everything thats needed to be a to
everything thats needed to be a to
“I can tell you here now: He will go right to the top, right to the very top. Hes got everything thats needed to be a top midfield player. His attitude is first class, hes got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals,” prophesized Harry Redknapp. Its fall 1996, a West Ham supporters summit and a clearly agitated Redknapp had just been taken to task for selecting then-18-year old Frank Lampard ahead of other more experienced players. Lampard had made his debut in West Hams starting XI away to Arsenal just a few months earlier. Substituted in a losing cause, Lampard would feature in only 13 matches during that 1996-97 campaign. It was a season in which he picked up more yellow cards than he scored goals. Redknapp knew full well even back then West Ham had unearthed a gem. So likely did his assistant coach and ex-teammate at West Ham, Frank Lampard Sr. Playing in an era of outrageously inflated transfer prices Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri was astute back in the summer of 2001 to pay West Ham £11m [$20m CAD] to acquire Lampards services. "Hopefully I can test myself against the best players in Europe and we can contest for trophies,” Lampard was quoted as saying at the time. Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, a Europa League and Champions League crown later, Lampard has decided his Chelsea playing days are now behind him and on his own terms. Although still under contract until June 30, the clubs all-time leading scorer (211 goals) made the announcement to coincide with Englands arrival into Miami. Lampard wants to be fully focused on what will be his third World Cup Finals. Amassing close to 600 appearances, only two players have ever appeared more times in a Chelsea shirt. over the course of his 13 seasons Lampard is without exception one of Chelseas greatest ever players. Not wanting to name him their best ever, the tribute on the clubs web site strongly implied Lampard was their best ever midfield player. It was Lampard who scored both goals in the game against Bolton in April 2005 which handed Chelsea their first title in exactly 50 years. Breaking the club scoring record which had stood for over four decades towards the very end of the 2012-13 season Lampards most important goal for the club occurred in the second leg of the 2008 Champions League semi-final in a game against arch-rivals Liverpool, which I was very privileged to attend. Lampard was not even expected to play that day. He had recently missed a pair of Premier League games to be at the bedside of his gravely ill mother, who sadly passed away a few days after the first leg. Play though he did, the Chelsea players wore black arm bands in memory of Lampards mother. The tie was very delicately poised after the first leg at Anfield had finished 1-1. Chelsea with the away goal were slight favourites going in, but Liverpool had got the better of Chelsea twice at this stage in 2005 and 2007. Didier Drogba opened the scoring, for Fernando Torres to level it just after the hour mark. Extra time loomed, it was a very highly charged Stamford Bridge. Less than 10 minutes into extra time after Michael Ballack was bought down in the area Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Up stood Frank Lampard. Hands on his hips, he stood at the edge of the box and waited for what must have seemed like an eternity as Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina did his best to delay and distract. Lampard was having none of it. The ref blew the whistle, and with that trademarked run up to the ball he sent Reina the wrong way as he slotted the ball into the far right corner. Lampard took off for the opposite corner flag, and took with him the hearts of the 40,000 plus Chelsea supporters inside Stamford Bridge. As he got close to the corner flag he slowed down to remove his black arm band, then with his hands covering his face Lampard slumped to his knees. Joined by his teammates, there was no celebration when Lampard emerged with all emotion completely drained from his face. On running back to the halfway line Lampard looked up in the direction of where his dad and other members of his family were gathered. He waved and blew a kiss to them. The match finished 3-2 and Chelsea were off to their first Champions League Final. Away from the pitch Lampard is an all-too-rare breed when it comes to English footballers. Intelligent, staunchly working class, he attended a private high school where he was one of the more promising students. Not everyone aced Latin, Lampard did. In 2009 Chelsea conducted IQ tests on the playing squad. Although the club did not officially reveal the results it was reported Lampard scored over 150. That places him in Bill Gates territory. In March this year Lampard launched the BPLs annual childrens reading challenge held each season in conjunction with the National Literary Trust. Lampard disclosed his favorite book was a biography on U.S. President Abraham Lincoln... All 900 pages of it. Lampard the family man was also to surface shortly after 2009s highly published break-up with his fiancée, Elen Rives the mother of his two children. A