Frank Lampard still is what he very much was in January 2021: a mediocre Chelsea manager. The mood of the fans and players was lifted for all of a few days.
The mood of the fanbase was raised, the spirit of the squad was lifted, the identity of the club was restored – for all of three days or so. It took less than half a week for the folly of Chelsea’s decision-making to be exposed as another manager was sucked into the vortex of their negligence.
Frank Lampard’s caretakership was immediately rendered pointless. The post-rationalisation which decided his interim appointment made ‘perfect sense’ was instantly proven to be as laughable as first suspected. Graham Potter never felt like a natural fit for the Blues but only the most naive, foolish, dense onlooker could suggest his temporary replacement looks more comfortable or suitable in this role.
A demonstrably mediocre Chelsea manager in January 2021 remains a demonstrably mediocre Chelsea manager in April 2023. It turns out that a demonstrably mediocre run as Everton manager in between does little to change that.
Perhaps therein lies the true justification for Lampard’s reascension to a throne from which he had to forcibly removed more than two years ago. Wolves, deserved winners at Molineux, are now only eight points behind Chelsea.
Time ought to spare the Blues from a relegation battle; their form certainly won’t. They have have won three of their last 23 games, have not scored in 284 minutes and are mid-table by a humorous amount of metrics. With trips to the Bernabeu, Old Trafford, Emirates Stadium and Etihad to come, a dreadful season might yet still reimagine what a Chelsea nadir looks like.
They warranted nothing more than what was garnered from this game. Lampard made two changes to the starting line-up Bruno Saltor picked for El Sh*tico against Liverpool, with Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling replacing N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell. That necessitated a change to a back four, in which Marc Cucurella looked almost impressively awkward. Wolves tormented and targeted his side early on.
Gallagher was bright and industrious. Enzo Fernandez and Joao Felix applied some pretty touches. Reece James showed flashes of his ludicrous ability. Wesley Fofana defended well. But Chelsea offered close to nothing. Thirteen shots might sound promising – indeed, unlucky to result in defeat – but eight of them being blocked and four missing the target altogether paints a more accurate…
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