Gerrard, Lampard or Rooney: Who Will Turn Out to Be the Best Manager?

Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney were all integral parts of England’s so called “Golden Generation”. It was a tag that they, like everyone embraced, but one that quickly became a millstone around their necks. Though the international scene ultimately ended in disappointment, each of them enjoyed phenomenal success domestically, at Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United respectively. Between them they amassed an incredible eight EPL titles, seven FA Cups and three Champions Leagues.

Of the three, Frank Lampard would have been the one who most people would think would have a better chance of making a success of management. He was intelligent, not just on the field, but off it. He speaks very well, he obviously understands and has studied the game intensely. He is also a midfielder, which is a position, that tends to produce the best managers.

Wayne Rooney on the other hand would almost certainly have been the one people would pick to have the hardest task to succeed. Rooney may not have been in the same league as some sporting wildmen, but he certainly lived a colourful life on and off the pitch, in and out of the tabloids. He was also a striker, a position that due to the need to be selfish, does not lend itself to a successful career in management. But as we all know, football is unpredictable, that is why we love it so much. So how has it played out so far, with those three’s managerial careers?

Wayne Rooney

When Rooney was announced as part of a new managerial set up at Derby early on in the 2020/21 season eyebrows were raised. The club has squandered tens, of millions of pounds in their attempt to get into the EPL, but a string of managers including Frank Lampard had failed. Rooney took over along with Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker when they were bottom of the league. It did not start well, and it wasn’t long before Rooney was announced as the sole manager, and that also he would no longer be playing, concentrating purely on the management side of things. Thing turned around fast. He took the Rams from six points adrift up to eight points clear from danger. Form tailed off badly, but a draw in the final game of the season saw them survive by the skin of their teeth.

The following season could not have gone worse, not on the pitch but due to what happened off it. Derby were deducted 21 points, were put on a transfer embargo and Rooney had his players sold for peanuts around him. Those would be incredible tough circumstances for any manager, no matter their experience. Rooney handled it incredibly well, with a dignity that was not always evident when a player. He also got his team winning matches. They are still in the relegation places, but have got themselves into a position where they have a very real chance of surviving which will be a remarkable achievement.

Steven Gerrard

The former Liverpool and England midfielder’s first job in management was at Rangers. He took to the role almost instantly and there is no doubting that his time at Ibrox was a huge success. In his third season he led his team to their first title for 10 years, doing the double over Celtic and remaining unbeaten the entire season. Despite that, he knew he would not be judged a success in management until he replicated it south of the border. Early signs at Villa were promising, he turned a relegation threatened team on a very poor run of form around. Things have slipped of late however, including a very poor loss at home to Watford.

Frank Lampard

Lampard’s time at Derby is hard to judge. He used the loan system well, and got his side into the play-off final, losing against Villa. Depending on who you talk to, that season was a success or a failure. Other, more experienced managers had tried and failed at Derby, indeed they had not done as well as Lampard, but he himself will no doubt think they could and should have got promoted in what was their best chance to do so. After that play-off defeat Lampard got the job at Chelsea, a club under their own transfer embargo. Again it is hard to judge how well he did, under trying circumstances. There is no doubt he worked well with the young players, bringing several through into the first team and a fourth-place finish and FA Cup final appearance was probably more than most fans would have hoped for in the previous summer.

After a strong start, the following season began to go badly wrong, and after a very poor run of form Lampard was sacked from the club he had served so well as a player. He is now back at another club that is going through very hard times, Everton. This season his remit is just to keep them up. If he achieves it, next season will be a good test to see how good a manager he really is. If he doesn’t keep them up, it is hard to see where he goes next.

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