I know who should be the next Chelsea manager and it isn’t Frank Lampard

It would be a disaster, but it’s what the know-alls in the Chelsea crowd deserve. Those who, fuelled by like-minded fools on social media, often serenaded last season’s boss Maurizio Sarri with a chorus of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ as he returned them to the Champions League with a third-placed Premier League finish while winning a European Trophy.

Obviously Lampard was a top Chelsea player, but he’d be a fool to jump from Derby County after one season as a Championship manager to take on a club facing a transfer embargo with an impatient owner, but without Eden Hazard.

Lampard should bide his time at County and prove he’s worthy of a top job by actually delivering a trophy or a promotion to the club who gave him his big break.

Sixth place in the second tier on the back of a couple of talented loan signings does not indicate potential.

His tactical blunder in the Championship play-off final last season should set off a loud warning siren for anyone tempted to promote him before he’s ready.

Fielding a non-scoring striker ahead of Jack Marriott in that game against Aston Villa was a remarkable decision and one that inevitably backfired horribly.

It’s certainly not evidence that Lampard has the capabiliity to solve the N’Golo Kante/Jorginho conundrum or that he could teach Ross Barkley to trap a ball successfully or that he could turn Olivier Giroud into Didier Drogba.

And nor does being a star Premier League player guarantee anything. Paul Ince looked set to be a managerial star early in his career, but now he’s a TV pundit employed when Dion Dublin isn’t available.

Sarri certainly enjoyed the last laugh in his seemingly daily battle with his critics. By taking the Juventus job he’s guaranteed titles and Champions League football, something Chelsea will struggle to achieve after next season.

To be fair to Abramovich his next managerial decision isn’t easy. He will find it simple to attract the greedy bosses who fancy a lucrative contract and an even more lucrative pay-off, but those who can afford to be choosy will most likely seek less stressful opportunities in front of a more forgiving crowd.

Abramovich hasn’t appointed an English manager since 1993 so hiring Lampard would be a break from the norm. I’m not sure the Chelsea owner is romantic about football. He’d surely rather win stuff than give a club hero the chance to tarnish his golden reputation which would be most likely to happen.

No, Chelsea need a man with unlimited self-confidence and the ability to shut out crowd noise while performing his duties.

What’s Sam Allardyce doing these days?