One Year of Frank Lampard

Dylan Unarket , Jayden Nawrocki – December 1st 2025

 

 

 

“Why do clubs keep hiring Frank Lampard?” The main question asked online when Frank Lampard was appointed on the 28th of November by Coventry City. Lampard took charge of the Sky Blues following a ‘controversial’ sacking of Mark Robins after 7 years, with the club sat 17th in the championship. Frank Lampard’s tenure got off to a rocky start; he was thrown into a difficult position, with pressure on him to deliver, with the club sitting way below expectation. He had his first game, welcoming him to life in Coventry with a feisty draw to Cardiff City, followed by his first win in a trip to Millwall taking him to only 2 wins from 5. Pressure was on Frank, after he was booed off at Fratton Park, with a damaging 4-1 loss in a trip to Portsmouth.

 

Frank refused to succumb to the pressure of the media. January came along, and Frank was determined to change his ways. The arrival of Matty Grimes changed the levels of this team. 10 wins in 12 and Coventry were flying, from looming over relegation to a push for promotion with Lampard completing the expected turnaround and suddenly becoming the ” Super Frank” fans adore.

 

The club continued their consistency throughout, with a win over Middlesborough securing a place in the play-offs defying the odds, from 17th to 5th under Frank Lampard. However the happiness was short lived, with Dan Ballard getting his head on a corner to send Sunderland past the Coventry obstacle, breaking the hearts of the Sky Blues.

 

Despite this crushing defeat, hopes for the new season were high, following an incredible turnaround from Frank Lampard. So how did he do it? He came in under pressure with the club sat 17th, despite the struggles and media attention, he showed resilience and determination, with the signing of Matt Grimes, he built an attacking foundation, using his coaching skills to create a threat which pushed the club towards the play-offs.

 

The heartbreak did not demotivate Frank, he insisted on making just one key signing towards the first team of Carl Rushworth. Then the addition of Luke Woolfenden, Kaine Kesler Hayden and Miguel Brau added necessary depth. The squad was built to continue the chemistry building from the foundations of the previous season.

 

Now this season, Coventry fans may be surprised by the campaign they are having so far, coming into the new season wondering if they could continue their form before the agonising playoff semi-final defeat. Despite a 0-0 draw against Hull to start the season, Coventry are flying. They were the only team unbeaten in England and sit top of the league with some convincing results like; 3-5 away win at Derby, 7-1 win at home to QPR and a 5-0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday.

 

All was perfect until they travelled away the Wrexham on Halloween. It was a night of scares for Lampard’s side as Windass’s assists completed Keiffer Moores Perfect hat-trick.
The Hollywood headlines were written for Wrexham as they picked apart Coventry, beating them 3-2 and becoming the first team to do so this season. However, this result did not affect the Sky Blues form as they bounced straight back with 6 wins in a row. with a 3-1 win over Sheffield United, and a smash and grab 1-0 win over former Coventry managers high flying Stoke.

 

Their form continues as they come from 2-0 down to beat West Brom 3-2, avoiding a slip up as Middlesborough found themselves an equaliser from 2-0, but two late goals from Simms and Kitching left them in defeat 4-2, Coventry then moved on to Charlton Alethic where they went a goal behind thanks to an early goal from Knibbs, but like many times before this season, Coventry proved to be the better side and making the comeback to win 3-1. This game marked a historic moment for the club, with 50 goals being the landmark milestone after just 18 games, becoming the top scoring side in the country. On course to break goal records set across English Football. The club sat 10 points clear at the summit of the Championship to mark 1 year of Frank Lampard.

 

Catching up to the most recently played fixture, Ipswich away, the fans would be fancying their chances against Kieran McKennas side who haven’t been looking for themselves this season. However, this wasn’t the case. Walle Egeli put the hosts ahead just before the break with a lovely curling effort into the bottom corner, Dead on 60 minutes George Hurst doubled the lead with a simple 1 on 1 effort slotted past the keeper. Many Ipswich fans would’ve still had some nerves as people have learned to not write off The Sky Blues this season. But then came the 90th minute where Spanish forward Ivan Azon bent a rebounded
effort into the bottom right hand corner to secure the win For Ipswich Town who are finding some form. This defeat being Frank Lampard’s Coventry second defeat of the season.

 

Coventry will be hoping their form doesn’t drop over the winter as Middlesborough will be
trying to close the gap of top spot, with Lampards side remaining top by 7 points.

 

Ultimately, it has been a very successful year in charge for Frank Lampard.

 

 

Next stop: The Premier League 

 

Image Credit:  Frank Lampard 2017, photo by chelseadebs (cfcunofficial), via Wikimedia Commons, licenced under  CC BY-SA 2.0

https://creativecommons.org/licences/by-sa/2.0/