Frank Lampard [Midfielder]

[mgarbowski]

What was really surprising was that the Australian authorities did nothing to stop it - they have a similar reputation for spur-of-the-moment rule changes as Don Garber has. They did, after all, create the A-League's "Lampard rule", stating that a club can't have both a guest player and a loanee at the same time (to stop Lampard joining Melbourne City while Villa was also there) - if they hadn't made that rule then we would never have had Lampardgate.

Falastur posted this in another thread as an aside, and I think it was news to a lot of us. Not sure how it was generally missed. But I've been thinking about it since and I think it probably explains the remaining mystery of l'affaire Lampard, which is why they signed him to a CFG contract in the first place in summer 2014 instead of directly to NYCFC as was claimed.* I can't work out all the details and I no longer feel motivated to do research on it, but I think they were probably trying to finagle a way to bypass the new A-League rules, which involved something similar to the MLS rule about accounting for payments regarding loaned players between related teams. Basically, any salary paid by the loaning team (which would normally have been NYCFC) counts against the A-League salary cap. So I think CFG tried signing him to non-team CFG contract for "personal services" hoping it would bypass the A-League rules and the A-League said "we're not that stupid." Then everything followed from that piece of business.

*The mystery has been: If they always intended for him to stay in ManC, or at least to have the option, why not just say so from the beginning? It would create much less ill-will. But if that wasn't the intention, why not just sign him to an NYCFC contract as was originally announced? The whole A-League plan might explain it. There are pieces I left out that don't perfectly fit, but I bet would come together if we knew more.

 

[NYCFCfan]

Falastur posted this in another thread as an aside, and I think it was news to a lot of us. Not sure how it was generally missed. But I've been thinking about it since and I think it probably explains the remaining mystery of l'affaire Lampard, which is why they signed him to a CFG contract in the first place in summer 2014 instead of directly to NYCFC as was claimed.* I can't work out all the details and I no longer feel motivated to do research on it, but I think they were probably trying to finagle a way to bypass the new A-League rules, which involved something similar to the MLS rule about accounting for payments regarding loaned players between related teams. Basically, any salary paid by the loaning team (which would normally have been NYCFC) counts against the A-League salary cap. So I think CFG tried signing him to non-team CFG contract for "personal services" hoping it would bypass the A-League rules and the A-League said "we're not that stupid." Then everything followed from that piece of business.

*The mystery has been: If they always intended for him to stay in ManC, or at least to have the option, why not just say so from the beginning? It would create much less ill-will. But if that wasn't the intention, why not just sign him to an NYCFC contract as was originally announced? The whole A-League plan might explain it. There are pieces I left out that don't perfectly fit, but I bet would come together if we knew more.

You're not wrong.

The plan was to originally loan Frank Lampard to Melbourne City leading off to NYCFC's first season. CFG wasn't planning this whole fiasco that erupted as much as we like to think they're evil. The idea was Lampard goes to Melbourne and then joins NYCFC either in January or after their season ends in early April. That summer however, it just so happened that they changed the rules in A League loans where loan players salaries counted against the cap. That wasn't the case previously.

That was the final nail in the coffin of his A-League chances as Melbourne couldn't fit him into their budget. MCFC called and said "hey we can use him" and well you guys know the rest.

As angry as we are, Melbourne fans should be the ones that are angry.

They had a club, they changed their crest, their colors and their name. Then they promised them Villa for 10 games and took him away after 4 and never even sent them Lampard. Even their head coach Gombau left the team to manage Villa's academy in Puerto Rico.

 

[mgarbowski]

You're not wrong.

The plan was to originally loan Frank Lampard to Melbourne City leading off to NYCFC's first season. CFG wasn't planning this whole fiasco that erupted as much as we like to think they're evil. The idea was Lampard goes to Melbourne and then joins NYCFC either in January or after their season ends in early April. That summer however, it just so happened that they changed the rules in A League loans where loan players salaries counted against the cap. That wasn't the case previously.

That was the final nail in the coffin of his A-League chances as Melbourne couldn't fit him into their budget. MCFC called and said "hey we can use him" and well you guys know the rest.

As angry as we are, Melbourne fans should be the ones that are angry.

They had a club, they changed their crest, their colors and their name. Then they promised them Villa for 10 games and took him away after 4 and never even sent them Lampard. Even their head coach Gombau left the team to manage Villa's academy in Puerto Rico.

