I have to say, I didn’t especially want Chelsea to beat Liverpool last night, but when Frank Lampard converted that penalty I couldn’t help but think ‘good on you, son’.
Given what that guy’s gone through recently, itt must have taken some bottle to step up and take that penalty. The pressure of that situation would have been intense enough regardless of a player’s
personal circumstances, but Lampard’s head must have been all over the place recently due to what’s been going on in his life, so managing to stay focused enough to make the expert job that he did of the spot-kick took a lot of courage in my opinion. He deserves immense credit for that.
Frank Lampard is for me a player who never quite seems to get the credit he deserves from the Press in England. Here is a guy who has consistently been one of the top performers in one of the top sides in the English Premiership, a midfielder who regularly scores around 20 goals per season (a hell of a total in a competitive league for a player in that position), yet the media are always looking to highlight his flaws, or the fact that other players (like Steven Gerrard) are better than him.
Is it the ‘Chelsea factor’ that’s to blame for this seemingly unfair coverage? They certainly don’t seem to be the media’s favourite club from the reports and TV coverage that I’ve witnessed, and as Hearts fans we should know very well what that can do for the general public perception of a club, or indeed an individual player or manager employed by that club.
The number of what I would refer to as ‘fair weather’ football fans who’ve commented to me that ‘Lampard’s an average player’ or words to that effect is quite staggering, and you do wonder what they’re forming the basis of that opinion on. I’d bet that the media has a lot to do with it, as it is amazing how many people will believe what they read in the papers as opposed to making their own minds up based upon what they see.
I wonder if those same people were watching the match last night, where it certainly wasn’t Gerrard who was the outstanding English midfielder on the park…….
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Spot on MrH. Even my better half, a fiercer football hater you could never meet, was touched by that penalty. She even allowed me to continue watching after that.
She must have been feeling charitable then…….let me guess, you had to “compromise” on the Man U game the night before?!
Nah, I was compromising on last night’s game – three games in a week (ManU, Rangers and the mighty Jambos) means a lot of washing up! I just ‘happened’ to be watching a bit last night while she was doing something else, expecting to have to Sky+ the rest. I’m sure I’ve got a long list of DIY jobs waiting for me when I get home tonight… 😉
That’s ok – there’s no football on TV tonight……….
Mr.H another great article I agree with it BTW, and no i don’t intend to randomly “abuse [you]”. To be honest i am actually glad Chelsea won. I feel really sorry for AG. Did anyone see his interview after the game BTW? He walking talking about his late father who had passed in tragic circumstances. I thought it was an emotional gesture and i was very pleased for him and for his father that he achieved what even JM couldn’t do. Unlike JM, AG is modest and very likeable. I hope the Chelsea fans give him the credit he deserves. I must also commend Frank Lampard for the way he took his penalty, I thought Barry Robson was under pressure, that was not even comparable to the burden on Frank Lampards shoulders given his tragic circumstances. Fair play to him, i wish him and his family all the best and i hope they get the strength to carry on. I think its another good point that Lampard receives more criticism than Gerrard. To be honest, i don’t even think Gerrard is a great player. To me, he is just a very good player. He often goes missing in the less important games and tries to do everything himself. That’s a bad team player. To be honest i have never really been convinced about Gerard. If he was any other nationality would we hear as much about him? I don’t think so.
Yeah I agree with your assessment of Gerrard. He’s got great energy and can seriously influence a game of football, but he’s never been all that consistent as far as I can see. It’s difficult to say which of these guys is the better player – I think they’re both very good in their way, but I just think that Lampard gets stick for no apparent reason. Also feel sorry for AG – a modest bloke like you say who’s suffering because he doesn’t have the natural charisma and appeal of his predecessor. But he might just end up achieving what Mourinho couldn’t with Chelsea…
i dont think gerrard that good either, if scholes returned to the international scene it would be him ans lamps, fair play he does score great goals but often posted missing majority of the time. carragher aswell? the guys over-rated, he was good 5 seasons ago. gives away alot of goals but because he’s liverpool thru and thru the fans dont get on his back so quick
*and lamps not ans
Never rated Carragher as an international class footballer. Bit like Colin Hendry – all heart and commitment, but little football.
hendry was poor, he had a few good games for scotland and blackburn, that micah richards aswell, i dont rate him