Doucoure launches attack on Frank Lampard after ‘heartbreaking’ Everton episode
Abdoulaye Doucoure has launched a scathing attacker on Frank Lampard in a tell-all interview after what he did to him at Everton.
Lampard was Everton’s manager for a year between January 2022 and January 2023, averaging a point in the 44 games he managed at Goodison Park.
Doucoure was a regular starter under the Englishman for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, but fell out of favour in the following campaign, leading to an altercation between the two.
Abdoulaye Doucoure lifts lid on Frank Lampard
Looking back at his relationship with Lampard, the 32-year-old admitted that there was no communication between them after a point.
The Mali international also did not shy away from insisting that the Chelsea legend made a mistake by leaving him on the bench, as evidenced by his heroics under Sean Dyche later.
“There was no communication between me and him, I never went to ask him why I was not playing”, Doucoure said on The Overlaps’ Breakdown show (10 February).
“I was just thinking I’m a Premier League player for almost eight years, I think I’ve proved myself in this league and I was just working hard in training.
“Obviously, the results were not very good, to be honest. I was just waiting for my chance and he didn’t trust me, and I think he made a mistake because I just proved him wrong after that.
“After the new manager Sean Dyche came, I was the difference maker in the team.”
Doucoure went on to confess that he was close to leaving the Toffees due to his broken relationship with the manager.
“It was very hard because I love Everton, and because of my relationship with him, I was pushing away”, he revealed.
“I was nearly out of the club because when you are not playing… obviously, I can’t sit on the bench.
“For six months, I’m just saying, ‘I’m going to be okay, I’m going to just sit on my money’, no! I need to play, I need to play football.
“So, it was very sad for me because when you start exploring your options, going out, going to another club, I never want that.”
He also disclosed that he was forced to train with the Under-21s after being exiled from Lampard’s squad.
“I was training with the Under-21s, imagine”, Doucoure said.
“I was training with the Under-21s because I was excluded from the team, he pushed me away.
“When the new manager came in, I was the main man and I just signed a big contract with Everton after that.
“In the space of six months, everything changed, and that’s football.”
Doucoure felt so “disrespected” by Lampard that he was heartbreakingly close to leaving the club, with two Premier League clubs even holding talks over signing him.
“I was very close, I was talking to a couple of clubs in the Premier League”, he added.
“Obviously, I didn’t want it, but obviously when you start training alone, not playing, the exit is very close.
“I was very, very close to leaving and it was heartbreaking for me to be honest.”
Everton in better hands now
It is not just Doucoure; no one associated with Everton would look fondly back at their time under Lampard.
The 46-year-old managed to win only 12 of his 44 games as their manager, with the Blues barely avoiding relegation in the 2021-22 season.
Not only were the Merseyside-based club’s results on the pitch pitiful, their finances were also looking at bleak at that point.
