Gary, Alan & Micah Watch Lampard's Greatest Moments

Hello and welcome to The Rest Is Football with Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker, in our latest episode of Premier League Greats, the moments that made them. We're going to discuss someone that we've all worked with, recently retired, he's now into management, doing particularly well at the moment, but he's really known for being one of the great, great midfield players of Premier League history and probably the greatest goal scoring midfielder I would suggest, a certain Frank Lampard. Yeah, super Frankie Lampard. How was he to play with, you go first. Yeah, I think the thing that sticks out for me is his goals tally, I mean for a midfielder and the number of times, and I'm sure that, and the clips we'll see is that, he got on the end, the timing of his run under the box were like incredible. 177 Premier League goals. 177, wow, bloody hell. Maybe he's a little bit disrespected actually, maybe I was part of that. Yeah, because I remember the conversation I was talking about. Just when you fell out. Oh, we're going back there are we, now that you said it. Talking straight, I mean I can't believe you for it. No, I didn't fall, well I did, but I didn't. Yeah. Because he's a nice, humble lad, isn't he? And remember I talked about that area where I was having myself, wasn't I? So I was 18. You're not having yourself anymore then? No, no, I'm a humble mix now. All right. Yeah, so I got into England and I was having myself. That's what the kids say, they're having themselves, he's having himself, isn't he? And like I said, I was champagne, Aston Martins. So then we play the England game and he treats me like we're best mates. I love the way you play. Well, it's good you gave him an assist. Exactly, I love the, you know, dynamic and all this, and teach me certain aspects of the game, what I can improve on. Loved it, we're like best mates. So then we go away to Stamford Bridge and play for Man City. We're not the Man City of today. We were struggling. So we're in the tunnel and we're like, stand up Al, stand up, stand up, stand up. So, you know, that's the Chelsea side. Yeah. And this is the Man City side. So I've come down, I saw Joe Cole, shook his hand. All right, mate, how you doing? Everything all right? No problem, geezer. Geezer. I've gone to him and he's just looked the other way, he's blanked me. He's left you hanging. He's left me hanging. So I'm thinking, just in the week we were best mates and now you're blanking me. So going to the game. Super blanky Lampard. I'm raging. I'm thinking, who does he think he is? He's not even that good. Gerrard's better than me anyway. That's what I'm thinking in my head. No, you didn't say that. No, I didn't say that. Of course I didn't say that. So we go on to the pitch and I'm looking at him. I'm not even concentrating on the game. I'm just thinking, when he comes around me, I'm going to absolutely smash him. Couldn't get anywhere near him. That game is the worst game I've ever played for Man City. Four goals. Do you think he did a job on you in the tunnel? Four goals were your fault. Four goals. We're going to get him, he's going to get it from me. Look back at those goals. Oh my, how atrocious I was. He did a job on you in the tunnel. Psychologically, he's destroying you. He could say that. But then after, I saw him at England camp again and before I could say anything to him, he comes up. I'm one of the good guys, mate. I'm one of the good guys. Why have you got the up with me? And I said, **** off, ******* prick. Not him. And after that, I realised he was just shy. He was, you know, quite reserved and all that sort of thing. But I just thought he was blanking me because he didn't rate me. Or I don't know, maybe he was just focusing on the game. But I took it as a bit of a diss and I didn't like it, you know? Are you over it? No. Can you tell? No, no, no. However, we did work with him, didn't we? Yeah. In the Euros. And I have to say, he's one of the most impressive pundits I've ever worked with. He's crazy, mate. His tactical brain is just amazing. No wonder he's doing so well at commentary. Yeah, I mean, he's taken a while in management. He's had kind of ups and downs. Well, he got me to the Champions League at Chelsea. He's had ups and downs. Yeah. Lost his job a couple of times, obviously twice at Chelsea. Derby, he didn't get them up. Not quite, but he did alright at Derby. He did well at Derby, but he didn't get them up. And then he got to Chelsea because of that. Yeah, I'm pleased for him because I like him. I think he's a really, really nice guy. Yeah. I mean, those numbers are like... Mad. ...crazy for a midfielder. Any centre forward would be happy with those numbers, wouldn't they? Yeah. The timing of his... Yeah, it was... Apart from you, probably. That was the good thing about him, the timing of how and when to go. Yeah. To attack that ball and be in that position. To be able to score the goal was unbelievable. The best at it. He's one of the best at doing that. But his shooting technique as well. So we'll mention a bit later when he played for City and all that sort of stuff in the training session, but his shooting technique. Cool. This episode is powered by Fuse Energy. Before we kick off, a quick pre-match warm-up from Fuse. One question, four options and two contestants. Today's question. Chelsea