In January 2022 and January 2023, Lampard was the center of attention at Goodison Park for a full year. The former Chelsea manager took over for the much-maligned Rafa Benitez, who was fired after four months due to a strained relationship between the supporters and the board of directors.
Lampard successfully guided the Toffees to Premier League survival, which was secured with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on the penultimate day of the season. But he would depart Everton midway through the following campaign as Everton sat second-bottom of the table and two points adrift of safety.
Under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership, Lampard was the seventh permanent manager. Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Maro Silva, Carlo Ancelotti, and Benitez had all spent more than £500 million on new players.
The former England international acknowledged that the team he inherited was uneven. Furthermore, he was aware that there would not be a significant improvement in the summer of 2022 due to financial constraints, which resulted in Everton receiving a six-point reduction for breaking profit and sustainability regulations.
Speaking to JOE, Lampard said: “I never imagined myself managing Everton and I don’t mean that disrespectfully, it’s the opposite. I grew up when Everton were a great team in the mid-1980s and was very aware of the huge history of the club and a great fan base.
“There was a lot of animosity when I went for the interview; it was obvious that the fans didn’t like the manager. They had been having problems with the departing manager. I went into the interview with a clear football strategy in mind for how I wanted to play, and I was hired.
“I entered a very encouraging environment from the fans. You will never really understand, but they were fantastic for me during the process, after I left, and even today. That is something I am grateful about, but I was surprised by the club’s current emotional state. One win out of fourteen, I believe, is about how things usually work out when you get hired in the middle of the season.
Although Evertonians are extremely proud of their team for not having collapsed in such a long time, there was a sense of impending doom that this team would for the first time in many years. It’s really difficult to overcome when you have something around your neck, the players and supporters are immersed, and there’s a hint of terror. You need to take a deep breath and restore faith in the players.
“I could feel that tension from the ownership. The chairman, Bill Kenwright who has sadly passed away, was fantastic for me as a support. He was a huge Evertonian and wanted the right thing for the club but it was clear a lot of mistakes had been made in recruitment. It was an unbalanced squad, players on long contracts, five centre-backs but not strong in this area of that area. There were a lot of bad feelings around and we had to work quick-time to try to change this feel.
We tried to change the way we play a bit, and move forward – we’re not going to play ultra-attacking football but can we be a bit more progressive? We lost a game 4-0 at Tottenham on Sky and you got the usual reaction and as staff, we had to change the angle of it; more compact, engage the fans.
“It was excellent for me as a coaching lesson. In the end, the entire club deserves praise. We switched to a back five, got more tight and difficult to beat, engaged Goodison, and produced one of the greatest evenings ever with Munich (when he won the Champions League as a player with Chelsea in 2012) is staying up with Everton. The supporters were a major factor in this as well as the players’ dedication. I had the good fortune to be a part of such a time of immense joy.
“I think I then knew there were more difficulties coming. FFP was there, we knew Richarlison would leave, we could bring in some players but the net spend was not far off zero. We couldn’t really move forward, I wanted to change the way we play. Tarkowksi came in on a free, Conor Coady came on loan, we brought in a couple of players. But as we tried to progress, Dominic got injured so we played Neal Maupay and he struggled to get in there so we were playing without an effective number nine.”
Sean Dyche succeeded Lampard as Everton boss. The Blues stayed up on the final day of last term and their points tally has improved this campaign despite the points deduction. However, Everton are winless in their previous 11 Premier League games and now sit just four points above the relegation zone.
Lampard understands Dyche, though, because Goodison’s long-standing issues still persist. He went on, “This isn’t me making excuses because we couldn’t get results in that last period of time, and if you don’t get results, you will lose your job.” I received it after I quit my work. The issue I have with Everton right now—I truly liked spending a year there, so I have a lot of attachment to the team—is that the same issues and mistakes from the past persist. I’ve seen a number of them.
“People can so easily comment on Sean Dyche or they haven’t won in this many games – it’s not easy to turn it. A great club trying to make up for and that will be a process, in my opinion, again.”
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