Age is just a number and for some of these footballers, it truly is. The experience and skill combined with the gift of talent to play football and entertaining audiences is not something that everyone possesses.
Here we look at the Top 5 players who scored the most goals even after they turned 30 years of age:
5) Jamie Vardy – 72 goals
Was winning the PL Golden Boot at 32 years of age ever a possibility? Well if it wasn’t before, it is now. Jamie Vardy has shown that determination and passion can always take you places. Ever since his stellar season in 2015/16 en route to Leicester City winning the Premier League, Vardy has been absolutely outstanding. He has consistently scored 15+ goals for the past three seasons, and that only seems set to continue.
4) Teddy Sheringham – 76 goals
A reliable goalscorer during his time, the ex-England international spent stints at Tottenham, West Ham and Manchester United. Helping his team to win many titles, Sheringham scored a total of 76 goals after the age of 30. His career almost continued towards the end of 2008 when he last played for Colchester United. He had 146 goals to his name and was a fine talent right up there among the greats.
3) Frank Lampard – 81 goals
One of the most elegant midfielders to have ever graced the league, current Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was a treat to watch. Usually, the peak range for a central midfielder is between 26 and 30. But of course, the ex-West Ham player was instrumental in so many of Chelsea’s successes during the early Mourinho era in the 2000s.
2) Alan Shearer – 83 goals
Heralded as possibly the greatest striker in the Premier League, former Newcastle great Alan Shearer struck many brilliant goals during his time. With a total of 260 goals in his career, he was a generational talent who was capable of producing moments of magic with either foot. Some people do not let age dilute their greatness, and Shearer is clearly one of them.
1) Ian Wright – 92 goals
The all-time goalscorer for Arsenal until Thierry Henry arrived, ever cheerful Ian Wright was an absolute assassin on the field. Considered to have a more successful time towards the fag end of his career, he scored 128 goals for the Gunners and 90 goals with Crystal Palace as well. With a keen sense to sniff opportunities, Wright had both the power and pace to score some very memorable goals.
It was a long time coming, but today afternoon saw Chelsea officially announce the signing of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Rennes, for an initially reported fee of £22m.
Mendy comes with a good reputation as a shot-stopper with great reflexes and passing ability. Having made close to 70 appearances for Reims and Rennes, he stands tall at a height of 1.97m – which will make him a commanding figure in front of the goal. He played a big part in the 9 clean sheets that the French club kept, en route their qualification to the Europa League.
It’s official! Edouard Mendy is a Blue! ✍️🔵#WelcomeMendy
This move, however, spells trouble for one player, and that is current Chelsea No. 1 Kepa Arrizzabalaga. Implicitly, manager Frank Lampard had made it clear that he does not trust the Spanish keeper between the sticks and so, would mean Mendy getting the requisite chances.
Last week’s error added on to a host of mistakes since joining the Premier League. Down 1-0 and playing with 10 men, Kepa passed the ball straight to Mane who slotted the ball comfortably to finish the game off for Liverpool. There have been constant questions over his rushing out technique as well as not coping with the pressure situations very well.
Mendy had a passing rate of 80% and last season, making an average of 1.6 saves per game. But his biggest challenge represents in the crude and physical style of English football. This is where Mendy needs to use his height advantage and properly communicate with the Chelsea defenders. Something that Kepa because of his relatively smaller figure has been failing to do so.
Another aspect is the massive shift from French football to the fast-paced Premier League. Forwards are sharpshooters with immense quality and Mendy’s reflexes will be put to the absolute limit. The onus is now on the Senegalese keeper to make the starting keeper spot his own, and it will be interesting to see whether he is cut out for the task.
All the football matches are being played behind closed doors due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Thus has affected all the clubs financially as ticket sales are one of the most important sources of income for the clubs.
UK government has rejected the idea of allowing limited no of fans in the stadium from October due to the rising COVID-19 cases. So the clubs are in a bad financial position.
The Premier League clubs are backed by rich owners that’s why clubs like Chelsea, Wolves have broken their bank in the transfer market. The Premier League has seen a lot of incoming transfers.
So now, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has asked all the Premier League clubs to come forward and help the lower division clubs of England. Chelsea paid for COVID-19 tests for tonight’s Carabao Cup opponents Barnsley.
Lampard said at a press conference: “I do think clubs in the Premier League and the Premier League themselves have a heart.”
“They understand that and I’m sure as we move forward they will be making positive moves on that front.”
