Thursday, December 24, 2009
FRANK LAMPARD is the Player of the Decade - according to official stats.
The Chelsea and England midfield star is the dominant figure in Premier League statistics over the past 10 years.
Facts and figures' wizards Opta have looked back at every Premier League game since January 1, 2000 and Lamps is the man who emerges with most honour.
The 31-year-old ace boasts:
· Most games
· Most wins
· Second-most assists
· Fourth-highest goals record
Lampard pips Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher by five games to most appearances with a total of 346 - 210 of which have been wins.
He comes second to Ryan Giggs with 76 assists and bagged 100 goals, finishing fourth behind top scorer Thierry Henry, who netted 169 times for Arsenal.
Signed from West Ham for £11million in June 2001 by Claudio Ranieri, he must go down as one of football's greatest-ever buys.
Ranieri told SunSport last night: "This news fills me with a great satisfaction and pride because Frank Lampard is totally unique.
"He is a complete player and so professional. It doesn't surprise me that he is the best statistically, ahead of other players you might consider to be even bigger stars.
"I'll tell you something. In my view Frank Lampard is a genuine 'Pallone d'oro' - which means he should be a European Footballer of the Year. He really is that good.
"He is up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of quality - he is just a different type of player.
"He does difficult things but he makes them look simple and that is why some people think he is less spectacular.
"But I am glad the statistics have shown what a great player Lampard is. They show just how influential he is.
"Lampard has such a strong mentality and that probably shines through too. Only the other day he had to take a penalty three times but he still scored. That tells you how cool he is under pressure, how focused.
"Frank makes a difference to any game he is in. Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes it is less obvious. But he is so often the key to a victory.
"That's why I am really glad that he has been recognised in some way as the player of the decade in England."
Lampard's father, Frank Snr, was thrilled by his son's Player of the Decade accolade.
He said: "To do this over a decade is something special - he has done it by working very, very hard.
"I call him the Bobby Moore of the midfield. He does not try to do the impossible things that can look good on the eye if they come off.
"He's not crash, bang, wallop, either. Instead, he sticks to the things he knows can work and makes sure it's the team that he puts first.
"To score so many goals is a magnificent achievement for a midfielder. He plays in a team where everyone wants to score but he is the one who is consistently on the scoresheet."
Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins added: "Frank's contribution has been immense over the last decade, both for Chelsea and England.
"The consistency he has shown has been remarkable and he is still producing the same top-quality performances that he was a decade ago."
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Frank James Lampard, Jr. (born 20 June 1978) is an English football midfielder currently playing for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team. He plays most often as a box-to-box midfielder and has also enjoyed spells in a more advanced attacking midfield role. Lampard is Chelsea's top active goalscorer with 130 goals, the most in club history for a midfielder, and is the second midfielder in Premier League history to score 100 goals, after Matthew Le Tissier.Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father's former club. Joining the youth team in 1994, he had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–1998 season. He helped the team to their highest ever finishing position Premier League in the 1998–99 season. The following season Lampard scored 14 goals in all competitions from midfield. With progress stagnating at West Ham, he moved to rival London club Chelsea in 2001 for £11 million.
From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and won his first major honours in 2005, winning the Premier League and League Cup. Lampard won more club honours under coach Jose Mourinho; the 2005–06 Premier League title and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer, and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year.
Football
Lampard remains a firm favourite at Stamford Bridge and his eye for goal, attacking influence and deadball ability make him one of the best midfielders around at domestic and European level. Destined to stay Stamford Bridge until 2013 after signing a new contract in August 2008, his future seemed to lie away from the club. Inter Milan and former boss Jose Mourinho seemed set to lure him to Italy yet Lampard chose to continue his hugely successful stay at Chelsea, where he remains a popular player. Lampard first rose through the ranks at West Ham United with his father Frank Lampard Snr part of the backroom staff. He made his debut for West Ham on the final day of 1995-96 aged 17.
The midfielder gradually became more important to the Hammers and by 1997-98 was a first team regular despite still being a teenager. Lampard's performances gained the attention of the England coaching staff, and he made his full debut against Belgium in October 1999. He left West Ham in the summer of 2001 after his father, along with manager Harry Redknapp, had also departed. He moved across London to join Chelsea for £11m.
