Frankly, his record speaks for itself

Players Under The Microscope / Mike Norman / 02 November 2007 / 1

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"Mystical" Mike Norman looks into his crystal ball to find out what the future holds for Chelsea's most prolific-ever midfielder Frank Lampard

Typical! In preparation for this article, I wrote in my notes: slow, overweight, no confidence, carrying an injury, washed up, not as good as Eric Djemba-Djemba. But by 9:45 on Wednesday evening my notes needed to be changed. The brilliant Frank Lampard had scored a hat-trick, bursting into the box like a modern day Bryan Robson, appearing as slim and as fit as Floyd Mayweather, looking fresh as a daisy, and having more confidence than the X Factor's Rhydian - I've never been one for knee jerk reactions me.

Joking apart, I am a keen admirer of Chelsea's number eight, and would remind everyone that whilst form can be temporary, class is permanent. I've never really understood the criticism Frank has had to put up with, especially from the England fans. In all honesty, I think Lampard has been made a scapegoat because of the general consensus that he and Steven Gerrard can't play in the same midfield, and with Gerrard arguably being the more popular, then Frank cops the abuse.

It might come as a surprise then, that when I refer to three of England's most recent high profile defeats (against Croatia, Germany and Russia), Gerrard and Lampard never started the game together. In fact, England have only lost one of their last seventeen games (a friendly against Spain) when both Gerrard and Lampard started in the same midfield. For the record, they have started in the same team on 35 different occasions, winning 22, drawing 9, and losing just 4 (source: www.the-english-football-archive.com).

To me, Lampard's worth in the team, both for club and country is evident. I referred to Bryan Robson earlier, and just like the former England Captain, Lampard is an extremely talented, high energy box to box player. He gets back, tackles hard and defends well, while at the other end of the pitch he is a constant threat, due to his late surges into the opposition box. His main quality however, is his ability to score goals frequently from midfield. In 339 appearances for the Blues, Frank Lampard Jnr has scored 96 times, while for England he has netted 13 times from his 58 caps (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lampard).

This goalscoring robot also holds some impressive looking records. He is the club's highest ever scoring midfielder, and he is the only Chelsea midfielder to ever score a hat-trick in both an FA Cup and League Cup tie. But perhaps more impressively, he holds the record for playing in consecutive league games, 164 to be precise, a record that will surely never be broken by an outfield player and is testament to how well he looks after his body.

Lampard appears to be coming to peak fitness, and with it his form, just as the Chelsea band wagon gathers momentum. Tomorrow the Blues travel to Wigan, looking for their 7th consecutive victory in all competitions. The 1.46 about an away victory looks short, but un-opposable, while (2.2) for a half-time, full-time victory is better value and should be backed. With Chelsea looking in the mood for goals of late, the (2.0) on offer for 'over 2.5 goals' is another bet I would be interested in - and if this bet is to be landed, then how about the goals all coming from the same source? A 'hat-trick scored' is available at (22) on Betfair.

Some longer term bets include (5.3) about Frank being the 'Top English Goalscorer' in the Premiership, and whilst I advised a bet on him at bigger odds earlier in the season, it has to be said that the opposition is thin on the ground, with only Michael Owen (5.6) or Wayne Rooney (2.5) likely to get more goals.

Finally, Frank Lampard is trading at 7.4 to be named 'PFA Player of the Year 07/08', a bet that could look great value if he continues to be the driving force behind Chelsea's push for another title. Let's not forget, Frank was 'FWA Footballer of the Year' and the 'PFA Fans Player of the Year' in 2005, as well as being the World & European 'Footballer of the Year' runner up. What chance a similar award this season?

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Terry Jenkins | 02 November 2007

Excellent read Mike. I think FL is a brilliant midfield and like you say he lives a bit in the shadows of SG.

Thanks for pointing out the Player of the Year market, as a Chelsea fan I think I will have a flutter on FL