The Shocking Premier League Table Since Frank Lampard Returned To Chelsea
Only two teams have picked up fewer points in the Premier League than Chelsea since Frank Lampard returned to the club in early April.
Lampard, Chelsea’s all-time top goalscorer, was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign following the decision to sack Graham Potter after just six months at the helm.
“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club,” said co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali in a club statement.
“As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.”
Unfortunately for Boehly and Chelsea, that plan hasn’t quite come to fruition – if anything, their form has dipped further.
Potter was sacked following a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. But Chelsea had recently won three matches in a row prior to that, and navigated their way past Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League round of 16.
Despite boasting the most expensively-assembled squad in Europe, and a bigger wage bill than champions-elect Manchester City, Chelsea are now almost guaranteed to finish in the bottom half – below local rivals Fulham and Brentford – with their worst placing and points tally in well over 20 years; long before Roman Abramovich’s takeover changed everything.
Lampard, who was sacked by Everton in January, was unable to turn the club’s form around. The first match of his second managerial stint was a 1-0 defeat to Wolves and Chelsea subsequently exited the Champions League in a limp manner following home-and-away defeats to Real Madrid.
The 44-year-old lost his first six matches in charge in all competitions, Chelsea’s worst run of form in decades. That run eventually ended with a 3-1 away win at in-form Bournemouth, followed by a 2-2 draw at home to relegation-battlers Nottingham Forest.
But how does that record compare to every other team in the English top flight over the same period? We’ve taken a closer look at the Premier League table since Lampard was appointed as caretaker on April 6th.
Relegated Southampton and strugglers Leeds are the only sides to have picked up fewer points than Chelsea. Further up the table, it’s worth noting Manchester City’s 100% win record, Liverpool’s major uptick in form, Crystal Palace’s turnaround since Roy Hodgson succeeded Patrick Vieira – and Arsenal’s considerable drop-off. Twelve teams have picked up more points than Mikel Arteta’s Gunners over the last seven matches.
Note: all teams have played seven matches unless otherwise specified.
1. Manchester City – 21pts, GD +16 2. Liverpool – 19pts, GD +10 3. Newcastle – 13pts, GD +6 4. Crystal Palace – 13pts, GD +6 5. Aston Villa – 13pts, GD +5 6. Manchester United – 13pts, GD +5 7. Brighton – 12pts, GD +4 8. Fulham – 12pts, GD +3 (Played 8) 9. Bournemouth – 12pts, GD -2 10. Wolves – 12pts, GD -3 11. Brentford – 10pts, GD +1 12. West Ham – 10pts, GD -1 13. Arsenal – 9pts, GD -2 (Played 8) 14. Nottingham Forest – 7pts, GD -3 15. Tottenham – 7pts, GD -6 16. Leicester – 5pts, GD -4 (Played 6) 17. Everton – 5pts, GD -6 18. Chelsea – 4pts, GD -4 (Played 6) 19. Leeds – 2pts, GD -14 20. Southampton – 1pt, GD -11
