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Lampard to stay with Manchester City through end of Premier League season

FrankLampardManCity2-ASRomaUCL2014 (Getty)

 

By IVES GALARCEP

New York City FC will have to begin its MLS existence without the team’s marquee player for half of the NYCFC’s inaugural season.

That is the verdict facing the MLS expansion team after Wednesday’s announcement that Frank Lampard would extend his loan with Manchester City through the remainder of the English Premier League season, which runs through May.

It remains unclear just when Lampard would be able to join NYCFC, but he could wind up having to wait until July to make his MLS debut.

“Frank is a star and it is no surprise that Manchester City is rewarded by his contributions on the field every single day,” NYCFC Director of Football Claudio Reyna said in a team-issued statement. “He is eager to get to New York once his commitment ends in England and will be available to play on arrival as a permanent member of the squad given he will come to us having played at the highest level.

“We are all committed to making sure we build a winning team and that our fans get to enjoy great soccer at every single game,” Reyna said. “The opportunities open in the immediate transfer window combined with our recent successful draft ensure that we can continue to assemble a world class team that will make New York City soccer fans proud.”

Lampard will miss at least the first three months of the season, and could wind up missing as many as four months of NYCFC’s inaugural season. Spanish striker David Villa is slated to be with the club from the start of the 2015 season, which kicks off on March 8 with NYCFC visiting Orlando City in a clash of MLS expansion teams.

Lampard will remain with Manchester City as City mounts a challenge to Chelsea for the English Premier League title, while also competing in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

What do you think of this development? Feel like NYCFC has been given a raw deal? Don’t seeing it as that big of a deal?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Third rate league.

    Tell us, Don, why are you such a failure as a commissioner of this joke of a league.

    I don’t think humiliation begins to describe it.

    Epic fail.

    Reply
  2. But seriously, this all goes away with two things:

    Another big DP that city pays for
    AND
    A soccer-specific stadium. On barges. The first “pop-up” soccer stadium. Home games can then be throughout the 5 boroughs and the “port” that does the best in the first three seasons becomes the target site for a permanent site. I’m serious.

    But this whole thing has always felt like the tail trying to wag the dog. Portland and Seattle got so big so “quickly” because there was a history of organic growth surrounding those “brands” before they joined MLS. You can’t hot house that, no matter how much money or hipster concepts you layer in.

    Reply
    • I believe there’s a floating field in like Singapore. Never seen anyone play on it, I’d imagine the ball is in the water often.

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  3. This is one of those times when I would actually be 100% OK with the league changing a rule to benefit a team.

    New Rule – If your DP fails to show up for training camp at the beginning of the season, his contract is null and void.

    Also – f^ck Frank

    Reply
    • Some reports are saying the contract has always been with Man City and MLS just had what amounts to a verbal agreement. Either way its a bit of a mess.

      Reply
      • That would be “oral” agreement. Verbal just means “in words.” A verbal agreement can be written or oral, or sung or in morse code. . . An oral agreement is a spoken agreement.

  4. So Mancester City sees NYCFC as a way to get around the financial fairplay rules. Brilliant. I’m sure NYC fans are going to really enjoy getting used by Mancester City to bypass financial fairplay. The salary counts against NYC and MLS, but the player plays for Mancester in the premier league.

    This is brilliant if your a Mancester City fan.

    Reply
  5. I’ll add something else to the mix here that I haven’t read yet. I don’t know if there is much to this, but did signing lampard in the way that MCFC did (through mls), help MCFC to avoid some of the FIFA fair play rules regarding transfer spending? Again, I don’t know, but wouldn’t be surprised if the whole lampard singing was only meant to sell tickets in New York while finding loopholes in the FA rules.

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    • And anyone that did purchase season tickets under the belief that lampard would play a full season ought to be able to receive a refund for that.

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    • They didn’t sign Lampard from MLS. He was a free agent after Chelsea didn’t renew his contract. He signed a one year deal with City with an option to terminate on Dec 31st. Either he or City chose not to exercise this option.

      We look like a bunch of amateurs squabbling about a player that’s not even in our league. This is totally embarrassing.

      Reply
  6. Says a lot about MLS and how far it’s come that a Champions League final 16er and defending EPL CHamp need/want an MLS player. Successful franchises who’ve entered MLS (Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto and Houston) we’re hardly dependent on one

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  7. I’m feeling bad for Kreis & Reyna right now. I’ll bet they were promised the world when they were first hired.

