Lampard's Professionalism Going Unnoticed

In sport consistency is key to any success, and in Frank Lampard, Chelsea have a player whose reliability is as undeniable as it is astonishing.

Lampard reached 20 club goals for the 5^th season in a row, after scoring four goals, two of which were penalties, against Aston Villa on Saturday.

The regularity of his performances, his temperament on the field and his refusal to disgrace himself in the public eye means he is the modern day professional in amongst the playboys of the Premier League.

Above all else his performances for both Chelsea, and England have always been exemplary, only Wayne Rooney can boast to having similar success for both club and county.

Gone are the days that saw England fans use Lamaprd as the scapegoat for their inability to qualify for the European Championships in 2008. Yes, Steve McLaren was slated off the pitch but Lampard was the main focus of abuse on it.

Those same England fans have now been eulogizing over Lampard’s performances for the national side, all of which have been while playing largely out of position in a more reserved role alongside Gareth Barry.

Continual comparisons to his father (left) contributed to Lampard's exit from Upton Park

While at West Ham United Lampard failed to escape from his father’s shadow, being branded ‘Fat Frank’, and a move to Stamford Bridge, for a hefty £11 million, helped loosen those shackles. That move signaled an improvement in his career, regular England call-ups and stunning long range strikes followed as did league titles under Jose Mourinho.

Along with a superb goal tally, for which he now lies 3rd in the all-time list of Chelsea goal-scorers, he holds the record for consecutive appearances in the Premier League for an outfield player, at 164.

This is a tribute to his dedication and conditioning as a footballer and it’s no coincidence that he doesn’t get long term injuries, while England’s current skipper Rio Ferdinand, has played just four league games all year and played a bit part in the countries successful World Cup qualifying campaign.

The pressure upon Lampard on the pitch is heightened by the fact he’s the Blues’ regular penalty taker, and his success is astounding with just a single failure in four years.

His quality from the spot was clear to see as he scored three times from 12 yards against West Ham United earlier this season, after having to retake the penalty twice.

In addition he struck from the spot in extra-time of a Champions League semi-final against Liverpool in 2008 just a week after the death of his mother. His two handed point to the sky, a salute to his late mother, now accompanies every goal from Lampard, and Chelsea fans certainly aren’t getting bored of seeing the gesture.

Lampard's tribute to his mother accompanies every goal he scores

As if that wasn’t enough, his profile off the pitch is nothing short of exemplary, a few misdemeanors during his younger years only went to teach Lampard how to behave as a professional footballer, and the death of his mother matured the player further.

That mellowness was clear to see, when last year, during a radio talk show, he called in after being labeled as weak and scum by presenter James O’Brien following accusations that he wasn’t looking after his children appropriately after his split from Elen Rives.

He dealt with the issue in a dignified manner, and given that the radio show coincided with the anniversary of his mother’s death, his coolness was applaudable.

His split from Rives in 2009 was much publicized in the tabloids, but did it affect his performances? Not one bit, as he scored a 90^th minute winner for Chelsea against Wigan Athletic that very same month, Terry take note.

Yes, like any other footballer he earns one of the higher wage packets in the division, £150,000 a week to be exact, but given that he’s rarely unfit it’s hardly money gone to waste and in truth he’s probably a victim of the money dominated era of the game we’re now experiencing, rather than being a cash grabber.

It begs the question, with all these attributes, why the 31-year old wasn’t chosen as England’s replacement skipper, after team-mate John Terry was stripped of the captaincy.

Maybe the close relationship between the two always put Lampard out of the running, but if Fabio Capello was that bothered about relationships in the camp, and given Terry’s popularity, he wouldn’t have made the change at all.

I personally find it difficult to find a flaw in Lampard; he doesn’t goad supporters or lambast referees while he doesn’t crave media attention or fruitless sponsorship deals like many others. It’s just a shame that Mr Capello doesn’t seem acknowledge him in the same vein.

Could this be the most exciting Formula 1 season ever?

It may have been 159 days ago that Jenson Button secured the Formula 1 Drivers Championship, but in truth its feels like just yesterday that the 30-year old produced one his finest performances behind the wheel as he powered his way to the title in the Brazilian sun.

But after a summer of activity, including team changes, new rules, new teams and the return of an old face we’re again ready for what’s gearing up to be one of the most exhilarating seasons in recent memory.