Yeah that much is all public. What I was trying to explain in my theory (and which your post seems not to address) specifically is the issue of why he signed a CFG contract in summer 2014 and then signed a regular contract with MCFC, instead of an NYCFC contract with a loan to Manc after the MelC thing didn't work out. The theory would be he signed the CFG contract instead of an NYCFC contract as an attempt to circumvent the A-League rules. It's not a big deal in the overall scheme, but it has been a nagging mystery for some of us, including me.

 

[NYCFCfan]

Yeah that much is all public. What I was trying to explain in my theory (and which your post seems not to address) specifically is the issue of why he signed a CFG contract in summer 2014 and then signed a regular contract with MCFC, instead of an NYCFC contract with a loan to Manc after the MelC thing didn't work out. The theory would be he signed the CFG contract instead of an NYCFC contract as an attempt to circumvent the A-League rules. It's not a big deal in the overall scheme, but it has been a nagging mystery for some of us, including me.

Honestly, it's bizarre. I can't really think of why, my first guess would be because NYCFC didn't technically exist yet but we had Villa so that's out.

Might just be because they were unsure how the loan deal in Australia might work out, or he may have wanted a bigger amount if he was being loaned to Australia. I'm not too familiar with their roster rules so maybe signing a CFG contract instead of a MCFC or Melbourne contract allowed them to give him some more cash on the side for moving which MLS doesn't allow.

 

[mgarbowski]

Honestly, it's bizarre. I can't really think of why, my first guess would be because NYCFC didn't technically exist yet but we had Villa so that's out.

Might just be because they were unsure how the loan deal in Australia might work out, or he may have wanted a bigger amount if he was being loaned to Australia. I'm not too familiar with their roster rules so maybe signing a CFG contract instead of a MCFC or Melbourne contract allowed them to give him some more cash on the side for moving which MLS doesn't allow.

Something along these lines is exactly what I'm guessing. it's enough of a plausible explanation that my curiosity is sated.

 

[danger]

Thanks for re-posting in this thread, I missed this

 

[JCMore]

I'm glad we now understand Lampard-gate, or atleast have swallowed our anger enough to figure out and piece together what actually happened. Now that this is out of the way, when do we get to drop his contract so we can sign a DP winger?

 

[Seth]

Now that this is out of the way, when do we get to drop him contract so we can sign a DP winger?

I think the short answer is that his contract goes through this season and that's sort of that. If his calf is healed after this break and he comes on and sets the league on fire then we can reconsider things at the end of the season. He's not young anymore though, of course, so we'll have to see how his form is once he comes back. I'm hoping he can contribute and play for us as he used to play in the Premier League.

Very short answer: next year we'll have a DP slot available.

 

[JayH]

Does "still training separately from the team" mean that he still has a long way to go before he can play, or does it mean that something else may be up? When and for how long does an injured player "train separately from the team"? At what point in progression of injury recovery does a player rejoin the team in, at least, some training capacity? Does a marquee(ish) player have more discretion to rehabilitate an injury away from the team than a rank and file player would? WTF is going on here?

 

[mgarbowski]

Does "still training separately from the team" mean that he still has a long way to go before he can play, or does it mean that something else may be up? When and for how long does an injured player "train separately from the team"? At what point in progression of injury recovery does a player rejoin the team in, at least, some training capacity? Does a marquee(ish) player have more discretion to rehabilitate an injury away from the team than a rank and file player would? WTF is going on here?

I believe that if a player is working on rehab in the official gym but not on the field with the players that's considered "training separately from the team."

 

[gbservis]

Does a marquee(ish) player have more discretion to rehabilitate an injury away from the team than a rank and file player would? WTF is going on here?

I think the answer is yes based on what we have seen from time to time in other sports. Super star players struggling with injuries occasionally request that they work with their people since they feel they know their body better than the team staff. The assumption is the history and comfort level gives them a better shot at getting back on the field sooner so teams will often allow it. Most recent examples I can think of are from the NBA. Leborn went to Miami to work with his off season training team, mid season last year to get his body right. He missed a few weeks of the season in the process. Steve Nash also did it towards the end of his career when he was trying to get his back right.

 

[LionNYC]

I hoping NYCFC announces that we've waived Frank and that it's not an April Fool's joke.

