By the time the mid-season break for the World Cup came around in November 2022, Lampard’s position was under real threat following demoralising back-to-back defeats by Bournemouth to leave them languishing in 17th place in the league and out of the Carabao Cup.
The former England midfielder would not be able to turn the dire situation around, but many at the club say they enjoyed working with him, praising his approach to the job and how he took to the area and supporters.
“Living and being around Liverpool by managing Everton, you understand more issues people face in this part of the country that don’t in London,” Lampard says in the opening episode of the podcast series. “You understand a bit more why football feels like everything to them in certain ways.
“The change-around [against Palace] was completely player-led. It was special to me because in the short time here I have understood what it means to people.
“It is a club that has a distinct thing about the fanbase, local area and club. I wasn’t aware of that. When I walked in, someone told me I really have to tap into the fans, they want to feel you are listening to them.”
Before kick-off in the next game against Southampton, Everton release a statement saying the board of directors have been told to stay away from the game because of a “real and credible threat” to their safety and security.
BBC Merseyside’s Bould describes the lowest point she felt in the series.
“There was a moment in training ahead of the Southampton game, which became a story in itself because of the board statement that came out,” she explains.
“It was awful weather in January, and Lampard was sitting on a football in the rain.
“I asked if he was all right, and he just said, ‘yeah’. You could see people feeling sorry for him.”
Some fans asked why there was no CCTV footage of the incident with Barrett-Baxendale, and Merseyside Police confirmed they received no complaint from the club about an alleged headlock.
By the summer of 2023, Barrett-Baxendale, the club’s chief finance and strategy officer Grant Ingles, and non-executive director Graeme Sharp had all left their roles.
On the podcast, interim CEO Colin Chong reveals: “It was hard for the board members.
“Some of the criticism received was unnecessary and probably inaccurate. The board stayed away from some of the matches because of a threat to their safety, and spectators saw their absence as something else, when it wasn’t.
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