“In football, if you are talking about how Premier League clubs can help those lower down in the leagues, we have paid for the tests for Barnsley. It’s a sign of a club in the Premier League doing the right thing.”
“I think it’s important that the Premier League as a collective looks at supporting the EFL, the leagues below and grassroots football absolutely, of course. Because that’s the base of why we’re all here.”
“We all started – well I did and (a lot) of the young players started in Sunday league football.”
“I’ve managed in the Championship so I know the difficulties because I was very close with Mel Morris and I understand a lot of the difficulties a lot of the clubs are having.”
Frank Lampard has raised his voice for a great cause and has also led his club by example by paying for the COVID-19 tests of Barnsley team. It remains to be seen whether the other Premier League clubs come forward in this great cause.
The talk of the town at this time of the season, are most certainly Chelsea Football Club. The team led by Frank Lampard have been making serious moves in the transfer market and having gotten the players they wanted, they now look like a formidable side ahead of the upcoming season.
The Blues have so far signed a total of SIX players for a combined amount in excess of 200 million pounds. It includes defenders Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva along with an attacking trio of Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. They are also close to signing Edouard Mendy from Rennes.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insisted that his side can not compete in the transfer market with clubs who are owned by countries or oligarchs.
Frank Lampard has now hit out at Klopp. He said at his pre-match press conference: “I was less annoyed with it. I found it slightly amusing because I think when you talk about the owners of clubs, I don’t think it matters what line of business they come from.”
“We are talking about some very wealthy owners of clubs in the Premier League. With Liverpool’s story, I referenced it a lot last year. It’s a fantastic story of a club over the four and a half or five years that Jurgen Klopp’s been there where they’ve managed to get recruitment right to a really high level.”
“The reality is – other than maybe Leicester, which was an incredible story – most clubs that win the league in the modern day have recruited well and have recruited at quite a high-level money wise. You can go through the Liverpool players – Van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho, Keita, Mane, Salah.”
“Incredible players that came at a very high price. Liverpool have done it over some time. What we have done is come off the back of a ban and probably try to address the situation ourselves to help improve us. It’s par for the course. We all know that.”
“There’s no point doing the maths. We know that Liverpool have spent at a high level. We know they have an incredible coach. We know they have incredible players. The really smart thing Liverpool have done is to believe in their coach and believe in their system for a number of years.”
“It’s a great story but it’s a story where they’ve spent money on players. This summer we’ve spent money on players and now the hard work has to come.”
“When you carry on and what I read from Jurgen Klopp was that he said about the idea of bringing in a group of players is not going to be easy for us no matter what the level is and as I mentioned there we are talking about some younger players from different leagues.”
“I think he was talking with fair context when he said it like that but in terms of the money spent, of course, Liverpool have spent huge amounts in a very good way as well.”
“In terms of where we’re at, we have to not focus too much on what other teams, managers, supporters, radio, media say, we have to worry about what we can do on the training pitch as that’s the only thing that will define us so I’m not too concerned.”
“I’m pleased with the business we’ve done, really pleased. Now I want us to be excited as a team to work hard to get results.”
🗣️ Lampard on signing Werner: "You understand that when there is competition from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City that you need to state your best case to the player.
"With a player like Timo, we were very keen to bring him in. He needs to feel that from us." 🥰 pic.twitter.com/bPhPFHrCCw
Frank Lampard further told Sky Sports: “I loved the nurturing last year, but I never wanted us to become an academy club. That story is great for five minutes and those debuts when you hand them out are really nice. But then it moves very quickly to people asking if you can win games now.”
“When you see the injection of players and what they can bring – they have all brought personality with them already – that should bring a level of competition that lifts the squad to new levels.”
“My feeling and my senses suggest the players are feeling that, but we have to show that on the pitch, and it is my job to manage that and take us forward.”
“Last year we spoke a lot about the transfer ban, and it was very relevant. To come fourth last year was a big achievement and it certainly felt that way with the competition around us. That’s done now, and now we are looking at whether we can get better, whether we can improve as a club?”
“I’m a Chelsea fan and any fan should get excited about the type of players we have brought in. It’s something we had a long look at last year. The ban allowed us to look at areas we wanted to improve, the profile, type and age of player we wanted to improve us in the long term.”
“It feels good because it has been work, it’s what you set out to do. Recruitment is a huge part of trying to be a club that is successful at the top of the Premier League.”
