Showing posts with label Frank Lampard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Lampard. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 March 2021

New Generation of Managers



Good coaching is the architect of good football. A coach tactics determines the results of soccer games. Coach is the backbone of a winning team. Whenever a team wins laurels the coach get the accolade and if a team has a poor run of form the coach gets the boot.
In modern football, most clubs prefer to hire an experienced manager or a multiple title winning coach who can take such club to next level.

As the days of the veteran coaches like Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, Marcelo Bielsa and the likes are numbered on the touchline, let's take a look at the upcoming managers in European football.

Mikel Arteta
He has learnt on the job for 3 years under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola. He took over the Gunners from erstwhile coach Unai Emery when the ship is almost sinking.
In his first 6 months on the job, he won the English FA Cup trophy and the season curtain raiser - the Community Shield.

This season has not been rosy for Arteta and his boys, they are currently 10th on the league table and there is a high probability that the Gunners will miss out of the UEFA Champions League for the 5th consecutive season except they win the Europa league title.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The babyface assassin was a Man United legend. He has had coaching stints in Cardiff City and Molde in Norway before joining the Red Devils first as interim manager and then the substantiated manager.
He has led united to 4 different semi-finals (2 League Cups, English FA cup and UEFA Europa League).

His team was knocked out at the group stage of this season UEFA Champions League and are currently second on the Premier League table.

Frank Lampard
The Englishman was a great player in his active days on the pitch. The Chelsea legend was the first English manager hired during this Roman Abramovich era.
He started his managerial career at championship side Derby county, and his stint at Chelsea ended on a sad note culminatung to him being sacked after a run of bad results.

However, he has the potential to bounce back strong and better in the nearest future

Scot Parker
He is an another upcoming manager,who is new in the coaching business. His Fulham led-side have been battling relegation all season in the Premier League. 
So far he has 5 wins,11 draws qnd 12 losses, and sit 18th on the log with 26 points.

Can he survive relegation this season?

Gennaro Gattuso
He has had stints in some clubs in Italian topflight and lower division.
He won the Coppa Italia title for Napoli in just 3 months after taking over last season. This season has been full of issues on and off the pitch especially concerning their record signing Victor Osimhen.

Presently Napoli has 47points, lost 8 games and sit 6th on the log.

Andrea Pirlo
The Italian legend finished his coaching badge in October 2019. And in June 2020, the Juventus legend was appointed as the Turin side U-23 coach, few days after he was named the manager of the first team taking over from Maurizio Sarri
He won Italian Super cup, and his side is in the final of Coppa Italia where they will have to face Atalanta.

Juventus might not win the scuddeto title this season because presently they are 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan on 52 points and 3rd on the log .

Steven Gerrard
The Englishman has just won the first league title of his career with Glasgow Rangers. He became the first manager in 10 years to stop Celtic from winning the SPL title.
His team has remained unbeaten so far this season with stats; 28 wins, 4 draws, and no loss in the league with 77goals scored and only 9 conceded.

His team are still flying high in the Europa League as well having qualified for the quarter-final.

There are already rumours and insinuations that he will soon take over the Anfield giants. Can he takeover Liverpool and replicate this form? Only time will tell.

Who are the next former players that will become coach in future ?


Fabiyi Ridwan
Sports Writer and Analyst 

Tuesday, 5 January 2021

The Fumbling Blues



Chelsea FC started the 2020/21 Premier League season on a good note, and at some point they look like title contender during their 9 games unbeaten run that was halted by Everton.
However,  presently the club legend cum manager Frank Lampard who guided the team safely to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage earlier this season seems to be short of ideas on the touchline.
Recently, Man City compound the Pensioners woes with a three goals to one victory at Stamford Bridge which has resulted into piling more pressure on Lampard.

Hence, so far the Blues have lost 4 games out of there last 6 Premier League matches. In 17 games, they had 7 wins, drawn 5,
lost 5, amassed 26 points, kept 6 clean sheets, scored 32 goals - the third highest in the league - and conceded just 11 goals.

Problems of the team
Chelsea spent over 250 million pounds in the summer on signings of players.
Some of the players does not fit the billing, the Kai Havertz's of this world has not live up to expectations.
Timo Werner is a good forward but he is inconsistent and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has forgotten how to save shot on target.
Injury crisis
Whenever some of the regular are not fit the back up players usually fail to come to the party, for instance Hakim ziyech has been battling with injury and his replacement Pulisic is also prone to injury.

Solution to the crisis
The team need more reinforcements in defence, a quality one - not the tired legs of Thiago Silva.
A good defensive midfielder to support the fading N'golo Kante.

Finally, Lampard must start getting a positive result to avoid the axe of Roman Abrahamovic who has sacked about 10 managers since he took over the ownership of Chelsea in 2003.
Up next for Lampard and his boys is Morecambe in FA Cup follow by a visit to Leicester City 3 days later in the league. 

Can he survive and turn things around?



Fabiyi Ridwan
Sports Writer and Analyst

Wednesday, 1 January 2020

The Change of Fortune and Turnaround in the Pensioners history



In July 2003, British businessman Ken Bates sold Chelsea FC to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for 140 million pounds.
Since 2003, Abramovich has spent a whooping 92.9 million pounds on managerial compensations.