History dictates Frank Lampard was never going to be given more time at Chelsea

Despite the 279 managerial sackings in the Roman Abramovich era, Frank Lampard's departure was always going to sting the most.

Monday's surprise announcement sent the biggest shockwave through the Chelsea fanbase since José Mourinho's first dismissal in 2007, provoking an outpouring of grief and anger from supporters and peers alike. Seething Lampard stans pointed the finger firmly at the club's hierarchy, spitting blood through their tears on social media.

'HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE TIME!!11!' they smashed into their keyboards and touch screens.

But - separating the emotion of a club icon being relieved of their duties by the very establishment they dedicated their best years to - can anyone who has followed Chelsea's story even loosely since 2003 truly be shocked by Abramovich's cold-bloodedness?

Since Mourinho's first tenure ended with a drab 1-1 Champions League draw against Rosenborg 13 years ago, no Chelsea manager has lasted more than two years in the bucking bronco that is the Stamford Bridge hot seat.

While it is slightly shameful to suggest some quarters of the club's Abramovich-weary-yet-dependent support will have become desensitised to the owner's hire-and-fire short-termism, it is the sad truth behind the Chelsea success story.

Lampard was closing in on two months of poor form before the trigger was pulled, with very few signs of recovery among his charges. To put that into context, fellow club legend Roberto Di Matteo was given his marching orders in November 2012 after a blip that saw Chelsea lose just two and draw two in four in the league, while their European hopes hung in the balance.

This was a man who had delivered Abramovich's all-consuming Champions League victory mere months earlier, adding an FA Cup crown to boot.

Chelsea's league results since early December, which have left them ninth in the table, make for far grimmer reading:

Everton 1-0 Chelsea
Wolves 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea 3-0 West Ham
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
Chelsea 1-3 Man City
Fulham 0-1 Chelsea
Leicester 2-0 Chelsea

If you are the head coach of Chelsea Football Club in the Abramovich era, that is sackable form.

Comparisons have regularly been drawn with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United - two former fan favourites at their respective clubs who have navigated recent tempestuous runs of form to eventually steer their sides back on to the right course.

But with all due respect to those mammoths of the English game, they are both still in the midst of a transitional phase, out of the title picture for several years, where periods of mediocrity are accepted as part of 'the process' - this intangible stretch of time that has no discernible start or end as a manager attempts to re-establish a top club.

While the media narrative and Lampard himself may have peddled the idea of a process and long-term project when he returned to the club 18 months ago, his sacking suggests that those above him in the chain of command were never invested in that idea.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recognised that when he spoke about Lampard's sacking in a recent press conference.

Here [at a big club], you have to win. People talk about projects and ideas but it doesn't exist. You have to win or you will be sacked.Guardiola on Lampard's dismissal

He's right; at a club like Chelsea, the notion of a process does not exist, and lengthier periods of mediocrity have not been accepted since the Russian-Israeli arrived in west London in 2003. The summer's outlay and the reported willingness to get rid of Lampard at the first signs of weakness this season reflect that the club is still committed to its 18-year-old business model of two-year managerial cycles, heavy spending, firing and hiring.

Time is not a luxury any Chelsea manager has been afforded in that time, which makes it all the more baffling that a novice head coach was handed a three-year contract in the first place. Was there ever a belief behind the scenes that he would see it out?

While it would have been so romantic see a club legend carry Chelsea through thick and thin for years to come, with the heavy spending and Abramovich still as impatient as ever and still the possessor of the most ruthless of ruthless streaks, that was always likely to be an impossibility.

It wins them no friends, even among their own fanbase, but Chelsea's policy has delivered a raft of trophies in the 21st century and will continue to do so under Thomas Tuchel and beyond.

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