 

[mgarbowski]

I think the answer is yes based on what we have seen from time to time in other sports. Super star players struggling with injuries occasionally request that they work with their people since they feel they know their body better than the team staff. The assumption is the history and comfort level gives them a better shot at getting back on the field sooner so teams will often allow it. Most recent examples I can think of are from the NBA. Leborn went to Miami to work with his off season training team, mid season last year to get his body right. He missed a few weeks of the season in the process. Steve Nash also did it towards the end of his career when he was trying to get his back right.

Bernard King was the Knicks best player in the early-mid 80's. The season before we drafted Patrick Ewing, he blew out his knee and broke a leg bone. He fought with the club over his rehab, and eventually the Knicks allowed him to rehab on his own, offsite. He rarely allowed them to monitor his progress and almost never visited any home games. He missed all of Ewing's rookie year. He missed nearly all of Ewing's second year. Suddenly, with about a month left in a season where the Knicks finished 24-58, he says I can come back to play the last 6 games. He takes 20% of the team's shots while playing only 13% of the minutes, and the Knicks lose all 6 games in what was nothing more than a combination circus/audition for his upcoming free agency. The Knicks say we let you do what you want for two years, then you come back for 6 games, and we lose all of them. So here's an offer for a short term, minimum raise, and incentives if you actually play and do well. He says thanks for everything and signs with the Bullets.

But I'm not bitter.

ETA: Plus, he refused a physical. Can't believe I forgot that.

 

[Ulrich]

Bernard King was the Knicks best player in the early-mid 80's. The season before we drafted Patrick Ewing, he blew out his knee and broke a leg bone. He fought with the club over his rehab, and eventually the Knicks allow him to rehab on his own, offsite,. He rarely allows them to monitor his progress and almost never visits any home games. He missed all of Ewing's rookie year. He missed nearly all of Ewing's second year. Suddenly, with about a month left in a season where the Knicks finished 24-58, he says I can come back to play the last 6 games. He takes 20% of the team's shots while playing only 13% of the minutes, and the Knicks lose all 6 games in what was nothing more than a combination circus/audition for his upcoming free agency. The Knicks say we let you do what you want for two years, then you come back for 6 games, and we lose all of them. So here's an offer for a short term, minimum rais, and incentives if you actually play and do well. He says thanks for everything and signs with the Bullets.

But I'm not bitter.

That's a long time to carry a grudge - thirty some-odd years hasn't dulled the pain yet? Hell, I'd have thought their last 30 awful seasons would've done something to make that memory merge into fuzziness, no?

 

[mgarbowski]

That's a long time to carry a grudge - thirty some-odd years hasn't dulled the pain yet? Hell, I'd have thought their last 30 awful seasons would've done something to make that memory merge into fuzziness, no?

Bernard King was special. Good enough that he and Ewing might have won a championship before the Jordan ascendancy. Even if they didn't, he was special. All we wanted was to see him and Ewing together. And I'm not bitter.

 

[21Architect]

lol


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...na-Tottenham-won-t-whimper-New-York-City.html

 

[Schwallacus]

Does "still training separately from the team" mean that he still has a long way to go before he can play, or does it mean that something else may be up? When and for how long does an injured player "train separately from the team"? At what point in progression of injury recovery does a player rejoin the team in, at least, some training capacity? Does a marquee(ish) player have more discretion to rehabilitate an injury away from the team than a rank and file player would? WTF is going on here?

It's also possible that he's just doing exercises/ running/ training on the side of the field and not training with the team since he isn't fit enough. Just trying to ease him back into the program instead of just throwing him back into the fire. Similar to how Harrison & Brandt are just doing drills to get fit again, Frank is probably doing something similar. Maybe more, maybe less drills depending how his frail calf muscles are feeling.

 

[BlueCityRadio]

Frank was at training yesterday. He ran for about 30 minutes on his own and then did another 30 minute work out with the Strength coach. Vieira still calls it day by day but Vieira chuckled as he gave that response because he recognizes the frustration from fans and reporters.

 

[NYCFCfan]

Frank was at training yesterday. He ran for about 30 minutes on his own and then did another 30 minute work out with the Strength coach. Vieira still calls it day by day but Vieira chuckled as he gave that response because he recognizes the frustration from fans and reporters.

Frank Lampard has become a running joke, so much so, that Vieira recognizes it. Sad.

 

[NickFromAstoria]

Frank Lampard has become a running joke, so much so, that Vieira recognizes it. Sad.

Low Energy Lampard is quite the dim bulb. Sad!