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Which star players have failed as football managers?

Frank Lampard's interim stint at Chelsea is not going well, then again his other managerial spells didn't quite go to plan either did they.

Poor old Frank Lampard has not enjoyed the best of starts in the world of management. His glorious playing career has not transferred to the dugout.

But he is not alone in the list of great players who have struggled to turn their hand at management.

Planet Sport checks out some of the worst star players ever to don the managerial tracksuit/sheepskin coat/Armani jumper.

Sir Bobby Charlton

Charlton's legendary playing days saw him win a World Cup with England and have a stand named in his honour at Old Trafford.
However, after leaving United in 1973 and taking charge of Preston North End, Charlton had a far less enjoyable time on the sidelines.
As a player-coach, Charlton was nearing the end of his playing career, but found himself having to contribute frequently as Preston slid down Division Two.
Preston had only narrowly survived the drop the previous campaign and Charlton's arrival did little to inspire the side. They were relegated to the third tier at the close of the 1973/74 season.
Charlton remained in charge for the following campaign, but suffered a backlash from supporters over the sale of John Bird to Newcastle. Preston eventually finished ninth and Charlton resigned shortly after.

Edgar Davids

Davids enjoyed a hugely successful yet bizarre career as a player. He was a world-class midfielder who thrived at Ajax, Juventus and Barcelona, yet failed at Barnet.
The Dutch star struggled with injuries towards the end of his playing career, so it was not too much of a surprise to see him step down the levels, but no one was expecting the former Champions League winner to sign for Barnet in 2012.
Alongside Mark Robson, Davids joined as a player-manager in the hope of steering the League Two side away from relegation.
In fairness, Davids started well in north London, and captained the side to a 4-0 win in his first start against Northampton Town.
However, Barnet's results fell away and they ended up being relegated on the final day of the 2012/13 season.
Davids continued in sole charge the following season, and decided to wear the No. 1 shirt in an attempt to "make it a trend for midfielders". The beginning of the end.
Unaware player-managers are required to set a good example on the pitch, Davids received four yellow cards and three reds in just nine appearances for Barnet.
To add to his controversial on-pitch image, Davids decided to 'opt out' of going to away games that required an overnight stay, instead letting his assistant manager, Ulrich Landvreugd, take charge.
He eventually resigned from his role in January 2014. Recent stints in the Netherlands with Telstar and at Portuguese side Olhanense have proved just as dismal, with the Olhanense chairman describing Davids' appointment as "catastrophic".
He was last seen as an assistant manager with the Dutch national squad.

Paul Gascoigne

Despite his brilliant career at Tottenham and Newcastle, even Gascoigne's biggest fans will tell you that he was amazing on the pitch, and less so off it.
The same can be said for his managerial ability. Gascoigne hung up his boots in 2004 and was named coach of League Two side Boston United.
Clearly confident of transferring his playing ability to the dugout, Gascoigne stated he "can become a great coach and a great manager".
However, after just three months, Gascoigne resigned and instead took charge of non-league side Kettering Town.
As a sign of his commitment, Gascoigne suggested he would invest enough money to own a third of the club. However, it never came to fruition.
That's likely because the England star only lasted 39 days before being sacked. Poor results on the pitch certainly didn't help his cause, but Kettering owner, Imraan Ladak, also cited Gascoigne's drinking problems as a reason behind his departure.

Diego Maradona

Maradona is another player with staggering ability who often struggled with off-field vices.
Widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, it's no surprise that Maradona was in demand as a manager after retiring in 1997.
Brief stints at Argentine sides Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club failed to suggest Maradona would be cut out for management. Nevertheless, he was still made head coach of Argentina in 2008.
After a poor start to 2010 World Cup qualification, two consecutive wins helped Maradona's side qualify. However, his celebrations - which involved shouting abuse at journalists in a press conference - landed him in trouble with FIFA.
Maradona received a two-month ban and was back for his side's World Cup campaign in the summer. Three wins in the group stage, against Nigeria, South Korea and Greece, saw them advance to the round of 16, and a subsequent 3-1 victory over Mexico progressed them to the quarter-finals.
Despite being ranked fifth in the world at the time, Argentina were routed 4-0 by Germany and Maradona immediately suggested he might leave.
He decided to stay but it was all over when the Argentinian FA decided against renewing his contract, leaving Maradona feeling "betrayed" and "lied to".

Bobby Moore

A World Cup winner, a West Ham legend, and named by Pele as the greatest defender to ever grace the game - there's no denying the outstanding playing career of Sir Bobby Moore.
However, the stalwart centre-back had far less luck as a manager. His career on the sidelines started at Oxford City, before he made a surprise move to Hong Kong to take charge of Eastern AA.
Moore then moved back to England and took up the role of manager at his local side, Southend United. His first full season was plagued with financial difficulties, and Southend narrowly missed being evicted from the Football League.
As a result, performances on the pitch weren't too great either, and Moore took charge for another season, before resigning after a ninth-placed finish.
After his departure, Southend managed to win promotion the following year. Whether Moore was to blame for their failings, or should be credited for building solid foundations is up for debate.
However, the fact that he never got another role in management probably answers the question.

Gary Neville

After 19 years as a player, and four years as assistant at England, Gary Neville decided to try his luck in management in 2015 when he took charge of Valencia alongside his brother Phil.
The duo lasted just four months.
With no prior experience and unable to speak Spanish, Neville's time in Valencia was nothing short of catastrophic.
With Valencia 14th in La Liga and out of the Europa League, a 7-0 loss to Barcelona proved to be the final nail in the coffin.
Neville returned to the commentary box, where he can regularly be heard having football-related orgasms when someone dribbles around the goalkeeper.

Frank Lampard

Lampard nearly made a successful start to his managerial career with Derby County, who he joined in May 2018.
In his first season in charge he steered the club to a sixth-placed finish in the Championship, but they lost to Aston Villa in the play-off final.
He probably should have stayed at Derby to develop his experience and have another shot at steering the club back to the Premier League, but the lure of Chelsea proved too much.
He was unveiled as the new Chelsea boss in July 2019, but his first competitive game in charge was a chastening 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.
He did guide the Blues to fourth place in the Premier League and runners up to Arsenal in the 2020 FA Cup in his first season, but then it all went quickly downhill.
Despite spending more than £200million on seven major signings in the summer, Chelsea slipped out of the Premier League title race and Lampard was sacked in January 2021, having won just one of his last five league matches and with the club ninth in table.
Everton was next for Lampard and he just managed to keep them clear of being relegated at the end of the 2021/22 season. dogfight and at times it looked as though they would drop out of the top flight for the first time since 1954.
But in January 2023, he was sacked again after less than a year in charge at Goodison Park, with the club embroiled in a relegation battle for a second successive season.
Now back at Chelsea as a caretaker manager, he has already suffered four defeats in his first four matches.
Could he be sacked before the end of the season?

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