- Palace keen on Lampard appointment
- Ex-Chelsea boss flying with Coventry
- Ambitious move for Palace
Crystal Palace are on the hunt for their next manager as Oliver Glasner departs the club at the end of the season. Whilst Bournemouth moved fast to replace Andoni Iraola, already confirming the pre-planned arrival of Marco Rose, Palace are yet to make a final decision.
Palace have known internally of Glasner’s intention to leave this Summer since October last year, despite the Austrian’s insistence that a decision was yet to be made due to the busy schedule preventing conversations surrounding his future taking place.
The call is likely being delayed until Palace know of their fate ahead of next season. European qualification would likely increase the calibre of manager the club can attract, whilst offering Premier League football alone would likely limit their options.
Palace keen on Lampard
TEAMtalk revealed that Coventry City boss Frank Lampard is a name that really intrigues Palace. Former Spurs and Brentford boss Thomas Frank is another name on the shortlist, whilst Ferencvaros manager Robbie Keane remains a target.
Lampard was a previous target for the managerial role at Selhurst Park before his move to Coventry, where he has excelled massively, leading the Sky Blues to their first promotion in 26 years. Palace winger Romain Esse has enjoyed his time on loan at the club too, and has played a role in Lampard’s success in the second half of the season.
Lampard has enjoyed his most successful stint to date at Coventry, averaging 1.85 points per game, compared to Glasner’s 1.62.
26 wins, 11 draws and just 7 losses decorate a superb campaign by Lampard’s side, who have scored ninety goals and just forty four, the joint least in the division. With a ten point gap at the summit of the table, Coventry confirmed their promotion last weekend before securing the Championship title with a 5-1 win over Portsmouth.
An exciting style of play
Lampard’s side have been a joy to watch in the Championship this season, with a brilliant blend of free-flowing attacking football paired with defensive solidity. It is likely that Palace stray away from a back five with the appointment of a new manager, and Lampard has seen great success with a 4-2-3-1 formation.
This is probably the best system to adjust to from the current set up, with the two wide tens and striker remaining in place. What this does do is create a new opening in central attacking midfield, a position that Palace have not utilised in some time.
Also, it would alleviate the pressure on the club to sign another central defender. The options of Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Jaydee Canvot and Chadi Riad would provide more than enough.
Lampard’s style of play would certainly suit Palace’s crop of talent, and it would be interesting to see how well he would do in South London. However, it will likely be a difficult task to pry him away from Coventry, at least this early on in their promotion celebrations.
