Doesn't everybody? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) There are only a handful of players in International football, who'd keep on running and try to score a goal instead of faking a dive. I can count them on my hands, and still there would be fingers to spare!

Never doubted his class, though. One has to be a good player to make place in the Portuguese NT midfield. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Deco is an amazing player!

In my opinion he was as influential as anybody in Barcelona's successes.

Yes, it makes me think what they'll do without him. And Ronaldinho. And Zamborghini. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) Messi wasn't God, last time I checked.

Deco was playing in a lightweight midfield. He wasn't able to do what he wanted with guys like Xavi and Iniesta there. Now he has Ballack, Lampard and Essien, 3 big guys with strength. It makes it easier for him. Riijkard just got it tactically wrong at Barca for me.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) Don't worry, if Liverpool continue to play like that, they will be fighting for the 4th place (like every year) soon enough.

Just flicking through the Independent when i found this article and this paragraph (Article is about the absurdity of Lampards new contract)



Link if you want to read the whole article. Some of the writers other articles are quite good too

Edit: Whoops, my bad the article is from The Times not The Independent

This post has been edited by whoarethepatriots: Aug 24 2008, 11:08 PM

In my honest opinion, Lampard is a scapegoat, nothing more. Gerrard can do nothing all game andhe's hailed as the lovable Stevie G. United players can get away with doing nothing because they're clearly superior and can never put a foot wrong, why else do they play for Man U? If you play for Chelsea, however, it's another story. JT and Lampard are the ones that get it the most, they are seen as 'the face of Chelsea', all about money. But when Roman took over, it didn't matter who they bought, these guys were still performing well enough to keep in the first team. People may complain they earn alot of money, but originally they were some of the lowest earners in the squad, they were still on 'small' contracts from the pre-Roman days. While all these new boys who came in and did nothing were earning 10 times more. They deserve the money they get.

Greed? Yes, maybe. But aren't we all. If you were offered £100k a week would you say "Oh, no, I'm not greedy, I'll stuck with my £20k a week, thanks". No, you wouldn't. It's not greedy to accept what you're offered. I admire Frank for playing on the way he does. I remember a terrible game against Croatia, we were 2-0 down, looked like crashing out of the Euro's, and we won a penalty. Who took it, was it Beckham? No. Was it Gerrard? No. Nor Rooney, nor Crouch. It was Frank Lampard. Despite all of the criticism and booing, HE was the one that picked up the ball to take the penalty, one that if missed would have pretty much guarenteed England we out, but even with that pressure he scored a great penalty.

/end of rant.

Frank Lampard owns. I'm not a Chelsea fan, but I think he's one of the most unfairly criticised and picked on players I've ever seen in sport.

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: Aug 24 2008, 11:13 PM

Lampard is I'm afraid one of those players, who receive either boquets or brickbats. Nothing in between.

He isn't that great a player, but one must also respect players who maximise their contribution with what talent they've got. Like our own Rino.

Steven Gerrard, I've always felt is someone who can truly improve because he has oodles of talent that Lampard doesn't, but just sticks to what he knows best. I would say Lampard has the better work ethic and application. In the last 10 years, if you questioned, who had improved more, Stevie or Lamps, it would be Lamps.


But that doesn't deny the fact, that he doesn't deserve to be in the NT on the basis of his past performances.

He's doing ok now, but so was Mutu in his first few games, says it all!

He has proved the doubters including myself wrong, just wonder if he can keep up at the level he's playing all season and no that doesn't mean he has to score 4 goals every 2 games!

+1. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) He's just about my favorite player in the English NT.

frankie is an amazing player. A great man lol. I remember i read somethign on him in his youth days. He would go to his local park everyday afterschool and run from the 18 yard box to another. So one day his coach was walking by and asked him what why he was running like that when there wasn't practise. He said isn't that what midfielders do, run from 18 to 18.

anyways i just wanted to share it thats all, no flames svp.

(IMG:http://www.maam.org/wwii/photos/battle/Flamethrower_5.jpg)


Too late bluey!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif)

This post has been edited by Jack Sparrow: Aug 25 2008, 08:25 AM

I'll have to disagree that Lampard isn't that great a player. He doesn't have the same skill as Ronaldinho or anything, no, but he doesn't need that to get past players, he has strength and power to do so. Nobody on earth is a better goal scoring midfielder than him, 3rd successive seasons with 20 plus goals last season, when you consider he was out injured and missed over 15 EPL games, and that he then missed time when his mom died, it's incredible that he scored that amount.

I think that depends how you define 'deserving to be in your NT'. Does he deserve it on his Chelsea performances? Most definitly, he should possibly be one of the first names down on the team sheet. On his England performances? No, he doesn't, but neither do most of the players, we'd have about a 5 man squad. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

In other news, Dimitar Berbatov has handed in a transfer request at Spurs and West Ham have accepted Sunderlands £8m bid for Anton Ferdinand. £8m for him!? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

Anton for 8 million. Wow.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Keane has to finish in the top10 this season then.

Does anyone know how the money gets split in the EPL? Is it like in Formula 1 based on your table position? (I mean not counting the winners of course). Or is it an even steven deal?

At the end of the season, or the tv money before the season? The end of season money is based on your position in the table, I think each position is worth £1.5m more than the one below it. TV money is split fairly evenly, but the more you're shown throughout the season, the more you get. So both benefit the big 4 really.