“Liverpool and Manchester City are big examples of that, they have got big coaches and great players they have brought in at the right time. We’ve made positive moves, now it comes down to work and whether we can show it on the pitch.”
The Blues will want to build upon last season and challenge for domestic cup competitions but at the same time, remain a serious contender for the league title. However, the chemistry under Lampard would need to come good and quick if they are to win games consistently.
The talk of the town at this time of the season, are most certainly Chelsea Football Club. The team led by Frank Lampard have been making serious moves in the transfer market and having gotten the players they wanted, they now look like a formidable side ahead of the upcoming season.
Chelsea showed glimpses of what they were capable of doing to some teams coached by managers of serious degree. With the future looking bright and the urge and desire to touch new heights, could this be a season worth remembering for the Stamford Bridge outfit?
Transfer activity
The Blues have so far signed a total of SIX players for a combined amount in excess of 200 million pounds. It includes defenders Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva along with an attacking trio of Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. But if latest news reports are to be believed, then they are also close to signing Edouard Mendy from Rennes and are going to target Declan Rice of West Ham. It is safe to say that regardless of what happens on the pitch, it is definitely an exciting time to be a Chelsea fan.
Undoubtedly, the biggest potency lies in the team’s attack to fashion a load of chances and score goals. Lampard’s men scored a total of 69 goals in 38 games last season, and that only seeks to be boosted further this time around. Another strength is that of the spirit instilled by Lampard in bringing up youth players and honing their ability with the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori all making fairly regular appearances.
Weakness
The issue lies in the defence leaking goals at regular intervals, with Chelsea having just 9 clean sheets – the 12th best team in the league in that regard. Much criticism has been laid on goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who has been termed ‘simply not good enough’ by many supporters. A slight worry would also come in the form of these new signings fitting together and playing as a functional unit without paying too much heed to the price tag they came along with, particularly Kai Havertz.
Key players
New signing Timo Werner will certainly be key to Chelsea’s chances of competing for the title. The German had a stellar season for Leipzig in the Bundesliga notching 28 goals in 34 appearances. Another important player would be Christian Pulisic who did a fine job last season with 9 goals and 4 assists in 25 matches, despite missing out on numerous games with injuries. The sheer burst of pace and wily trickery makes the American a potential threat.
Predicted table finish
3rd Place: The Blues will want to build upon last season and challenge for domestic cup competitions but at the same time, remain a serious contender for the league title. However, the chemistry under Lampard would need to come good and quick if they are to win games consistently.
Former RB Leipzig striker, Timo Werner is one of the most sought after strikers in European football. Many top European clubs wanted his signature but Chelsea finally got the nod.
Werner has now revealed why he chose Chelsea over other European clubs. He said his chat with Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was the key to joining Chelsea. He was impressed with Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League win.
'I want to be part of a new era here'
Watch @TimoWerner's first interview in full on the Chelsea app. 👊
The German international told Chelsea’s official website: “I know of the players before when they won the Champions League with (Didier) Drogba, with my new manager Frank Lampard, Petr Cech as the technical advisor.”
“It is like a little dream for me but I want to become, not a same player like them, but I want to be part of a new era here so I will play to try to give my best.”
He further added: “He [Lampard] was the main point. We talked a lot about things like system, like how he wants to play and sees me playing, and how the system fits to me.
“He is a really nice guy who not only told me what he wants from me as a player because he wants to help me as a guy. He knows me now a little bit better and it fits very good between us and now I am happy to be here.”
The new-look Chelsea attack comprising of Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech and ably supported by Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Abraham, Mount and William will be one of the most dangerous attacks in the Premier League. If Lampard can sign another German youngster Kai Havertz they can definitely challenge for the Premier League title next season.
Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has lauded on Frank Lampard, who is doing some incredible stuff in his first season in charge of Chelsea. Conte was in the Chelsea dugout for two seasons. He won the Premier League in 2016-17 followed by a FA Cup win next season before leaving Chelsea’s top job.
Conte is currently the head coach of Inter and he has turned the Serie A side into title contenders this season. While Lampard has inspired the youth players of the club and has a massive hand in the development of Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount.
Antonio Conte told Sky Sports:”I think he is doing a really good job, Frank. This is his second experience [as a manager] after Derby County and to manage a top team is not easy.”
“I think he has the skills, the ability to become one of the best managers in the world. He has to continue to work in this way and I wish him the best for the future.”
Conte also heaped praise on Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante. He was a key member of Conte’s Premier League winning side. But his effectiveness on the match has been less under Sarri and Lampard.
