Chelsea, Premier League
Lampard’s Future: Farewell or Sidwell?
Why Arsenal reject Steve Sidwell poses more of a threat to Frank Lampard than Ballack and Essien combined. On the 74th minute Frank Lampard ambled his way off stage at the Los Angeles Home Depot replaced by a quiet young carrot top named Steve Sidwell. America must have wondered if an extra from Braveheart had just [...]
Why Arsenal reject Steve Sidwell poses more of a threat to Frank Lampard than Ballack and Essien combined.
On the 74th minute Frank Lampard ambled his way off stage at the Los Angeles Home Depot replaced by a quiet young carrot top named Steve Sidwell. America must have wondered if an extra from Braveheart had just crept on. Frank was too preoccupied with a sky cam zipping over head and the selection box of celebrities, he barely noticed the former Reading man pass him by. Surprisingly, there was little indication of being star-struck on an evening of unrivalled media spectacle. Instead, Sidwell struck the star himself. Within minutes, his crashing tackle on David Beckham proved he wasn’t going to play ball. He hadn’t come to humour the circus and play fool to the occasion. This gutsy challenge was a sobering reminder that we had come to see a football match not a Hollywood love-in. But the message sounded loudest not to the American fans or his coach’s ‘go easy on Becks’ instruction but to the man he replaced: a stirring message to the supposedly ‘untouchable’ Lampard…
He may be ginger Frank, but he means business.
With a duo of Premiership titles, a host of trophies, 54 England caps, smashed records for a midfielder and perhaps most proudly of all, 2005 runner-up World and European player of the year. Few in England’s history have amassed such a prestigious CV as Frank Lampard. Yet in the last year, Chelsea fans fondness has waned for a number of reasons. Firstly, his England form. Long has the debate for his inclusion gone on, but his failings have arrived at the general consensus that he should finally make way. McClaren has insisted on giving Lampard the luxury spot of attacking-midfielder, indeed, the spirited Gerrard has forever had to settle as a utility player, a subordinate side-kick. Who cannot be impressed by the Liverpool heartbeat’s gung-ho leadership and terrifying ability to drag his side to victory? Yet Chelsea fans have had to endorse the denial of Gerrard’s rightful crown as the England midfield chieftain. McClaren has inherited the same misinterpretation of Lampard as his predecessor – the truth is he is not a playmaker but a central midfielder who attacks from deep. Without wingers he is redundant as the forward creative source.
Lampard has also lost favour from his flirtations with Barcelona and of course, his ‘bits on the side’
Lampard has also lost favour from his flirtations with Barcelona and of course, his ‘bits on the side’. It’s difficult to ascertain truth behind allegations from armchair tabloids but the smoke of disloyalty suggests definite fire. Fans might chuckle at Lampard’s conquests and they couldn’t care less about his WAG queen. What angers them is his infidelity as an association to the club rather than the context of his marital vows. It implies a capacity to renege, to betray. Such concerns are only amplified by his refusal to sign a new contract.
The rumours about Lampard’s potential exit are more a probe into the climate of his popularity than news of any transfer. Normally agents will allow a trickle of stories to leak out in order to challenge the host club to put forward a new contract, pressuring higher wages or more bonuses. But in this case, Steve Kutner, Lampard’s agent, is instead testing the water, trying to gauge whether the Chelsea faithful will revolt at the prospect. Without their presence in the matter such a strategy is useless. Frank’s equivocatory dithering only serves to incite their frustration rather than protest. Links to Barcelona and Juventus have provided little response from Chelsea fans who believe he has tip-toed over the downward slope. A voyage to Catalonia would be an admirable and understandable change of scenery for a player of his service to the club.
Should he remain at Chelsea, the season will be his most crucial yet. Facing competition from the monstrous Michael Essien and football scholar Michael Ballack is tough enough but Steve Sidwell, dubbed his ‘carbon copy’, is perhaps the most threatening. A man familiar with rejection, exiled from his boyhood club Arsenal. He has earned the scars from unfashionable battlers Reading with whom he was a central figure in their impressive performance last season. “I’m not here to make up the numbers”. A cliché coined so often, it would have fallen deaf on Lampard’s ears. Though he might be presumed Lampard’s doppelganger, his inspiration for joining the Blues would have risen from seeing Essien’s yearning desire for success rather than Lampard’s cruising performances whose thirst for glory has met satiety, at least in this country. For a club to succeed players without honours are just as essential as those with, and Chelsea will wish to see an Englishman with hunger marshal their global midfield into the future – an attribute which Sidwell not only qualifies but seems to epitomise too.
