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The Ben Jacobs Chelsea column

Happy Easter, Ramadan and Passover to all those celebrating!

It’s been another dramatic week for Chelsea. Frank Lampard’s arrival as caretaker manager was warmly received by most fans, but on the field it was sadly a case of new manager, same problems, as Chelsea lost to Wolves and again failed to score.

Chelsea caretakers have a knack of success, but Lampard has a massive task on his hands. Chelsea are clear underdogs against Real Madrid in the Champions League and have to face six sides above them in the Premier League in their final eight games, including Arsenal and Manchester City. Qualifying for Europe is still really important because of the finances that brings even if the Europa League or Europa Conference League doesn’t sound too exciting.

I wasn’t too surprised to see Lampard revert to a 4-3-3 against Wolves, but I am not sure it was wise. It would be different if he had the job permanently, but with so little time before Real Madrid, and Chelsea desperate for consistency and stability, reverting to a back-four just felt like another new thing for the squad to deal with. In fairness, they are well used to a back four, it’s just there was so little turnaround time.

Lampard actually played a 3-4-3 in a 5-2 Chelsea win at Wolves back in September 2019 – a game in which Tammy Abraham scored a hat-trick – and I do think this formation suits Chelsea better right now because it brings the best out of both Reece James and Ben Chilwell.

It’s clear Lampard likes 4-3-3, but I don’t think he’ll be too rigid with it. The one advantage of such a swollen squad is there are tactical options. But it just feels like whoever is in charge, and for whatever reason (new signings, injuries, congested calendar, poor form) there is just constant tinkering going on, which is never usually a recipe for success.