Muriel Samuels asked 2 days ago Rio Ferdinand has described Frank Lampard’s Chelsea sacking as a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ and argued his former England team-mate should have been afforded more time.
Lampard was sacked on Monday morning following a torrid run of five defeats from eight matches that saw Chelsea slump to ninth in the Premier League table.
It followed over £220million of investment in Lampard’s squad over the summer with the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech coming in.
Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea on Monday after just 18 months in the job
Lampard’s former England team-mate Rio Ferdinand described his sacking as ‘knee-jerk’
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Though unsurprised by the sacking given the turnover of managers at Stamford Bridge, Ferdinand believes Lampard’s status as a club legend should have allowed him more time to build a side capable of challenging for silverware.
Speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE YouTube channel, the former England defender said: ‘I don’t think he’ll be surprised. He’s an intelligent fella.
‘He would have understood the remit when he walked through that door and he would’ve seen people like Carlo Ancelotti – who has the third-highest win rate in Premier League history behind Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson – get the sack a year after winning the league.
‘So he’s not going in there thinking he’s going to have loads of time but I think he would have expected maybe a bit more time, given they had the transfer embargo when he went in there.
‘Then he gets money to spend, he spends over £200m and then you’d probably expect a little bit of time, more than what he’s got, to bed them players in and for them players to become part of the furniture.
‘He has not been afforded that and in the grand scheme of things, web site with the way this has been reported on, you’d think they’re in a relegation dog-fight.
‘But they’re five points off Champions League, 11 points off Manchester United who are top of the league. It ain’t a million miles away.
Ferdinand (right) believes Lampard (left) should have been afforded more time at Chelsea
