I just think it’s obvious that Ole has had an objectively better season than Lampard and if their nationalities were reversed then the media narrative would have too.
Sure Chelsea had a transfer ban but they also have access to a whole squads worth of loan players playing across Europe. Players who are undoubtably talented and have been overlooked at Chelsea for years. He also did have access to Pulisic as a Hazard replacement and while he’s a drop in quality, he’s proven to be a very talented player in his own right this season. Chelsea are less reliant on individual stars in their first 11 and for that they deserve credit, but they also have access to a far deeper pool of similar quality players compared to Utd. When we lose Pogba, Ole then has to turn to players like Lingard or Periera who are just nowhere near good enough for this level.
Utds injury problems have been blown under the carpet this season. We have missed pogba all season while Martial and Rashford have missed 4 months between them. The nature of the Utd squad means we are more reliant on individual players then Chelsea which means when those players are missing there’s really not much Ole can do. The fact is, very few pundits, or fans placed Utd anywhere near the top four at the season start, even fewer had us in third place. Ole has managed to navigate injuries to key players, maintain an excellent record in big games, whilst also playing some of the best football in the league in the second half of the season. Bare in mind that we achieved this with the youngest squad in the division! We put in one of the runs of the season and again aren’t getting enough credit considering our position at Christmas.
I think everyone has been too easily swayed by the media narrative which is based around the fact Lampard is an English darling. Chelsea have had a good season, but what Ole has done is nothing short of miraculous, especially when you consider the state Mourinho left us in just 18 months ago.
