The press ‘campaign’ against Frank Lampard
Chelsea fan Soupdragon takes particular offense at the vitriol thrown in Lampard’s direction by Chelsea-haters - who seem to be everywhere, especially in the media.
Are you so desperately concerned about the economic affairs of other clubs that it reduces your enjoyment of “the beautiful game�?
Do you condemn the ‘classless behaviour’ of certain teams unconditionally, whilst justifying similar behaviour by your own club’s staff with equal vigour?
Do you care more about the critical coverage of a player’s autobiography than their value as a footballer to your national team?
If so, you’re either a sports journalist (Ed: where journalist = scum) or one of a billion disillusioned fans.
At any given moment, countless beings worldwide will be perusing their domestic and foreign dailies, hoping to stumble upon some genuinely interesting and informative reading material.
Those of you who turn straight to the sports section will have inevitably come across a recent trend which is threatening and undermining the professional analysis of our game.
There has been a sudden increase in articles written by campy, self appreciative, cowboy journalists, and the game’s reputation is suffering as a consequence. The arrogant flippancy championed by ‘men’s men’ like Mark Lawrenson and Richard Keys is now considered the trademark of a knowledgeable pundit.
Football journalism has gone from ‘sporting bout’ to ‘thought: without’.
We do not read objective articles which encapsulate an evening’s football action; we read fabricated trash which parades as the all-encompassing view of an apparently uber-cynical sporting public.
The bitter, middle aged press reps are doing their best to warp the public’s perception of the game beyond recognition. It’s time for those who claim to care about our national game to take notice of the impact these mediocre propagandists are having.
Any self respecting arm-chair analyst will accept that the papers will always influence public opinion, and that by agreeing with public opinion you are usually regurgitating the loaded statements of aforementioned ‘crotchety hacks’.
It intensifies your enjoyment of the game if you have your own opinions on sporting matters. It is your duty to be strong enough to disagree with the status quo. Instead of searching for shreds of evidence to support the press’ spite-fuelled barbs, take the time to consider the implications of their frequent accusations. Do you really think one player should be excessively vilified for behaviour that is ever-present in the game? Why does another player with similar behavioural tendencies deserve to be spared the condemnation?
I make a point of avoiding sporting articles with sensational headlines; a person can end up exposing themselves to simplistic, agenda-driven conjecture without due consideration. Sporting lifestyle articles always question or support a character’s motives and morals. This kind of material is published to encourage the growth of extra layers of superficial interest in the game and will either support or dismantle the reputations of certain teams and players.
Now I know ninety nine percent of you are now saying “I make up my own mind.� And “I don’t even read the papers�.
Every incident is revisited and over-analysed in all facets of football. Every opinion is dismissed or supported, and there are no grey areas. When you are watching the game on television, you will find pundits and commentators are happy to explore the recent criticisms of a player or a club, usually regurgitating the most palatable public theory which falls in line with the fans of the most popular clubs. You must then expect to repeatedly encounter a loud and unapologetic repetition of these opinions spouted by drunken trolls in your local watering hole (usually with a few naughty words interspersed), either way you will certainly come across the main talking points from the morning’s papers. Don’t forget, you are reading about football on the internet too.
The press and the pundits are cogs in the mechanism of one particular behavioural pattern which stifles the validity of almost all rudimentary analysis of the football. Most sports writers lavish praise upon particular players and clubs (whom they will happily admit they support and/or have ties with) and speak or write with pure contempt in regard to others. This always comes across as a misguided attempt to show everyone that the middle class fifty-somethings (with a penchant for a night in with the thesaurus and a bottle of Marks and Spencer’s finest red) can be just as barbarically prejudiced as your average 20 stone Millwall fan with the club logo tattooed to his forehead. It is a comical parody of one of the unwritten laws between football fans. Your status as a ‘real fan’ is STILL determined by the volume at which you can holler “My team are f**kin’ great mate. Yours is well sh**e.� Whilst holding 3 cups of Bovril and a claxon.
(I’m still not sure if the brown stains which frequently appear on Mick Dennis’ articles are the result of repeated Bovril spillages or his inability to control the stream of an equally foul substance which tends to spew from his mouth.)
This is a reflection of the working class attitude which refuses to relinquish its demeaning grip on a sport which has outgrown it’s simplistic roots theoretically and financially.