    “Yeah, you’ll have ManCity money backing you up. We’ll get you the best players money can offer!”

    “We’re building you a stadium right in the heart of the city!”

    “This is going to be the flagship team of MLS!!”

    Reply
    • Dont feel bad for them, We need hard headed buisinessmen here and they are wimps. Soccer is a tough thing to run properly and they are both wanting. Good intentions amount to nothing. The Brits have taken advantage of the NYC rubes since the Cosmos days and nothing has changed. Having Brits in the loop means you are playing with people of low intellect who feel they are easily going to rip you off. PLEASE, no more Brits here on any level.

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  8. He is just another Brit looking for easy money. I would not pay to see him play so why is he coming here? Another unwanted Brit , Barely educated talking funny here to rip me off. Give me anyone with English as a second language who can play the beautiful game. I am sick of guys who take advantage of us. If NYFC has any Brits playing, I am going to have to stay home.

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  9. So the question remains: why did MLS announce Lampard as a Designated Player for NYC FC for the 2015 season when he was a Man City player the whole time? As in, there was never any concrete loan agreement between the teams, just a wink and a nod with respect to a player with a Man City contract?

    The only blame here resides with MLS and NYC FC. 0 to Mickey Mouse in 4.8 seconds.

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  10. Hypothetically speaking… if NYCFC ever produced a world class talent..Technically, MCFC could just Buy/ Transfer the player for $0.???…We saw this with Chivas USA, so there is precedence for mother clubs taking/sending players through their teams with no financial transaction ..So….Basically, NYCFC is MCFC’s stateside USL Pro team under the MLS moniker.

    Got it. Great Job Don.

    Reply
  11. Don Garber fails to learn from past MLS 1.0 mistakes.

    Over the years we have learned.

    1) Fans Don’t like Soccer Played on Non SSS stadiums.

    2) Ownership should have a stadium in place before being awarded an expansion team.

    3) Fans Gravitate towards team with a real identity with roots FROM THEIR HOME TOWN.

    4) Ownership groups should not have conflicting interests with their MLS investments.

    Garber looks like a fool right now. Following this proven criteria has yielded favorable support from the fans in expansion cities. But once again Garber fails to follow protocol in MAJOR expansion cities: LA and NYC.

    I am 100% certain that MCFC was awarded this franchise simply because they had the 100 M MLS was asking for.

    NYCFC was Garbers Big Money Grab.

    Reply
    • Not to mention Miami. The MLS expansion committee needs to make their expansion formula a rule rather than a suggestion. MUST have stadium built of definitely happening (like Seattle, Philadelphia, Montreal, etc). MUST have ownership that is not some foreign team looking to have a farm team in the U.S. I REALLY hope we don’t see another expansion debacle in Los Angeles. NYCFC and Miami have already damaged the league’s ability to be taken seriously.

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  12. as others have pointed out, this the clear downside of being owned-literally and figuratively in this case, by a foreign club…

    for all the talk that a Barcelona or City could bring to MLS in terms of legitimacy, I think most fans would clearly rather see organic investment and if foreign clubs want MLS players they’d have to buy them…

    foreign clubs can set up all the academies they want, the more eyes on talent development, the better, but stay the ‘ell way from MLS

    Reply
  13. This really does look bad for NYCFC and maybe the only way they could redeem themselves is to cut off ties with Lampard and have a stellar season (I mean they have El Guaje and he’s more than capable of getting goals at his age). Though, I’m pretty curious about what Chelsea fans have to say that Lampard’s extending his stay at Man City. Why bother making a move to MLS this year if he could’ve stayed at Chelsea this season? I know Mourinho was all for it, but Lampard is playing for a team only a few points behind them.

    Reply
  14. Even Chivas USA started off better then this.

    Right from the get go ownership is letting the league and potential fans know that they don’t care about MLS. If Lamps ever does play in New York, their fans should let him know what they think about his disrespect.

    Welcome to Man City NYC!

    Reply
  15. Happy new year soccer fans and cosmos fans 🙂
    Cosmos are going to emerge from below and learn from red bull and nycfc mistakes.
    Cosmos will have to give up to MLS or keep growing on their by keeping tabs on red bull and nycfc.
    For example, Lampard should go to cosmos instead, riquelme, ronaldinho and tim Howard should be with cosmos as well.
    Cosmos needs old known names for now while their academy gets work and younger stars like messi or Christiano .

