Monday 25 May 2015 12:50, UK
Frank Lampard will end his Premier League career as the best goal-scoring midfielder of all-time, says Jamie Redknapp.
We’re going to lose two Premier League legends this weekend – and, after Steven Gerrard’s big Anfield send-off last Saturday, it’s only right Frank Lampard gets the plaudits he deserves ahead of his final game before moving to the MLS.
It’s strange that match will come in the blue of Manchester City rather than the blue of Chelsea – his decision to play one final season for them after leaving Stamford Bridge last year surprised everybody. But, nonetheless, he’ll sign off as the best goal-scoring midfielder the Premier League has ever seen.
In fact, he’s probably the best goal-scoring midfielder any league has ever seen.
He scored 20 goals or more for Chelsea for five seasons in a row, is the club’s all-time leading scorer and, even this season, has the best goals-per-minute ratio of midfielders in the Premier League.
In 15-20 years’ time, when we’re looking back on the history of the Premier League, we’ll talk about his goal-scoring and say ‘wow’.
He’s unique. There’s no midfielder who has ever had an eye for goal like him. It used to drive me mad playing against him – I’d think ‘I’ve got him’ and then he’d suddenly dart into the box and score. It’s a talent and a gift he’s been given.
I remember playing in the garden with him when he was five, thinking he was going to be a good player. I didn’t think he’d ever be the great player he’s become, though.
From 25 yards or one yard, he didn’t care. He was a clinical goal-scoring machine. But, make no mistake, he’s worked incredibly hard to reach the level he has.
I remember playing in the garden with him when he was five years of age, thinking he was going to be a good player. I didn’t think he’d ever be the great player he’s become, though. He was always very talented as a youngster but he’s just got better and better as he’s got older.
He’s a great example of what you can get out of the game if you work hard and have a desire to learn and progress.
As well as his knack for goal-scoring, he was also great at creating openings for others – although he doesn’t get a lot of credit for the amount of assists he has.
He was also always incredibly fit. His stats were so high and he’d run players into the ground. His opponent would think ‘I won’t run with him this time’ and that one time, bang, the ball would be in the back of the net.
One thing he will look back on with regret is his time with England, where his generation of players didn’t achieve what they should have done.
Like most people, I could never get my head around why Lampard and Gerrard couldn’t play together. Maybe there was a bit of ego involved but they should have been made to play together.
One of them could have sat a little deeper, or the pair of them could have played in an advanced role with a defensive midfielder behind them. Unfortunately England never had a manager with the ability to get the best out of them and it became such a big deal they probably started to believe it, too.
They were such good players, it should have been a breeze for them.
But Frank can’t have too many regrets from his club career, that’s for sure. He has been an essential part of the success Chelsea have had over the past 15 years or so and will be remembered as one of the Premier League's best.