I am forced to endure Adrian Chiles’ ‘endearing’ mannerisms on Match of the Day 2 (up to and including wild arm flailing) and I must say, watching him flounder is far more interesting than listening to his child-like realisation of any given Sunday’s sporting events. His face lights up like a shark that’s been plonked into a pool full of wounded seals every time the opportunity to stick the knife in on a high profile victim arises. Gavin Peacock could be half way through a sentence, expressing genuine concern over the seriousness of a player’s injury, then BAM… Adrian decides that he can’t contain himself, inanely tumbling through yet another hilarious critique of the size of Ashley Cole’s ear-rings.
Sensational.
So finally the subject of the article comes into focus; my disillusionment at the press’ unjustified and irrelevant criticism of certain characters and clubs. Some players suffer at the hands of the press, while others are afforded comparative immunity.
Football has always been about the heroes, but sadly villains sell papers. The tounge-in-cheekery of a bygone era has been entirely usurped in favour of repetitive and agonising bitching that wouldn’t sound out of place in a lady’s weekly.
“Have you seen Frank Lampard recently? He has gotten sooo fat.�
“That Jose Mourinho is sooo up himself.�
“Arsenal are sooo beautiful to watch.”
Perhaps we should be scrutinising the spiteful fools who make a living pimping negative ideals to a public starved of conversation points.
“Mick Dennis’ performance was way under-par on Wednesday. He repeatedly resorted to biased bitching utilising a collection of pre-rehearsed clichéd metaphors. He yet again regurgitated the theme of another forgettable article in which he criticised Chelsea. Perhaps he should lay off the burgers and stop looking at his feet in interviews, the ugly git.�
See how it feels Mick?
I am starting to wonder whether the fans would be better off disregarding the “interest� articles written by the new breed of tabloid sport journalists.
Frank Lampard is a man with the weight of the British sporting press resting on his shoulders. What has been described by Mourinho as a press ‘campaign’ against one of his most valuable players has gone so far that the ‘knowledgeable’ journalists are calling for him to be dropped from club and country. I can take the never-ending abuse of my club, as most of the abuse that comes our way is pathetically unquantifiable.
However, when a player of Lampard’s quality is shown such disrespect, you start to understand that (like the majority of the fans) sports journalists don’t actually want to deal with facts and figures unless it suits their agendas. The journos want to take a small sample of the truth, contort it until the information is unrecognisable then feed it to the public like it’s the awe-inspiring validification they’ve all been praying for.
In the World Cup Frank had a poor tournament by his usual standards. So did everyone else. End of story.
But it’s not the end of the story is it? Steven Gerrard weighed in with a whopping 2 goals at the and suddenly he should not only displace Lampard, he should be named as England’s captain as well.
Where were the journalists championing Frank Lampard as the most viable candidate for the England captaincy after he was our man of the tournament with a 5 goal haul two years ago in Portugal? Never once did the newspapers express that Gerrard’s permanent lack of form for England might eventually lose him his place in the team. Why has Lampard’s temporary dip (mainly for England rather than for Chelsea) been afforded such significance?
Last season, Frank broke a domestic record by scoring the most goals from midfield in the Premiership’s history. He was regarded as the second best player on the planet in 2004, and England’s most valuable player in the year of the last European Championship. He holds the record for the most consecutive appearances of all time in the top division and is considered to be a key figure in the star-studded Chelsea side who have won the domestic title two years in a row. Chelsea’s ‘failure’ in Europe consists of 3 latter stage appearances in 3 years, where twice they were beaten by the eventual winners.
Lampard’s achievements with Chelsea have been facilitated by his unrelenting determination and dedication, and he comes across as a likeable and intelligent character in his interviews and press conferences.
It’s re-assuring for members of the press to see their vengeful fabricated opinions repeated without due consideration, but the idea that the best midfielder in the country should be left out of England’s first eleven is laughable.
Don’t dismiss the facts and figures, and instead of being so critical of Frank Lampard, afford him the same respect you would to any other player with his credentials and capabilities.
If you don’t take heed of my advice, I promise that you will continue to massage the tabloid press’ collective ego and the England team will be weaker as a result of this flippancy. A man can only stand so much unjustified criticism, and it is plain to see that the public campaign against Lampard has affected his confidence.
You have to ask yourself what’s more important, the satisfaction of undermining a Chelsea player or the positive development of one of England’s finest midfielders?
Roll on Euro 2008.
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Lampard has suffered from unfair comparisons with Steven Gerrard. Gerrard is a gifted footballer who can play anywhere on the park and do a great job of it. Lampard is an attacking midfielder par excellence, and works best in a particular system.
