Frank Lampard was once accused of not being good enough to play for West Ham by a fan.
The young midfielder had only recently broken into the Hammers' first team when one Upton Park regular decided to take exception with the fact Harry Redknapp's nephew was being preferred ahead of Scott Canham and Matt Holland, who had been sold by the club.
Redknapp, however, wasn't having any of it. You can see the brilliant clip below.
The fan says: “I want to ask Harry if he thinks the publicity he’s given to young Frank warrants it because, personally, I don’t think he’s quite good enough yet,” the supporter said to Redknapp, with Lampard also in attendance.
“I also think in the last couple of years you’ve let some good midfielders go for peanuts like Matt Holland and Scott Canham.”
Redknapp responded by saying: “Well, no, they definitely wasn’t good enough. He is good enough and he definitely will be good enough. I let Scott Canham go, he was a good kid, he worked very hard. He’s gone to Brentford, he can’t get in Brentford’s team. He’s 21 years of age.
“I let him go because young Frank’s 17/18 and he’s miles in front of him.”
As Frank Lampard retires, here's one of my favourite shots as he comes on for his West Ham debut in 1996 pic.twitter.com/dbCYZ1gs5p
— Steve Bacon (@onesteviebacon) February 3, 2017
Lampard went on to play 16 times for the Hammers in all competitions that season and would soon go on to become an established first team regular by the 1997/98 campaign, making 42 appearances and scoring 10 times at just 18 years of age.
Harry Redknapp with Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand at West Ham. pic.twitter.com/EAc00jzFhd
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) December 24, 2017
Scott Canham, meanwhile, was a year away from swapping Brentford for a brief spell at Leyton Orient, while Matt Holland was beginning a six year spell with Ipswich Town.
Both men had respected careers in the game but Lampard called time on his professional career in 2017 after winning it all.
He became Chelsea's all time leading goal scorer, helping the Blues to three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, a Europa League and the 2012 Champions League.
Frank #Lampard Retires From Football:
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) February 2, 2017
- Games: 913 👊
- Goals: 273 ⚽️
- BPL: 🏆🏆🏆
- UCL: 🏆
- UEL: 🏆
- FA Cup: 🏆🏆🏆🏆
- League Cup: 🏆🏆
Legend 😎👏 pic.twitter.com/LvExyfCGgM
Lampard recently signed a two-and-a-half year contract to become Everton manager and hours later, he strengthened his side with the additions of Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli.
Featured Image Credit: VISIONSPORTTV/YouTube
Topics: West Ham United, Frank Lampard, Harry Redknapp, Premier League
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