Chris Sutton claims Everton boss Frank Lampard is the Premier League manager most likely to be sacked next. The Toffees are currently just a single point clear of the relegation zone.
Everton have produced yet another disappointing campaign so far this term. The Goodison Park side only avoided the drop into the Championship with two games to spare last term. They would end the 2021/22 season in 16th place, four points safe, after losing 21 fixtures.
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Lampard replaced Rafa Benitez in charge on January 31 on a two-and-a-half-year contract with Everton 16th in the table. Farhad Moshiri had sacked the Spaniard on January 16 after losing 10 of their 19 games. Lampard would go on to win six of his 18 to end the campaign.
But this season has so far seen Everton win just three fixtures, draw in five and lose seven. The Toffees have also only scored 11 goals through their 15 games. Only Anthony Gordon (3) and Dwight McNeil (2) have rippled the back of the net more than once so far, as well.
Wolves are the only Premier League side to score fewer goals than Everton’s 11 with eight so far this season. The two teams will now meet at Goodison on Boxing Day to resume the top-flight campaign following the World Cup. Wolves are also the side bottom of the table.
Could Everton make Lampard the sixth Premier League sacked this season?
Just two wins and four draws to nine defeats has left Wolves lingering on 10 points behind Southampton (12), Nottingham Forest (13) and then Everton (14) in safety. The Molineux natives’ plight also cost Bruno Lage his job with the Portuguese sacked back on October 2.
Julen Lopetegui has since replaced Lage in the Wolves dugout and will oversee his second match when they visit Everton. While Lage was the third of five Premier League managers to lose their jobs this term. Scott Parker had become the first when he left AFC Bournemouth.
The Cherries sacked Parker on August 30, before Chelsea parted company with Thomas Tuchel on September 7. Aston Villa would later follow Wolves dismissing Lage by sacking Steven Gerrard on October 20. Southampton also fired Ralph Hasenhuttl on November 7.
Sutton fears for Lampard’s future at Goodison Park if Wolves win on Boxing Day
Sutton fears Lampard could soon become the sixth Premier League manager sacked so far this season if Everton cannot improve their form. He had feared for Brendan Rodgers with Leicester City. But the Foxes won four of their five league matches before the World Cup.
Further, Sutton hints the Everton job could be of interest to Didier Deschamps if Lampard is sacked. Deschamps guided France to a successive World Cup final at Qatar 2022. But Les Bleus failed to defend their title from Russia 2018 after losing on penalties to Argentina.
“Brendan Rodgers was the Premier League’s most under-pressure boss after Leicester’s awful start to the season,” Sutton noted in his Daily Mail column. “Now, Frank Lampard will be the one looking over his shoulder.
“Everton are a strange club. They’ve hired managers who have been there and done it, such as Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez. But they couldn’t get a tune out of the players.
“Lampard needs a strong start when the season resumes on Boxing Day, especially as they face relegation rivals Wolves. From speaking with Everton fans, they’re still willing Lampard to do well. But that can change if results don’t improve. Fancy it, Didier?”
Deschamps is out of contract with the French Football Federation (FFF) this month after 10 years in charge of Les Bleus. But president Noel Le Graet has told Ouest-France that he wants to give the 54-year-old a new deal that will lock the ex-Marseille boss down to 2024.
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