Frank Lampard The Next Premier League Managed To Be Sacked?

Everton have won three of 15 Premier League matches in 2022-23. When the season resumes after Christmas, the Toffees reengage in a fierce battle against relegation, with just one point separating them from Nottingham Forest in 18th.

Everton have only four points more than bottom-of-the-table Wolves, who are the only team with fewer goals scored.

Frank Lampard’s time at Chelsea split opinion.

He made the premature leap after managing Derby to a playoff finish in the Championship, and was replaced by Thomas Tuchel in west London, where he remains a club icon, having been one of the best Premier League midfielders of all-time. 

His spell on Merseyside has been similarly open-for-debate. There have been moments where Lampard seems like he can get the best out of a squad short on talent. At other times, he still looks out of his depth managing at this level.

Of permanent Everton managers, Lampard has the worst winning percentage since Howard Kendall’s stint at the end of the 1990s. He is the football betting favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.

Everton have not been cautious handing out P-45s in recent seasons – Roberto Martinez was the last manager to last more than 18 months in the job, and Rafael Benitez departed just 22 matches into his spell.

Everton are a club with big ambitions. Such ambitions make life difficult for managers. There is an expectation the club will punch above its weight.

After the initial influx of spending under Farhad Moshiri, those over-the-top demands have decreased, and the current situation the club is in makes avoiding relegation the main, and only, priority. 

Lampard, then, will be judged on if he can build a cushion to 18th after leading the Toffees to safety late last season.

This Everton squad is not much better than that. Years of poor recruitment has hit the club hard. As other teams in the Premier League, including newly promoted sides, have spent significantly, Everton’s hands have been tied.

Richarlison and Lucas Digne have departed. The quality coming in is not of the same calibre of the majority of mid-table sides, and perhaps Lampard really is doing the best that can be done with such a group. 

Reasonable Expectations

Lampard is still learning as a manager, which is to be expected with someone of his experience. Everton are having to fight to tread water.

That shouldn’t be much of a surprise when you glance at the personnel at Lampard’s disposal, yet it is also important to note that this is not a case of results being misrepresentative. 

Everton have the second-worse expected goal difference per 90 in the Premier League.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin playing 340 minutes over the first 15 matches isn’t ideal, and Lampard has overseen some decent results, but barring Calvert-Lewin regaining his best form from 2020-21, there is little to cling onto heading into 2023.

Everton’s results and performances have been in the rough ballpark of their talent level. To expect Lampard to do much more is not necessarily realistic, even if some managers could squeeze slightly more production out of this group of players. 

Either good fortune or a very good manager is required for Everton to be comfortable from the drop zone at any point this season.

As it stands, fighting deep into the campaign is the best the club can hope for. They will be crossing everything in the hope that three teams are worse than them. 

Part of the challenge, though, is how two of the teams below them have already rolled the dice on managerial changes with Southampton and Wolves hiring Nathan Jones and Julen Lopetegui respectively. 

Even if Everton are rational about what is achievable with this squad, does the proactivity of teams around them nudge them towards a change themselves? 

Club Hierarchy Gets Twitchy

Any board can become uneasy when relegation is a realistic possibility. A club with Everton’s rich history, with its standing in English football, is more shaken by such a threat. 

They evaded the drop last season, but it is a stretch to say Lampard has enough of a track record to indicate he can do so again.

Make no mistake, this Everton team is at very real risk of relegation. In those circumstances, boards will begin to hover on that trigger finger. 

Where Everton would go next is unclear. Mauricio Pochettino has been mooted, as has Ange Postecoglu. Would Brendan Rodgers be interested? Could Sean Dyche step in? 

With clubs in these situations, though, it is often not about who comes in, but simply about trying to shake things up. A New Manager Bounce could drag Everton away from the bottom three. 

Likely Next To Go

Lampard seems very likely to be the next manager sacked, in part because there are so few other candidates. West Ham have disappointed, but David Moyes has earned patience from the London Stadium hierarchy and fanbase.

The Hammers, too, are up in seventh on expected goal difference per 90, indicating there has both been an element of misfortune thus far and that they can expect an improvement.

