MATT BARLOW: Chelsea don't care about identity after sacking Lampard

MATT BARLOW: Chelsea and Abramovich have shown they don’t care about identity, fans or young players. Sacking Frank Lampard exposes their corporate trick… there’s no pleasing ruthless Roman

• Chelsea announced the sacking of manager Frank Lampard on Monday morning 
• The club have showed their priorities lie in keeping in touch with the elite  
• Lampard’s appointment hinted at a new identity and direction for the team
• But for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, there is no room for any sentiment 
• With Thomas Tuchel set to take over, it leaves doubt over the club’s youngsters 

As Frank Lampard departs Stamford Bridge so too does the fanciful notion that Chelsea actually care about the club’s identity, the connection with the heart of the fanbase or the development of young players.

Ever so briefly, last season, these things seemed to matter. Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich appeared to have opted for a fresh direction when appointing Lampard.

It was, however, just an illusion or, rather, a corporate trick to escape an awkward spot with a transfer ban at play and fans growing restless, bored by Maurizio Sarri’s football and increasingly disconnected.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (R) has shown he is not interested in creating a new identity for the club after sacking Frank Lampard 

Europe’s most celebrated managers did not fancy the job. Eden Hazard, the team’s only genuine star, was on his way to Real Madrid and the return of Lampard, a bona fide club legend as a Chelsea player really lifted the mood.

There were reservations about lack of experience, after only a single season at Derby in the Championship, but he made up for the absence of managerial acumen with his history as a player and popularity among the match-going supporters.

Abramovich’s first English manager brought with him a backroom staff of familiar faces, with links to the club’s successful academy and they trusted in the promising talents recently graduated from the youth ranks.

Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham responded well. Others, too, flickered, such as Fikayo Tomori in the early stages and Billy Gilmour and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Lampard’s appointment hinted at a new chapter for the club with a view towards young players

He has worked hard to breed through talented stars and worked magic with Mason Mount (L)

Lampard’s trust in youth built excitement around hungry team that could thrive in the top flight

Chelsea won 5-2 at Wolves in September 2019 with a hat-trick from Abraham and a goal each from Tomori and Mount. Those supporters of a certain vintage quickly drew excited parallels to Tommy Docherty’s team of the 60s.

It was built around exciting players emerging of a prolific youth system and led to the greatest years in the club’s history prior to the arrival of Abramovich.

Had the crowds been inside the Bridge it might have been more difficult to oust Lampard. The hard-core fans remain supportive, firmly behind the head coach and his commitment to the young players.

He may have survived a little longer but, ultimately, it would not have made a great deal of difference because if this proves anything it proves there is no room for sentiment where Abramovich is concerned.

Lampard has failed to produce results and struggled to integrate six high-profile signings 

His bid to create a new vision for Chelsea was ruined by tension in the camp and fading form

The owner has replaced Lampard because results have been poor. His points per game in the Premier League is low, lurking in the realms of Andre Villas-Boas and Luiz Felipe Scolari. They didn’t last long either.

Chelsea are sliding away from the top four. Their Champions League status is again in doubt and this is what moves him. Identity and youth development might be nice but winning trophies and staying in with the elite is what matters most to Abramovich.

After lavishing around £220million on new players, he was probably expecting a more successful campaign. Lampard, however, has struggled to integrate six high-profile signings without losing the progress made last season and with a bigger squad and senior stars on the fringes there has been tension and friction in the camp as form faded.

Should Thomas Tuchel replace Lampard, where does that leave Chelsea’s homegrown stars?

Thomas Tuchel is set to replace him and perhaps it makes some sense to bring in a German coach to bring the best from those expensive signings from the Bundesliga: Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic.

What does that mean for the homegrown young players? Is there room for Havertz and Mount in the same team? Lampard found it hard to accommodate them both. Yet Mount has been Chelsea’s best and most consistent player in the last 18 months.

And where does that leave the quest for identity? When Carlo Ancelotti was appointed in 2009 he was ordered to produce a team with identity because for all the success and two Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho, Abramovich wanted a team with more flair, adventure and personality.

Nothing pleases Abramovich, who wants success as well as a Chelsea team with personality

We can no longer pretend that Chelsea are serious about creating a new pathway for youth or forging a connection with their fanbase

Ancelotti won the Double, playing attractive football, although mainly with the team built by Mourinho, who later came back and won the Premier League again, playing the way his teams usually play and was sacked for a second time.

So you bring success and it is not enough. You deliver identity and that is not enough either. There really is no pleasing ruthless Roman. That’s fine. It is his train set and those he hires and fires and well-paid for the perils they face.

But let’s not pretend any more that Chelsea are serious about creating a pathway for their young players or are serious about acquiring an identity or really care what the fans want. That misguided notion will leave with Lampard.

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