Frank Lampard Admits Going To His Wife Christine To Talk Over ‘Football Issues’ - 7M sport

Frank Lampard Admits Going To His Wife Christine To Talk Over ‘Football Issues’



Posted Tuesday, September 08, 2020 by thesportbible.com

Frank Lampard Admits Going To His Wife Christine To Talk Over ‘Football Issues’

Frank Lampard has admitted he goes to his wife Christine to talk over major "football issues" - including how he should deal with a player who hasn't turned up for training.

The Chelsea boss was speaking in depth on the latest High Performance Podcast and seemed to know that his comments about turning to Christine for life - and football - advice was going to get noticed by the media.

"I might give you a great headline out of this podcast if the papers nick this, because I do throw a lot of things off Christine," said Frank.

"She's not picking what full-back we're going to play that weekend! But at the same time, if I have certain issues which are life issues - and actually football issues sometimes - I can definitely go home."

We're actually a bit disappointed to hear Christine Lampard (formerly Bleakley) wasn't the driving force behind left-back Ben Chilwell's signing. But it's clear the Blues manager does use her as a sounding board for his man management of players.

"I go, 'Christine, what do you think about this problem: I've got a player here and he didn't turn up for training yesterday. But we still probably need him on the weekend, what do you think?'" he explains.

"And she goes: 'Does he have a girlfriend, a wife? Is there a problem? Have you spoken to them? Maybe you should speak to them.'

'So she's not my life coach as such, but I'm very fortunate to have someone to bounce things off of at home."

Lampard explains that because his wife is very work-oriented, having her own high-profile career in TV broadcasting, it makes her an excellent sounding board. Also, her being completely outside of football brings a helpful dose of perspective.

Of his coaching team at Chelsea, he tells podcast co-host Jake Humphrey: "We sit for hours at work talking, obviously planning and discussing things... Christine has a bit of a joke with me at home when we're watching football constantly all the time, and she's almost fed up. And I'm talking football and the conversation probably becomes a bit boring - and she does reflect on the fact that it's only kicking a ball; it's only a game.

"And she's not criticising on that point. She's almost like: you're becoming really, really intense about this - and maybe not seeing a bit of clarity in this instance.

"When really you've got to look at it as: it's a game, and you're dealing with people. And that's the most important thing."

Lots of us, male or female, can certainly relate to our partners getting bored about our constant football chat. But at least Lampard is clearly getting something back by talking through how he handles footballers with his other half, which can only be a positive thing.

After all, Lady Cathy was the brains behind Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to sell Juan Sebastian Veron in 2003 and bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo. OK, we made that up - but every manager can be helped by having a supportive family around them.

Elsewhere on The High Performance Podcast, the Chelsea manager discussed his own pathway into football, including the tough love given to him by his father, Frank senior.

It's all well worth a listen. If perhaps not for Christine Lampard who sounds like she might get the full, unedited version of this most nights at home.



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