‘An obsession’ - Frank Lampard’s headline quotes about Leeds United after latest sacking

Frank Lampard has become the sixth manager in the Premier League to be sacked this season following Everton’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham. The former Chelsea midfielder spent almost a year at Goodison Park but leaves them in 19th place.

Lampard’s departure comes only a matter of weeks before he was meant to face Leeds United in what was guaranteed to be another intense encounter. As well as both teams fighting relegation this season, Lampard’s previous bad blood with the Whites always ensures a fiery encounter between the two.

Nicknamed ‘Spygate’, Leeds United sparked rage and controversy when one of their employees had to be removed from Derby County’s training ground by police the day before the two teams were set to meet in the Championship four years ago. Lampard was left frustrated by the incident and confirmed the same thing happened prior to their 4-1 defeat to Leeds earlier in the season.

As Lampard leaves his third club since the Spygate saga, we take a look back at everything the 44-year-old has said about Leeds United.

“Stop crying, Frank Lampard”

Months after the Spygate scandal, Leeds United faced Derby County in the Championship play-off semi-final. The Whites faithful created an iconic version of Oasis’ ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ aimed at Frank Lampard and the former Rams boss responded after their defeat at Pride Park.

When asked if he was affected by the chanting ahead of the semi-final second leg, Lampard said: “No, of course not, it is good fun.

“As a Chelsea player, there was a rivalry always with Leeds. We didn’t play them that much because we were in the Premier League, but that comes with it. I will take a song all day long. My worry is what the players do on the pitch.”

The Overlap

Over a year on from his departure from Derby County, Frank Lampard opened up about his bad blood with Leeds United as he joined Gary Neville on The Overlap. The former England international revealed that Spygate made him more motivated to beat Bielsa’s side in the Championship play-offs.

Speaking to Neville on his YouTube channel, Lampard said: “It was a hard one for me as it came across that I was really angry about it and I was, but it was more in my game face mode.

“If I stepped out of it, I would’ve said that everyone does that and who cares. At the time, I felt it was a bit out of order because in the current day I feel like everything has moved on.

“The good thing from my point of view is that it got the bit between my teeth. As it got to the play-off semi final, we played them in the home game and they beat us quite convincingly, it was only 1-0 but they played quite well.

“Their fans were singing and taking the mickey out of me, they sang one of the Oasis songs and changed the words. It was ‘stop crying Frank Lampard’. But we went to Leeds and it was caldron in the second game, but the team produced, they were brilliant.”

“An obsession”

Leeds United and Everton faced off at Elland Road in August, with Anthony Gordon netting an early opener before Luis Sinisterra equalised in the second half. The Toffees received a lot of abuse from Leeds fans because of their ‘time wasting’ tactics, however Lampard was quick to defend his team.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Lampard said: “No, to be honest, I think they became obsessed with the time-wasting. There were a couple of times when we went one-nil up and the ball was in the crowd, and the bench are talking about time. I don’t know whether they want Jordan (Pickford) to sprint into the crowd and get the ball back, I didn’t get it.

“It became an obsession and then the crowd get on it and they try to manage the game and put pressure on the referee, but I get it. Goodison Park can be a tough place to come with those things but it became a talking point and maybe a little bit of a side issue because there were a lot of times when they wanted us to go and get the ball, but what do you want us to do?”