At the time many laughed at Chelsea's decision to spend such a vast amount of money on him, but it would turn out to be one of the all-time bargains. After impressive start to the 2003-04 season he regained his place in the national squad and scored his first international goal as England beat Croatia 3-1 in a friendly at Portman Road in August.
It was that same season that Lampard truly began to come of age. He would win numerous plaudits for his energetic displays in the Chelsea midfield. And, amid the uncertainty caused by the influx of Chelsea's expensive summer signings after Roman Abramovich arrived at the Bridge, it was Lampard who blossomed to be the only ever present in 2003-04.
Lampard bagged three goals in four games at Euro 2004 as England reached the quarter-finals, cementing a place in the starting line-up. That form was followed by a superlative 2004-05 season and earned him the Football Writers' Player of the Year Award. And he underlined that by finishing second to Barcelona's Ronaldinho in both the European and World Player of the Year awards.
After helping Chelsea to consecutive Premiership titles, Lampard had a woeful 2006 World Cup - where he was criticised for failing to dovetail with Steven Gerrard. However, he bounced back and won the FA Cup in 2007; while in February 2008, Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score 100 goals for the club.
His importance to Chelsea was evident when he signed a new five-year contract with the club in August 2008, making him the highest-paid Premier League player at the time and he won the Chelsea Player of the Year at the end of the season, scoring the winning goal in the club's FA Cup final win over Everton.Consistent and vital to the club's spine, he will long remain a Chelsea idol, cemented in history as the top scoring midfielder in Chelsea's history.
Internationally, Lampard gained his first senior England cap in 1999 team and has played in Euro 2004 (scoring three goals in four games), the 2006 World Cup, the Euro 2008 qualifiers and the 2012 World Cup.
Personal Life
Born in Romford, London, Frank Lampard is the son of Frank Lampard, Sr., a former England fullback and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United. His mother, Pat, died of pneumonia on 24 April 2008, and since her death his goal celebration has consisted of pointing to the sky and looking upwards as a tribute.[4] His uncle is Tottenham Hotspur coach Harry Redknapp, and his cousin, Jamie Redknapp, spent twelve seasons with Liverpool and earned 17 caps for England before retiring in 2005.
Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, an independent school in Essex, where he was a classmate of television personality Jodie Marsh. He gained an A* in his Latin GCSE[5], one of the 12 GSCEs he took. He reportedly has an IQ higher than 150, putting him in the most intelligent 0.1 per cent of the population.
Biography
1978
Born June 20 in Romford, Essex. Father, also Frank, was professional footballer with West Ham United.
1992
August: Joins West Ham, where uncle Harry Redknapp is assistant manager, as a trainee. Plays 187 games for the club, scoring 39 times. In 1994, Redknapp becomes manager and Lampard senior is appointed his assistant.
1995
October: On loan to Swansea for 11 games, scores one goal.
1999
October: First appearance for England at home to Belgium.
2001
June: Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri buys the midfielder for 11 million pounds ($19.45 million).
2002
May: Following a mediocre season, Lampard fails to make England's World Cup squad.
2003
August: Lampard becomes an England regular, notching his first goal against Croatia.
2004
June: Scores three goals at Euro 2004.
July: Named Chelsea vice-captain when Jose Mourinho takes over at Stamford Bridge.
December: Voted England player of the year.
2005
February: Wins first major trophy when Chelsea hoist League Cup.
May: Helps the Blues to their first championship for 50 years with 12 league goals and 18 in total as club's top scorer.
June: Wins English football writers' player of the year award.
November: Runner-up for European Footballer of the Year.
December: Second in Fifa's World Player of the Year award.
2006
April: Helps Chelsea claim its second straight Premier League title.
June 10: Frank Lampard was named Budweiser Man of the Match for his excellent all-round game in England's 1-0 win over Paraguay in their opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany.
August 20: Reiterated his desire to stay with the Chelsea for the rest of his playing career. "I see myself being here for a long time," he told BBC.
October 12: Included among the 30 nominees for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.
October 17: Included among the 50 nominees for the European Footballer of the Year Award.
2007
February 25: Member of the Chelsea squad that won the English League Cup after defeating Arsenal 2-1 in the Millennium Stadium.
March 19: An angry fan raced on to the pitch and threw a punch at Lampard after Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-1 in an FA Cup quarter-final replay. Lampard, who was celebrating with team mates, ducked to miss the punch and the spectator was manhandled to the ground before being led away by security men.
