Chelsea sack manager Frank Lampard, after 18 months in charge

Chelsea Football Club have sacked manager Frank Lampard, after 18 months in charge.

The former Chelsea midfielder, Lampard leaves the club with the ninth place in the Premier League, following a poor run in form - securing only one win in their last five league matches.

Lampard was appointed on a three-year contract when he replaced Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge, in July 2019, from Championship side Derby County.

A statement from the Club mentioned that "We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as Head Coach of the Club. However, recent results and performances have not met the Club’s expectations, leaving the Club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement".

Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's Chief Executive, stated that "This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him", adding that "He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers".

Thomas Tuchel, former manager of Paris Saint Germain (PSG), is reported to be slated as Lampard's replacement, with Julian Nagelsmann (RB Leipzig) also being considered prior to Tuchel.

While Lampard guided the team to a fourth place finish last season (despite a transfer embargo), the Blues have now suffered as many defeats in their past eight league games as they had in their previous twenty-three.

Chelsea emerged dominant in the summer transfer window, spending over £200 million on seven major signings, including £45m on Leicester's Ben Chilwell and £71m on German midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.

Speculation around Lampard's dismissal revealed a lack of effective tactical communication, and a disturbing trend of players downing tools.

Lampard is Chelsea's all-time record scorer, with 211 goals for the club between 2001 and 2014, as during his 13 seasons as a player at Stamford Bridge, he made 648 appearances and won 11 major trophies - including four Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League.

His first managerial posting was at Derby. In his one season in charge, they reached the Championship play-off final, where despite losing to Aston Villa, his management drew significant praise.

Lampard's points-per-game average of 1.67 is the lowest of any permanent Chelsea manager in the Premier League. During the Roman Abramovich era, only Andre Villas-Boas (47.5%) has a worse win rate than Lampard's 52.4%.

In contrast, Jose Mourinho's win rate in all competitions during his first spell in charge was 67.03%, while Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Carlo Ancelotti and Claudio Ranieri all had win rates of over 60%.