Chelsea’s latest ex-manager is yet another victim of a hierarchy that will not hesitate to make a change if they feel Champions League qualification is at risk
Frank Lampard may allow himself a rueful smile, albeit only when the pain begins to ease. At another club, Chelsea’s latest former manager might have been granted more time; the means to pull out of the nosedive.
Look at Manchester United and Arsenal, where Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Mikel Arteta have seemed close to crashing and burning at various points. Solskjær appeared doomed after United’s 6-1 home defeat against Tottenham on 4 October while he continued to dice with disaster through November and into the early part of December. Arteta’s horror period was more sustained, the moments of respite rather more sporadic. When his Arsenal team lost at Everton on 19 December, they had taken only five points from 10 Premier League games.
