There's as much chance of Gordon Brown being welcomed back as leader of the Labour Party or of Steve McClaren being reappointed manager of England or of Rob Green going to the European Championships as Capello's first choice number one.
Too much blood has passed under the bridge for Lamps to ever return to West Ham. The hatred has been unbridled and bordering on a disgrace. This is a guy who grew up in the West Ham family and served the club superbly until his dad and uncle were sacked. The Parker brigade call Scott a West Ham great based on 126 starts and 12 goals; compare that to Lampard, who despite being a kid, started 170 games and fired home 38 goals.
Lampard is not everybody's barrel of lard but there's no getting away from his record of 518 league games and 148 goals - an amazing return for a midfield player. Add to that 23 international goals in 90 England appearances and only Bobby Moore rates above him as a product of the West Ham Academy.
There was a section of our crowd that hounded him even before his departure. The reception he has been given since he left has been truly contemptible. We are desperate for Noble and Tomkins to cut it at the highest level and forget that Lampard is one of our own and is one of the best of his generation and every other generation too.
But he won't be coming home anytime soon. Would you?
I'd say Rio may be better than Fat Frank. Then again we all love Rio so that may be a bit biased. But I agree no way Frank comes back to West Ham. Too much hatred. It would be like Ince coming back after his ManU days or Judas Defoe coming back now!
ReplyDeleteLOL I expected Brooking, Hurst and Peters ahead of Rio!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Rio has played less league games and has 9 less caps! He also started less games for West Ham.
ReplyDeleteThe contempt with which he talks about the club that made him, he hardly helps himself does he?
ReplyDeleteHow would you feel about an employer that sacked your dad and uncle after the service that Frank Senior and 'Arry gave to the club?
ReplyDeleteWhat some individual chairman does is nothing to do with a football club in this case. A club should mean much more.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I am wrong. Lampard Snr. walked. He was not sacked.
ReplyDeleteAnd Uncle DESERVED to be sacked. If Harrys version is true.
ReplyDeletenever he was brought through and fully schooled at westhams youth system ok his dad a true westham ledgend was sacked with uncle harry but some of the things the fat cnut has said about westham since he left have been right out of order he is worse than low life ince and defoe was just a idiot who believed he was better than he really was time has proved hi at best a decent player now fat frank has said far too much hes bit the hand that fed him hes insulted the fans of westham who payed his wages so fcuk the fat cnut now in the case of rio julian dicks tevez they left westham and never bad mouthed us to the press so its great to welcome them back fat frank mouthed off for the sake of it hi time as a player will end soon but westham will carry on maybe we wont win cups but wel be around longer than fatboy the only shame out of it his dad was a true westham great
ReplyDeleteDave says,
ReplyDeleteIf he did come back, and he won't in a million years, he would not be welcomed by many, certainly not me. He may have been one of us once but not any more.
His dad, who I admired as a player, was a hanger on 'do nothing, blag it, and pick the cheque up' type accomplice for Redknapp who had just blown the Rio money on the likes of Camara and Song and other non-entities who we struggled to give away.
And Lampard did not do 'superbly' for us. It was felt by many that he was in the team initially at least, cos of who his dad was. He gave us goals, but not much else. To see him develop into the player he became at Chelsea irritated and surprised me in equal measures.
There would be only one winner in a popularity contest between him and Rio. But no, much as I'd love it to happen, Rio won't be back anytime soon either.
Like I said I am biased because i'm a big Rio fan. Obviously you put the three best West Ham players ever in front of those. I thought we were discussing modern day academy graduates. Frank was great for us but the way he left was bad. Maybe not as bad as other players (Ince, Defoe) but still pretty petty.
ReplyDeleteThe way I heard it dave, he was given an ultimatum. Walk or else.
ReplyDeleteNot as contemptible as you HF.
ReplyDeleteAgree to a certain extent, HF. Certainly agree that he'll never come back. Frankly (sorry) he wouldn't be welcome.
ReplyDeletePersonally, he crossed the line when he implied that he'd never really become any sort of a player until he went to Chelsea. Given the years of nurturing by people like Tony Carr, I found that insinuation disgusting and have, in a panto type of way, despised the player ever since.
Dave says
ReplyDeleteNot heard that one before HF. Sure someone will put me right, but I thought he'd made it plain that he wanted to go once his dad and uncle left the club.
His attitude before had been that we were a stepping stone to greater things. I hate to admit it, but he was right. In truth he didn't develop that well with us after making his debut early. He needed to go somewhere else to develop and be pushed because that wasn't happening with us. Life had been easy for him at UP in the sense for example that it was a long running joke amongst fans that he would never be substituted, even when playing poorly.
Ironically, this intended protection of him didn't help him with the fans or in the development of him as a player as he was far too comfortable and untouchable.
He's part of the past. I hope it stays that way.
what I remember, and i'm
He was right though HM, as Dave concedes, though I disagree with his reasoning. The crowd had it in for Lampard. They saw nepotism where there was none. Other young players - like Joe Cole, Rio, Noble and Carrick - have been indulged and protected, even when having iffy games. That's why we were so good at developing players, because we understood that you have to give them a chance and stand by them when they make errors or are having iffy spells. Allardyce doesn't understand that mentality does he? He is terrified of trusting kids and will only use them as a very last resort. If he remains in charge, the Academy will become the Mortuary.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is, fans got a bee in their bonnet about Lampard Junior and used him as the whipping boy when things were not going well, in a way they never did with Cole, for example. Nepotism became the buzz word and once the idea had taken root, there was no shaking the conviction. Look at his record! 38 goals in 170 games - from a kid playing in midfield! Picking a player with that record is not nepotism!
But he would never have progressed at the same rate at West Ham as he did at Chelsea, because playing with great players took his game to a new level, and having to compete with those players for a place in the team made him push himself and develop new facets to his game. That's obviously going to happen.
If Lampard is bitter, I don't blame him. The fans abused him WHILST he wore Claret and Blue and the club knifed his uncle and dad in the back. I would be bitter!
Kevin in Manchester writes
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree with you hf. Certainly top three or four of our youth team of all time. Amazing record as an attacking midfielder and very sad that he is so hated at his alma mater and no, if I were him I'd never come home.
Dave says,
ReplyDeleteYou make some decent points HF but it isn't that simple.
The fans attitude to Lampard was complicated. There was nepotism, but we still wanted him to do well. Not many clubs fans have the same level of deep routed pride in seeing our youngsters come through as we do. We wanted him to be good. His dad's song became our song for him- remember?
It was only after he left that the mixed feelings towards him turned to hatred and contempt. He bought that on himself.
And yes he did have a great goals record, but he was largely anonymous in other respects. You could see he had most of the attributes (apart from pace, which had he possessed it could have made him truly world class) but he did not come close to showing them at UP.
Rose tinted specs HF Lampard didn't develop at West Ham because he didn't have to push himself to be included I had a go at him when he was with us because you always felt he had more to offer but couldn't really be arsed and that feeling was reinforced by his spitting the dummy when his Uncle was sacked and I certainly didn't despise the little git until he spent so much of his book making out that the fans hated him and wishing nothing but ill on the club I didn't sack his uncle would have loved to have been able to sack the man that did though He's slated West Ham so much and kissed that Chelski badge so often I wouldn't even have him back as the tea lady
ReplyDeleteI think you'll find it was his uncle that knifed his "supposed" best mate (Bonzo) in the back.
ReplyDelete