Three reasons Solskjaer is succeeding where Lampard failed

Add as preferred source on Google

Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea earlier today. The news felt inevitable with the Blues sitting down in ninth place in the Premier League.

Lampard was appointed by Chelsea shortly after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and has been favoured by the media during that time. Until last week when the wheels really began to fall off.

Solskjaer beat Lampard in three matches out of five, drawing one and losing one.

United currently sit top of the Premier League table, with Solskjaer’s rebuilding project in full swing.

Here is a look at three key reasons the Norwegian has succeeded where Lampard has failed…

Man management

Solskjaer has handled his squad of players tremendously over the past two years. You need look no further than his recent dealings with Paul Pogba, where he has navigated a tricky situation and managed to get the Frenchman playing some of the best football of his career.

One thing Solskjaer never does is publicly criticise his players. This was where the cracks really showed in Lampard’s recent Chelsea troubles.

Speaking after a December defeat to Wolves, Lampard told Sky his ‘players have to take responsibility’.

Even if he says this in private, doing so in public rarely helps, as his former boss Jose Mourinho has found out to his cost himself.

Lampard lacked the man management and coaching skills to motivate his squad and get the best out of his players. Solskjaer is doing the opposite, and maximising everybody’s potential at United right now.

Long term plan

Lampard’s sacking this season was predictable after Chelsea’s summer spending spree.

He actually did fairly well in 2019/20 to finish fourth, without a transfer ban. He was building a sustainable side with a plan, using youth players.

But as soon as he had money to spend, Lampard chucked out the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham, and processes to blow the best part of £200 million on new players.

Lampard’s problem was not just spending so much, it was doing so all at once. This not only increased expectation, but it gave him too much to do in terms of building a team which did not require extensive surgery.

Solskjaer was blunt about Chelsea’s spending last summer. He told BBC Sport‘s pre-season show: “It is never easy to have too many new players in the team, it takes time for players to gel into a unit. We have seen some clubs go for the quick fix and some have trust in the process. We have to improve and get results but adding players with different qualities than we have.”

United have added to the squad without trying to do too much at once. Across the two years there has been a big overhaul, but the changes have come at incremental stages, at the right pace.

Chelsea had to wait with a transfer ban in 2019, but then rushed it in 2020. Lampard was always up against it after that. United’s approach has been far more sensible, and is paying off.

Experience

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s lack of big club experience has been used to knock him, but he is actually far more grizzled in management terms than Lampard.

Lampard had just one season at Derby County behind him before landing the Chelsea job.

Solskjaer spent time coaching United’s reserve team a decade ago, before three years with Molde in Norway, leading to a short, failed stint with Cardiff, before another three years with Molde.

He has more than a decade in senior management now, and 14 years total when including his spell with United’s reserves.

This experience eventually adds up, and helps with factors like man management, squad building, and dealing with the press.

Lampard had a meltdown in his Friday press conference last week, biting back at reporters who had criticised him. He looked totally out of his depth.

Solskjaer has been in several tough spots in press conferences during his United spell, some of his or the team’s own making, others from the board, and he has always handled questions in a dignified, professional and classy manner.

• Man Utd are looking to ensure that 2026’s biggest priority is no longer a transfer problem in 2031
• After Ruben Amorim tried to kill it, Man Utd’s attacking DNA is returning with seven exciting wingers
• Every Man Utd player with a connection to Inter Miami after Casemiro deal
• Man Utd signing Aurelien Tchouameni or Eduardo Camavinga now relies on a Man City decision
• Man Utd’s disregard for loyal fans proves Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs were right
• Manchester United’s blue 26/27 away kit is a good omen for winning European trophies
• Who is Karim Cassim? Man Utd sign JJ Gabriel’s England youth international teammate
• Three players can make their first Man Utd appearance vs Rosenborg, JJ Gabriel leads the way
• Manchester United fans send message to Ineos after £4m Tynan Thompson deal is confirmed
• Who is David Eze? Man Utd’s new wonderkid signing who snubbed Arsenal and was poached from Man City