Chelsea fire manager Frank Lampard

Chelsea sacked manager Frank Lampard on Monday after a poor run of results left them languishing in mid-table in the Premier League.

The Stamford Bridge club said it had been a “very difficult decision” to part ways with the 42-year-old, who is the club’s record goal-scorer.

“We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as head coach of the club,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“However, recent results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.”

The club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich said: “This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him.

.“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.”

Former Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel, who was abruptly sacked by the French champions in December, is in line to take over, reports said.

Chelsea are struggling in ninth place in the Premier League table, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United.

They have lost five of their past eight Premier League matches after a good start to the season.

Lampard signed a three-year deal in 2019 and despite a transfer ban, led them to the FA Cup final and a fourth-place finish in his first managerial campaign at Stamford Bridge.

But a huge outlay of around £220 million ($300 million) on new players including Ben Chilwell and German attackers Kai Havertz and Timo Werner has failed to translate into improved results.

Lampard’s points-per-game average of 1.67 is the fourth-lowest of any permanent Chelsea manager in the Premier League.

Tuchel only became available a month ago when he left PSG, less than five months after taking them to the Champions League final, which they lost to Bayern Munich.

The 47-year-old German won back-to-back league titles with PSG, but that was not enough to satisfy the club’s Qatari owners, who replaced him with former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Prior to PSG, Tuchel impressed at Borussia Dortmund, having started his managerial career with Augsburg and then Mainz.

Comments

CJN Tanko unveils panel to hear Atiku’s appeal against Buhari

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed is presiding over the 7-man panel that will hear the appeals filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the February 23 poll. Other members of the panel are Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Amiru Sanusi, Uwani Abaji, Ejembi Eko, John Inyang Okoro and Olukayode Ariwoola. Atiku and his party are challenging the September 11 judgment of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which affirmed President Buhari’s victory at the polls. The appeals hearing has generated some controversies especially due to the silence of the Supreme Court on the justices that would constitute the panel, with the Coalition of United Progressives Party (CUPP) demanding the use of seniority in selecting them. A senior member of Atiku’s legal team, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), told reporters that they considered it strange that as at

NNL: Sanni dumps Saraki Boys

Tunde Sanni, head coach of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) FC of Ilorin has resigned, Coordinator of the team, Idris Musa, said on Monday. Musa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that Sanni had turned in his resignation letter later after a meeting with the team’s Director of Football, Alloy Chukwuemeka. After the meeting, Chukwuemeka and Sanni refused to comment on the matter. The club’s U-15 coach, Taofeeq Babatunde, has been drafted to assist the Assistant Coach, Suleiman Quadri, pending when a substantive manager will be appointed. His resignation may be due to recent results, which were not in favour of the Saraki Boys. The team lost to Kebbi United 3-2 on penalties after 1-1 draw during regulation time in the round of 64 encounter of the Aiteo Cup in Minna. The Saraki Boys also lost 3-0 to Mighty Jets of Jos and drew 0-0 with the Jos-based side in the return leg on Wednesday in Ilorin at Bet9ja Nigeria National League’s (NNL), Match Day 10 encounter.

Chechnya leader makes Mo Salah honorary citizen

Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov has made Egypt’s talismanic striker Mohamed Salah an honorary citizen of the southern Russian region at a farewell banquet held for the eliminated World Cup side. Rights groups and Western governments allege that authorities in Chechnya repress their political opponents, discriminate against women and persecute sexual minorities, all allegations that Chechnya’s leaders deny. Chechnya has been hosting the Egyptian team’s World Cup training camp and Kremlin-backed Kadyrov has seized on opportunities to appear alongside Salah. Sarah’s goalscoring exploits for Liverpool and Egypt have made him an international superstar. “Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic. “Yes, that’s right! Tonight I signed a decree conferring this high award on the great footballer and member of the Egypt and Liverpool teams,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram. Salah was presented with a badge and a copy of the decree at the dinner, Kadyrov said. The Egy

BAMY BLOG

Search This Blog