Frank Lampard is a risk worth taking for Everton

Everton began Deadline Day on 31 January by announcing Frank Lampard as their new manager. It had been roughly a year since he was sacked as Chelsea manager and after discussions, interviews and fan support he was brought in.

There was no time to mess around as the board brought in Dele Alli from Tottenham Hotspur and Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United. Lampard has also been at work building a backroom staff.

Several skeptics in the media doubt his caliber as a manager. It doesn’t make good reading that the team he left in 9th when he was sacked went on to finish 4th and win the Champions League. He is, however, the most sensible appointment Everton could have made given the options. There are some pros but also some areas that improvement is needed.

Lampard's trust in youth

Anthony Gordon - Midfielder

The crown jewel of the former England international's 18 months in charge of Chelsea was his integration of academy players into the first-team squad. Prior to him, it was grim reading for Cobham graduates looking to jump over.

In 2016-17, only two got starts under Antonio Conte. In 2017-18 there were 24 starts but a majority of those went to Andreas Christensen, who had returned from loan. In 2018-19 under Maurizio Sarri, that number dropped back down to 16. Just 42 starts over three seasons for academy players. In 2019-20, Lampard gave 121 starts to academy players in the Premier League.

Mason Mount, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour, Tariq Lamptey, Tino Anjorin, and Armando Broja were the ones to get their debuts under him. Add to that the likes of Tammy Abraham and there was a freshness around Chelsea. Right from the get-go, Frank made it clear that if he liked what he saw in training then the player would get a chance.

At Everton, highly rated players like Lewis Dobbins, Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon could all benefit from this trust in youth. This would also help Everton financially because they are working on a new stadium which will cost a lot of money. Integration of youth will allow them to be more selective in the transfer market.

Managerial Pull

Dele Alli - Midfielder

Managerial pull is a manager’s ability to be able to attract players in the transfer market. It’s not enough if a club is offering good money, several players today want to know what the idea is going forward. The manager needs to be able to convince a player and at times beat other interested parties to get the signature. Frank has managerial pull in abundance.

Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, and Thiago Silva were all bought for Chelsea in 2020. All of them mentioned how important their conversation with the then-Chelsea manager was to convince them. These aren’t random players but some of the most talented ones in world football.

Lampard showed it within a day at Everton. Deadline day saw the club beat Crystal Palace to the loan signing of Donny van de Beek and trumped Newcastle to sign Dele Alli. Van de Beek was very close to joining Palace before Lampard intervened, while Alli chose to join Everton rather than cash-rich Newcastle. Both players mentioned their conversations with him as key.

It’s an aura that probably stems from the fact that several of these players grew up watching Lampard. Steven Gerrard has it at Aston Villa. Look at Antonio Conte, one of the best managers in the world, but he failed to get Adama Traore and Luis Diaz even though Spurs were offering better money. The pull is important and Everton now have that with Lampard.

Defensive Solidity

Jordan Pickford - Goalkeeper

In 2019-20 Lampard’s Chelsea were 3rd best in all offensive metrics, right behind Manchester City and Liverpool. An xG of 66.6 behind City’s 93, and Liverpool’s 71. This came with a transfer ban and without Eden Hazard. Defensively it was a different story over 18 months. Chelsea sat 4th in goals against with 37.9. Chelsea’s save percentage was also the worst in the league, with 54.8.

It was end-to-end action and while that was great for the fans it wasn’t a recipe for success. Purchases in the summer of 2020 mainly Chilwell, Silva, and Edouard Mendy, helped initially but similar fault lines appeared. It seemed like the players weren’t doing the basics right and too many times players were caught in transition going forward. That left acres of space at the back.

This season Everton have the 19th worst save percentage in the league with 61.8. Jordan Pickford isn’t the most reliable of goalkeepers while Lampard will have to get the likes of Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey fired up in defense. Seamus Coleman will be the experienced figure at the back but he is no young buck.

For the rest of the season, it might be a case of out-scoring the opposition rather than keeping clean sheets. The defense will be an area that the club and Lampard will need to revisit in the summer and would have in January if time had allowed. For now, he will have to make do with what he has got.

Inexperience

Joe Edwards - Assistant Manager

At the end of the season, Lampard will have completed only his third season as a manager in football. One season with Derby County, one and a half with Chelsea, and a half with Everton. Inexperience was essentially what led to his departure from Chelsea. A huge squad and player power got to him and he picked fights with some influential dressing room figures.

At Everton, expectations are less, there are smaller egos and much more manageable players but Frank will have learned from Chelsea. He brought in Joe Edwards as his assistant manager. Edwards was at Chelsea with him, but stuck around the past year to work under Tuchel. He would have learned quite a lot from the German and seen what he did differently. His former Chelsea teammate Ashley Cole has also joined his backroom staff.

That is something that will benefit the Chelsea legend. Paul Clement is another experienced coach that he has brought in. Clement has been around for a long time now, most importantly as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant coach at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. This experienced figure was missing at Chelsea. Add to that the likes of Duncan Ferguson etc and it’s a good mix of youth and experience.

What a time to be alive as a football fan! Lampard and Gerrard are now both managing in the Premier League at the same time amongst elite managers. Frank will hope to bring hunger and passion to Everton. Fans are yearning for their players to fight on the pitch. There will be excitement in games and hopefully more stability. Lampard is a risk, but given the time and backing, he is one worth taking.

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