Chelsea may have been zig-zagging across the States to milk the
pre-season dollar but it was in Tinseltown, the destination of
every movie wannabe, that Lampard made his assessment of the latest
A-list stars in waiting.
The vast majority never make it beyond waiting tables or valet
parking for the rich and famous few who have made it to the very
top.
Oh, to be like Lampard, one of the biggest box office draws in
the business with a string of blockbuster hits and a showreel full
of starring roles to his name.
You can just imagine Mark Hughes echoing the thought. The City
boss is blowing the big bucks to assemble a cast that can become
the hottest show in town. But Chelsea's leading man could not
resist a dig at all the excesses at Eastlands.
Lampard, with more than a passing nod to the City
theatrics, said: "I don't think it is a necessity for Chelsea to go
out and spend a ridiculous amount of money."
City do have to break the bank to try to compete with a
star-studded side that has won two Premier League titles, the FA
Cup, the Carling Cup and appeared in five Champions League
semi-finals and one final in the past six years. In fact, Lampard
believes the Blues are so good it is hard to improve
them.
He said: "I am sure if one of the top, top players is available
then the club will try everything to try to sign them. There are
definitely a couple of players out there who would add a lot to
this team. But there are millions of others who would not bring
much to this squad at all because we are already so strong right
across the board."
A super-confident Lampard is convinced Chelsea will be
contenders for the big prizes again with or without a 'marquee'
signing of their own. But what about City?
The 31-year-old England midfielder has his doubts, saying: "They
are buying big, spending a lot of money, bringing in quality
players - but whether they can all gel together straight away
remains to be seen. Because while you can spend, spend, spend, the
one thing you can't buy is chemistry.
"Obviously, there is huge expectation but whether they can do it
in their first season, who knows?"
Lampard draws comparisons with Chelsea's surge into the big-time
bank-rolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich
He said: "I remember when Roman first came to Chelsea it was a
similar situation but, remember, we didn't win the league in the
very first season, we came second with Claudio Ranieri.
"Then Jose Mourinho came in and we won back-to-back titles which
shows it can be done - but it does take a bit of time. You need the
right manager and a period of time for him to work and for the team
to gel.
"The important thing to realise is that it is not about
individuals coming in and acting like individuals. It's about
building a team and making it work, making it hum. And it remains
to be seen if City are capable of doing that.
"Of course, you can buy success. But only if you buy the right
players, players who are good on the pitch and good off it. That's
the important thing. That's what we have had at Chelsea over the
years and we have had great success."
There have been expensive mistakes along the way, though, such
as Juan Sebastian Veron, Adrian Mutu and Hernan Crespo. But most
notably £30million record signing Andriy Shevchenko.
He's not even sure he's ahead of teenagers Angelo Di Santo and
Daniel Sturridge in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge these days
and his future is very much in doubt.
Sturridge, who turned his back on City to pursue his own dream
of stardom with Chelsea, has certainly made an immediate impact at
his new club. And Lampard has been very impressed, saying: "He has
a huge future. Talent-wise he is right up there. He has shown that
in training and he has shown it in the matches so far.
"He needs to work hard, needs to learn off Didier Drogba and
Nicolas Anelka and then take his chance when it comes. But he's
settling in well and has certainly added some spice to
training."
There's one signing Lampard is hoping will prove even more
valuable - new boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Lamps added: "Hopefully, Carlo can be our most important signing
because he can bring stability to the team. He definitely has the
credentials to do that. We know his history at Milan and what he
built there. It was a Milan phenomenon really with the way they won
the Champions League and the players that they brought
through.
"He's a classy man and a good coach and, hopefully, we can have
success and that will bring the continuity."
Ancelotti has been quick to get his message across. Lampard
added: "He has had a couple of team meetings where he has told us
how he wants us to play as a team and he has also spoken to us as
individuals.
"He seems a good man manager and he's a very good coach.
Training is good, the work we are doing in training, the way he is
working with the players. It's all enjoyable.
"Even though it is early days we are playing very well, knocking
the ball around very well, creating a lot of chances. It looks like
we are starting to gel for the season.
"But we know these pre-season games don't matter so much, the
main concentration is all on when the league games start - that's
when we have to be really at it."