    Reply
  16. These comments are great. I felt the same way when I heard about this possibility, and still do. I’ll comeback to read the comments later, because I’m interested if anyone has a positive take on this. How do ManCity fans feel about this?

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  17. This whole situation is a bit odd. If I am following this correctly he is a NYCFC player that was loaned to Manchester City indefinitely and NYCFC has no choice in the matter. If Manchester City wasn’t the parent club and this deal was worked out at least NYCFC would get compensation. Not saying anything that no one wouldn’t agree with but this whole thing is stupid. Does MLS even get compensated?

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    • CSD- he never had a contract with NYCFC and wasn’t on loan with Man City. He had a 1year contract with Man City, that could be terminated in December. But they kept him.

      Reply
  18. Biggest con may be he isn’t even owned by NYCFC and never was. Was on a year contract with NYCFC, with a termination option Dec 31. What a joke he was introduced to the fan base. Can’t see how the league wants to be top 5 in the world and have secondary farm teams. Not a good way at all to start your time in the league. What a joke.

    Reply
  19. Epic Fail.

    What a start for NYCFC, by insulting all New Yorkers and showing your fans that you are indeed nothing but a practice squad, minor league team for Man City.

    New York has always demanded NOTHING BUT THE BEST from its sports teams. Being the minor league team to Man City is an INSULT to New York. Watch the season ticket holder start calling in for refunds now, I would.

    You want the city to help pay and donate land for a stadium, they don’t do that for minor league teams. It’s hard enough for the city politicians to get anything like that done for a century old and we’ll loved franchise, you can forget them coming together to support what is now clearly with this Lampard decision a MINOR league team.

    New Yorkers deserve and demand better. This is an epic f-ck up from management/owners who understand nothing about their target market.

    Their are only two ways I see that this can be salvaged.

    First option, Man City could loan a high quality player back to NYCFC, but this can’t be a washed up bench warmer otherwise it still confirms the NY club as the minor league squad.

    Second option, realize the mistake and insult made to you fan base and reverse the decision publicly along with an outright denial and statement that NYCFC will not be treated like a practice squad and minor league squad where you can call up the best players at will and send down your bench warmers to get a few games.

    Otherwise I can’t see New Yorkers supporting this team. They’ll draw worse than RedBull, and will be an epic fail for the Sheik, MLS, and NY soccer fans.

    Reply
    • don’t leave out the Yankee’s. ManCity USA will constantly be mocked for playing in a baseball stadium. Who’s stadium? Yankee stadium. The Yankee’s reward for associating with this project will to be to make the hollow grounds that Ruth didn’t build a point of mockery.

      Reply
  20. I’m a big fan of Garber but NY2 was done all wrong and this makes MLS look like a joke. Lampard is going to be a liability as a player when we arrives. And, seeing how DP’s struggle at first with the style of MLS, I think it’s likely that Lampard will retire before we see anything good from him here.

    I was one of the biggest proponents of a second NY team – but done right. This was done all wrong. I’m very unhappy as an MLS fan.

    Reply
  21. Look for him to complain about fouls if and when he does ever get here. Every central midfielder in the league is going to look to “welcome” him here.

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  22. Is there anyone that thinks he will be successful in MLS for a half of a season?

    He was risky at best going into this. Now ? Tired, old and no team chemistry.
    Kiss your season good bye NY II.

    Reply
    • I’m putting money down right now on Fuggetabout Lampard pulling a hammy on his first game for NYCFC and being ruled out for the next 3 mos.

      Reply
  23. Say what you want about MLS or Garber, but Lampard could have insisted on keeping up his end and come to NY on time. Its on him that he didn’t. Man City could hardly be blamed for taking advantage of the situation. As for NYC, this only gets fixed only by signing another high-profile attacking DP to step in one day one (Villa can’t be pleased). NYC is presumably not paying Lampard during his absence, so they have the money. Back to Lampard — NYC may be better off cutting ties with him before the MLS season starts. The fans would appreciate that. Lampard made a commitment to NY, and then walked away from it. That’s not a good way to start a relationship with NY. The current PR disaster gets worse if NYC doesn’t perform well off the blocks.–season ticket holders can’t be pleased that they aren’t getting the healthy super DP they were promised And it gets even worse if Lampard performs poorly upon arrival. This is a salvageable situation, but its going to take a lot of work.

