So Frank Lampard got booed , yet again. It seems that Frank the epitome of everything the average football fan hates, justified or not – seemingly helped in getting a sweet job by the influence of his father, given a massive paycheck and plenty of praise for dubious performances highlighted by the campaign to count just how many deflected goals he has scored, and a general feeling that he’s overrated. Oh, and the fact that everyone calls him fat.
Former England legend John Barnes disagrees, he criticised the supporters taking a shot at poor ol’Lampard when he came on. Saturday was the first time in four years that Lampard had not started in a competitive England game when fit, but John Barnes thinks that the boos were disgraceful and that he will play a role in the future.
Barnes, who himself was a target of the boo boys when he was a player, told the BBC:
“It is just wrong. This is not a healthy situation either for Frank or for the team. It doesn’t help him or the other players.”
Yes, but it helps the fans feel better. Which is sort of the point of free expression,
“Frank is an England player and we all want England to do well, the problem is this sort of thing does transmit to the rest of the side. As much as the other players will be happy they are not the ones being booed, it is not a positive situation for any of them. Having been someone who has been through that situation where you have been singled out by England fans, it’s not a good situation to be in.”
There is, of course, one man who wont be too upset that his midfield rival is receiving a large amount of boos – and that is Gareth Barry, who again turned in a strong performance. To us each boo for Lampard is actually a cheer for Barry, so long ignored by the England set up.