Wayne Rooney's appointment to the Birmingham City hot seat still haunts those in St. Andrew's quarters, with his two wins in 15 as boss undoubtedly playing a part in the club's relegation down to League One.
Obviously, all the blame cannot be passed off at Rooney's door – the Blues had been knocking on the relegation trapdoor for some time with plenty of near misses before his arrival – but the American owners in the West Midlands are now abundantly aware that axing John Eustace to push the notable face into the dug-out was a grave error when looking back.
Still, that won't deter them from making another potentially divisive appointment, if rumours are to be believed, but this former England midfield great joining the building as manager could actually work instead of being a dreadful and rash call.
Birmingham interviewing former Derby manager
Similar in career path to Rooney after their playing career, with the manager in question also previously occupying the Derby County helm in a much more positive stint as boss, Football Insider revealing that Birmingham have interviewed Frank Lampard to be Tony Mowbray's successor ahead of the new League One season starting.
Believed to have 'impressed' the hierarchy at St. Andrew's, as is further said in the report, the ex-Chelsea and Everton boss is also on the agenda of Burnley who remain managerless in the division above, leaving Lampard with plenty of options to choose from to return to management.
Not always the most endearing figure from the sidelines, nor the most successful with his last stint at Chelsea mirroring Rooney's dismal Blues reign with just one paltry win from 11 matches, the divisive 45-year-old does have success in the EFL before with the Rams, albeit never in the third-tier.
Still, Lampard didn't fluke getting to a Championship play-off final when positioned in Derbyshire after shocking Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United, and will have plenty to prove in attempting to get the Blues straight back up to the higher division if handed the reins.
Why "Exceptional" Lampard won't be Rooney repeat
Lampard getting Derby to a Championship play-off final, alongside his more recent experience managing in the Premier League, would make this appointment feel somewhat of a coup, considering his spells in the top-flight did also see him secure Champions League football for Chelsea and pull off survival for the Toffees, no matter how much his name has been tainted.
Therefore, it looks unlikely that this will be a repeat of Rooney, who has struggled throughout his managerial career to really leave a lasting impression on any club that has taken him in, minus bravely battling away with the Rams during financial difficulties.
Manager
Career games managed
Wins
Losses
Draws
Lampard
196
83
40
73
Carlos Corberan
220
89
53
78
Alex Neil
466
195
104
167
Paling in comparison to other names being linked for the Birmingham hot-seat such as Neil when it comes to experience managing, with the heavily tipped Scotsman in Alex Neil managing nearly four times more games than Lampard across his extensive career on the sidelines, Lampard does have many a manager higher up who has praised his methods, even if the wins haven't always been forthcoming.
Now at the helm at Bayern Munich, Vincent Kompany opened up about how much he had "learnt" from him when the pair played together at Manchester City, whilst Jurgen Klopp also described the 45-year-old as "exceptional" when he clinched European football for the Blues.
He could well warrant a crack at the Birmingham job, therefore, even if worries will obviously go back to how poorly Rooney did at St. Andrew's, which cost the now League One outfit dear.
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