The biggest of those stories revolves around the return of Michael Schumacher, who after a four year absence from the sport has given in to the calls for his return as he links up with the Mercedes team, and Ross Brawn in particular.

That duo masterminded Ferrari’s dominance of the sport at the beginning of the current century, and both will be keen to continue their great relationship in this toughest of seasons.

One of the unique aspects of this F1 season is the amount of former World Champions around, and the last two champions, both of who are British are teaming up for McLaren in a mouthwatering duel.

Lewis Hamilton had a subdued year in an off the pace McLaren car, while his new teammate Button stormed to his first world title after winning six of the season’s opening seven races.

The way Hamilton took the sport by storm in his first two seasons, missing out on the title in Brazil in 2008, and then on the exact same stage the following year piping homeboy Filipe Massa to the title in a race in which he finished fifth, the same position that confirmed Button as champion last season.

Both are sure to be vying for the title, Hamilton probably has the upper hand given his long history with McLaren, but Button won’t want to give up his title with a whimper, watching two Brits fight for the title for a British team will be thrilling.

As ever we have new teams, three at that, with Lotus F1, Hispania Racing and Virgin Racing coming into freshen up the sport, but there are fears about the ability for any of the teams to be competitive on the track, or to even survive until the end of the season, have already surfaced.

Yes, the FIA have permitted these teams to start the season, and given the financial restraints the governing body now impose on the sport, a thorough inspection into each teams finances should have been carried out so that a mid-season collapse doesn’t ensue.

As ever the FIA have chopped and changed with the rules, two of which stick out like a sore thumb.

Firstly there will be no re-fueling during the race, meaning pit stops will be shorter, but at the same time it means there is no margin for error during the stops like there may have been before.

Given that, qualifying will now be a true reflection on how fast each car is during a weekend, making it far more accurate, but is part of the excitement in waiting till race day to discover the fastest man on the grid and of the weekend?

The second, and the most radical, is the change of the points system, with the top 10 finishers now eligible for a point, with the podium finishers likely to pick up 25, 18 and 15 points respectively.

The clear downside is the history of the sport in terms of point scoring is now irrelevant, and now with a higher and widespread scoring system there’s nowhere to hide for any team.

Will the system mean more drivers can challenge for the title? That’s left to be seen, but with so many scoring spots will drivers be less willing to go for a podium finish when they know a top 10 finish will see them score anyway?

It’s one of the number of questions to be answered for the new season, and another is how some of the new drivers will fit in at their new teams, and the focus in that respect is liable to be on the fourth world champion competing in this season, Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari have rid themselves of their world champion Kimi Raikkonen, and Alonso will join Massa in an exciting line up for the Italian based team and the Spaniard is many people’s favorite for this years title.

Elsewhere Niko Roseberg is to be mentored at Mercedes by Schumacher after his move from Williams and replacing him will be Rubens Barrichello, while Heikki Kovalainen joins Jarno Trulli at new team Lotus Racing.

There are so many sub-plots to this year’s championship it’s impossible to know where to look next, and the season is still yet to kick off.

Personally, the plot I see coming to the fore in the championship race is that between Hamilton and Alonso, a pair who have their history while at McLaren, but in opposite teams, with fine cars at their disposal, a real title battle can unfold between the two.

Last season showed Formula 1 still possess some unpredictability, but with last year’s rules now very familiar to most teams, shocks might be few and far between, but excitement? Now that’s a given.

Food For Thought For Capello as England Power Through

England can be content, if not totally thrilled with their nights work as they overcame African Nations Cup winners Egypt 3-1 after a second-half resurgence at Wembley.

Mohammed Zidan steered the visitors ahead mid-way through the first half after a slip by Matthew Upson, but a brace by substitute Peter Crouch and a fumbled Shaun Wright-Phillips strike saw England home.

England took the field in their new away strip; partly resembling the shirt worn by the countries World Cup winning team of 1966, but for nearly an hour that was the only parallel onlookers could draw between the home team, and that side from yesteryear, as an efficient Egyptian side controlled the early stages.

Fabio Capello gave plenty of answers to his intentions for his starting eleven at the World Cup finals this summer with his selection, with Robert Green starting in goal at the expense of David James and Joe Hart.

