18 February 2005    
Frank Lampard Exclusive

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Frank Lampard, who will be in FA Cup action this weekend for Chelsea against Newcastle, was recently crowned England Player of the Year 2004 having polled 40% of 20,000 votes cast around the world on TheFA.com.

Six goals from midfield, in the year he became an England regular, made him a fans favourite, and his partnership with Steven Gerrard in the heart of the Three Lions midfield at Euro 2004 was also a highlight of his year.

Gerrard has been widely acclaimed as one of the world's great midfielders, and this is a view Frank would certainly subscribe to:

"I think he’s fantastic," he said. "His form over the last 18 months - he does it week in week out.

"It’s different to playing with Maka [Claude Makalele at Chelsea] because Maka’s a real insurance guarantee - he’s always there.

"Steven’s got too much to offer in everything to play just in that role, so I think playing with him it’s going back to how I used to play at West Ham and my first years at Chelsea.

"I was playing with another player that tends to go up and down like me, so it’s just a matter of getting the combination right – one going one staying, taking it in turns.

"I think we’ve done it pretty well when we’ve played together."

And with the new Wembley Stadium due to be completed in early 2006, Frank is certainly looking forward to continuing that partnership in the World's greatest stadium:

"It sounds great," he exclaimed. "I was just talking about it the other day with a few of the lads.

"We saw on telly the big improvement - from being nothing it’s there all of a sudden, and we were excited about it really.

"I’d love to be involved in the first batch of games that are played there

"The atmosphere that is created by England fans is always fantastic and the history of the place itself will make it very special."