He added: “In my opinion, he can play in every position in the midfield. We are talking about an amazing player, a top player.”
“He is fantastic with or without the ball and, when you have N’Golo in your team, you can think that you are playing with one player more. He is one of the best players I have had in my career as a coach.”
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Roy Keane has praised Chelsea’s teenage sensation, Billy Gilmour. The Scottish teenager was brought into action by Lampard during the FA Cup victory over Liverpool in March. He impressed with his control and calmness over the ball.
He followed up that brilliant display with a Man-of-the-Match performance in the 4-0 hammering of Everton. His performance against Liverpool looked “world-class” according to Keane, who is a tough guy to impress.
Frank Lampard is also impressed with his teenage midfielder but was surprised with Keane’s praise for Gilmour. Lampard compared Gilmour with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes. Roy Keane was also a part of the legendary midfield at Old Trafford alongside Scholes.
Lampard told Sky Sports: “I had to put my cup of tea down to hear Roy say something nice! I’m only joking – Roy was a fantastic midfield player and he probably won’t give credit unless it’s due. It certainly was due.”
“I heard the statements he made about Billy and he was spot on, and Billy should be happy with that. If he goes and follows the ideas of midfield play that someone like Roy Keane says, he won’t go far wrong. There aren’t many days when you don’t see him show up and try to do the right things.”
“Paul Scholes was obviously one of the greatest midfield players I’ve ever played against in the Premier League. It was interesting to play against Scholesy: in the early parts of the career when he was a goal-getter, he’d play it around the corner and then would arrive in the box and have the ability and the feet and the nous to score the goals or make assists regularly, and then to see him change his career [was impressive].”
“The cut-throat part of the pitch is probably at the top end, where it becomes much tighter and quicker. In midfield, it can be easier because you have more time in those deeper areas. But if you’re a player that’s not top quality like Scholesy, more time can sometimes be a problem for you.”
“He would always pick the right pass, he had incredible range, and if you did try to jump from midfield to get close to him, he’d just play it round the corner because he’d know you were coming.”
“Billy has shown early signs of that sort of ability. I’m not comparing him to Scholesy – no way – but in terms of those basics, Billy certainly has them and that’s a great platform to build hopefully a fantastic career.”
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New caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson inspired Everton to a 3-1 victory against Chelsea.
Everton sacked their manager Marco Silva after their Merseyside derby loss to Liverpool on Wednesday.
The club announced the sacking of Silva on Thursday, ending the Portuguese tactician’s 18-month stay at Goodison Park. Everton said in a statement: “Everton Football Club can confirm that manager Marco Silva has left the club.”
Everton announced fan-favourite Duncan Ferguson – who has been a first-team coach at the club since 2014 – would take charge for Saturday’s match against Chelsea.
Everton’s last league title-winning captain in 1986-87, Ratcliffe told Sky Sports News.”I’m quite surprised, with the way results have been going, that they haven’t had somebody to come in straight away. A bit like Tottenham when [Mauricio] Pochettino left and [Jose] Mourinho came in for him.”
“They’ve had time to assess it and maybe approach somebody and that hasn’t been done obviously because they haven’t made a decision, or if they have got somebody that they have got in mind there’s a stumbling block along the way somewhere.”
He further added: “I think that’s the situation we’re actually in now. I think we need somebody to come in who knows something about the club to get us out of this mire really because we are hovering in a relegation battle. I’ve always said Pochettino and [Atletico Madrid coach Diego] Simeone. But they won’t come. I don’t think the position that we’re in, that it’s an attraction to them. But I’d like to see our names linked with them or we’ve actually talked to them to see what it would take to get them, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
But today we saw a new Everton side under Ferguson. Everton were sharper and snappier than they had been under Silva. It was evidenced by their 37 tackles, more than any other team in a Premier League match this season and the most that Everton have made in a top-flight game all decade.
Richarlison got the opening goal in the fifth minute before Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted either side of Mateo Kovacic’s first Premier League goal for Chelsea. The Brazilian was outstanding again at Goodison Park, opening the scoring with a towering header. He impressed throughout the match.
Ex-players as interim managers are a tread at the moment, but Duncan Ferguson played his moment in the limelight perfectly. His words since taking temporary charge have all been centred around effort, commitment and building a connection to keep fans engaged basically these were the qualities they were lacking under Silva.
Duncan Ferguson may not be the perfect long-term fit and yes, they rode their luck at times, but the players finally gave their fans something to get behind.
