POL picks their favourite Chelsea players: Zola, Lampard, Mikel?
Daniel McClue – Frank Lampard
Super Frankie Lamps, now 38-years-old and still looking to prolong his playing career. He very nearly ruined it for Chelsea fans when he joined Manchester City – even scoring against the Blues. But you just can’t hate Chelsea’s number 8.
Lampard played 106 times for England, scoring 29 goals, in a time unfortunately more synonymous for failing to get him and Steven Gerrard to gel properly. But England’s not why we love him.
At Chelsea he played a total of 626 games, scoring 208 goals, and he is credited with 150 assists. Yet he still feels a little underrated.
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While at Stamford Bridge he won; 3x Premier League titles, 4x FA Cups, 3x League (Carabao) Cups, 1x Europa League, 2x Community Shields and, of course, he was the captain on that fateful night in Munich, winning the Champions League.
He was unassuming and a master in the art of being both subtle in his movement and capable of smashing in a 30-yard strike.
As a kid, he had every attribute I strived for. Stamina for box-to-box running, the vision to pick out any pass needed, the shot (left and right foot), the finishing, the tackling, and the leadership. He is a connoisseur of rubber-necking – easy fellas, not that rubber-necking, but instead the mastery of observing your surroundings to find space on a crowded pitch. Meaning time after time he could pop up in and around the box with no opposition around him to slot in a finish.
Lampard finished runner up for the Ballon D’or in 2005 – the highest finish for an Englishman since Michael Owen won in 2001 – ahead of Gerrard. Because he’s better than Gerrard.
He is Chelsea’s highest ever goalscorer and ranks fourth in appearances – first in most consistent appearances. He is also the only midfielder in Premier League history to score 10+ goals in 10 consecutive seasons.
Frank Lampard is a damn legend and people need to shout about it more.
P.S. Give it a few years and I’ll be writing this about Nathaniel Chalobah.