It was during the Chelsea Fancast season review that I rated the Chelsea board 1 out of 10 for the 2019/20 season.
The reason was a pure footballing one, due to their behaviours off the pitch, the club entered the season with a transfer ban, their best player sold and with a manager who’d had one years managerial experience in charge.
It just so happened that he was also the clubs greatest ever player and in the eyes of Chelsea supporters could do no wrong.
It’s the reason Lampard was appointed… as cruel as it sounds.
Purely to divert attention away from the board, if things went wrong supporters were already happy to let Lampard have a season, see what the youngsters can do and then assess where we are at the end of the season.
Luckily for us, Lampard and his young Blues proved (on most occasions) that they were up to the challenge and a Champions League place secured for next season gives us a great foundation going forward.
Lampard more than deserves the clubs backing and thankfully, all things are now pointing in the right direction.
Key targets have been identified, negotiations have taken place and signings made.
Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner undoubtedly improve the squad, replacing the departing (and much older duo) Pedro and Willian.
Both players credited the manager as a key reason behind them joining, it’s easy to overlook that a lot of players coming through now aged 21/22 grew up watching Lampard as the best midfielder in European football.
But make no mistake, even with Lampard in charge, having Champions League football adds an extra dimension when we come falling.
Next up, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva will join, further strengthening and improving the team.
Lampard has a vision for how the team will play next season, and he’s getting the signings he not only needs but more importantly, wants.
And he deserves it, because without him in charge the team might not have finished in the top four and things might not seem as rosy as they do right now.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the club behaved impeccably and did everything right. Paid all staff members, offered use of both hotels at the Stamford Bridge site free of charge to the NHS, provided thousands of free meals to the NHS, supported a variety of charities and much more.
Nobody can have any qualms about any aspect of the clubs handling of the pandemic.
Now, it seems that the on the pitch management of the club is mirroring that off the pitch activity.
I don’t think I’ve been as positive about the future of our club as I am right now.
During the early Roman Abramovich era it all seemed too good to be true, what’s happening now feels more organic and natural.
Almost as though we’ve come full circle and are now beginning to start challenging for major honours both domestically and in Europe.
And that’s all thanks to Frank Lampard. He’s reignited the football club, reconnected the club with the supporters and overseen one the biggest and challenging transitions in the clubs history.
He deserves more than any manager the full backing and support of the board because without him, things could look so different right now.
