Frank Lampard has made his feelings about Todd Boehly's transfer spree clear to Chelsea.
Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard faced Brentford at Stamford Bridge in search of his first win as manager, in the absence of a slew of high-profile and pricey players.
Frank Lampard may refuse to give up on the here and now, but his stay as Chelsea temporary manager is swiftly becoming a fiasco that will go down in history.
Following Graham Potter's dismissal last month, the Blues great was given the role until the conclusion of the season. Lampard's return was expected to ignite a resurgence before making a permanent appointment at the start of the summer.
To say that things haven't gone as planned would be the understatement of the century. With the loss to Brentford, the Stamford Bridge legend has now lost his first five games in charge, scoring only once. As a result, the recruiting process has been hastened, with Mauricio Pochettino anticipated to be appointed as his long-term successor soon.
On paper, Lampard has six more games before handing over the reigns to the Argentine, and he will still be hoping for a reputation-boosting run of form. With that goal in mind, he wanted to put his personal imprint on Chelsea's starting lineup against Brentford.
That mark also casts a negative light on the recent transactions in West London. Chelsea's foolish signing binge, which has exceeded £600 million, has drawn much criticism, with the richly built squad falling flat on the field.
Undaunted by their catastrophic first half of the season, Todd Boehly sanctioned another trolley run in January, purchasing eight players for an eye-watering £300 million. However, less than three months before the deadline, Lampard has intimated that he isn't thrilled with many of the owner's signings.
Mykhaylo Mudryk, who cost £88 million, joined other January signings Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, and Joao Felix on the bench against the Bees. This is an investment of more than £150 million in players deemed only good enough to be named as substitutes by the current manager.
In reality, only record signing Enzo Fernandez was picked in the XI from their most recent window, with Lampard choosing for a more experienced lineup. The withdrawal of Felix will be especially disappointing for Boehly, who sanctioned a pricey £9 million transfer that only saw him join for the second half of the season.
A red card an hour into his debut ensured that the Portuguese would always be playing catch-up to recoup his cost, but with only two Premier League goals to his name, he has only started one of Lampard's three top-flight appearances.
"Players have to train, and these seven games and days of training are all opportunities every day to try and show that you deserve to be in the team," Lampard said of his team selections. "As I believe I've demonstrated as a coach, if you do that, you'll always have an opportunity with me."
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