The season is young and you can still get great odds for English Premier League betting for the majority of teams. One of the clubs that are in the spotlight this season is Chelsea. The main reason for such a focus is their Head Coach, Frank Lampard. Lampard’s career has been watched by thousands of fans throughout the years, from West Ham United to Chelsea and of course his impact on the England national squad.
The 41-year-old first joined The Blues in 2001, playing in the middle of the field and making quite the impression. In his first season, he made a total of 37 appearances, numbers which continued throughout his career at the club. His international career is also highly decorated with a total of 106 caps with 29 goals. But enough of the stats, what does Lampard journey in the EFL look like?
Beginnings
Lampard was first signed to the West Ham United development programme in 1993 but only made his debut as a substitute against Coventry City in January of 1996. That same season he made another appearance for the club, coming on for Keith Rowland in May. It wasn’t until 1997 that Lampard became a first-team regular where he wrapped 31 appearances under his belt, scoring five goals. From that season onwards he was a regular in the first-team squad up until his transfer to Chelsea in 2001.
Chelsea
The highlights of Lampard’s career came from his time at Chelsea. In 13 seasons the number 8 legend played 648 games for the club and netted 211 goals, making him the all-time leading goalscorer for the club. That isn’t the only record Lamps holds at the club though, he is also Chelsea’s all-time-top-flight league scorer with 147 goals in the Premier League, and the top all-time FA Cup scorer with 26 goals.
During his time with Chelsea, Lampard also managed to assist the side in claiming a few honours including the Premier League title three times, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup (now known as the Carabao Cup) twice and the Community Shield twice. He also managed to claim two European trophies with the side, one Champions League title and one Europa League title. In total, he collected 13 pieces of silverware with Chelsea.
His individual achievements form an extremely long list including FIFA Player of the Year Silver Award in 2005 and UEFA Midfielder of the Year in 2008. He’s been the Premier League player of the month, season and decade too – all during his time at Chelsea. It would be fair to say that Lampard and Chelsea have a strong bond with one another and he is no doubt a legend in their eyes.
Management
Before some brief spells playing for Manchester City and New York City, Lampard took his first management job with Derby County. In his first and only season as manager of the club, he pushed the midlands side to reach the Championship play-off final where they lost to Aston Villa who won promotion into the Premier League. At the end of the 2018-19 season, Lampard was heavily linked to the vacant Chelsea managerial spot.
Lamps took charge of the club on the 4th of July 2019 on a three-year contract which made him the first English manager at the club in over two decades. The season so far has not been the best for Lamps, suffering a first-game defeat at the hands of Manchester United. The club now sits 11th in the table having drawn two games, losing one and winning one. There has been a lot of buzz about Lampard returning back home to Stamford Bridge with many of the fans announcing their support. Hopefully, he can not only live up to his legendary status but continue it throughout his management career.
