he led to a Championship play-off defeat. 

The 2019-20 season was positive overall for Chelsea, who took fourth place in the league and also battled through to the FA Cup final despite making just a single signing, Mateo Kovacic. 

But after spending heavily on stars like Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, 2020-21 proved a huge disappointment for Lampard, who was relieved of his duties on January 25 with Chelsea languishing down in ninth place in the Premier League. 

Lampard was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who has been a major success by leading the Blues to the FA Cup final, Champions League semi-final and a current position of fourth place in the league.

Further reading

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