The recent appointments of Frank Lampard at Coventry and Ruud Van Nistelrooy at Leicester reignite debates about past players getting manager jobs based on who they are. It has been a contentious topic as it is very common for those who were particularly successful when they played to get managerial positions easily.

Coventry recently appointed former England and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard as their new boss. Lampard found his way into management when he got the Derby County job, but only spent one year at the club before returning to the side that he captained, Chelsea.

This appointment was one that made the headlines at the time as a massive club like Chelsea normally hired the best there was but, on this occasion, they went for someone that they knew well. Lampard’s stint at Chelsea was unsuccessful, only lasting two years.

Frank Lampard acknowledging the fans after his final game as Chelsea head coach (Alex Davidson)

Van Nistelrooy, who has been given the Leicester City job, was a renowned striker for Manchester United. Van Nistelrooy was the PSV manager and was successful but then he was appointed as the assistant to Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United, which was peculiar. It is very uncommon that a club hires an assistant for the manager as it should be a coach that the manager has a good working relationship with.

When Ten Hag left the club, some were calling for Van Nistelrooy to get the job, but it was probably his lack of experience that denied him the opportunity, despite having a successful term as interim manager. Leicester saw that impressive short spell and welcomed the opportunity to sign the Dutchman.

Van Nistelrooy applauding the Manchester United fans (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA)

Alongside Lampard, two prime examples of superstar players not turning into credible managers are Al Ettifaq’s Steven Gerrard and Plymouth’s Wayne Rooney. Both scousers have had a tough time in the dugout.

Rooney began his managerial career at Derby as player-manager, where we had an average spell. He then surprised the world when we went across the globe to manage D.C. United. He only lasted a year at this club, before moving to Birmingham.

The script remained the same as he struggled during his time in charge, with the fans against him most of the time. The ex-Manchester United talisman now finds himself in an uphill battle at Plymouth as he tries to prove that he deserves to be a manager and hasn’t just been handed the opportunity.

Wayne Rooney managing Plymouth (Gareth Copley)

Gerrard has had a lot of criticism during his career as a coach as he has had a rough couple of years in the dugout. The former Liverpool captain started off at Rangers where he won the league in his third season at the Glasgow side but his time in charge was still deemed as quite stale, only winning one title in three years.

Gerrard moved to Villa in the hope that he would make a name for himself, but his time in charge was somewhat catastrophic, not lasting long. He is now at Saudi Arabian team, Al Ettifaq, earning quite a large pay check.

Although these managers have not lived up to the standards they showed on the pitch, there have been some exceptions. Pep Guardiola, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Zinedine Zidane are included in this list.

Nepotism finding its way into manager selection