Now you see him, now
you don't: Frank Lampard cuts an unhappy figure on the bench and,
after being snubbed by Andre Villas-Boas, gets up and walks away
without a backward glance five minutes from time
Frank Lampard’s long-term future
at Chelsea is in jeopardy after he was dropped and appeared to
storm away from the Stamford Bridge pitch.
The 33-year-old midfielder was an unused
substitute in Chelsea’s 4-1 win against Swansea and seemed to react
badly as new manager Andre Villas-Boas begins to make his mark on
the club’s old guard.
Lampard disappeared into the dressing room before
the end of the second half after teenager Josh McEachran was
preferred to replace Raul Meireles in the 83rd minute.
The victory could have marked Lampard’s 350th
Premier League appearance for the club he joined in 2001 in an
£11million move from West Ham.
But this is the latest chapter in what already
looks like becoming a sorry season for him.
Lampard has now been left on the bench for three
of the past four Chelsea games — and he was taken off at half-time
in the other, the 3-1 defeat at Manchester United.
Villas-Boas insisted Lampard should not be
concerned but it is starting to look like the beginning of the end
for the midfielder at the club.
The manager said: ‘I don’t know but this is
nothing to speculate about. They are team players and the players
want the team to perform, and Frank is like that. He is a fantastic
player, a magnificent player and soon he will be back to the team,
sooner than you expect.
True Blue: Lampard set a record of 164 consecutive
Premier League appearances at Chelsea
'The decisions today were mainly based on the fact we played 120
minutes (in the Carling Cup) on Wednesday and these players were
fresh, apart from John Terry and Petr Cech. In a tight calendar
like we have, it’s important to have squad
rotation.’
But Lampard losing his place in the Chelsea
pecking order will add to his disappointment at international
level, with England manager Fabio Capello apparently deciding the
midfielder will no longer be a regular starter.
The Italian prefers Scott Parker and Jack
Wilshere, among others, when they are fit and the Chelsea stalwart
came off the bench late on in the European Championship qualifying
win against Bulgaria earlier this month.
Changing of the guard: Lampard is substituted by Scott
Parker against Wales
The pace and direction of
Lampard’s passing has been questioned by some observers, while
Villas-Boas has looked to increase the speed of his team’s
play.
The Chelsea manager has been searching for a way
to get Fernando Torres back to his best and employed new signing
Juan Mata behind the £50m striker.
It worked initially as Torres scored Chelsea’s
impressive first goal. But the Spaniard spoiled his day by getting
sent off for an ugly tackle on Swansea’s Mark Gower.
Lampard is fourth in Chelsea’s all-time
appearance list, behind Ron Harris, Peter Bonetti and John
Hollins.
While he has not started the most recent Carling
Cup and Champions League games, until Saturday he had started all
but one of their League games since last December.