Chelsea’s ‘Fat Frank’ to Super Frank Lampard, Part I: Redknapp’s and Ranieri

Chelsea fans who started supporting the club after Frank Lampard’s first few seasons take for granted his status and his lore. They never knew the days when he was “Fat Frank,” the unremarkable heir of a football family, before he became Super Frank, hero of Stamford Bridge.

Claudio Ranieri brought Frank Lampard to Chelsea back in 2001. Lampard was a youngster living in the shadow of his dad, Frank Sr., at the club where both began their football careers, West Ham United. It wasn’t just his dad who cast a shadow over young Frank’s footballing prospects, though.

His manager for those final days with the Hammers was his uncle, Harry Redknapp. Frank Sr. was Redknapp’s assistant, and the Blues’ latter-day hero was always going to live with the taunts of having made the starting XI because of those family connections.

As it turned out, Chelsea fans probably have Harry Redknapp to thank for Lampard’s arrival at Chelsea.

Despite his likeable demeanour, Redknapp courted controversy like Maurizio Sarri craved nicotine. With his contract running down Redknapp was all set to sign on the dotted line again until he was interviewed by some guys from a West Ham fanzine. Not until 2007 did Redknapp reveal the circumstances surrounding his departure.

"The chairman Terry Brown had offered me a new four-year contract. What I did was talk to a fanzine, made some comments, and sometimes I should be a bit more careful. I sat down with these guys from the fanzine and they started asking me questions and I spoke to them in the way I’d talk to someone in a pub.I said a few things I shouldn’t have said. He read it and got very upset. I walked into his office expecting to sign the contract and walked out without a job. – Setanta Sport (archived)"

Redknapp left the club with one game remaining along with Frank Sr. A somewhat disenchanted Frank Jr. left a month later.

He arrived at Chelsea on 1 July 2001 for a transfer fee of just over £14 million. It was pre-Roman Abramovich and the start of a resurgence which became a dynasty.

Lampard was on the second rung of a ladder that would see him rise to heights beyond his, and Blues fans’, wildest dreams. Ranieri was carrying on the good work started by Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli and pushing the team on further. Lampard, through hard work and determination, was a big part of that success.

Lampard never forgot Claudio Ranieri’s involvement in helping him reach the big-time.

"I owe him everything. If it wasn’t for Claudio, I wouldn’t have had the career I had. I wouldn’t still be playing, probably. He changed my career. I was at West Ham and I was a youngster who didn’t know the continental style and the way to live my life.I remember going to his house and signing for Chelsea. He took me in and told me how he could improve my game and how I’d fit in at a club the size of Chelsea.In the second year, we beat Arsenal in the Champions League – the Invincibles team – to get into the semis. It was a good year. He knew he was leaving, but he handled it with such dignity. He helped me improve, especially defensively. I love him. – Mirror"

Frank Lampard (“Jr.” no longer being necessary) endeared himself to the faithful just four games into his Chelsea career by getting himself sent off in the 90′ against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Chelsea won 3-2 and Lampard grabbed an assist for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

His first ever Chelsea goal came on 21 September with the third goal in a UEFA Cup win over Levski Sofia. That, too, came in the 90′.

His second season saw him improve further, and as he did, so did Chelsea. But it took a Jesper Gronkaer goal to send the Blues into the stratosphere. Gronkaer’s goal in the final game of the season secured Champions League football and enticed Roman Abramovich to invest some of his global fortune in Chelsea.

Claudio Ranieri survived the first season with Abramovich on board and Lampard continued to grow along with his teammates.

However, big changes were ahead and the lovable Italian grew under increasing pressure as the season wore on. Those in the media labelled him a “dead man walking” for the most part. He countered that by publishing a book on his final season in London aptly titled “Proud Man Walking,” the proceeds of which went to charity.

Given that Chelsea finished second in the Premier League and made the semifinal of the Champions League many felt he was harshly treated by the club. He was at the start of a pattern that has continued to this day. Abramovich wasn’t involved in football for the fun of it. He was and remains a winner.

Frank Lampard is cut from the same cloth, and the arrival of a new, special man in charge of the team would herald the real shift in momentum…