Given James’ age you have to wonder why he’s being selected at all for the squad if he’s not first choice, and in this friendly environment not giving Hart some much needed experience is an oversight, but it further maintains that the West Ham keeper is No.1 for the foreseeable future, and is unlikely to budge.

Leighton Baines seems to have won the battle at left-back over Stephen Warnock, but it again seemed strange that with such a dilemma in that position, with or with Ashley Cole, that the Aston Villa left back wasn’t given a run-out in the closing stages.

In mid-field Theo Walcott was preferred to both James Milner and Shaun Wright-Phillips, but in truth the performance of Walcott left a lot to be desired and his place in the squad for South Africa is under serious jeopardy, not just because of his own inept display, but because of the encouraging showing by Wright-Phillips.

He may not be first choice for his club Manchester City, but his performance on Wednesday night, which included a goal and an assist of Crouch’s second, was enough to suggest that he’ll be majorly considered for this summer.

Up-front Jermaine Defoe partnered Wayne Rooney, and as on so many occasions without Emile Heskey, Rooney looked distinctly quiet in his national colors, if Capello learned anything from Defoe’s performance it was that he doesn’t bring the best out of England’s talisman.

The central two of Garth Barry and Frank Lampard can be happy with their night’s work, safe in the knowledge they’re assured a starting role in South Africa, and maybe even Michael Carrick can starting packing his bags as well after an assured performance.

Steven Gerrard however still looks a bit lost in an England shirt, and Baines’ unwillingness to get forward, understandable on his debut, meant England were hopelessly narrow at times- Ashley Cole is unlikely to be as reserved when fit though.

Gerrard took the captaincy in place of the injured Rio Ferdinand, but it was the circus surrounding England’s former skipper John Terry that intensified again as the Wembley crowd booed and jeered the Chelsea player.

I understand that having paid up to £40 for a ticket to Wednesday nights match the crowd are permitted to make their feelings heard, however maybe they should try cheering on a player who, when on form is crucial to England hopes at regaining the World Cup, rather than booing one of their own. It was frankly pathetic.

Along with Capello overlooking Hart and Warnock, he refused to given Stuart Downing a run-out, while Carlton Cole was given just five minutes to impress.

Both players have been out of action for some time, and are far from assured a place in the final 23-man squad and for them to be given scant reward for their encouraging league form must have been disappointing.

The Italian will name his provisional squad for the finals on 16^th May, so opportunities to impress are few and far between. The jostling for position starts now.

Football has lost a true character in Keith Alexander

Occasionally the football and sporting worlds lose a true character, the like of which we probably won’t see again. The name of Sir Bobby Robson springs to mind.

Today however, the beautiful game lost another hero, this time in the lower leagues, with the unexpected and sudden death of Macclesfield Town manager Keith Alexander.

He took charge of his final game at Macclesfield on Tuesday evening as his side lost 1-0 to Notts County in a League Two encounter.

The 53-year old had battled illness for a number of years. A brain aneurysm in 2003 almost cut his career short, but when he was given a clean bill of heath he was quick to return to the game.

Although his final spell as manager came with Macclesfield, he’ll also be fondly remembered for his time with Lincoln City, where he clocked up over 250 games in charge as well as a number of play-off near misses.

Indeed he holds the unfortunate record of taking The Imps to four consecutive play-offs without promotion, with final appearances against Bournemouth and Southend. But this stat just adds to the affection football had for the manager.

His spell at Peterborough was short lived, as he became a victim of the soaring expectations at London Road under Darragh MacAnthony. How the Irishman would wish he could call upon Alexander now, as the club lie bottom of the Championship.

Year after year at Moss Rose he had the club punching above their weight, possessing a budget that was one of the lowest in the Football League. But did one ever hear him making excuses? Absolutely not.

What’s more he flew the flag for black managers in the Football League, and his loss in this respect might be the greatest blow to the football world.

He was the first black manager to be given a permanent job in the game in this country when hired by Lincoln in 1993, where he had previously played as forward.

The tributes that have flooded in for the boss prove his worth to the football world, and while he may not have had the League success that he will have craved, he has the respect that many, even at the top level, can only dream of.

The game between Macclesfield and Hereford United on Saturday will not go ahead as a mark of respect to Alexander and rightly so. It is just one in what is sure to be a long list of tributes to the late manager.