conceded just 15 goals in the 2004-05 season. Which Premier League side has the next best defensive record? Was it A, Arsenal from 98-99? B, Manchester City, 18-19? Chelsea from 06-07 season? Or Manchester United, 08-09? Yeah, Arsenal for me. I'm going to have to just copy Alan. You know, right? I'm jumping on the bandwagon. You know, sometimes it's good to jump on a bandwagon and sometimes it's not. On this occasion, it was a good idea. The best sides don't give things away. It should be the same with your energy. Get more than just lower rates at fuseenergy.com slash football. Use the code football, all uppercase when you sign up. Save around £200 on your energy bill and get the chance to ask us your football questions on the pod. Full terms and conditions at fuseenergy.com. Let's look at one or two of his goals. The first one we've got in our best moments is actually a title-clinching goal. Here though is Frank Lampard with a chance. Is that the goal? Is that the goal that will seal the Premier League title for Chelsea? So they won the league at Bolton. He scored two goals in this game. I mean, both proper finishes. One-on-one. Yeah, look, he could pass it. There's no way. There's no way he's passing that. He's offside if he passes it. That's why I said, I think you're offside. Is that Cavalio? Cavalio, I think it is. So he's right, isn't it? Yeah. Wow. See you doing up there. Yeah, especially with Jose, when you won the lot. Yeah. He was probably getting a bollock in at the time. Great finish. Makes it look easy, doesn't it? To go around him. That was their first title, obviously, in 50 years. Wow. Yeah, brilliant. That was the era, wasn't it? When they had that incredible, that spine of Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Petr Cech at the back of it. So that was the season where they only conceded 15 goals. And that is extraordinary. Yeah. Yeah, I think John Terry and Cavalio sent her off. Drogba, him in midfield, Petr Cech. It's not a bad spine, is it? Yeah, that's a great spine. They're so hard to play against, though, aren't they? That was prime William Yeo, wasn't it? Yeah. Their teams was just so aggressive that they could defend together as a unit, but also make you look stupid as well. You know, if you give them time and space. Yeah. But Lampard was pivotal in that. He was just amazing. Tough to compete with a spine like that, wouldn't it? I mean, obviously, probably some of the Manchester United sides, the Arsenal possibly. City's spine was not bad. City's spine. Kompany, David Silva, Aguero. Harty had an incredible season that year as well. When we spoke about Arsenal and the invincibles, and perhaps that might never be broken. I'm not sure that'll ever be broken, that 15 goals. Did you see JT celebrating? That's all you needed of a day. When Arsenal conceded to go past it. Yeah, I saw him do that. January the 25th, 2026, and the record is safe. Man United 2, Arsenal 1. Still 25 minutes to go, but the record is safe for another season. So Peter Cech, Paolo Ferrer, Ricky Carvalho, William Gallas. It's time to celebrate with a bottle or a glass of red wine. I'm going for the bottle. Full celebration tonight. I know a lot of people took the mick out of him, but I actually quite like that, you know? And also, it's a record to be proud of. It's amazing. I mean, I'm sure we'd probably do an episode, perhaps on John Terry. Yeah, we need to do a JT. When we run out of forwards and attacking midfielders. We've not done you yet, have we? Plenty of time, Micah. Yeah. Plenty of time. Yeah. We're going to wait till he's dead. I think you might be gone before me, by the way. How long have we been doing this podcast? How long have you got left in you? Hopefully, at least till five o'clock. Because I'll tell you what, if I kill over now, you're going to feel real bad about what you just said. Can you imagine if I... You think I'm joking? Look what I'm seeing now. How long do you... ------- hell, I can't die like I used to. I've hurt my elbow and my shoulder. How long do you plan on doing this for? The broadcasting. I just want to know. Well, I'll just keep going until I can't do it or don't enjoy it anymore, which is... I mean, I really enjoy talking about football and stuff. What, you're now 65? Yeah. You've got another five years in you. At least. No, I've got more, but at least. In prime. In my prime. Yeah, you'll be fine. I still think I've beat you. Digging that all a bit deeper, haven't you? I still fancy beating you over 20 yards. I mean, one season, 2010, he scored 22 goals in the Premier League season, which is a little bit special, isn't it? And it may well be that Frank Lampard has just scored the goal that ultimately will clinch the league title for Chelsea. You remember, yeah. Have you ever seen the interview by Frank Lampard? Because he was a slightly late developer. I think he really broke through when he was around 22, 23. But have you ever seen the thing where Frank Lampard, when he's facing a few West Ham fans or press and stuff like that, and he's getting a bit sick, why do you keep putting on this Lampard kid and all this? And Harry goes, mark my words, this kid is going to the very top. You see everyone in the room going, what are you on about? I thought the kid came into the side and did well, you know? But I'm telling you now, and maybe now I didn't want to say this in front of him, but he