Andre Villas-Boas: Frank Lampard a key player for Chelsea
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas insisted England international http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 was still an important part of his squad. The 33-year-old midfielder was taken off at half-time by the Portuguese manager during the fixture against Manchester United, which led
to questions of his involvement in the first team in the upcoming fixtures.
While Lampard has been a crucial part of the Blues’ line-up over the past years, he seems to be losing his place under Villas-Boas. The former FC Porto boss replaced Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti in the summer and has made some considerable changes since
taking over the London club.
Villas-Boas, who is as old as Lampard, took off the English midfielder and brought on striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 failed to make a comeback.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 boss insisted the substitution should not be read into too much, since it was his attempt at a tactical change. Villas-Boas revealed that after Manchester United took the lead early on in the game, he took off Lampard to bring on Anelka
to present a more attacking side.
Villas-Boas said in an interview:
“Those are the decisions that we had to make, bearing in mind the result at half-time.
It was an attacking substitution that we thought would be right, not because Lamps was playing bad because he wasn't. He was having quite an impact in the game.”
The Blues’ boss denied rumours that Lampard had been taken off because the midfielder was not having much of an impact on the game. On the contrary, Villas-Boas said he felt the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 international had a lot to offer to the London club and would continue
to be one of the key players for the remainder of the season.
He continued:
“Nothing dramatic. Frank is a fantastic player and will be one of our key players for the rest of the season.”
One of the senior players at Stamford Bridge, Lampard is now thought to be present at the club to play a deeper-lying role. Villas-Boas however, disagreed, he felt the midfielder was in good condition and his fitness and consistency had earned him the right
to play the full 90 minutes in any match.
Villas-Boas revealed:
“Frank has played 90 minutes in all games before with maximum intensity, with extremely good physical stats that he has always had in his career.
He can play in different roles because he has done it in the past, the number 10, the eight, the six.”
Lampard has the ability to play different roles in midfield, even though he performs the best as an attacking midfielder. With a knack to find the back of the net, the Blues’ midfielder remains a key player in the current Chelsea squad.
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