The stage is set for Frank Lampard at Everton. The former Chelsea boss has agreed a two-year deal at Goodison Park and this will be the biggest challenge of his career, as he simply has to turn the club’s fortunes around.
The Toffees have been poor this season, but have also been underwhelming for a considerable amount of time and Lampard is the man tasked with dragging them away from the mire. Yet he is still rather new to the management side of the game having only managed two-and-a-half seasons in total with Derby County and Chelsea respectively.
At both of those clubs his achievements were simply par for the ambitions set. At Derby he took them from sixth in the Championship, to sixth in the Championship, only losing in the play-off final, yet he was unable to secure the promotion the club so desperately needed. He may have worked wonders with the Blues under a transfer embargo and promoting young players, but when given a considerable amount of money to strengthen the squad, he effectively weakened the team and six months later he was sacked.
He now has the chance for a fresh start and to essentially move back to square one and build his managerial credentials from scratch. He turned his nose up at the Norwich City job earlier in the season, believing he was deserving of a better job and he is rather fortunate to receive this particular gig, as it is the biggest club in terms of status he could acquire. At Everton, Lampard has got a huge mountain to climb because not only does he need to oversee an overhaul of a squad that has been kept together for far too long, he needs to ensure that the Toffees are not pulled into a likely relegation battle in the second half of the season.
He immediately has to unite the dressing room and deliver results quickly to appease the frustrated supporters. He is thought to have given the green light to a loan deal for Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek, who like Lampard, is in desperate need of a clean slate and the pair could benefit from one another. Lampard could impart wisdom from his illustrious Premier League career onto the Dutchman, and Van de Beek can help add some much-needed quality to Everton’s midfield with a consistent run in the side.
Everton have not won a major trophy for 27 years, and Lampard is going to be tasked with changing that. The atmosphere at the club is toxic, and it has been bubbling under the surface for years. For a historic and great club with stature like Everton, a 27-year trophy drought is not just concerning, but unacceptable.
Club decision made tonight after conversations with Frankie, Vitor Pereira and Duncan Ferguson.
Confirmed as @SamWallaceTel @ElBobble also reported tonight.
Lampard will realise the gravity of this new role and will need to start showing exactly why he has been afforded such big jobs so early in his career. The squad will need to be coached efficiently and Lampard has to instil belief in a group of players who haven’t tasted success for a very long time. His methods at Chelsea and Derby showed glimpses of his managerial potential but ‘par’ will not be enough to make the Everton supporters happy, they need to be able to see a gargantuan transformation at Goodison with a revolution long overdue.
The managerial role at Everton has become vacant far too frequently in recent years and Lampard needs to break the chain and provide the club with some stability. That will only come if he can live up to the hype that has surrounded him since he first stepped through the doors of Pride Park in 2018. For the sake of his career, and for Everton to take that much-needed step forward, Lampard simply has to deliver some form of success.