Video: Frank Lampard takes aim at Chelsea journalist: Player ‘confidence would be shot if they read your pieces’
Last Updated: January 23, 2021 12:24 pm
Woes at the Bridge
It is fair to say that all is not well at Chelsea as things stand.
The Blues, on the back of a massive summer spending spree, have nevertheless endured a campaign to forget to this point.
After having appeared to have steadied the ship amid a stellar spell of form between late October and early December, Frank Lampard’s men have since fallen off a cliff.
Chelsea have been condemned to defeat in a hefty 5 of their last 8 Premier League outings, the latest of which saw the capital giants end up on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline at the King Power this past Tuesday.
Chelsea’s English head coach Frank Lampard gestures during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Chelsea at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on January 19, 2021. (Photo by Rui Vieira / POOL / AFP)
In turn, the Pensioners have slipped to a lowly 8th in the English top-flight, a full 11 points adrift of table-topping Manchester United.
‘Confirmation bias…’
Amid their recent struggles, meanwhile, it has come as little surprise to see the finger of blame pointed squarely at Chelsea’s boss.
Frank Lampard has endured an altogether hit-and-miss stint on the bench at Stamford Bridge since replacing Maurizio Sarri in the summer of 2019, with media speculation having begun to mount of late that, if he doesn’t soon turn things around, the Blues’ hierarchy will seek out a more experienced replacement:
TRUE ✅ Massimiliano Allegri is off the list of @chelsea. Thomas Tuchel is the favorite, Rangnick the alternative. Chelsea try to end the season with Lampard
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) January 22, 2021
And, as outlined above, if the latest press conference held by the English tactician this afternoon is anything to go by, then it appears the pressure may just be beginning to get to Lampard.
During a media exchange ahead of his side’s FA Cup meeting with Luton this weekend, the Chelsea boss was drawn on the importance of Petr Cech’s influence and know-how amid such a difficult period for the club’s less experienced stars.
Lampard, though, was not too keen on providing a straight answer.
Instead, the one-time midfielder opted to take aim at Liam Twomey – a Chelsea reporter for The Athletic and the individual who asked the aforementioned question – over his recent coverage of the club’s squad:
‘To be fair Liam, I think their confidence would be shot if they were to read some of the pieces that you write at the minute.’
‘I read some of them and some of the confirmation bias that you reflect on games with is almost like a social media pundit to try and get a reaction in a negative way. I read the pieces when we were doing well as well and they didn’t go both ways.’
‘I think for a journalist to be objective would be a big start because if players do real it I’d fell like that.’
🗣 “Their confidence would be shot if they read the pieces you write at the minute. The confirmation bias is like a social media pundit to try and get a reaction.”
Frank Lampard fires back at reporter Liam Twomey in his press conference pic.twitter.com/vcekiaM6je
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 22, 2021
Twomey himself, meanwhile, has since taken taken to social media to respond to Lampard’s jibe:
I’m reluctant to respond at all because I’m really not important to what’s happening at Chelsea (certainly not enough to be discussed in a presser), but I’ll just say I respectfully disagree with Lampard’s opinion of my objectivity.
Good or bad, it’s never personal 👍 #CFC
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) January 22, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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