Is Newcastle the best next step for Frank Lampard?

Scott Allen
20 October 2021

It seems like a lifetime ago that Frank Lampard's managerial tenure with Chelsea came to a dramatic end. Could managerless Newcastle be the club that comes calling?

The seemingly forgotten man of British soccer management, Frank Lampard, is yet to return to the dugout since being sacked by boyhood club Chelsea in 2020.

The next Newcastle Manager Market seems to change with the wind. Nobody has a clue what is going on but one thing is for certain, they are on the search for a new appointment after Steve Bruce parted ways with the club by mutual consent.

Brendan Rodgers was favourite with the bookies - as he has been for numerous jobs this summer - but he has committed to Leicester City. Then it was former Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre. Antonio Conte took favouritism for a short period by virtue of the fact he has nothing better to do before deciding that doing nothing is infinitely better than taking over at St James' Park. Even Unai Emery has headed the market.

Now Paulo Fonseca - former Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk manager - has been installed as the new favourite while Lampard's odds have drifted.

Planet Sport takes a look at where the former England midfielder could end up next.

Newcastle United - 16/1

It's a big club, they're loaded and they've got a massive fanbase. Three reasons to take the Newcastle job.

And, three reasons not to take the Newcastle job.

An expectant fanbase will not afford Lampard the slack the Chelsea fans gave their club legend, while unlimited resources comes with its own pitfalls. Success will be demanded and the timescale on delivering it will be short.

He couldn't deliver at Chelsea and then saw Thomas Tuchel win the Champions League in the same season he was sacked. So there are question marks already on whether he will be able to match the new owners' ambitious targets.

Plus, Newcastle are currently in the relegation zone and won't be spending anything until January. Does Lampard really want to end his time on the sidelines for a survival battle, no matter the promises of riches to come?

England - 12/1

After that 1-1 draw with Hungary, a few people had a bit of a moan but nothing more than that. The England job is in safe hands and for a change the FA are incredibly unlikely to give Gareth Southgate the flick.

What is more likely is that Southgate will walk after the World Cup and go back to club management...probably at Newcastle whose new owners will be on their seventh manager by then.

It's the perfect job for Frank. England love an intelligent, clean-cut type who won't rock the boat too much and occasionally makes tea for the admin team in the office. Do you want a digestive with that, Linda?

Celtic - 25/1

The prospect of Lampard locking horns with his old England team-mate and current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard in the Scottish Premiership has many licking their lips.

Celtic fell way off the pace in the Scottish Premiership title race last season and ultimately handed the crown to Rangers.

Ange Postecoglou is currently in the Celtic hotseat, but hardly pulling up any trees with the club fourth in the table. His new first name is Under-pressure Ange Postecoglu. Perhaps a change is on the cards.

Lampard has no connection with Scotland or Celtic, but a Lampard vs Gerrard Old Firm derby is an intriguing prospect. However, he's a big outsider.

Tottenham Hotspur - 25/1

Eight games into the new Premier League season and Spurs boss Nuno Espírito Santo is under huge pressure. And a 3-2 win over Newcastle has done little to alleviate that.

But why wouldn't he be? Spurs fans expect to be in the top four and in the final of Champions League every season, they have got a really big stadum after all.

Nuno isn't giving them exactly what they want already, so 'get him out'...'boo'...'down with this sort of thing' and other such pleasantries are already ringing out across north London.

Tottenham fans would really love someone like Lampard as their next boss, especially with his Chelsea and West Ham connections.

I can already hear them moaning about the slim, slim chance of him getting the job.

Barcelona - 33/1

Before the Newcastle takeover, Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman was the man in the firing line. Like Steve Bruce, Koeman's imminent departure has been rumbling on for days.

Maybe the duo of them should get together and have a pity party.

There has been little respite for Koeman over the last few weeks, and I doubt anyone in Barcelona even noticed that Newcastle had become the richest club in the world. They were too busy camping outside Koeman's house and making his life a misery.

Lampard is a huge outsider for the Barca job if Koeman goes. However, he'll probably be cheaper than most and Barcelona also have a history of bringing in surprise English managers, Terry Venables and Bobby Robson being two examples. So you never know what might happen at Camp Nou.