Frank Lampard news: All the jobs the Everton-linked ex-Chelsea boss has missed out on
Frank Lampard is making a habit of being linked with every manager job going yet failing to land any of them. Did somebody say Alan Curbishley?
There aren't many guarantees in soccer, but one of them is Frank Lampard being linked with a vacant managerial role.
The former England midfielder did well at Derby in his first season in management before being given his dream job at Chelsea. That came to an end a year ago, though, and he has failed to get back into the dugout since.
So, considering his strong links with Everton, we take a look at the jobs he has missed out on in what is starting to become a bit of an Odyssey of ostracism for one of the Premier League's greatest ever players.
England U21s
Celtic
Lampard was linked with the vacant Celtic job in April 2021and revealed that he had not been short on offers.
West Brom
The appointment never happened, though, with Valerien Ismael getting the job instead.
Crystal Palace
Lampard spent the vast majority of his playing career in London, so when Crystal Palace apparently expressed interest in hiring him to replace Roy Hodgson it looked a good fit.
Hodgson left solid foundations with plenty room for someone to put their own stamp on the team. It was no surprise then, that the job was coveted.
That opportunity did go to a Premier League legend, but it was Patrick Vieira, not Lampard.
Newcastle
The Magpies had just got rich quick courtesy of a Saudi takeover and the club's obvious potential finally looked ready to be tapped.
It never happened, though. Perhaps Lampard himself thought it was too big a risk, perhaps the club thought he was. Either way, the Magpies turned to Eddie Howe after getting a very public rejection from former Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
Norwich
At the time it felt a little strange, not because Lampard was too good for them, but because Norwich seemed, and still seem, a bit of a hopeless case.
While it's a fine football club, the reality is that succeeding with them long-term would mean taking relegation on the chin short-term.
Anyone who watched Lampard's playing career knows he's nothing if not a highly shrewd operator and he probably didn't want a relegation on his record so soon after failing at Chelsea.
Aston Villa
Indeed, he interviewed for the role, but it became apparent pretty early in the process that the Villa board wanted Lampard's former England midfield partner Steven Gerrard instead.
Rangers
It was a club for which Lampard had previously expressed affection, saying: "I've always had a great fondness for Rangers."
An offer never materialised, though, with the reins instead going to Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Ipswich
Lampard was linked with Ipswich last month as the League One club searched for a successor to Paul Lambert.
Former Manchester United youth coach Kieran McKenna was the man the Tractor Boys nabbed in the end, leaving Lampard on the sidelines once again.