| Name : | Frank Lampard |
| Nationality : | English |
| Date of Birth : | 20/06/1978 |
| Height : | 6' 0" (184cm) |
| Weight : | 13st 12lbs (88.0kg) |
| Previous Clubs : | West Ham Utd, Swansea City (loan) |
With 27 goals from central midfield in 2009/10 and countless assists, it seems Frank Lampard is getting better with age.
If you factor in the England man's extraordinary resistance to injury and his ability not to earn one booking in the entire campaign it is easy to see why many think it is he that makes the Blues tick.
His season began as it would continue against Manchester United at Wembley, where he contributed a goal, helped set up the other, and then buried a penalty in the shootout.
Questions were raised over his impact in games, but having returned to a deeper position from the top of the diamond, where he had been restricted, his influence grew once more.
He netted another at Sunderland as we turned around a half-time deficit, and helped create seven in as many league games that followed, despite not scoring himself.
The 31-year-old actually went 10 without a goal before four in three arrived in October, helping send Atletico back to Madrid empty-handed as we began to score freely.
It was Frank's free-kick that John Terry nodded in against United at Stamford Bridge in November before a thigh injury on England duty while jogging ruled him out of two games. He returned to contribute in a big 3-0 win away at Arsenal before a rare dead-ball error - his late penalty at Manchester City saved by Shay Given.
In a difficult Christmas period it was two successful spot kicks that dug us out of trouble against Portsmouth and West Ham, the latter having to be taken three times at his old home ground, requiring nerves of steel.
Doubles against Sunderland and Birmingham were followed by six quieter games, including disappointment at Inter, which would be compounded in the second leg when for once the game passed him by.
Lampard's goal, and cross for Terry, helped us into the FA Cup semis, and he bounced back from European disappointment by banging in four against Aston Villa.
The feat, the second time he had achieved it, took him over the 150-goal mark for Chelsea, over 100 in the Premier League, and beyond Roy Bentley to become our third-highest scorer of all time.
After converting another against Villa at Wembley to book a place in the Cup Final, the focus shifted to league football for the next five games, and it was here where Frank really delivered.
After scraping past Bolton it was he who pulled a late goal back at Spurs before scoring a beauty against Stoke, diverting Sam Hutchinson's deep cross back across goal and in, his second of the game.
A week later at Anfield there were major celebrations as he swept home Nicolas Anelka's square ball to confirm a massive victory.
A win over Wigan would provide his third Premier League medal, and he would not be denied.
Winning and taking a penalty (after a lengthy debate with Didier Drogba) he put us two to the good as we ran riot, setting up an historic Double should we beat Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final.
Having scored the winner there against Everton a year before, he clearly fancied it again, launching a 30-yard drive against the post inside the first 10 minutes as we laid siege to the Pompey goal.
It was a Drogba free-kick that broke the deadlock though, and even though Frank's final contribution was to drag a penalty wide at the death, he was there in the Royal Box to lift the trophy alongside John Terry.
He had stepped up once again, a remarkable feat considering that in the previous campaign had had added another 20 in Chelsea colours.
He quickly got into goalscoring form, netting twice in September before two more followed in October, the latter being an audacious chip from the edge of the area at Hull, an automatic Goal of the Season contender, though eventually edged out by Michael Essien's volley against Barcelona.
As the performances of those around him began to wane, Frank's form remained consistent under Luiz Felipe Scolari, scoring key goals over Christmas against West Brom and Fulham to keep us in touch with the league leaders.
An overturned red card at Liverpool in February earned rare sympathy from outside Stamford Bridge, and the arrival of Guus Hiddink brought extended freedom for the former West Ham man, who repaid his coach with vital goals in a late win over Wigan and a 4-4 Champions League thriller against Liverpool, before we eventually bowed out in controversial circumstances against Barcelona.
Months before committing to a new five-year deal in the summer of 2008, Frank had scored a dramatic equaliser in the Champions League Final in Moscow, while also converting a penalty in the shootout.
It remains the one club medal that has eluded him since eyebrows were raised over an original £11 million transfer fee paid eight years ago.
Since then Lamps has become Chelsea's top scoring midfield player ever; and is the player to win the most international caps while a Chelsea player.
In 2006/07, his 62 games was the highest total by any Chelsea player in a single campaign and although the next year was affected by two rare injuries and bereavement, Frank continued to drive Chelsea on from midfield game after game after game.
When in December 2005, he finally missed a game due to a virus, it brought to an end a new Premier League record of 164 consecutive appearances.
Ironically, Frank's ever-present habit was one of the reasons why he was under-appreciated by some at the club that nurtured him.
With Frank's father the West Ham first team coach, sections of the support at Upton Park cried nepotism over the young player's regular place in their side. He was ever-present in the Hammers team that finished fifth in '98/'99 and was capped for England the next season.
When manager Harry Redknapp and Frank senior were sacked from Upton Park, it was time for our Frank to move on.
After a quiet start at the Bridge, he bloomed into one of Europe's finest and in 2003/04, Frank's phenomenal form was only beaten by Thierry Henry when English football's individual awards were handed out.
He was well worth his place in the Euro 2004 team and was voted the England team's Player of the Year.
The top performances continued to come, as did the goals, Frank's powerful shooting firing Chelsea to the 2004/05 Championship as he top-scored from midfield with 13 in the League and 19 overall - there was no one more appropriate to score those magical goals at Bolton.
The Sportswriters' Footballer of the Year that year (only the second Chelsea winner in over 50 years) and runner-up in the European and World Player of the Year voting for 2005, Frank continued to prove as close to indispensable as can be found in modern squad-based football as his team duplicated the Premiership success in 2005/06.
Again the vice-captain was top scorer, this time with 20 goals. His 16 in the League was the highest total ever by a Premiership midfielder.
That made it all the more surprising when Frank failed to register on the score sheet in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, despite shooting more frequently than anyone.
It drew outside criticism, his years of incredibly consistent achievement seemingly forgotten overnight.
He needed prove himself to nobody at Chelsea, and Frank also continued to create goals at a rate unrivalled at Chelsea, leading former boss José Mourinho to simply describe him as unique.
In 2007/08, having missed September with a thigh injury, his return to the side in early October coincided with a gradual climb up the league table. He contributed 11 goals before his other thigh was strained on Boxing Day. Another six weeks were missed.
That was unfortunate but genuine tragedy struck in April with the death of Frank's mother. His courage and nerve in scoring a vital Champions League semi-final penalty against Liverpool on his return from compassionate leave, followed by his Moscow goal, were among that season's strongest images.
Even Frank's harshest critics began to re-evaluate their opinions and he was finally being appreciated in an England shirt too.
Unlike in 2006 when he didn't find the net in five World Cup games, Frank went into the 2010 World Cup in red-hot scoring form, even by his own extraordinary standards.
However as Fabio Capello played with the jigsaw of England's midfield, Frank's goal threat again appeared diminished although he was one of the best players against Slovenia in the third group game, and was infamously denied his first World Cup goal by a ludicrous linesman's decision as England exited versus Germany.
No comments:
Post a Comment