Ferguson told BT Sport whether he would stake a claim at having the job permanently: “No, honestly, I won’t be saying that. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m here for Everton, I’m here for as long as they want me here, and I’m sure they [the club’s hierarchy] are out there looking for their candidates, and rightly so.”
“We want the best guys in the world managing this football club, but this was an incredible experience for me, an unbelievable experience I’ll never forget. I’m just looking to get home and lie down, I think. We’re not looking ahead – I was just looking at this game and that is it, we’re savouring the moment. It’s three fantastic points.”
“I think you saw on the touchline how enthusiastic I was, but you know it’s one game, one result. I think I’ve answered the question [about going for the position].”
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said after the defeat: “We always knew they were going to have a go and they’ve got good players, they’re just in a slightly false position for whatever reason. I’m more worried about us. It wasn’t good enough from us, conceding three terrible goals from our point of view.”
“We know Richarlison is good in the air on crosses and the last thing you want is to go one down early here, then they can be organised and make things very difficult for you. We got in their box so many times and [were] not getting shots away, trying to walk it in at times, so [there were] lots of things I wasn’t happy with.”
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The Fifa statement said Chelsea had breached Article 19 on 29 separate occasions. Players under the age of 18 cannot sign for clubs in foreign countries unless their parents have emigrated for non-footballing reasons. Article 19 states that players between 16 and 18 from within the European Union are exempt from this rule. Chelsea was not allowed to register players in the summer (2019) or next January (2020) and had also been fined £460,000 (€528,600).
Chelsea lodged an appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the Fifa punishment, which was also prompted by an investigation into the Premier League club’s signing of foreign under-18 players.
CAS found that the Blues “did violate” rules “related to the international transfer of minors” and “to the first registration of minors” but “for a significantly smaller number of players” amounting to “about a third of the violations found by Fifa”. The CAS verdict added: “In addition, the violations of other RSTP (Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players) rules were found to be less serious than those attributed to Chelsea by Fifa.” Chelsea claimed many academy players were only triallists and did not play in organised matches.
CAS have now reduced the ban to one window, which was served during the summer of 2019. Chelsea will now be allowed to sign new players in January 2020. CAS also reduced the fine for the London club from £460,000 to £230,000.
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard Lampard said at a news conference about the transfer ban being reduced: “It is what it is and now we know. Obviously the club was working towards that positive outcome and it allows us the potential to look at the market going forward.”
“I’m pleased from a football level, it was never my job to get involved with reasons why or legal reasons, for the club moving forward it’s a good thing. Now it’s a discussion we can take up. Nothing much [has been said] because it wasn’t something to discuss at length until we knew the decision. The club has been working away, putting forward our case, I’ve been working hard for the results on the pitch.”
“I’m not going to sit here and go too far down any lines with that. We will see where we are, as I said I’m happy with the squad we have here, I think we’re doing okay. In terms of the bigger picture and what we do it’s constantly fluid.”
Lampard further added: “We haven’t had that conversation because we couldn’t buy. The fact people have given us credit is because they expected less of us. I still want more, I think we could have more points and be higher up the table. If we feel there are positions we can strengthen we’ll do that. “
“That’s why people expected less of us because those around us were spending £100million and we didn’t have that. We lost Eden Hazard and two number nines, it’s important going forward that we get it right. It is a challenge yeah, I suppose the one thing I felt affected me in the summer is when you come into a club, sometimes the players you bring in, the attributes they have, are key to what you want to do. I couldn’t do that.”
“Moving forward I will put that to the club. It’s a much bigger process, it’s not just me getting it right or wrong. Any recommendations I make to improve the squad will be ones I see as improving us.”
According to a report, Lampard will have a transfer budget of €170m to spend but the question is who will be joining his club to take them to new heights.
Wilfried Zaha has long been linked with a move away from Crystal Palace and it looks like the time is near. He has been one of Premier League’s best wide attacking players for a few seasons now.
Jadon Sancho is also having some trouble at Borussia Dortmund with Favre lately. He has been linked with a move back to England. Chelsea may like to pounce on the opportunity to bring the England international to Stamford Bridge.
Pedro is set to leave soon, so Chelsea may look to sign his successor this January with Zaha and Sancho proving to be the ideal candidates. Oliver Giroud’s contract will also run out this season, but Tammy Abraham has taken the Stamford Bridge by storm, cementing his place in the starting XI. So, Lampard may look to sign a striker as a deputy of Abraham.
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