They would have to call it The Miracle of Frank Lampard. It would be the barely plausible tale of the man who was guiding Everton into the Championship landing a new job three months later and, in defiance all logic, being summoned to rescue the club he knows best before masterminding a series of staggering upsets and ending the campaign as the interim head coach who led Chelsea to the most unlikely of Champions League triumphs.
It would be the latest example of football’s ability to surprise and bewilder. It would be romance over reality, an invocation of the spirit of 2012, the kind of content ripe to be packaged into a 10-part Netflix documentary. Cue Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali looking into the camera and explaining this was the plan all along: buy the club, fire Thomas Tuchel and talk of the long term after hiring Graham Potter; then build a squad of more than 30 players after spending almost £600 million, fire Potter after seven months, put one of his assistants in charge for a game, tumble into the bottom half of the Premier League and end the campaign with a manager who was only available after being sacked by Everton in January.
Unfortunately that is the reality for Chelsea before they step out at the Bernabéu and face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. In truth there is no grand vision. Last week, as Chelsea scrambled to find a successor for Potter, there was talk of panic. An exhaustive managerial search is under way, but what of the club’s finances? They are highly unlikely to qualify for Europe through the league and, with concerns over Financial Fair Play growing after the latest accounts revealed losses of £121 million, people within the game believe Chelsea will be putting a fair few players up for sale this summer.
So in comes Lampard, offering a welcome dose of nostalgia after being tasked with overseeing Chelsea’s last hope of playing in the Champions League next season. It is a feelgood appointment, stirring memories of European glory with Roberto Di Matteo in caretaker charge 11 years ago. It has the potential to be a brilliant story.
But it is clearly a shot in the dark from Chelsea’s board. They are gambling on something intangible: an unsupportable belief that Lampard, who was not good enough first time around, whose successor won the Champions League four months after replacing him, can get a tune out of this bloated squad.
The early signs have not been promising. Chelsea were poor in Lampard’s first game back, barely creating anything during their 1-0 defeat at Wolves. Yet if they lack identity it is hardly a surprise given that they are on to their fourth manager of the season. These players are crying out for direction. Some of them will remember how quickly Tuchel came up with a winning formula after replacing Lampard in January 2021. Lampard, who has been in charge for under a week, has to show that he is capable of inspiring and organising under similar pressure.
Some of the problems will be familiar to the 44-year-old. Some of the faces have changed during Lampard’s 27 months away but the lack of bite in attack remains. The contrast with Madrid is stark. Whereas Carlo Ancelotti’s side can rely upon Karim Benzema for goals and Vinícius Júnior for incisive wing play, Chelsea are waiting for Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk to justify their transfer fees, for Kai Havertz to develop consistency and for João Félix to find his shooting boots.
Admittedly these are all good players. Yet Chelsea have scored 29 goals in 30 league games and the other concern must be over Lampard’s tactical acumen. Chelsea were open and chaotic under him and Everton were not much better. Has he developed? Can Lampard come up with a formula to stop Ancelotti? Can he work out how to prise control of midfield from Luka Modric? Can he stop Vinícius Júnior’s raids down the left?
The smart move, having played a 4-3-3 against Wolves, would probably be to revert to a back three. The question then would be whether Chelsea use the 3-4-3 that saw off Borussia Dortmund in the last round or the 3-5-2 that helped them to dominate the 0-0 draw with Liverpool last week. The advantage of the former is that it ensures Chelsea can use the pace of Sterling on the break; the latter, though, allows Mateo Kovacic, Enzo Fernández and N’Golo Kanté to match Madrid’s midfield three.
Either way a back three allows Chelsea to unleash their wing backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James. It could work. Madrid demolished Liverpool in the last 16 and walloped Barcelona 4-0 last week. Yet Tuchel’s Chelsea almost knocked them out at this stage last year. There is hope. Chelsea still have enough talent to cause problems and, although Madrid are favourites, knockout football means the best team does not always win the Champions League.
But comparisons to 2012 go only so far. That was a battle-hardened Chelsea. They were formed by peak José Mourinho and had Petr Cech in goal, Ashley Cole, Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry in defence, Lampard in midfield, Didier Drogba up front. They could win games, and cups, through sheer force of will.
The current version does not belong in the same conversation. This Chelsea shrink under pressure, lack a No 9 and have no clear plan. Where are the characters? Lampard could do with some emerging in Madrid. Otherwise Boehly and Eghbali can forget about dreams of a fairytale ending.
