After Chelsea lost to Arsenal on Tuesday for the sixth time in a row, Frank Lampard emphasized how little time he has spent with the team.
At Emirates Stadium, three fast goals gave the Gunners complete control within 34 minutes, although Chelsea rode their luck to avoid further harm and even managed a late consolation through the lively Noni Madueke. But the fact that the English winger has scored just twice in Lampard’s six games as manager tells its own tale; he has presided over six losses and twelve goals surrendered in a disastrous three-week span.
The former Blues player emphasized the short timescale as being insufficient to address the deep-rooted issues that currently exist at the club, exasperated after experiencing yet another defeat on the sidelines.
“We were not good enough, we were too nice to play against and too passive,” Lampard told reporters after the 3-1 defeat. “From the moment I have been here it has been evident that we are too nice as a team. We have to find the reasons quickly. It is not an overnight fix. This is something that really has to be corrected. There are a lot of parts to it.
“Arsenal are a team that has been building for three years. They work on an idea and a way. For me it’s impossible to come in for three weeks and work on those things. We have to do the basics better and then we will get some progress. It’s clear tonight for me. The first half is nowhere near good enough. But it’s the reality. It’s what I’ve come into.”
Following Tuesday’s embarrassing defeat, concerns were raised about both Lampard’s managerial abilities and the behavior of the Chelsea players. Many stars, including former Arsenal player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had only nine touches in 45 minutes, had questionable work rates, especially in a game of this magnitude. However, Lampard once more displayed a lack of tactical awareness as Chelsea frequently had too many players in the middle of the field and displayed even less team chemistry than usual. Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech, who came on as a substitute in the second half, were chosen over eager academy graduates despite apparently saying they have no intention of remaining at the team past the current season.
In any case, the gloomy performance saw Chelsea suffer their 14th league loss of the year, and Lampard’s disastrous record as a manager continued with just one victory in his previous 20 matches. The Blues’ game against high-flying Bournemouth on Saturday won’t be an easy one either; should they suffer their seventh straight loss, they might plummet as low as 14th.