Frank Lampard concluded his exhausting press conference by saying, "I wish the new manager well," as his merciful interim tenure as Chelsea manager came to an end. I suppose it's his issue.
When Thomas Tuchel was fired from Chelsea in September, Mauricio Pochettino met with the obtuse board and - whether intentionally or not - avoided a season that was a dumpster fire until his delayed hiring in May. Fortunately, Lampard is not a difficult act to follow for the acclaimed Argentine.
By returning for an eleven-game limp to the end of the season, Chelsea's all-time leading scorer did his best to tarnish the club's sterling reputation. Even though two losses to the defending European champions Real Madrid are not terrible, Lampard's Chelsea team's Premier League performance was appalling.
Lampard managed Chelsea in nine Premier League games this season, collecting one single victory and five pitiful points. His disastrous spell at Everton is much more worrisome.
The Blues would be sunk inside the relegation zone based purely on the Premier League games played since Chelsea proudly proclaimed the return of the "Premier League Hall of Famer." Chelsea was outscored in this time span only by Southampton and Leeds, two of the teams that ended the real season below the cutoff.
Under Lampard, Leicester City joined that awful duo in the relegation zone but amassed more victories, goals, and points than Chelsea. Without Lampard's help, Everton outscored Chelsea and avoided the relegation.
When Lampard was ultimately fired by Everton in January, the Toffees were 19th. Sean Dyche scored six more points than Lampard did while in charge at Goodison Park in two fewer games.
The location of Chelsea's lone victory under Lampard—a road trip to a Bournemouth team that was almost safe from relegation—was undoubtedly the friendliest matchup during an undeniably trying stretch for Lampard. To make up for it, under Lampard Chelsea's opponents had an average league position of 7.7, which was the lowest (and consequently best) of any team in the division.
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