Lampard rubbishes the criticism of striker Kane
Frank Lampard has branded any questioning of Harry Kane’s class as “a nonsense”.
Chelsea boss Lampard hailed Kane as one of the world’s best strikers, ahead of the Blues taking on the England captain’s Tottenham side today.
Kane has already fired 13 goals in all competitions for Tottenham this term, and has added an extra creative dimension to his play.
Lampard admitted he remains stunned that anyone can question Kane’s quality, ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Spurs at Stamford Bridge.
“Firstly the queries of Harry Kane are incredible and a nonsense,” said Lampard.
“Harry Kane is one of the best players in world football and has always had the talents to play as an out-and-out nine or as someone who can drop off.
“Now he’s developing in his own way as he matures as a player. And he’s a really impressive player, there’s no doubt about that.
“I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Harry Kane, and around him now he’s got a very solid team, squad, good players around him, players that want to run behind him if he does want to come short.
“So I think he’s a very good and a very intelligent player, it’s as simple as that.
“He’s got a very good coach. And that’s why they’re in a strong position. As a coach we do rely on our top players to perform.
“And at the minute Harry Kane is an example of a player really in a sweet spot and playing some top football.”
Lampard and Didier Drogba boast the record of 36 Premier League goals scored in partnership.
But the Chelsea manager admitted Kane and his Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min could easily surpass that league-high tally, admitting the Blues must be on guard against Tottenham’s deadly duo this weekend.
“They are a threat to the record, they are going to beat that comfortably the way they are going, and fair play,” said Lampard.
“I’ve got no qualms about that record, something Didier and I would be proud of to a degree, but this is football and it moves on and players of their level will always test that.
“I’m aware of their threats, you look at the numbers they are producing, both of them, the link-up play, that understanding is clear.
“We can’t look beyond that. It’s a strength of theirs. It’s not their only strength, they are strong around that in lots of different areas.
“But we also have to nullify those threats and make the most of our positives in our squad. And yeah I do want relationships, players getting relationships. With players like Son and Kane they have worked on that for a good few years now.
“And I suppose we’re in the early stages of that, and yeah I would love our players to get in those kinds of relationships.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s plans for the return of supporters to Stamford Bridge next month have been criticised by a fans’ group, which has labelled £75 ticket prices for the game against Leeds as a “clear exploitation of supporter loyalty”.
With London put in tier two of the Government’s regionalised approach to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the Blues will be able to welcome up to 2,000 spectators to their ground when the national lockdown ends on December 2.
Next Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Leeds and the December 8 visit of Krasnodar in the Champions League are to be the subject of a ballot system, which has left the Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST) “extremely disappointed”.
While Chelsea say they “empathise with the many who will be disappointed to initially miss out”, the CST was led to believe “tickets would be sold on 50 per cent loyalty points and 50 per cent on a first come, first served basis”.
Chelsea added in a statement: “We listened to all the feedback, and we appreciate that not everyone will agree with the system being put in place.
“But at the very heart of all the decisions we have made on this matter is the desire to be as fair as possible to as many as possible. We ask for your patience as we work our way through all season ticket holders eligible to attend.”
Chelsea have fixed the price of the Krasnodar match at £35 in both the West Stand lower tier and the Shed End lower tier.
However, for the Leeds game supporters will be charged £75 for the West Stand lower tier and £40 for the Shed End lower tier.
The CST’S statement, published on Twitter, said: “The club, in their wisdom, have decided to charge an eye-watering £75 for the majority of sold tickets.
“The CST is also appalled to learn that this price is the highest that any PL club is charging for tickets. At a time of financial uncertainty, for CFC to charge supporters £75 for a match ticket, the CST believe that this is a clear exploitation of supporter loyalty.”