Scotland Wales Northern Ireland
BBCi CATEGORIES   TV   RADIO   COMMUNICATE   WHERE I LIVE   INDEX    SEARCH 

BBC SPORT
You are in: You are in: Funny Old Game  
Front Page 
Football 
Cricket 
Rugby Union 
Rugby League 
Tennis 
Golf 
Motorsport 
Boxing 
Athletics 
Other Sports 
Sports Talk 
In Depth 
Photo Galleries 
Audio/Video 
TV & Radio 
BBC Pundits 
Question of Sport 
Funny Old Game 

Around The Uk

BBC News

BBC Weather

SERVICES 
banner Saturday, 10 November, 2001, 18:31 GMT
Looking after Lampard
BBC Radio Five Live's Wright and Bright find out why Frank Lampard is always on the winning team when his father is calling the shots.

Frank Lampard may be enjoying his time at Chelsea, but not having his dad around does have its disadvantages.

For one thing, five-a-side matches at Stamford Bridge are certainly not as easy as they were at West Ham.

It seems that Lampard's side hardly ever lost the club kick-arounds, especially when his dad, Frank senior, was refereeing.

Lampard's father, also a former Hammer, was one of the backroom staff at the club until manager Glenn Roeder was appointed in the summer.


If you scored a 30-yarder and you weren't on Frank Lampard's side, his dad would say off-side
Ian Wright
Frank senior obviously kept a watchful eye over his son while both of them were on the payroll at Upton Park and proved that blood is definitely thicker than water.

Lampard might have to fend for himself these days, but some of his former team-mates still remember when the talented midfielder had it all his own way.

He was put on the spot by another former Hammer Ian Wright during his BBC Radio Five Live show with Mark Bright on Saturday.

"Frank Lampard's dad used to make sure Frank Lampard's five-a-side team won," joked Wright, who donned the claret and blue strip in the 1998-1999 season.

"If you scored a 30-yarder and you weren't on Frank Lampard's side, his dad would say off-side."

Paolo di Canio
Di Canio takes five-a-side as seriously as the real thing
Lampard was not going to be made fun of that easily and got his own cheeky quip in.

"Wrighty, I understand why you're saying that. It's because I did win most games. It's the way I play," Frank junior joked.

But, after former team-mates Rio Ferdinand and Trevor Sinclair joined in with the ribbing on the mid-morning phone-in, Lampard had to concede.

"Frankie's team never had a youth team player on it," Ferdinand pointed out.

But Lampard was not the only player who enjoyed more than his fair share of winning.

Italian striker Paolo di Canio, perhaps unsurprisingly, is famed for throwing a few tantrums when things do not go his way.

"We couldn't give a decision against Paolo because he would walk off," giggled Wright.

 WATCH/LISTEN
 ON THIS STORY
Frank Lampard
"He used to be on my back all the time, giving me stick"
David Beckham
On 'that' goal, Christmas and Harry Potter
Links to more Funny Old Game stories are at the foot of the page.

 

E-mail this story to a friend

Links to more Funny Old Game stories

^^ Back to top