July 24, 2014: New York City FC announce they have signed Frank Lampard on a two year deal ahead of the 2015 MLS season.
August 3, 2014: Manchester City announce they signed Lampard on a six month loan, ending in January 2015.
December 31, 2014: Lampard’s stay in Manchester extended for the rest of the year. Turns out he never was officially in MLS, he had just signed an non-binding commitment.
January 10, 2015: Lampard signs a pre-contract to play with NYCFC, beginning July 1st, when the summer transfer window opens.
July 1, 2015: Lampard eligible to play, but can’t play due to injury.
August 1, 2015: Lampard finally makes his debut, more than a year later than NYCFC announced he would play for them.
May 22, 2016: Lampard makes first appearance in his second MLS season in 7-0 drubbing by the New York Red Bulls, after missing time with a calf injury.
As highlighted above, Lampard’s beginning with NYCFC was not the prettiest. Even to begin the 2016 season, he was booed when he entered against the Red Bulls. However, he quickly won over the supporters with his stellar play on the field. For example, he had NYCFC’s first hat trick in the 5-1 thrashing of the Colorado Rapids. Lampard proved to be the vital link between the midfield and the front three.
Frank Lampard 2015 vs 2016
Not only did Lampard have a better year off the field in 2016, he also had a better year on the field.
By examining the comparison of per/90 statistics we can see his improvement wasn’t solely due to the increase in minutes. In the per/90 statistics, he increased in an average of 97%. Lampard almost doubled all of his per/90 production. This increase was a big factor in NYCFC’s increased success. The increased assists could be attributed to more playing time, but also to better players around him. Finally, it isn’t surprising to see him have more goals than assists, as he is fourth overall in Premier Leagues’s goals, and first for midfielders.
Frank Lampard Comparison with Other Top Attacking Midfielders
Lampard didn’t place in the Golden Boot Standings, but he was runner up for Comeback Player of the Year. He showed he could contend with some of the top midfielders.
Compared with the other midfielders, no one came close to Lampard in goals/90. He is well known for his goal scoring ability. Even though some midfielders scored more goals, if he had been healthier, he could have surpassed their goal totals.
Lampard did exactly what NYCFC wanted him to do this season. His job coming in was to score goals and be a shuttle between Andoni Iraola and Andrea Pirlo, and the front three. Ideally, he could have stayed on the field more, but he is a 38-year-old.
The Future
NYCFC announced Lampard will not be returning. Lampard hasn’t announced what he will do next, however. Some rumors circulating include coaching England and playing for a new club. Expect an announcement soon of his future path.
For NYCFC, they will need to figure out what to do without him. They now have an open DP slot, but need to fill two open slots. Two in house alternatives are Tommy McNamara and Mix Diskerud, who could both play attacking mid. However, McNamara was brilliant on the wing and Diskerud is probably moving on.
