Frank Lampard and John Terry lift the Europa League trophy after another gutsy win in a final after overcoming Benfica in Amsterdam.
Some few months ago, Manchester United confirmed the appointment of former player Ole Gunnar Solksjaer as their new permanent manager having impressed during his spell as caretaker.
That’s not always the case, especially for teams that regularly finish in the top four, with only three caretaker managers ever getting the job on a permanent basis in the past.
One of those was Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea who was given the job full time after leading the side to their first and only Champions League victory in 2012.
Granted it only lasted eight months for Di Matteo, but there is certainly precedent for appointing former players to the hot seat at Stamford Bridge.
Seven years on from Di Matteo’s reign there are even more of Chelsea’s former legends and players taking on the managerial stage, with Frank Lampard probably the man who is doing the most at the moment to further his claim as a Chelsea boss in waiting.
He’s currently in charge of Derby County who sit in eighth place and a point off the playoffs, but he’s not the only former player making a name for themselves in that division.
John Terry, Chelsea’ legendary skipper, is assistant to Dean Smith at Aston Villa while Jody Morris is assistant to Lampard at Derby.
With Solksjaer getting the job at Old Trafford and Maurizio Sarri always seemingly under pressure, we’ve taken a look at which of these three former stars would be best fitted to replace the Italian and become the Blues’ very own Solksjaer.
Frank Lampard
The best place to start is with the man who is currently in a managerial position and is learning his trade.
Lampard took over as Derby boss in the summer and immediately looked back to his old club to take two young talents on loan for the season in Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori.
It was a strong start – Mount tore up the second tier and was called up to the England senior squad in October while Tomori has been an ever present for Derby, making the most appearances of any of Chelsea’s loan army.
He also knocked Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup in September at Old Trafford, beating former boss Jose Mourinho in the process.
For a man in his first managerial job, he’s taken to the role exceptionally well and looks like a man who has been doing it for years.
Lampard has all the requirements needed to make the transition from Derby to Chelsea should it happen – he has the experience, he has the respect of the players and he has the fans’ backing.
John Terry
Terry is a Chelsea legend, let’s get that fact out there straight away.
It’s for that reason that the Villa assistant would be a lot of fans’ choice to be a Chelsea manager in the future, after all, he led the club to 16 trophies as captain of the club.
His leadership abilities cannot be called into question and those qualities would be perfect for the current crop of players at the Bridge who have shown in the past to have trouble when it comes to being inspired by their manager, something both Antonio Conte and Sarri have found out.
Like Lampard, Terry would immediately command the respect of the players at the Bridge for all he has achieved there in the past.
For Terry to be considered for Chelsea’s version of Solkjaer he needs to step out from being a number two and become a manager in his own right, although the experience he will be getting under Smith will be vital in the years to come
Jody Morris
Morris is currently number two to Lampard at Derby but has a feather in his cap that the other two candidates don’t have – he has been coaching at the Academy at Chelsea for four years.
That saw him become head coach of the U18s where he won the FA Youth Cup in 2018, the side’s fifth win in a row in the competition, before he accepted Lampard’s initiation to become assistant at Derby.
He wasn’t at Chelsea as long as either Terry or Lampard, meaning he has more experience of how different clubs work and the various ways other managers set up teams that aren’t dominating English football.
Morris played in the second tier and in Scotland too during his playing years while he also helped Alec Cleland with the coaching of his St Johnstone team after Derek McInnes left to manager Bristol City.
Despite being Lampard’s number two, he has far more experience coaching than both him and Terry which would normally put him in front of them for a job.
However, some people are more suited to the coaching side of the game than the managerial part, which could certainly be the case for Morris.