Chelsea are not going to fire Graham Potter so soon after going all-in on the project. Like West Ham, Leeds’ underlying numbers suggest Jesse Marsch should be fine. Nottingham Forest extended Steve Cooper’s contract as recently as October. 

The statistics are not in Lampard’s favour. Plus, Everton’s track record shows they will not be overly hesitant to make a change. 

Everton’s season resumes with a match against Wolves, which could carry seismic consequence. A poor result there and Lampard will surely be on the brink with Manchester City on New Year’s Eve and Brighton on 3rd January.

It is not a great situation to throw any manager into, but perhaps change could be enough for Everton to stave off the drop once again.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

December 12, 2022
Premier League
Body

Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox

Six National Hunt Races You Won't Want To Miss This Christmas

It’s that time of the year when the top National Hunt races come at us thick and fast and the Christmas period is no exception.

Over the holiday period we have a plethora of competitive and valuable races to look forward to and in the midst of all the Christmas parties it’s often quite difficult to keep track of all your horse race bets online.

Therefore we have created for you a must watch guide until the end of December 2022.

Sat 17th – Tommy Whittle Chase (Haydock)

This 2m 7f handicap chase was first run in 1982, and is named after the late Tommy Whittle, a former director of Haydock Park.

The inaugural running was won by Little Owl who had lifted the Cheltenham Gold Cup the previous year. Others well known winners include The Thinker (1988), Twins Oaks (1992), One Man (1995), Cloudy Lane (2007) and Lord Du Mesnil (2019).

Mon 26th – King George VI Chase (Kempton) & Rowland Meyrick Chase (Wetherby)

Undoubtedly the biggest draw of the festive period is the Grade 1 King George VI Chase at Kempton. The three mile contest was first run in 1937 and has become an important stepping stone in the journey towards the Gold Cup.

Desert Orchid was synonymous with the race for years and β€œwhite Christmas” was regularly trotted out in the newspaper headlines, while Kauto Star collected the race an amazing five times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011).

Meanwhile at Wetherby on the same day we see the three mile Rowland Meyrick Chase. The race hit its peak pomp in the 1980’s when Forgive 'n Forget and The Thinker both won it in the same season they won their respective Cheltenham Gold Cups.

Tues 27th – Welsh Grand National (Chepstow)

Another eagerly anticipated race during the Christmas break is the Welsh Grand National.

The marathon three‐and‐three‐quarter miles test has seen top‐class horses like Burrough Hill Lad, Cool Ground, Master Oats, Synchronised and Native River take Welsh honours before going on to Cheltenham Gold Cup glory.

23 fences are tackled in all, often in very testing conditions.

Weds 28th – Savills Chase (Leopardstown)

Naturally the Irish host a whole load of excellent Graded races over Christmas and the Savills Chase ranks up there as one of the best. 

The race was first run over its present distance of three miles in 1992, when it became known as the Ericsson Chase. 

The most successful horse in the history of the β€œLeopardstown Christmas Chase” is Beef Or Salmon who lifted the silverware three times in all (2002,2004,2005).

Fri 30th – The Last Fling Chase (Haydock)

Keeping the Christmas celebrations going or starting your New Year's party off early, The Last Fling Chase takes place at the end of December on what is Haydock Park’s last racing day of the calendar year.

The 3m 4Β½f Last Fling Chase has been won by some nice handicap chasers down the years with the 2021 renewal going to the popular Blaklion, who went off the 11/4 favourite in the betting.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 12th December 2022

December 12, 2022
Horse Racing

By Steve Mullington

Steve Mullington
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    Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

    He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.

    Steven graduated from the University Of Lancaster in 1996 with a B.A (Hons) in Urban Policy & Race Relations (major) with Contemporary Religions & Belief Systems (minor) and still wonders if any of these help him find the winners?

    He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations. 

    Steve Mullington

    Could Everton Actually Go Down This Season?

    The Premier League’s lengthy hiatus, to make way for this winter’s World Cup, could not have come at a more fortuitous time for Everton and under-fire boss Frank Lampard. 

    Going into the international break the Toffees were mired in crisis and though they had flailed for form before, on several occasions in fact in recent years, this time felt different, more substantial. 