London radio station talk show host openly criticized Lampard on the basis of a newspaper article which had quoted Rives. So incensed by the inaccuracy of the hosts comments Lampard called in live to the show and put the record straight in a conversation which lasted 10 minutes. I cant imagine there would be too many other BPL players who would take such initiative. Petra Cech referred to Lampard as one of the most influential players of all time in the Premier League. Make that on and off the pitch. Hell be dearly missed at Chelsea. When he met the press ahead of Englands World Cup tune-up on Wednesday he said he would return to Stamford Bridge to attend matches. Lampard lives within walking distance to the ground. Abramovich has offered to keep a job open for him. On June 20 Lampard will turn 36. Having already played Italy and Uruguay by then, Englands fate in the group stage may already have been decided. Lampard will walk away from the international arena at the conclusion of Englands World Cup. Chelsea, and Englands loss will be MLS gain. Noel Butler can be reached at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca Twitter: @TheSoccerNoel TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Action gets underway Thursday, June 12 with Brazil vs. Croatia. Kick Off is at 4pm et /1pm pt. Cheap Nike Air Max Shoes Wholesale . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. Wholesale Air Max From China . According to a police report, Douglas is accused of grabbing his girlfriend by the neck and slamming her against the wall several times while he carried her from the elevator to their Hartford hotel room early Sunday morning. http://www.cheapairmaxstore.com/. -- The Sacramento Kings have signed first-round pick Nik Stauskas to his rookie contract. Discount Air Max .com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Air Max China . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion.St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Dayes rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter as North Carolina State capped off a remarkable turnaround season with a 34-27 win over UCF in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Jacoby Brissett completed 15-of-26 passes for 262 yards with one touchdown for the Wolfpack (8-5), who had gone 3-9 in coach Dave Doerens first season in 2013. They played their butts off, said Doeren of his team. The rest of the coaches did a great job and the players made it all possible. Im really proud of all our players. Dayes totaled 78 yards on 13 carries while his backfield mate, Shadrach Thornton, rushed 17 times for 96 yards and added a touchdown pass. UCFs Justin Holman threw three touchdown passes to Josh Reese, the last coming with 1:44 left in the game, but the Knights (9-4), with no timeouts remaining, were unable to secure the onside kick. Give credit to NC State, they made some plays and we didnt make enough plays, said UCF head coach George OLeary. We just let the game get out of whack a little bit. Holman was 23-of-53 for 291 yards with one interception, and Breshad Perriman had 138 yards on nine receptions. Niklas Sade nailed a 45-yard field goal to give NC State a 34-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, but missed a 47-yard try wide right with 2:56 left to play, keeping UCFs hopes of a comeback alive. Holman threw a 19-yard pass to Perriman on 4th-and-14 from the NC State 43- yard line before hooking up with Reese for a 2-yard score. Reese hauled in a 14-yard touchdown earlier in the fourth. Shawn Moffitt kicked a 40-yard field goal for UCF to cap the games opening possession, then NC State responded on its first drive to take a 7-3 lead.dddddddddddd Thornton threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaylen Samuels, who made the catch in tight coverage near the right sideline. Thornton managed to deliver the throw with a defender bearing down on him. The Knights, who captured their second straight American Athletic Conference title, reclaimed the lead when Holman hit Reese on a 6-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. But a blown coverage by the UCF defense led to a 37-yard touchdown grab by Johnathan Alston that put NC State back ahead shortly after. After a Knights punt, Brissett completed a 33-yard pass to Bo Hines on 3rd- and-22 from the Wolfpack 12 and then found Hines on a 45-yard strike. The long completion set up a 1st-and-goal at the 4, but NC State was held to a 19- yard Sade field goal. The Wolfpack were in position for another field goal attempt just before halftime, but the clock ran out when Brissett was sacked with no timeouts remaining. Brissett shook off the mistake by orchestrating a nine-play, 75-yard drive to begin the third. Dayes reached the end zone on consecutive runs of 11 and 24 yards after Alston caught a 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-7. Dayes later scored on a 15-yard run after Moffitt made a 36-yarder. The field goal was set up by a Brissett fumble. Game Notes The Wolfpack improved to 15-12-1 in bowl games, while the Knights bowl record fell to 3-4 ... Brissett added 31 yards on the ground and caught a 20-yard pass from Hines ... NC State outgained UCF 487-373. ' ' '