Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea appointed club legend Frank Lampard as manager back in July 2019. After all, the ex-midfielder only had one season of managerial experience under his belt at the time.
It was always going to be difficult for the former Derby County boss to steady the ship at Stamford Bridge. After 18 months at the helm, Lampard was sacked on Monday, with Thomas Tuchel appointed as his successor.
Despite dealing with a transfer ban last season, Lampard managed to guide the Blues to a respectable fourth-place finish in the Premier League.
The England legend didn’t have the same resources as previous Chelsea managers, but by putting his faith academy products such as Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham, Lampard exceeded all expectations in 2019/20.
However, Chelsea only managed to win eight of their opening 19 league games this term. A poor run of two wins in eight matches eventually spelled the end for Lampard, with the club sitting ninth in the table – 11 points behind leaders Manchester United.
Lampard’s relationship with director Marina Granovskaia had reportedly deteriorated, while the 42-year-old is rumoured to have fallen out with a number of players. But at the end of the day, a series of below-par results ultimately cost Lampard his job.
Despite guiding PSG all the way to the Champions League final last season, Tuchel was sacked by the French champions on Christmas Eve.
The German left Paris with a record of 95 wins, 13 draws and 19 defeats in 127 games, meaning he achieved the best win percentage in Ligue 1 history (75.6%). Looking at those statistics, he clearly has the credentials to manage another top club.
After leading Borussia Dortmund to a German Cup triumph in 2016/17, Tuchel went on to win two Ligue 1 titles and four domestic cups with PSG. Needless to say, the Chelsea hierarchy will be hoping that he can bring his winning mentality to Stamford Bridge.
If his stints with Mainz, Dortmund and PSG are anything to go by, Blues supporters can expect an exciting brand of attacking football under Tuchel.
However, given Roman Abramovich’s cut-throat approach, it wouldn’t be overly surprising if Tuchel’s time in the Stamford Bridge hot seat is short lived.