No time to harp on about bygone era says Lampard
FRANK LAMPARD has told his players that big names are a thing of the past at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea manager takes his team to Norwich today still searching for his first win after taking over in the summer.
Lampard’s side were thumped on the opening day by Manchester United, lost on penalties to Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup and scrambled a 1-1 home draw last week against Leicester.
And in a fresh blow for the Blues, they could be without N’Golo Kante at Carrow Road, with the France midfielder struggling to overcome an ankle problem.
Lampard, below, has told his players it is up to them to replace the goals that Eden Hazard, with
21 last term, netted before heading off to Real Madrid in the close season.
“Eden is not here
– so if they went looking for him they would have to keep looking,” he said.
“We have to find goals among the group. I know how many goals Eden was part of in terms of scoring and assisting.
“I don’t like the idea of harping back to players of eras gone. They are gone. The
Didier Drogbas and Diego Costas are not always easy to find.
“The players here now have to show what they have got.They have the qualities.
“I have belief in Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi.
“But players like Mason Mount and Ross Barkley also have those attributes, Ruben Loftus-Cheek too.
“Those players – of course I would ask for a contribution from them.
“It is important for the modern midfielder to try to reach double figures and more.”
Norwich boss Daniel Farke has an in-form scorer in Teemu Pukki.
The 29-year-old Finland forward amassed 29 goals in the Canaries’ Championship promotion run last season.
Pukki also notched a hat-trick against Newcastle last week to add to his strike at Liverpool on the opening day.
Farke said: “If he continues like this he would finish with 70 goals, but the
game is not like that.”
When it comes to the case of David Silva, Guardiola was wrong in spectacular fashion after admitting he thought the Manchester City maestro would not make it in English football.
That was back in July 2010, when City produced one of the shrewdest pieces of business in their history by signing Silva fromValencia for £25.8million.
Since then Silva has gone on to establish himself as one of the finest imports the Premier League has known.
Known as ‘Merlin’ due to his magical talents on the pitch, Silva has become the bedrock of City’s startling success in the past decade.
The 33-year-old has won 12 trophies, including four league titles, to cement his status as a living legend in the blue half of Manchester.
He will achieve another notable milestone tomorrow when he makes his 400th appearance for the club at Bournemouth – the first player to reach the landmark for City since Paul Power in the Eighties.
Many people thought Silva would not suit the physical demands of English football.
“Me included,” said Guardiola, who was Barcelona manager at the time.
“He’s a technical player, he’s not playing box-to-box. My image of England from the outside, I thought maybe he’s going to suffer.
“But I was happily, happily wrong. That was my first impression. It’s not just the fact he played good this season or two seasons ago.
“All the period he was here, he’s played well with all the managers, Roberto [Mancini], Manuel [Pellegrini] and with us.
“He’s really good. People believe he has quality with the ball, but it’s more than that. He has this incredible competitive feeling, like a winner.”
Silva, who is captaining City this term in his final season, has made an immense contribution to the club.
He has scored 71 goals, assisted 114 more and created more chances (745) than any other Premier League player. Little wonder Guardiola admits
BOURNEMOUTH MAN CITY