May 1: Lost the Champions League semi-final with Chelsea against Liverpool on penalties 4-1 after drawing 1-1 on aggregate on a dramatic night at Anfield.
May 19: Won the English FA Cup with Chelsea over Man United following a 1-0 extra time victory at the New Wembley.
July 1: Rejected a new Chelsea deal which would have eclipsed the £121,000 a week given to Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack.
August 5: Member of the Chelsea team that lost the English FA Community Shield against Man Utd 3-0 on penalties at Wembley.
August 9: Launched Frank TV, a new Mobile TV programme dedicated to him, available exclusively on Oranges mobile phone TV service.
October 31: Took his tally of goals for Chelsea to 96 when he bagged a hat-trick in the holders 4-3 victory over Leicester City in a thrilling League Cup fourth-round tie.
2008
February 16: Lampard became the eighth player to score 100 goals for Chelsea, when he scored twice against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup.
February 24: Member of the Chelsea squad that lost the Carling Cup Final in extra time against Tottenham.
March 12: Scored 4 goals in Chelsea's 6-1 thrashing of Derby County.
April 30: Two days before the funeral of the mother he admits was his guiding light, Frank Lampard scored a vital penalty in extra-time to drive Chelsea towards victory over Liverpool FC in the UEFA Champions League semi-final. It was an act of courage that had team-mates queuing up afterwards to praise him.
May 21: Lost the UEFA Champions League final with Chelsea 6-5 on penalties against Man Utd at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Lampard was rewarded for another trademark surge into the penalty area as two fortunate deflections allowed to tuck home the equalizer. Unlucky to hit the bar in extra-time.
August 13: Signed a five-year contract with Chelsea running until the end of the 2013/14 season, ending a summer of speculation about his future.
August 28: Became the first Chelsea player, and only the second English-based footballer after Beckham nine years ago, to take the UEFA Club Best Midfielder of the Year. He said: "It feels very good. When you see the players that you're up against, there are some world-class players there. I've been up for the award for three years now so it's nice to finally win it."
Did you know?
Lampard's father Frank twice won the FA Cup with West Ham while his uncle, Harry Redknapp, is the manager of Tottenham Hotspurs FC.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
What is Halal??? A lot of my non-Muslim friend asks this question especially Korean and Malaysian Chinese/Indian as well. Please read this simple explanation which most of it taken from Wikipedia.
Halal (حلال, ḥalāl, Halaal) is an Arabic term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is widely used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law (Sharia)Islam has laws regarding which foods can and cannot be eaten and also on the proper method of slaughtering an animal for consumption, known as dhabihah. However if there is no other food avaliable then a Muslim is allowed to eat non-Halal food.Surah 2:173 states:
If one is forced because there is no other choice, neither craving nor transgressing, there is no sin in him. Indeed, Allah is forgiving, merciful
Explicitly forbidden substances
A variety of substances are considered as harmful (haraam) for humans to consume and, therefore, forbidden as per various Quranic verses:
- Pork meat (i.e. flesh of pig)[Qur'an 2:173].
- Blood[Qur'an 2:173].
- All carnivores and birds of prey.
- Animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but Allah. All that has been dedicated or offered in sacrifice to an idolatrous altar or saint or a person considered to be "divine"[Qur'an 2:173] [Qur'an 5:3].
- Carrion[Qur'an 2:173].
- An animal that has been strangled, beaten (to death), killed by a fall, gored (to death), savaged by a beast of prey (except that which you may have slaughtered while it was still alive)[Qur'an 5:3].
- The fish must die out of water and because of natural suffocation in the free air, on the ground or on the deck of the fishing boat. Otherwise, it's not halal.
- Food over which Allah's name is not pronounced[Qur'an 6:121].
- Alcohol and other intoxicants[Qur'an 5:90-91].
All these substances may be consumed as last options in life-threatening situations.
Dhabiha: Method of slaughter
Dhabiha is the prescribed method of ritual slaughter of all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law. This method of slaughtering animals consists of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides but leaving the spinal cord intact. Please watch this funny but informative video about Halal. It’s in Malay language with english subtitles. Hope you enjoy it and found out something from it as well.
p/s - Love the machinegun part, and the beauty pagent too!!!
