Harry Redknapp says Chelsea fans have no reason to berate Frank Lampard when he returns to Stamford Bridge with Manchester City for Saturday’s crucial Premier League contest, insisting the home crowd should instead acclaim the midfielder for his years of excellent service for the London club.
“He should get an excellent reception, shouldn’t he?” said the Queens Park Rangers manager. “What’s he done wrong? He played for Chelsea for God knows how many years, scored how many goals, won every cup there is to win. Surely he should get a good reception.”
Lampard left Chelsea last year after 13 successful years during which he won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Champions League in addition to becoming the club’s all-time lead goalscorer. He was not offered a new contract by Chelsea and ended up joining Manchester City in the summer.
Redknapp says the fact that Lampard could still play an important role in the title race at the age of 36 is testament to his unique devotion to his profession. “He’s got fantastic drive and determination, far above anybody else I’ve ever met in football,” said Redknapp, who managed Lampard, his nephew, when the player started his career at West Ham.
“He trains harder than anyone I’ve ever seen by a million miles,” added Redknapp. “I’ve never seen anyone else come close. When he was 15-16, I’d be sitting at 4 o’clock in my office at West Ham. It would be dark and raining and I’d see somebody 200 yards away and thought it was someone who’d climbed over the fence but it was him doing doggies, dribbling between cones, running with the ball, shooting. Every day. Not one day a week, every day.”
Redknapp would not be surprised to see Lampard score against Chelsea again, as he did when equalising for City when the sides met at the Etihad earlier this season. “He’ll always score. He’s just got that knack. Anticipation it’s called. He anticipates the ball arriving in the penalty box and he’s on the end of it.
“As soon as someone gets wide with the ball he’ll run in there. You’ll see him run in there 15-20 time a game and when the ball comes he’s there to score. He’s got to be one of the all-time great Chelsea players. They’ve had some fantastic players over the years and he’s up there with them.”