Just as Beckham took the opportunity to accent his exit from the England captaincy, so Lampard has the same power to engineer a deservedly fond quietus from Stamford Bridge. After all he has achieved, he risks being remembered as an encumbrance rather than legend of the new Chelsea generation.
Should Chelsea sell Lampard and give Sidwell a greater role? Share your views by leaving a comment below.
Related Articles
Discussion
8 comments for “Lampard’s Future: Farewell or Sidwell?”
Post a comment
Welcome to Footballing World
Recent Posts
In Focus
Jonathon Craigie believes Rafa Benítez has finally found the key to securing Premier League glory for Liverpool.
Featured Posts
Fabio Capello's reign began slowly but England have since shone in World Cup qualifying, a return to the days of Sven-Goran Eriksson when progressing into major tournaments was always a facile task.
Jonathan O'Shea looks at the English quartet's chances of progressing into the knockout stages of the Uefa Cup.
How important is Javier Mascherano for Liverpool? Chakrit Narula believes the all-action Argentine could be a future captain following his terrific impact since arriving at Anfield.
FRANK LAMPARD IS A CUNT!he never playes well for england and he thinks he is it just like not so strapped 4 cash ashly cole WANKERS
great article…agree 100%
well,that`s one opinion.
it is a myth that Barca want Lampard. He is not good enough for any top club in spain or italy - his agent has been shopping him around and no one wants him including chelsea who don’t want another big salary when they can replace him with sidwell at half the price. frank is fucked
Frank Lampard owes us Chelsea fans nothing. He has demonstrated season after season that he is the best midfielder we have. He gives everything in every match - well virtually every match - occasionally he seems to drop below his usually very high standards but does so on far fewer occassions than any rival midfielder in the UK or Europe and probably the world.
Ballack has yet to demonstrate he has got the desire to put in a match winning performance. Hitherto he has been an expensive injury prone misfit. I believe that once he is fit and if he does want to play a major role, then Chelsea should benefit significantly, but at the moment the jury is still out.
Michael Essien is a different type of player. He is gifted, creative and strong as a bull, but blessed with sublime skill. I hope he progresses in to an absolute world beater with Chelsea.
Sidwell can potentially be a great player, but he needs to step up from the kind of player he currently is which is best described as solid, resourceful and with a good shot into the super league of the world’s great footballers. He needs to offer more - skill, insight, intelligence, a propensity to ‘get up and down’ for 90 plus minutes - the ability to hit goals from anywhere at any time, the ability to arrive late unmarked to score great goals, the ability to save his team when all else is failing, to demonstrate he has the heart to take on Lampard’s mantle as the complete midfielder.
I hope he will because we cannot expect Frank to continue doing the business season in season out. He is and has been a great servant to Chelsea. I don’t think that his performances for England have done him any favours, but when he gives everything for Chelsea each week, I don’t think one can expect him to do the same for England, certainly not when he is arguably not played in a manner that suits him or enables his skills to be maximised.
Let’s hope that we ahve a truly great season this season, Frank and the rest of the team win everything that’s going and if Frank wants to go, then he should do so with the fans blessing and goodwill. Any fans that are so small minded as to believe he has been disloyal are pathetic. Such fans are being disloyal to Chelsea and Frank for suggesting such rubbish.
your article is good, but I am looking forward to watch England play the next match with Lampard and without Gerrard, then I might agree with you 100%. What it takes your argument that from his personal life you can assume his loyalty in professional one, yes for sure, BUT is anyone of the big english players any different? John Terry´s exploitations are laughed at and were never held against his ability to captain his team or country, but for Lampard, none of it. He seems to me to be the one England player, that people either admire for his work ethic and drive or loath wholeheartedly for slumps in his England form.
Why even mention the fact that he’s ginger? What relevance has that to anything? “he may be ginger…” as though he’s less of a person, where are we back in the playground? This spoilt for me what i thought was quite a decent article
You haven’t seen them play, have you. That’s why you don’t know how poor an assessment this is. I won’t be giving this gibberish a second thought.