Frank pens an anthem for doomed youth
TWELVE months ago, praise was raining down on Frank Lampard.
He blooded the kids at Chelsea and was heralded as one of the saviours of English football.
Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori all started for him during a win at Norwich City – and Billy Gilmour was added to the squad in the same week.
The group initially thrived – but as the weeks passed and the novelty wore off, so too did the appearances.
Mount was one of the success s stories, and Gilmour (with Olivier Giroud, right) came through late on.
But the truth was that Lampard rd had been backed into a corner by y
Chelsea’s transfer embargo.
A bright new boss was expected to shake things up and what better way to threaten the established old guard than to bring in fresh faces.
Doubt
It killed a few birds with one stone
– and laid down a marker.
The transfer ban has since been lifted and so has any lingering doubt about what Lampard (above) really thinks.
His youngsters aren’t good enough to take Chelsea where he wants them to go.
At this stage, you have to tip your hat to owner Roman Abramovich.
Whatever his beef with the UK authorities – and there were stories aplenty that he was willing to turn his back on his investment in Chelsea due to a row over a visa – he has bided his time before pouncing.
Ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu wrote (in The Art Of War) that “in the midst of chaos lies opportunity.” Abramovich has taken that to heart.
The £100million cash from Eden Hazard’s sale to Real Madrid was clearly burning a hole in the Russian owner’s pocket and he’s now tossed some more into the pot for good measure, allowing former England star Lampard to run riot with the company chequebook while other, less fortunate, clubs are bleeding cash.
Just six weeks ago I wrote that Liverpool’s dominance, underlined by an 18-point title win, was set to continue – but I shoul should have known better.
S Since then Lampard has go gone out and added firep power in Timo Werner, , s shored up his defence e with the experience of Thiago Silva, and solved a perceived problem at le l eft- back with Ben Ch Chilwell. He will also add Baye Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz next week.
But what will happen to the youngsters, those bright things who just a few months ago were heralded as the future for Chelsea and England?
Well, when a manager has his head firmly on the block and is in a pressured position with a club that demands trophies, he can’t mess around waiting for talent to fully blossom.
The kids may be all right. But that’s all they are.
It’s not enough for Chelsea
– and clearly not for Lampard, either.
THE five substitutes rule has been voted on and booted out at the last Premier League meeting. It is a rule with the big boys’ interests at its heart. If it wasn’t, why are there rumours that they want a re-think?
The Premier League needs to stand firm on this one. Or else it will prove – yet again – for whose benefit the game in England is really run.