Frank Lampard returns to Stamford Bridge as a legend but could he trouble his old team? Adam Bate looks at the curious case of the former Chelsea hero's move to Manchester City...
Frank Lampard’s legacy at Chelsea is assured. It’s there on the back of supporters’ replica shirts and the image of him with the Champions League trophy that adorns the original wall of the Shed End. As well as that memorable night in Munich, he was there for three of the club’s four league titles and the majority of their FA Cup wins. This is a Stamford Bridge legend.
The numbers are truly remarkable. Lampard is the fourth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history and for seven seasons between 2004 and 2011, he averaged exactly 20 goals per season in all competitions. Impressive figures for a striker but Lampard was contributing plenty more too. He’s third in the all-time Premier League assists table behind Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard.
“With Frank and his contribution, there is nothing I can say,” said Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at the end of last season. “Maybe in a few years he'll have a statue where Peter Osgood is, on the side of the stadium. He's one of the biggest players for this club.”
Mourinho made those comments before Lampard’s New York adventure took a detour to Manchester and saw him net a late equaliser for 10-man City against his former club in only his second appearance for his new team. Even Mourinho couldn’t have anticipated Lampard potentially swinging the Premier League title race in an opponent’s favour.
However, that’s precisely what the 36-year-old midfielder could do when he returns to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. As well as his equaliser in the previous meeting between these teams, there have been winning goals against Leicester and Sunderland. His impact raises the obvious question of why the veteran is not doing this for the club he loves, but Mourinho is not for looking back.
“We made the right decision,” he said last month. “Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic are the next 10 years of the club. The project is to prepare for 10 years, not next year. Didier Drogba is a striker, coming to help and support the strikers. John Terry is the best defender in England, so it doesn’t matter how old he is. A big player like Frank would stop the development of the other guys.”
It’s a curious statement given that Lampard has shown at City that he can play that same supporting role that Drogba is fulfilling without demanding a regular starting role. In fact, he’s not played more than an hour in a single Premier League game so far this season but by being managed carefully he’s been able to remain as productive as ever when on the pitch.
There are 18 players in the Manchester City squad who have played more Premier League minutes than Lampard but only three have scored more goals – his tally of five from 11 shots being a testament to his continuing ruthlessness when the target is in view.
Given that he’s not being asked to do it for the full 90 minutes, it’s allowing Lampard to play at full tilt when he does see action. He’s averaging a goal every 79 minutes – better than Sergio Aguero or Diego Costa – and if you extrapolate his distance covered stats over 90 minutes he’s running the equivalent of 12.82 kilometres a game. To put it in context, no City player has run 13km in a match.
In short, he’s managing – all be it in small doses - to do a passable impression of Lampard in his pomp. “He is a very important player for us,” says Manuel Pellegrini. Important players do it in important games and with Yaya Toure unavailable at the weekend that means Lampard can expect to be called upon to make his return to Chelsea on Saturday.
Only Alan Shearer has scored more Premier League goals away from home and, technically, Lampard could close that gap to just two with a goal on Saturday. But from the images outside the ground to the statue that will likely join them in the future, it’s apparent that whatever happens this weekend, Stamford Bridge will always be Frank Lampard’s home.
Watch Frank Lampard on Soccer AM at 10am on Saturday, Sky Sports 1 HD - then tune in to Chelsea v Manchester City live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday from 4.45pm