Chelsea appointing Frank Lampard would represent huge change in philosophy

On the Chelsea coach back from Old Trafford one evening in the early 2000s, Gianfranco Zola started up a conversation about whether the players should all chip in and buy some lightweight goals that could be wheeled on to the pitches at their Harlington training ground, matching the ones Manchester United had. As it was, about a dozen players had to lug the partially rusting iron monstrosities to either end of the windy pitches on the strip of land sandwiched between the M4 motorway and Heathrow Airport they called home.

Graeme Le Saux responded that perhaps they could add a bit more to the kitty and improve the showers, too, which were so volatile that players had to let the hot water run out for a short while when they turned them on to avoid being scalded.

More players, including Frank Lampard, became involved as the ante was upped from £500 each, to more than £1,000, until Eidur Gudjohnsen asked why they did not throw in £100,000 per person and buy Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

Zola’s student surprise

Although the conversation turned to jokes, there was a serious element to discussions about facilities the club did not even own, but had to borrow from Imperial College London, which caused more issues.

Read more: Frank Lampard’s future looks bright even though Derby County’s season ends in disaster

Another story goes that on one afternoon Zola stayed behind after training to practise free kicks, a regular sight at Harlington, for so long that some of the university students had left his clothes outside the changing room to use it.

And the site was not even private land, so anyone could stroll in, and visitors included the bloke who would cycle past everyday and collect and balls that had flown into the boundary bushes and a woman who made each player a cake on their birthday.

As Chelsea won trophies and qualified for the Champions League, players at other clubs who learned of their circumstances were often surprised they were able to compete at that level and still attract star players with such an amateur setup that even a lower-end Football League side would’ve been embarrassed as they showed new signings around.

Abramovich’s improvements

So that was one of the major changes Roman Abramovich made when he swept in from Russia with deep pots of gold and grand ambitions. Abramovich believed a club who played their football in west London’s Fulham, one of the most affluent areas in the world, deserved a training base of equal standing, not a couple of pitted, pock-marked pitches shared with some teenagers.

He bought the land in Cobham and the players finally moved there in 2007 when the facilities were completed and investment of £150m delivered a standard of professionalism the envy of rivals, which remains the standard, even as newer investments from clubs such as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have matched or bettered them.

Read more: Conte’s strained relationship with Abramovich cabal at heart of Chelsea turmoil

What has disappointed Chelsea’s owner so much about the 16 years since he bought the club, however, is that those facilities have still not helped produce a regular first-team player from the academy.

Despite the underwater treadmills and and small-scale on-site stadium for competitive youth matches, nobody has properly made the cut. Of course, Abramovich and his approach have to take some of the blame for this, with managers frequently sacked less than six months after winning titles and their most recent, Maurizio Sarri, allowed to leave after delivering more silverware, reaching another cup final and finishing third in the Premier League. The pressure to win trophies has always outweighed that of bothering to promote from the academy and allow time for those players to bed in.

But as Jurgen Klopp has shown with Trent Alexander-Arnold, a little patience and the acceptance of mistakes can uncover one of the best young players on the planet on your doorstep.

The Bridge over troubled water

The arrival of Lampard, which is expected soon, as Sarri’s replacement represents a marked change in philosophy from Chelsea’s owner, but will need patience of the like Abramovich has not shown before. Abramovich has grown tired of throwing money at squad rebuilds and wants to see signs of self-sustainability, which means hiring someone finally prepared to take players from the shallows of the youth team and throw them into the Premier League’s deep and unforgiving waters.

Read more: 5 youngsters who could benefit from Chelsea transfer ban

Lampard, once a much younger player joking with the seniors about whether or not they could afford a jacuzzi in one of the Harlington changing rooms with their whip-round, has already recently turned to Chelsea’s academy for players, bringing in Fikayo Tomori, 21, and Mason Mount, 20, on loan when he arrived at Derby County, who made a combined 99 appearances last season. He also spent time at Chelsea’s academy as part of his Uefa A Licence coaching.

Alongside them, there are plenty more who at least deserve a chance and see Lampard as the ideal coach to offer it: Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Ethan Ampadu and, though injured and having gained more first-team experience than any recent academy products, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek still fall in that category.

Notably last season when Hudson-Odoi handed in a transfer request to try to force through a move to Bayern Munich, in that Sunday’s FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday at Stamford Bridge the supporters continued to taunt Sarri and backed the young player instead. It was the clearest sign that they are desperate for someone – anyone – to give their youth players a chance.

Though they are only separated by a few hundred metres of driveway in Cobham, Lampard could be the bridge across the troubled water between Chelsea’s youth teams and the first team.