This is a sentimental post! Regardless, it’s a no-brainer that loyalty only favors the bosses in the game of football.
In this case, the bosses are the football clubs and managers, and the scenarios are football clubs versus managers and managers versus players.
The latest incident that gives credence to this thought is the Chelsea versus Frank Lampard news that has been making the rounds for hours. The fact is, the bosses are only loyal to you when all is well, but will immediately turn their backs on you when the going gets tough.
This has been the case for years in the round leather game. Chelsea have fired club legend, Frank Lampard, from his managerial role at Stamford Bridge, and Thomas Tuchel is expected to be his replacement according to reports.
I agree that results matter the most in football, however, the helplessness of the subordinates during tough times has to be addressed. Frank Lampard was doing okay at Derby County in the Championship, a rookie manager, but almost got them promoted to the Premier League.
However, Chelsea came calling and he was eager to step onto the big stage. The Blues were facing a transfer ban at the time and wouldn’t be able to sign any top players.
This made it difficult to attract any top-class manager at the time after Maurizio Sarri opted to leave for Juventus. Maurizio Sarri’s departure from Chelsea is one rare case where the subordinate has refused to be loyal to the boss.
The Italian manager opted for the greener pastures of Turin. However, it must be noted that he was relieved of the position after one season and is currently without a managerial job.
On the other hand, Lampard was daring and decided to take up a difficult job where he would have to rely on some young prospects to deliver and this is not a norm at Chelsea.
He promoted a few and they impressed significantly and contributed to Chelsea’s place in the UEFA Champions League for the next season.
His praises were sung and he seemed to be the ideal man for the job after navigating through a tough season without any major signings to his advantage.
The transfer ban was lifted and Chelsea could now splash the cash, and they did it in style in the summer transfer window with the acquisition of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, and Hakim Ziyech amongst others.
However, the Blues have struggled recently and have dropped further down the table to 9th. They are almost out of the title race and though folks thought the club would stick with Lampard and trust him to turn fortunes around, this was not the case.
The ‘Abramovich manager firing button’ was pushed and the Englishman’s sack was announced on Monday, 25th January 2021.
Considering the money spent in acquiring players, it’s a no-brainer that he would lose the job but how about a little trust in the man that took them to the UCL places on the log last season?
The loyalty charge was surely not in Frank Lampard’s favor. With regards to managers and players, we’ve seen cases where players beast under a manager for a few seasons, lose form and are cast out of the team.
The manager sometimes relegates them to a permanent place on the bench without any consideration for their positive impact on the side in the good and tough times.
Well, these are just sentiments. The ultimate in the round leather game is the result and no investing club or manager wants to continually be on the losing side. Hence why decisions have to be made and actions taken, regardless of who’ll be hurt.
The decision by Roman Abramovich to fire Frank Lampard has left the Chelsea fanbase divided due to his contributions to the club as a player and his recent contributions to the club as manager from last season.
Regardless, we wait to see how things pan out for the new manager who’ll be hired. The Blues face Wolves in their next Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.
Kenneth is a an avid soccer follower, fan and writer. He is a consistent follower of the sport and is a fan of Chelsea FC.