CHELSEA GREAT FRANK LAMPARD FIRED AS HEAD COACH

Sentimentality couldn't save Frank Lampard. Being Chelsea's record scorer counted for little when the team's decline, on Lampard's watch as manager, alarmed owner Roman Abramovich after $300 million invested in new talent for this season.

After just 18 months in charge, and five losses in the last eight English Premier League games, the novice coach was fired on Monday.

It was the 14th change of managers in 18 years at Chelsea under Abramovich, and former Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel is set to arrive in London this week as Lampard's replacement. The German could attend Wednesday's match against Wolverhampton using a slight English pandemic allowance for workers flying into an elite sports environment to avoid full quarantine — if he tests negative for the coronavirus.

What Lampard's status at the club did afford him was a public statement of explanation from the Russian billionaire, for whom he helped to win so many trophies as a player.

“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,” Abramovich said. “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."

Those circumstances see Chelsea down in ninth place in the Premier League with the worst points-per-game record of any of Abramovich's managers.