    That’s because no matter what system Lampard went with; or which full-backs and wingers he deployed; or whether he could call upon Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the club’s only recognised centre-forward of note, or have to make do, the end result was always the same. More points would be dropped and frankly, the situation was beginning to feel irreversible.

    In their sign-off game, before packing away their troubles for a month, Everton meekly lost 3-0 at Bournemouth, a performance that was greeted by vitriolic protest from the traveling supporters.

    Now though, there is a chance to reset; to take a long breath, reconfigure and go again and how sorely they need to faced as they are with the apocalyptic prospect of dropping out of the top-flight for the first time since 1954.

    That’s right, 1954. To date, it’s been a proud sixty-eight-year residency. 

    If Evertonians – who are incidentally one of the best, if long-suffering fan-bases around – react so strongly to a singular defeat on the south coast, it’s not worth thinking about how they will respond to that.

    There is also the club’s imminent move to Bramley-Moore Dock to consider. With the 52,888-capacity stadium expected to cost half a billion pounds, Everton can’t afford to see their revenues plummet by dropping down a division.

    In every way possible, they really can’t afford that.

    Yet, right now, that seems like a distinct possibility with the Premier League betting pricing them at a worryingly short 17/10 to endure relegation and that feels fair given that Everton have only won three from their opening 15 fixtures, scoring every 122 minutes along the way. 

    Granted, the shrewd summer additions of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady have minimised damage at the back, with the Toffees conceding the same number as Liverpool to this juncture.

    But they too seldomly score, and what’s more, so lacking are they in creativity and intent, often it feels like they never will again. 

    There are several sound reasons why our Premier League predictions routinely tip an Everton loss but it’s mainly this, that they’re so lightweight up front. 

    Worse yet, if their circumstances looked dire a third through the season, it only exacerbated going into November as the teams around them all improved.

    After starting the campaign a shadow of their usual selves, Leicester have climbed to mid-table. Nottingham Forest have perked up too, as have Aston Villa and Bournemouth.

    Under new management, there is every chance that Southampton and Wolves enjoy a better second act to 2022/23 which makes it highly pertinent that Everton face both of these sides on their return to domestic action.

    It is those two fixtures that may ultimately define what becomes of Everton, a club in great fear of a fate they are not used to. At the very least, they will reveal if Lampard’s reset has worked, a plan B that simply has to.

    *Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

     

    FIRST PUBLISHED: 12th December 2022

    December 12, 2022
    Premier League

    By Stephen Tudor

    Ste Tudor
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    Stephen Tudor is a freelance football writer and sports enthusiast who only knows slightly less about the beautiful game than you do.

    A contributor to FourFourTwo and Forbes, he is a Manchester City fan who was taken to Maine Road as a child because his grandad predicted they would one day be good.

    Stephen Tudor

    Is It Time For England To Move On From Gareth Southgate?

    England’s quarter-final with France in Al Khor ended like the final at Wembley and the semi-final in Moscow. Again, hopes of silverware ended in gut-wrenching fashion. Again, sharpened knives are pointed in the direction of Gareth Southgate. 

    Southgate himself did not commit to leading England into Euro 2024 directly after the loss to France, and spoke of the difficulties he has encountered since the Euros.

    "I’ve found large parts of the last 18 months difficult. For everything that I’ve loved about the last few weeks, I still have … how things have been for 18 months. What’s been said and what’s been written. The night at Wolves. There’s lots of things in my head that’s really conflicted at the moment.

    "What I want to make sure, if it’s the right thing to stay, is that I’ve definitely got the energy to do that. I don’t want to be four or five months down the line thinking: β€˜I’ve made the wrong call.’ It’s too important for everybody to get that wrong."

    While understandable for Southgate to need time to evaluate his future, some would argue he should not be afforded such a luxury.

    Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho have all been linked with the England job over the last few months.

    Southgate, though, is England’s second-most successful manager. 

    The Three Lions won six knockout matches at major tournaments between 1968 and 2016. Southgate has led England to six knockout wins over the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020 and 2022 World Cup.

