Frank Lampard backs former club Chelsea to rebound from poor start
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has faith in his former squad despite its underwhelming early-season form with just seven points from six matches.
The current New York City FC midfielder reckons the Blues can still contend for the league title even with a poor start, with Saturday's 2-0 victory over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge providing the impetus.
"They started slow but they beat Arsenal recently so that gives them a bit more mentally and I think they'll come back into the race," Lampard told ESPN FC.
The onus for Chelsea's slow start has been attributed to defensive failings, namely those of club captain John Terry, who has been dropped from the squad by manager Jose Mourinho in lieu of the emergence of young French centre-back Kurt Zouma.
Lampard and the 34-year-old Terry spent 14 years together at the heart of many a Chelsea trophy haul following a year together in West Ham's academy, and if anybody has faith in the latter's return to prominence, it's the club's all-time leading scorer.
"I think John can carry on for years. I've been through it, everyone goes through it as you get into your 30s. The minute you turn 30, everyone starts to speculate how much you've got left. So the minute you don't play well, people start to talk about it," Lampard waxed.
"But I know John's attitude and I know his quality. I think he's 34 years of age and the way he plays, how quick his mind is at his position, I see him being an important part of Chelsea for a few years to come."
The club legends, who have 184 England caps, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, and two continental conquests between them have long been the face of the London side.
"I know John feels Chelsea like I did when I was there," Lampard said. "John is an emblem of the club so I think fans always relate to him being there, he's a huge part of the success we've had over the last 10 or 12 years. So I'd like to see him carry on there but again, it's not my decision."
Rather than implicate the defense as the source of Chelsea's struggles, Lampard instead thinks it originates from the emphatic nature of last season's league win.
"I think sometimes when you win a league, you put a lot of effort into it over a year like they did comfortably last year," he said. "I think they may have had a second-season syndrome, which Manchester City have had twice now actually when they've won it.
"I know Jose Mourinho and I know the pressure at Chelsea, they want themselves to be challenging every year," Lampard said. "So I think it will be addressed very quickly, if it hasn't already."
Following a loan season at City after signing with satellite club NYCFC last year, Lampard appears aware of the potential of the two sides to challenge for the title.
"For me, they (City and Chelsea) are the two top clubs in England. They'll fight it out for the title," he said. "They are the two best squads in the league and I'm very close to both of them so I kind of know what they've got. It's hard for me to call who's going to win it but that's how I see it panning out."