    Reply
    • i disagree
      Lampard is an employee of NYCFC

      The mother company, which owns his employer, wants him to stay with the mother company

      If anything, it was an issue for NYCFC and MLS to fight and they not only failed, they humiliated themselves in the process

      Imagine you work in the insurance industry and you are an employee of one of the companies that Warren Buffet owns

      Now imagine that Warren Buffet borrows you from the insurer for a few months to work with him directly

      Then he wants to borrow you for a few MORE months
      Would you REALLY say no?

      This is the risk of having other Euro teams buy into MLS but the Don craved the 100mm of filthy lucre and must now reap what he has sowed as he is publicly cuckhold

      Shameful

      Reply
      • No, it’s more like $400 mil including a stadium. Don wants that NYC stadium so bad he is willing to pimp out the league and damage the brand.

  24. OMG never saw this coming.

    Now, I bet David Villa has a travel bag packed because he is injury replacement no. 1 at Man City

    And I was so foolish to think the likes of Guidetti or Richards would come to this team in MLS…

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  25. Well, it is official. If you support this team you are strictly second class.

    Even the worst stadiums of MLS 1.0 can mock playing in a baseball stadium

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  26. The only way MLS could look more minor league here is if they held a press conference to announce that they are insigificant, meaningless and are giving up their first division status.

    As a New Yorker, I am offended by everything about NYCFC

    Awful

    Reply
  27. For NYCFC this is a disaster. Lampard had not really had a break since summer of 2013. You want to say he had one post World Cup, fine, but if and when he is finished at MC he will be exhausted…and that much older. It would have been awesome to see him line up on opening day with Villa.
    As a Red Bulls fan a good natured jab at our cross river “rivals” who are the baby sister of City makes me feel good!! Happy New Year everyone!

    Reply
  28. What a disaster. Any potential excitement over synergies with MCFC is gone. If he is injured, they should just keep that 9/11 celebrating geezer over there. Maybe MCFC would be generous to send over Michael Johnson in exchange for Lampard’s rights.

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    • Garber was right to say what he said about Klinsmann’s MLS comments. He needed to defend his league and the owner’s investments. I’m sure Don is talking to NYCFC execs and voicing his displeasure at how this makes him and the league look. However, unlike Klinsmann he is behaving like a professional and talking with those involved personally rather than spout off to the media.

      Reply
      • Garber behaving like a professional? Did you see his “press conference” in response to Klinsy’s calm and measured comments?

        Garber was almost psychotically unhinged. He was like a child throwing an out of control temper tantrum. It was downright embarrassing. He has permanently tarnished his image at this point.

      • Yes, I’m sure Don’s threats are akin to to response from Europe and the US to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region.

  29. Everyone sing along…

    Old Don Garber had a team
    NYCFC

    And on this team he had some stars
    NYCFC

    Well, Villa’s here, but Lampard’s there
    It’s startin’ to look like City don’t care

    Old Don Garber had a team
    NYCFC

    Reply
  30. Well guess we all now know who’s in charge here. This is a PR disaster for NYCFC, and I would not be happy if I was a fan. Better hope he doesn’t get injured or too tired out or this will look even worse.

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    • This is a joke. When Beckham did it it was pretty crappy. But the fact that New York FC is a club that is just beginning to operate, and they wont have one of their starts from the very first day is a disaster. LA Galaxy was a built team that could cope with it. But NYFC should be trying to build an identity from the first game if they want to live up to what they say they want to. That identity from the start should include a someone they are spending big bucks on. Looks like NYFC lost this battle. I have a feeling they will loose a couple more battles on the field, not having such a presence like Lampard till July. Seems like a lot for a 36 year old who is mostly riding the bench for Man City.

      Reply
      • Well…stands to reason that if Lampard’s signing was sold to NY, is to be seen as a really big deal, then him shunning the team, city and league he said he was dedicated to because he has better things to do has to be seen that way as well.

        On the word loose v lose and other stuff:

        Pellegrini wins, you lose Kreis, but ultimately it may be public perception and the attempt to win new fans in a very fickle, competitive sports town that is the biggest loser. Or maybe better said, it is MC ownership as they will lose on both fronts. In spite of Pellegrini’s loose lips and City’s loose purse strings at the mother club, Manchester City still had to rob it’s newest product of its first headline and a marquee star in order to compete. Yet… City will still not win the EPL and NYFC will begin its season in a hole as will Lampard’s career in New York.

        Joker… joker…… loser!

  31. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

    Everything that all the naysayers said would come true has come true.

    Take that, Chavez!

    Reply

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