will go right to the very top. Right to the very top. Well, there you are, you heard it here first. And I'll tell you now, there ain't no doubt about that in my opinion, because he's got everything that's needed to become a top class midfield player. His attitude, his first class, he's got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals. When you know, you know, don't you? When you know, you know. He was right, wasn't he? He was also his uncle, wasn't he? Yes. Harry. So I think that's why there are slight accusations of, shall we say, nepotism. I think it's one of his first England games, not even being his debut, I played in that game. It's Stadium of Light, England. Might have been Belgium. Oh, was it? Yeah. He could tell straight away that. There was not an arrogance, but a confidence, you know? And that was his debut in England. And then of course he became Chelsea's all-time top scorer, which, again, midfield player, scoring a goal at Villa Park. Something I never did, Micah. He actually got brace in this game. Left foot. He could finish both feet as well. More often than not, he would find himself furthest man forward rather than the centre forward. Yeah. Look at it, as you can see, he just loves to get in the box. I wonder why he wasn't a nine? Because you can see he's got that absolute hunger, desire, and the ability to make the movements in the box. I think it's a different skill though, you know, running late. You know? Yeah, that goal there is classic Frank Lampard, isn't it? Where it's the ball, the timing of his run is just perfect. Yeah. Gambling on when the ball might hit. Yeah. Which has always been the key. He ended his time at Chelsea with 211 goals in all competitions. Wow. Astonishing, really. Yeah, it's unbelievable. Seventh in the all-time Premier League top scorers. Two goals more than Thierry Henry. No way. I know he played longer, but I mean, wow. Wow. Incredible record. So what was his record in Premier League? 177. 177? Yeah. One goal every three games on pretty much on average throughout a career. Consistency. Yeah. Moment number four. We've picked out this lovely death lob at Hull City's ground where Chelsea won 3-0. But it just shows really that- Oh, what a finish this one is, yeah. It's like a chip. Left-footed chip. Clever. Yeah. Bit messy about that one. Brilliant. Just the technique, the way he moved his foot. Yeah. Incredible football intelligence. Wow. Knowing what to do at the right time. He did also score one where he lobbed over the goalkeeper's head in a certain World Cup game. I remember in 2010, remember, against Germany when it was miles over the line, remember? Yeah, I was in Marbella. It would have made it 2-2, wouldn't it? Yeah. In the end, we lost 3-1. Goal line technology. I know. That's why it was brought in. I was in Marbella then. Oh, were you? Steaming. I was just about to say, what story's coming? Ocean Beach. Oh, Ocean Beach. Never heard of it. Champagne spray it was, of course. What were you doing there? You were young then. You were young. It was Capello's time. Capello! Dropped me back down to the 21s. Yeah, I remember. So I went on holiday. It was worth it, though. Oh, dear. Timed your runs, did you? And then, of course, he was one of those players that had obviously started at West Ham. His career is known for Chelsea. And then he'd up. City. But City with you. Oh, my God. I mean, I've never seen someone strike the ball like he does. That good. Guys, honestly, he used to do this. That was a goal against Chelsea where he doesn't celebrate at all. You could tell he's devastated. He's not devastated, Michael. Trust me. He's hiding his joy. No, no. I actually think he's devastated there. If he's devastated, why don't you shoot wide? Look at, you know what? Look at him. He wants to get up and celebrate. And if it's, oh, no, what have I done? He, no, he wants to get up and celebrate. And then he realized he goes, oh, for ****'s sake, don't do that against Chelsea. Because the fans will turn against me. And I get it with someone like that. I sort of get it. It's a little bit Dennis Lawrish. Because he had. Look when he gets up here. Look, he's going to go celebrate. And then, oh, he realizes. Yeah. Better stop. Do you think he's upset there? No chance. Well, you think, yeah, yeah. Do you? I genuinely don't. No, no, no. He's not upset. He's just showing respect. I don't think other players would be. But I think because of his time at Chelsea. I think, yeah. I think, I think it hurt him that one. Oh, I guarantee you. No chance. I hope we get the chance to ask him at some point. Get him on the pod to ask him that. And I think he'd be honest. And I think he'd say, no, of course. I was always disappointed. If he asked him on air. But our respect for the Chelsea fans. I didn't want to show my true emotion. That would be my hunch. Maybe. That would be my hunch. In training, though, it was ridiculous. Shooting, just shooting. Obviously, he was a bit older then. But he used to get the ball to just outside the box. Someone chip it in. Touch, finish. Every time, hit the target. And then he'd do some mad run. And then he'd do it again. But he wouldn't go in until he scored all his goals. That was his commitment towards it. Fantastic. That's when I knew that's what it takes to be different, you know? That's what it takes to get on this list of Premier League greats. Goodbye from me.