James Corden influenced Boehly to hire Lampard, says report
A new report has surfaced alleging that popular The Late Late Show host James Corden played a significant role in Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly’s decision to hire Frank Lampard.
A West Ham fan, Corden gave his new friend Boehly his opinion on who should have taken the Chelsea managerial seat. Although names like Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann were brought up for both the caretaker position and the permanent job, Corden allegedly suggested Lampard.
Lampard and Corden are friends
Lampard and Corden are friends, stretching back to 2012 to the comedic panel game show A League of Their Own. Corden was the host for the first 13 shows, while Lampard’s cousin Jamie Redknapp was a key part of the show.
Corden’s idea made sense. Not only is Lampard a legend at the club, having played 429 games for Chelsea and managing a further 84, but many inside the club thought Lampard’s previous sacking was harsh.
Nevertheless, Lampard is admired and not just because of his revered status at the club. It is felt he was harshly sacked before, though it would take a Roberto Di Matteo-like charge to a Champions League win to get him the chance to oversee next season. Up against Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid buoyed by their 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final win against Barcelona, that seems unlikely.
The Daily Mail’s Rob Draper on Lampard’s job safety
Co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali seemed optimistic for a Lampard-led future.
We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. 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.
Boehly and Eghbali on Lampard’s hiring.
Despite the warm welcome issued by the two, many at Chelsea believe the club is going downhill, and fast.
Many have criticized the abrupt sacking of Graham Potter, believing that his appointment should have been more of a long-term project. Others are frustrated with the exorbitant fees Chelsea pay for players; they spent around $672 million dollars on transfer fees this year.
However, all can agree that Chelsea are in very bad shape, including employees close to the two co-owners.
Lampard starts with tepid loss
Lampard took charge of the Blues in Saturday’s match against relegation candidates Wolves, which they lost 1-0. Despite holding 63% possession and completing 216 more passes than their opponents, Chelsea mustered only a single shot on target.
In terms of the performance, in the first-half I thought we were slightly off the pace. You could feel Wolves were aggressive, fighting for their Premier League status. I felt they had a little bit more aggression in their game. That’s something I said to the players at half-time. I think we corrected that slightly in the early parts of the second-half, but at that point, you’re 1-0 down.
Lampard remarking on the balance of the game in a post-match interview.
Chelsea will travel to Spain on Wednesday to play Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. After that, they will try to salvage what has been a disastrous season against Brighton at home on Saturday.
Photo credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire