It's safe to say that NYCFC fans are not completely impressed with Frank Lampard so far. He's been booed by his own supporters, he's been called the worst MLS signing in history and he's only managed to play 14 times for NYCFC in just under a year.
Frank Lampard's contract expires at the end of this year, so the pressure is on for him to make an impression. Photo: @NYCFC | Twitter
His career didn't start too well at NYCFC. In the summer of 2014, it was announced that Lampard had signed for the club, but that he was going to sign for Manchester City on loan until the beginning of the MLS preseason. That turned out to be a lie.
Lampard had signed no contract with NYCFC and ended up staying with Manchester City until the conclusion of the Premier League season. Needless to say, fans weren't exactly chuffed to hear this. He finally made his debut for the club in August of 2015, over a year after the initial announcement.
Since then, he has mostly sat out with injuries, and only made his first appearance of the 2015/16 season last month against the New York Red Bulls, a game in which they were smashed 7-0, hence the aforementioned booing.
However, this weekend, Lampard showed signs of maybe turning the tide of public opinion. In his first start of the season on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union, he opened the scoring in the eighth minute in classic Lampard-style, as he floated into the box and tapped the ball in from six yards out. NYCFC went on to win the game 3-2, snapping the Union's eight-game unbeaten streak.
Despite being on the receiving end of most of the NYCFC fans' wrath, perhaps undeservedly so, Frank Lampard is still an immensely talented player. He proved that at Manchester City in his last Premier League season. He may not be the box-to-box dynamo that he used to be, but he is an extraordinarily clever player who knows exactly where to position himself to get a goal.
Frank Lampard still has the ability to help NYCFC. Photo: @GzConde11 | Twitter
NYCFC has struggled immensely since their inception into the MLS, but Lampard is the type of player who can turn that around. It will take a lot of work to get the NYCFC fans back on his side, but if he can turn in more good performances like that, then surely, all will be forgotten.
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