The media’s comparison of the two players has led Frankie to be so unfairly lambasted. I do think that he should be rested for a few England games, especially if Lennon is to be groomed as a winger. Otherwise, we can switch to a 4-5-1, play Cole on left, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Lampard in the middle, Lennon on right and Crouch up front. As a defensive scenario that’s not a bad plan to have as backup.
Playing Gerrard and Lampard in the middle? Please no.
What short memories the football press have!Singled out as having a poor world cup is a bit rich given that Frank was largely responsible for england even getting to the world cup such was his contribution in the qualifying games. No one is claiming that he had anything other than a poor tournament by his standards, but his world cup was no worse than anyone else’s other than Hargreaves, who was the one success.Pity people don’t aim the same criticism at Rooney who performed at the same level and probably cost england further progress in getting sent off.
Keep it up Frank, I’ll take your current form any day of the week over most others. After all already second joint top scorer after just six games, what a disaster!. At this rate he will exceed last years goals which was his best.
A well-written, if not overly vitriolic article. I have just a few points to add. I do not think that Lampard has been vilified unanimously, with more than a handful of journalists recognising Lampard’s outstanding contribution to both club and country for the last couple of years. However, it is from precisely this excellence that the recent outbursts of criticism have stemmed. No player can perpetually keep up the standards to which Lampard has attained - hence Ronaldinho’s dip of form at the World Cup and towards the end of Barca’s campaign last season (and remember: the Brazilians tore down the statue dedicated to Ronaldinho following his poor estival showing). Lampard is still performing extremely well and effectively, but one must remember that this time last season (well, a couple of weeks after this point) Lampard topped the Premiership goalscoring charts.
Finally, I do feel that your staunch indignance towards the press emanates (somewhat ironically, if I may add) from an overarching attachment to your team and your team’s players. I do not mean to say that you personally suffer from a pathological affinity for your team, more that it is in the nature of a football fan to exhibit latent fan-aticism, no matter how hard he fights it! This is even more the case for players-come-pundits whose personal and professional life has been dedicated to the support of a particular team.
I couldn’t agree more.
The thing is, it was only ever going to be a Chelsea fan that highlighted these patterns.
It’s a comfortable situation for the fans of the other top clubs.
It’s re-assuring for members of the press to see their vengeful fabricated opinions repeated without due consideration, but the idea that the best midfielder in the country should be left out of England’s first eleven is laughable.
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He’s a good player but he doesn’t compare to Stevie G. Sorry to disagree, Ahmed, but comparisons are fully meritied as they vie for the same midfield spot considering the rise of Owen Hargreaves. Unless Lampard shows that he can play without a water carrier (Makelele, Essien: Quality players who make him what he is at Chelsea), he won’t offer much to dispel the notion that Gerrard is a much better, more complete midfielder than him.
About the England team, if England are to play 4-4-2, then for now Gerrard should play that roving right mid role with freedom to come inside, as Lennon is not yet good enough to merit dropping one of Gerrard/Lampard. However when he does become that good, then Lampard must be dropped IF England are to play 4-4-2 because Lampard cannot play without a water carrier as Rocky says, and Gerrard cannot be limited to just that.
A solution to the problem could be if Lennon could play on the left, I haven’t seen him try and I’d like to. I do feel Joe Cole is certainly a good player but not better than a reasonably comfortable Lennon would be.
Soupdragon, about Gerrards ‘permanent lack of form’, try playing Lampard as a holding mid, or right/left and see how he does. In the games where he has been in his attacking midfield role for England, he has been their best player. Thus he must be the one to stay if one must go. But for now, keep Lampard in the centre, and Gerrard on his right wing-free role.
As a die hard chelsea fan I have to say your article was fat too biased towards CFC. The only club and players you refer to CFC and your quote about Arsenal is correct - they do play the best football in the land (albeit they are so up their own arse they always try to score perfect goals and hence are langushing behind the blessed CFC).
The current anti-chelsea sentiment is tribute to our current status. Whichever team is dominating is the victim to media attacks as all other teams unite n their hatred of the Overlord of the premiership. Currently - this is Chelsea, it used to be the Arse then it was the ManUre and before that Liverpool. When has there not ever been this sort of vilifying of the top club? CFC are unlucky though as our dominance came from circumstances that give other fans a lot of anti-chelsea ammunition. So what - I am just happy it has happened in my lifetime. Are you trying to tell me that as a Blackburn fan our a Spurs fan you (that was the type of club we were before Roman came along) you would not want a russian billonaire to come along and take you on a fantastic Journey!! Come on this is great fun and while we know it won’t last forever - fuck ya all - we gonna laugh all the way to the triple, FA Cup and Champ League.
