Kieran Shannon: Frank Lampard’s Chelsea ‘failure’ isn’t on him. It’s on those who hired him

The major takeaway lesson from the Lampard episode isn’t so much that one of their greats wasn’t yet qualified for the job but that the people who hired him once again proved that they weren’t qualified for theirs

IN HAPPIER TIMES: Frank Lampard with owner Roman Abramovich after Chelsea’s title triumph in 2005. Picture: Nick Potts

On the first day at a club, the players and staff show me respect for what I have achieved, as a player and as a manager. After that, they are looking, watching you every day: What are you doing? Are you serious, are you professional? If they don’t think you can add value to them, the players don’t care who you’ve played for, who you’ve managed. It works the other way too. If they think you can add value, they don’t care whether you’ve played or not.”

- Carlo Ancelotti, Quiet Leadership