    Those competitions are the first time ever England have won knockout matches at three consecutive major tournaments. 

    Successes of Southgate

    There are reasons both qualitative and quantitative to praise Southgate’s tenure. Statistically, this team is trending in the right direction.

    Emotionally, Southgate has brought legitimate belief that silverware is possible rather than the blind hope of previous managers.

    Fabio Capello, who led England to one major tournament with a round of 16 exit at the 2010 World Cup, Alf Ramsey, and Glenn Hoddle, who also took England to a lone World Cup round of 16 elimination, are the only managers with a better winning percentage than Southgate’s mark of 60.5%. 

    It cannot be overstated how poor England were when Southgate succeeded Sam Allardyce.

    England were knocked out of a supposedly straight-forward group at the 2014 World Cup, and were sent home from the Euros by Iceland two years later. 

    The prospect of outplaying the world champions or being a penalty shootout away from winning silverware was unfathomable.

    Yes, the draw was kind in 2018, but Southgate overachieved with Ashley Young at wing-back and a midfield which could not compete with Croatia.

    At the Euros, perhaps Southgate was too cautious in the final, but he pressed all the right buttons to get there.

    In Qatar, England were arguably the best team in the tournament. Southgate’s critics have long claimed he is too cautious.

    His Three Lions went toe-to-toe with France after emphatic displays against Iran, Wales and Senegal. It was a performance akin to what so many have asked for. 

    Don’t take Southgate for granted

    Disappointment is inevitable for the majority of teams in knockout football. It is easy to focus on what England have not achieved under Southgate, but this is by far their best period since the 1960s.

    What Southgate has ticked off should not be downplayed. Belgium and Germany were knocked out in the group stage in Qatar. Brazil, Portugal and Spain all left the tournament on the back of far more underwhelming performances than England. 

    Yes, England were deservedly among the tournament favourites, and yes, Southgate is inevitably going to make decisions that are not universally popular.

    Still, there is no magic formula for glory with a national team, and hiring a successful club manager is not the fix it might seem.

    Hansi Flick and Luis Enrique proved this over the last few weeks. National team management is a different job, presenting unique challenges and demanding pragmatic rather than idealistic football. 

    The concept Southgate has been negative is largely overblown, but even if he has been safety-first at times, there is good reason for it with the nature of tournament football.

    Even though they have had success in Premier League betting odds, the alternatives of Mourinho or Tuchel would not be any different. 

    Previous favourites for the job like Graham Potter and Eddie Howe are much more focused on Premier League winner odds after being appointed by Chelsea and Newcastle respectively.

    There are not many options if the FA opted to pick an English successor.

    Moving on would be a mistake

    If Southgate wants to stay, the FA should have no hesitancy in retaining him. From his recent comments, a contract extension is probably not of interest, but the FA should be willing to add a couple of years to his current deal.

    England’s display against France was their best tournament performance of a generation. A missed penalty from one of the world’s most reliable spot kick takers is out of Southgate’s hands.

    Those moments, deflections, refereeing decisions and general luck are a fundamental part of single-match knockout football.

    Pointing at the manager is often the easy way out – sometimes the better team loses, and sometimes there’s not much the manager can do. 

    Southgate has changed a country’s relationship with its national team. He has rebuilt the relationship between the squad and media, and there is no question he has an incredibly strong connection with his players.

    That unity and chemistry is not something to be taken lightly.

    Playing for England is fun for this generation of players in a way it wasn’t for decades before, which is partnered by this quiet, yet noteworthy, self-belief throughout the squad. 

    Southgate the manager is, of course, the main focus when debating his legacy, but who he is as a man is vitally important, too.

    He has stood up for his players. He has been unafraid to speak honestly about social issues, and just as he has eased the weight of the shirt on his players, he has stuck to his beliefs with tactical and selection decisions in a way that many of his predecessors could not. 

    Replacing Southgate would be a mistake. What he has done with England is unprecedented.

    Minimising those achievements to tournament exits overlooks how much has changed with the England team and the transformative role of luck in winning European Championships and World Cups.

     

    December 12, 2022
    Football
    Body

    Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

    He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

    Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

    Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

    Sam Cox
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