In the meantime - bring on you chelsea haters - cry me a river!!
God bless Roman and his Blue Army
It is a pity that some at the first opportunity they get, comment about SG, and blah blah blah. Copernicus just called and reiterated that Liverpool FC is not the center of universe and for that matter SG is not the only player on the planet. Back to the subject, an excellent article. Majority of British’s journalist now a day, sell their mothers to make headlines. I personally go along with many that British sport journalists are biased.
It’s about time the nail was hit on the head! regarding the dissmal reporting of the British sports teams and players by the so called British Press!I sit here is Australia and watch the Australians laughing at the British and it’s press in the way they tear their own national and domestic teams apart. Take the Ashes Cricket for example, the Media psych the England players out so bad that when they eventually play Australia in Cricket they are already on the back foot, so the Aussie have the advantage. How do I come to that conclusion…. Well it’s the Press who create the extemely high expectations of the players to perform out of this world due to their current form and then when they lose get dragged through the dirt and slagged off personally. See the double whammy! Well, now the Aussie are truely up for the next Ashes Series ready with the help of the British Press to knock us off the Pedestal that they have placed the English players on after the last Ashes Series, and being the Colonials they are would do their damndest to Beat England! Presently there are 65% more Liverpool, and Blackburn fans in Australia…. I wonder why? Because the Australian Press and Media always represent their Australian players in a positive light and “don’t blow wind up their arses”. So yes the Press is BIASED regardless of country! we get more matches on free to air and pay TV here in Australia covering games from England, Italy and Spain where Australian players are involved. Why is Australia been so successful in sport in the last 20 odd years? Rugby League-Dominant! Cricket-Outstanding! Swimming-Awesome and the list just goes on!!!!! Why, becuase their media gets behind them with positive reporting because the public has a stake in their performances due to the creation of the Australian Institue of Sport funded by the Government.
So back to the topic at hand! Since Frank Lampard has out shone the Progical Son Steven Gerrard in all departments bar the lifting of a CL trophy, I say if the media continue with the witch hunt they are on against players from Chelsea, and Chelsea in General then - John Terry, Frank Lampard, Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole (Did I just mention nearly half of the England Team then) should consider pulling out of playing for England, and show some player power against this biased Press coverage the way Beckham did with England and the players a few years ago!. At least if things don’t work out for England, then they won’t be held accountable for the failings of England at the next Tournament!
To kill the fire you starve it of Oxygen!!!
Why is it only the English Press that does this to its sports people! Is the real Question !
Are these the same Chelsea haters that praise John Terry to high heavens every time he makes a defensive clearance (I mean that is his job after all isn’t it?) Rio Ferdinand remains the best defender in the country, his performance in the World Cup proves that at international level when it really matters he’s still the man, but who got the credit? Exactly. Frank Lampard is not the best midfielder in the country, he plays for the best team. I’m not knocking the guy, it just would be nice to see an England manager pick the team according to form, not just reputation. And personally, Joe Cole for me has got the left-sided midfield position sewn up, which means that when he comes back and we stick with the current midfield we will lack natural width, everything will be far too narrow (one reason why we looked so predictable in the world cup). So when Cole comes back, Lennon goes on the right to provide pace and penetration out wide, Gerrard moves into the centre and Lampard is the one to go. Lets get over this idea that Lampard is undroppable shall we, we had a similar situation with Beckham under Sven and ultimately it didn’t do us any good. This England team should be built around the spine of Ferdinand, Gerrard and Rooney - they are the most dynamic players in each position we have got.
Well, those of you who have disagreed with me have totally confirmed my theories.
You might as well have quoted every one of those unquantifiable opinions from the tabloid’s websites.
This isn’t a Gerrard vs Lampard debate. Go and find the previous post I made with regard to the two players.
Please people, think about what you are saying before you wade headlong into a criticism of my article that ironically undermines you.
I think i should agree with Alex Hamshere and Soupdragon2.
This isn’t a Gerrard vs Lampard debate but at current form,Lampard should be rested. Only the best form player would make a good team.
