IAN LADYMAN: Lampard learned a hard lesson… top jobs can be brutal

IAN LADYMAN: Frank Lampard had to fight to get his way too many times at Chelsea and was NEVER given any control – you only have to look at Graham Potter at Brighton to see how important it is for a manager to choose the right owners

• Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea on Monday after just 18 months in charge 
• It followed a dreadful run of five defeats in their last eight league fixtures 
• Lampard took charge of 84 competitive matches during his time as manager

The manager Pep Guardiola most admires in the Premier League is Brighton’s Graham Potter.

A fascination that first took hold the day Guardiola’s City played Potter’s Swansea in the FA Cup almost two years ago reached a new level after Brighton lost 1-0 at the Etihad recently.

‘If I could play in one man’s team it would be his,’ said Guardiola that night.

Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea on Monday after just 18 months in charge of the club

His admiration for Potter is founded in the way the younger man sets up his team. The way his Brighton team play a possession game that requires every member to be comfortable on the ball. At the dead man’s end of the Premier League, not many are brave enough.

Guardiola recognised it that day at the Liberty Stadium when City squeezed through a sixth-round tie 3-2 having been two down with just over 20 minutes left. Afterwards, he wanted to talk to Potter about it because he actually thought he might be able to learn something.

Potter, 45, is a modest man, among the most down-to-earth coaches in the Premier League. Equally, though, he is a man who knows what his football principles are and is not willing to compromise them.

In doing so, he knows he walks a fine line. He kept Brighton up in his first season last year and will probably do so again this time. But it’s been tight at times. Crucially, however, he works in an environment in which he is encouraged to go his own way.

Brighton’s decision to sack Chris Hughton in the summer of 2019 was a big one. But they recruited Potter to play a style of football that was easier on the eye, that would help Brighton make the next step. So far they have let him do it. 

The manager Pep Guardiola most admires in the Premier League is Brighton’s Graham Potter

Potter has made some big calls. Some — such as removing the popular goalscorer Glenn Murray from his team — were made quickly. Others — such as replacing goalkeeper Matt Ryan — did not happen until recently. But the point is that he had the confidence to feel he could make them. That is what he is paid for.

The road ahead will still be a difficult one. Brighton still lack a reliable goalscorer and the club works around a pretty tight wage structure. Potter is not able to make big money signings by Premier League standard.

But he knew the rules before he took the job in a way that Frank Lampard maybe did not at Chelsea.

Lampard had to fight to get his own way on too many occasions at Stamford Bridge. Some battles he won and some he lost but can you imagine how sapping that must have been as he tried to navigate the difficulties of a top flight season for the very first time?

All managers occasionally want things they cannot have. It’s natural. But, equally, a manager must feel that he has a semblance of control of the look and size of a squad, the style of play and the path forward for the club as a whole. If not then what really is the point?

Potter’s credentials as a coach stem from work he did at FK Ostersunds in Sweden.

Lampard’s sacking followed a dreadful run of five defeats in their last eight league fixtures

I met him once on a coaching course and asked him why he had chosen that route.

Self-deprecatingly, he said: ‘Firstly, nobody over here wanted me. But mainly, I felt it was the perfect place to go and learn.’

And that is the nub of it. By the time he arrived on Brighton’s doorstep in the Premier League, he had been a manager for eight years.

He had made most of his mistakes when nobody was looking. He knew exactly who he was and what he wanted.

Sir Alex Ferguson always said: ‘Don’t choose the right club. Choose the right owners.’

Potter managed to do that. Maybe Lampard did not.

Zlat’s not the way to do it

Zlatan brahimovic’s response to suggestions he may have racially abused Romelu Lukaku was posted on his Instagram page.

‘In Zlatan’s world there is no place for racism. We are all the same race. We are all equal. We are all players, some better than others.’

There is no place for modesty either, it seems.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic insisted that his insults towards Romelu Lukaku were not racist

But Ibrahimovic could not resist a separate jibe as he commented on the incident online

Will big clubs log off from social media? 

Football has moved quickly to condemn the racist abuse aimed at players over the past week.

The problem is that we are stuck in a recurring pattern.

Abuse occurs, football complains, social media companies make the right noises and then not much happens.

Anyone who frequents platforms such as Twitter knows what it is like. Much of what passes for conversation carries an unpleasant undertone and it is only getting worse.

So what can football clubs do?

Well, they could withdraw. Every big club has a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram account. They use them to spread the word and engage with fans.

In other words, they use them to make money.

But every time a club tweets or posts, it effectively endorses the very platforms that are simultaneously used by others to wound and degrade some of its players.

It is an unhealthy relationship and it needs to be examined.

The question is, does a club like Manchester United or Chelsea have the courage to step away?

Blades tip: Don’t axe boss 

This column has criticised Norwich City in the past for winning promotion to the Premier League then not trying very hard to stay there.

However, the one sensible thing they did was resist the temptation to sack their manager. Now, a few months on, Daniel Farke has Norwich back on the way up. After 26 games of the Championship season, they are top of the table.

Burnley did the same many years ago with Sean Dyche and it wasn’t long before he took the club into Europe.

I wonder if the owners of Sheffield United are aware of all this.

Chris Wilder’s job is under threat with Sheffield United sitting bottom of the table 

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