Frank Lampard renews hostilities with familiar rival after spygate controversy

Frank Lampard is due to lock horns with Leeds United once more, some six years on from the spygate saga when his Derby team took on the Yorkshire side in the Championship. Derby sat in the play-off spots in January 2019 when they faced a trip to Elland Road, with opponents Leeds in top spot. Around the game, though, it emerged that Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa had sent a staff member to spy on the Rams' training session.

Lampard would leave Derby at the end of the season, taking charge at Chelsea. After a year as Everton manager, and a brief spell as Chelsea caretaker in 2023, the former England midfielder has now returned to Championship management with Coventry City. The Sky Blues will host Leeds on Wednesday with the Whites top of the second tier once again. Lampard might now be in charge of a different team, but one would expect revenge to be sweet.

Derby called local police after seeing a man behaving "suspiciously", with it later emerging that the individual was an employee of their opponents. Derbyshire Police would later confirm no arrests were made, though. Bielsa was open about the incident after reports came to light, defending his approach. "It's true it was someone from Leeds United. I am responsible for it," the Argentine said. It doesn't matter if this is legal or illegal, or right or wrong... for me, it is enough that Frank Lampard and Derby felt it was not the right thing to do, for me to believe that I didn't behave well.

"Yesterday I talked to Frank Lampard and he said I didn't respect the rules of fair play. I have a different point of view on it, but the important thing is what Frank Lampard and Derby think. "I am the only one responsible for it, because I didn't ask for the permission of Leeds to do it. Without trying to find a justification, I have been using this kind of practice since the qualifiers for the World Cup with Argentina. It is not illegal, we have been doing it publicly and we talk about it in the press. For some people, it's the wrong thing to do and for other people, it's not the wrong thing to do.".

How do you feel about spygate six years on? Let us know in the comments section. Lampard halted training, and would later argue he didn't consider the behaviour to be okay, regardless of cultural norms elsewhere. “I don’t believe it’s fine. It’s disrupted our build up to this game," he said. "People are going to say we’re making excuses of it before the game but I will speak up win, lose or draw and will do it after the game.

“The police came on the training pitch, disruption number one. We were training the day before the game on team tactics, shape, personnel. The fact that Harry Wilson wasn’t training was very evident and the person watching was aware of that.". The match still went ahead as planned, with Leeds winning 2-0, with Lampard stressing his position after the game. "For me, it's not right," the Rams manager told BBC Radio 5 live. "I'm a big fan from afar of Bielsa, I've got his book at home in my front room, but that's slightly clouded it for me today.

"I've never heard of going to a training ground on your hands and knees with pliers trying to break into private land to watch. But I don't attribute our performance to it because that's on us.". Leeds were ultimately fined £200,000 for the incident, with Bielsa footing the bill. Derby got some revenge in May, beating Leeds in their play-off semi-final, but they lost to Aston Villa at Wembley in what would prove to be Lampard's final match in charge.

Bielsa's team would earn promotion the next season, though. That set up another meeting between Lampard and Leeds - this time in the top-flight - and Bielsa wanted to let bygones be bygones. "It's not bad. The relationship I have with him is similar to the ones I have with the rest of my colleagues," the Leeds boss said. "This is a moment that has already gone past," he said of the Spygate incident. "It was already resolved by the authorities, who judge how these actions need to be punished,".

Leeds took an early lead in that December 2020 clash at Stamford Bridge, with Patrick Bamford on target inside five minutes, only for Chelsea to come from behind to win. It wasn't enough to keep Lampard in charge for the remainder of the season, though, and he was relieved of his duties the following month. Bielsa had another year at Elland Road, leading his team to a top half finish in his first season but leaving in February 2022 with the team sat just outside the relegation places. He has since taken over as Uruguay manager, but Lampard has remained in club football.

After an up-and-down start at Coventry, Lampard's team have gone on a four-game winning run ahead of the visit of Leeds. The manager has been frustrated in the build-up once more, though on this occasion it's to do with the game being brought forward. “It wasn’t ideal for us, but it is what it is," he said. “We will manage the squad and it isn’t one to complain about too much, sometimes the Championship throws up heavy schedules, so we will manage it as best as we can and take all these games on.”.