Soup’s Gerrard vs Lampard article:
http://soccerlens.com/calling-all-liverpool-and-chelsea-fans-gerrard-vs-lampard/1214490.html
If the press weren’t subtly encouraging Lampard’s exclusion from the side and constantly slating Chelsea, people wouldn’t feel as comfortable in considering it as a viable option.
If we were playing friendlies at the moment i’d probably encourage Gerrard’s insertion into the attacking midfield role to test his worth. I’ve seen him play there quite a few times for England and perform poorly in the past. These days, he is a far more confident player than he used to be. The fact is, we still need to win these important games, and leaving out one of the country’s most consistant and dedicated midfielders would only threaten the teams cohesion.
The thing is, Gerrard’s recent performances have been drastically over-hyped as a part of the whole ‘Lampard out’ campaign. Instead of considering what Gerrard *can* do (scoring from distance, powering past players, and slotting deadly through balls to the forwards.. which Lampard also does :D) people should be considering what he *is* doing. His passing has been far from consistant this season, and he has looked less dangerous in front of goal. Again, Lampard is over-hauling Gerrard’s goal tally in the premiership.. and Liverpool’s squad is now considered to be very strong, so the excuse that Gerrard has to work harder because he plays with a poorer side is nullified.
It’s an inevitability that people will always have their favourites, and that people will value either Gerrard or Lampard over each other. The fact is, Chelsea are generally hated, and Liverpool are admired. That means the majority will always be on Gerrard’s side. This has been repeatedly exacerbated by the press’ inclination to force their influence on the public by repeatedly slamming Lampard’s performances and admiring Gerrard’s even when they have both been performing poorly.
Lampard’s 2 goals were a breath of fresh air at the weekend and I fully expect him to find his form very soon.
BTW: Alex…
I think you got your words mixed up in reference to John Terry’s value to the team.
“every time he makes a defensive clearance”
should be
“he makes a defensive clearance every time”
He has been a bloody powerhouse since he’s been given the captain’s armband. Rio has continued to blunder domestically. (I happen to think that they play very well together, and Rio has been absolutely fantastic since JT got the arm-band as well).
Terry was unfairly criticised for every defensive mix-up in the world cup as justification for Gerrard’s case in becoming the England captain. Rio went unscathed.
Lampard is not undroppable because he’s best friends with Steve McClaren, so the situation is nothing like Beckham’s immunity. It’s because he’s the most consistant and prolific scorer from midfield available to Steve, and has been for 2-3 years.
Beckham was past it at Euro 2004, where people were already citing SWP as a replacement for him.
Lampard has hit an uncharacteristic patch of bad form, and is now back amongst the goals and performing fantastically for his club.
Whatever, wait until Lampard is over the hill before you start forcing Gerrard’s case. Lamps has got another 3-4 years at the top level at least. (His dad played until he was 40 at the top level, and Lamps has the same physical make up and energy levels as his father.)
STAND UP IF YOU HATE CHELSEA!! *stands*
But man do I love Frank Lampard’s football. For me, he is THE best English player; well, after David Beckham of course
Yep, better than Rooney even (and I’m a Man U fan).
So he had a dip of form during the World Cup. Everyone has a bad patch; it’s just unfortunate he had his then. As the Americans say: “Don’t hate the player”. He’ll come good again.
“…comparisons are fully meritied as they vie for the same midfield spot…”
Eh? Lampard plays to the left of a defensive midfielder or front middle of a diamond playing box-to-box. Gerrard plays wide left or right in a front three. What is this magical “same midfield spot”? That’s why the press tirade is a load of old cobblers.
“If the press weren’t subtly encouraging Lampard’s exclusion from the side…”
Subtly? What’s subtle about it?!
Well, it’s subtle enough to convince the entire viewing public that Lampards performances have been desperately poor, and that Gerrard is an infallible superhero.
There are subtle aspects of the press’ coverage that have infiltrated the public’s psyche. The instant press turn around about Owen Hargreaves co-incideded with the ‘Gerrard for president campaign’.
This was another incomparable press admission, which (despite him having improved) was totally uncharacteristic of a typically sceptical medium.
He has played a load of games, and 2 good ones suddenly turn him into England’s best player?
Only because it conveniently *solved* the defensive midfield problem. That means there was theoretically only one place in attacking midfield available between Gerrard (the man they were saying should be captain and is a hero) and Lampard (who they were deriding, saying he should be dropped by being drastically over-critical).
Steve Mac sidestepped the issue by using him on the wing like Rafa does. That’s why ‘Stevie’ looked so frustrated when he realised that he’s going to be a winger until Lampard retires