"I can’t imagine playing for anyone else after being 12 years at Chelsea. I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of other Premier League clubs, particularly the top ones, but I'm not sure I could have done that." – Frank Lampard, May 2013.
How things have changed. Fast forward a little over 18 months and Chelsea’s record goal scorer is readying himself for a return to Stamford Bridge, not only with another Premier League club, but a “top” Premier League club who happen to be the West Londoners’ main title rivals.
Lampard’s father – Frank Senior – says his son is ready to return to the ground where he established himself as a modern-day legend, but are Chelsea ready to receive him?
Pic @Tonisky88 | Twitter
Off the pitch, it feels like Chelsea – both club and supporters – are going through an existential crisis as Lampard’s return draws near. To boo or not to boo? Scroll through any Chelsea fan board, or spend five minutes on Twitter and you’ll find the whole range of opinions from “legend” to “Judas”. On the one hand, Lampard ran out in the Chelsea blue on 648 occasions, scored an incredible 211 goals from midfield and is still, according to his father, a Chelsea season ticket holder. On the other, his goals this season have earned Man City five vital points in the title race, and robbed Chelsea of two.
When Didier Drogba (8 seasons, 100 goals) returned to Stamford Bridge with Galatassaray last year, he was afforded a hero’s reception: standing ovation, an interview in the match day programme and presented with a silver boot before the game. Will Lampard, whose achievements with the Blues surpass those of the Ivorian, be afforded such grace? No.
Manchester is a lot closer to the Fulham Road than Istanbul, in more ways than one.
Pic @Shawshank5 | Twitter
On the pitch, Chelsea face similar conundrums. Their mid-week League Cup victory over Liverpool has proven to be Pyrrhic: 19-goal Diego Costa’s stamps have earned him a retrospective three-match ban, starting on Saturday, with Didier Drogba set to lead the Chelsea line. Worse still, Cesc Fabregas (15 league assists) is an injury doubt with a thigh strain. If both are unavailable, Chelsea’s goal threat is considerably diminished. And how will the team more generally cope with 120 minutes of frantic midweek cup action in their legs, against a City who’ve had their feet up for the best part of a fortnight?
Of course City arrive with their own set of problems: no wins and only one goal scored in their last three games, no Yaya Toure and an undercooked Sergio Aguero mean Manuel Pelligrini’s men are far from peak form. But, in Lampard, they not only possess a man capable of scoring vital goals, but one that can unnerve the whole of Chelsea with his sheer presence.
It should be an interesting game.
