Frank Lampard has been named as the new manager of Everton.
Lampard, 43, has been out of a job for just over a year after being fired by Chelsea in January 2021.
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The legendary English midfielder will now embark on the third stop of his managerial career after doing a superb job at Derby County in the Championship, then initially at Chelsea and now his main aim is to push Everton up the table.
Lampard has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal to replace Rafael Benitez, who was fired earlier this month, and his first game in charge will be against Brentford in the FA Cup this Saturday and his first league game is at Newcastle on Tuesday, Feb. 8 (watch live, 2:45pm ET on Peacock Premium).
Joe Edwards joins from Chelsea and is named as Evertonโs assistant manager, while Paul Clement is named first team coach and Chris Jones becomes first team coach and head of performance in a shake-up of the backroom staff.
Toffees take a risk
Speaking in his first appearance as Everton boss, Frank Lampard revealed his excitement at becoming the new boss of the Toffees.
โIt is a huge honor for me to represent and manage a club the size and tradition of Everton Football Club. Iโm very hungry to get started. After speaking to the owner, Chairman and the Board, I very much felt their passion and ambition. I hope they felt my ambition and how hard I want to work to bring it together,โ Lampard said.
โYou can feel the passion Everton fans have for their club. That will be hugely important. As a team โ the competitive level that the Premier League brings and the position we are in the table โ we certainly need that. Itโs a two-way thing. I think Everton is a unique club in that you can really understand what the fans want to see. The first thing they want is fight and desire and that must always be our baseline. My first message to the players will be that we have to do this together. Weโll try to do our job and I know the fans will be there backing us.โ
This is a bit of a risky appointment for Everton, who are on the verge of being sucked into the relegation battle, but they have a favorable run of games coming up in their next three and Lampardโs name means he will be able to bring in plenty of key players in the upcoming transfer windows.
His preference to give young English players a chance to shine, and his connection with Chelseaโs youth teams, should also help Everton improve their long-term recruitment.
Lamps ready to prove himself once again?
Some say his sacking by Chelsea was harsh, but it was obviously the right move as they won the UEFA Champions League last season just a few months after Thomas Tuchel replaced Lampard.
But Lampard built the majority of that team and finished in the top four and reached the FA Cup final in his first full season as a PL manager. He then led Chelsea to the Champions League last 16 in his second campaign before he was replaced. Not bad.
The main thing Lampard will have to do is show he has learned to improve players (and the overall team unit) defensively. Chelsea kept making the same silly defensive errors when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge and it led to their title bid unraveling in the 2020-21 season.
Chelsea were good to watch going forward and scored plenty of goals โ thatโs something which will please the Everton faithful โ but tightening things up and being less cavalier is key for Lampard if heโs going to be a success at Goodison.
