“Don't worry, this will all end soon”a member of Lampard's coaching staff was telling some players, weeks before his firing. 'The Athletic' has shed light on everything that happened around the figure of the now technical 'blue' and one of the main causes that ended his mandate was the progressive loss of the changing room.
And it is that, the recipients of this proclamation were none other than some players, which they did not share the 'Lampard method'. The relationship with Kepa was, perhaps, the most vaunted disagreement with one of his pupils and one of the episodes that marked his relationship with the noble part of the club, but the Spanish goalkeeper and Marina Granovskaia were not the only ones who had communication problems with him. ex-midfielder. The English press adds that Lampard did not say goodbye after the dismissal of his former players. In fact, only Thiago Silva has publicly said goodbye to Lampard through social media …
“The problem was that the coach didn't talk to the players. Well, only with the ones he liked.”, says a source from 'The Athletic'. “I know that the players who were not part of his rosters did not speak to him in many months. And that is very frustrating for a player, because you don't know what to do to improve, what the coach thinks. It's crazy,” he adds.
Lack of communication and “catastrophe”
“Obviously, when Chelsea were on their 17-game unbeaten streak (between September and December), the manager is not going to make too many changes. But you should still talk to people. Players will fear knocking on the coach's door, because it can lead to negative consequences for them “, continued this source. While a player consulted by this means qualifies as “catastrophe” if Lampard had continued to lead the team.
“Communication between Lampard and the players was not fluid. When I met one of the players last year I asked him if the coach told them things. He said: 'No, normally, he doesn't talk to the players.'. I told him that I did not understand, because Lampard needs to maintain a professional relationship with each footballer. You need to know your players, give them information and guide them, “added another of those questioned by this means. What's more, the tension in the dressing room was compared inside with what José Mourinho had experienced in recent days at the helm of Chelsea , before being fired.
Disagreement with Marcos Alonso
Although another of the reasons why Lampard “lost his men” was what happened with Marcos Alonso. The full-back was substituted in a game against West Brom in September when the team trailed 3-0 at halftime. Lampard's anger was sounded and he did not let the player sit with the rest of his teammates in the second half, assigning him a different place in the stands, as the Spanish had tried to go to the club bus after being substituted.
Since then, Marcos has not played again and the way Lampard has handled the situation has not pleased the squad. “What happened to Alonso set a dangerous precedent when it comes to Lampard and his ability to run a dressing room.”, says another of the sources consulted by the aforementioned medium.
Training in the eye of the hurricane
While Lampard's training methods, while refreshing at first, began to lose favor with his men over time. The intensity of them was appreciated at first, but the load of matches did not cause the coach to slow down and this created constant concern, as another of the individuals remarks: “There was a concern that the players were not only going to end up exhausted, but that there were many ballots of people starting to suffer more and more injuries.”.
The losing streak of results did the rest. And if the previous year Lampard managed to save a tremendously complicated ballot and put the team in the Champions League despite the sanction, 250 million euros in signings do not correspond to the ninth league position. Lace issues for the top two star arrivals Werner and Havertz didn't help either. to their permanence. Thus, at 9 a.m. this Monday, Lampard was fired at a meeting and Tuchel already prepares the bags.