Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia’s ruthless role in Frank Lampard sack as details emerge
Chelsea: Tuchel reportedly eyed as replacement for Lampard
Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia started looking for Frank Lampard replacements at the turn of the year, according to reports. The Blues are poised to axe the 42-year-old after 19 underwhelming months at Stamford Bridge. And former PSG boss Thomas Tuchel is set to take over.
Chelsea have decided to axe Lampard.
They hired him as Maurizio Sarri’s successor in 2019, believing their former midfielder would bring the good times back.
Lampard did well during his first season at Chelsea, guiding them to fourth in the Premier League table behind only Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.
But they’ve now decided to take action and, according to The Athletic, Granovskaia started looking for replacements as the year drew to a close.
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“Marina said she was considering her strategy, was actively replanning the managerial situation and would get back to them,” a source said.
“I think they were surprised about that because it was still so early and the managerial market would be better for Chelsea in the summer.”
Tensions with Lampard and the Chelsea board have grown of late.
And Granovskaia and Roman Abramovich are now poised to hire Tuchel, who recently left his post as manager of Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea didn’t sign all of the players Lampard wanted, despite spending big to recruit Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell.
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He wanted to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal but the Gabon international ended up signing a new contract at the Emirates Stadium instead.
And he was annoyed at the Blues’ failure to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, who he believed would give his side some much-needed solidarity.
A new era now awaits and Tuchel is looking likely to make over.
And that comes after former Liverpool star Danny Murphy had urged Chelsea to stick with Lampard.
He wrote in his column for the Daily Mail: “Frank Lampard isn’t tinkering for the sake of it.
“He’s trying to find the right balance and anyone who knows football understands it can take a large part of the season to integrate so many new players.
“Chelsea have a reputation for not giving managers time.
“I think they should give Frank time and from his point of view he has to follow his beliefs and pick teams that will win him games, regardless of the price tag of players, or pressure from fans or even the boardroom.
“I’ve known him a long time and know he has that strength of character.”
BBC Sport pundit Gary Lineker has slammed the Blues – describing the decision as ‘utterly ludicrous’.
“Reports that Frank Lampard will be sacked by @ChelseaFC today,” he said on Twitter.
“Utterly ludicrous after his first bad run.
“It was always going to need time given so many new signings feeling their way into a new club.
“Patience being a virtue is seldom recognised in this sport. They never learn.”
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