“I can tell you here now: He will go right to the top, right to the very top. Garrett Celek Jersey . Hes got everything thats needed to be a top midfield player. His attitude is first class, hes got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals,” prophesized Harry Redknapp. Its fall 1996, a West Ham supporters summit and a clearly agitated Redknapp had just been taken to task for selecting then-18-year old Frank Lampard ahead of other more experienced players. Lampard had made his debut in West Hams starting XI away to Arsenal just a few months earlier. Substituted in a losing cause, Lampard would feature in only 13 matches during that 1996-97 campaign. It was a season in which he picked up more yellow cards than he scored goals. Redknapp knew full well even back then West Ham had unearthed a gem. So likely did his assistant coach and ex-teammate at West Ham, Frank Lampard Sr. Playing in an era of outrageously inflated transfer prices Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri was astute back in the summer of 2001 to pay West Ham £11m [$20m CAD] to acquire Lampards services. "Hopefully I can test myself against the best players in Europe and we can contest for trophies,” Lampard was quoted as saying at the time. Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, a Europa League and Champions League crown later, Lampard has decided his Chelsea playing days are now behind him and on his own terms. Although still under contract until June 30, the clubs all-time leading scorer (211 goals) made the announcement to coincide with Englands arrival into Miami. Lampard wants to be fully focused on what will be his third World Cup Finals. Amassing close to 600 appearances, only two players have ever appeared more times in a Chelsea shirt. over the course of his 13 seasons Lampard is without exception one of Chelseas greatest ever players. Not wanting to name him their best ever, the tribute on the clubs web site strongly implied Lampard was their best ever midfield player. It was Lampard who scored both goals in the game against Bolton in April 2005 which handed Chelsea their first title in exactly 50 years. Breaking the club scoring record which had stood for over four decades towards the very end of the 2012-13 season Lampards most important goal for the club occurred in the second leg of the 2008 Champions League semi-final in a game against arch-rivals Liverpool, which I was very privileged to attend. Lampard was not even expected to play that day. He had recently missed a pair of Premier League games to be at the bedside of his gravely ill mother, who sadly passed away a few days after the first leg. Play though he did, the Chelsea players wore black arm bands in memory of Lampards mother. The tie was very delicately poised after the first leg at Anfield had finished 1-1. Chelsea with the away goal were slight favourites going in, but Liverpool had got the better of Chelsea twice at this stage in 2005 and 2007. Didier Drogba opened the scoring, for Fernando Torres to level it just after the hour mark. Extra time loomed, it was a very highly charged Stamford Bridge. Less than 10 minutes into extra time after Michael Ballack was bought down in the area Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Up stood Frank Lampard. Hands on his hips, he stood at the edge of the box and waited for what must have seemed like an eternity as Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina did his best to delay and distract. Lampard was having none of it. The ref blew the whistle, and with that trademarked run up to the ball he sent Reina the wrong way as he slotted the ball into the far right corner. Lampard took off for the opposite corner flag, and took with him the hearts of the 40,000 plus Chelsea supporters inside Stamford Bridge. As he got close to the corner flag he slowed down to remove his black arm band, then with his hands covering his face Lampard slumped to his knees. Joined by his teammates, there was no celebration when Lampard emerged with all emotion completely drained from his face. On running back to the halfway line Lampard looked up in the direction of where his dad and other members of his family were gathered. He waved and blew a kiss to them. The match finished 3-2 and Chelsea were off to their first Champions League Final. Away from the pitch Lampard is an all-too-rare breed when it comes to English footballers. Intelligent, staunchly working class, he attended a private high school where he was one of the more promising students. Not everyone aced Latin, Lampard did. In 2009 Chelsea conducted IQ tests on the playing squad. Although the club did not officially reveal the results it was reported Lampard scored over 150. That places him in Bill Gates territory. In March this year Lampard launched the BPLs annual childrens reading challenge held each season in conjunction with the National Literary Trust. Lampard disclosed his favorite book was a biography on U.S. President Abraham Lincoln... All 900 pages of it. Lampard the family man was also to surface shortly after 2009s highly published break-up with his fiancée, Elen Rives the mother of his two children. A London radio station talk show host openly criticized Lampard on the basis of a newspaper article which had quoted Rives. So incensed by the inaccuracy of the hosts comments Lampard called in live to the show and put the record straight in a conversation which lasted 10 minutes. I cant imagine there would be too many other BPL players who would take such initiative. Petra Cech referred to Lampard as one of the most influential players of all time in the Premier League. Make that on and off the pitch. Hell be dearly missed at Chelsea. When he met the press ahead of Englands World Cup tune-up on Wednesday he said he would return to Stamford Bridge to attend matches. Lampard lives within walking distance to the ground. Abramovich has offered to keep a job open for him. On June 20 Lampard will turn 36. Having already played Italy and Uruguay by then, Englands fate in the group stage may already have been decided. Lampard will walk away from the international arena at the conclusion of Englands World Cup. Chelsea, and Englands loss will be MLS gain. Noel Butler can be reached at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca Twitter: @TheSoccerNoel TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Action gets underway Thursday, June 12 with Brazil vs. Croatia. Kick Off is at 4pm et /1pm pt. John Henry Johnson Jersey .5 million contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. Hatcher agreed to terms Thursday, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed. Deebo Samuel Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-marcell-harris-jersey-large-2858d.html . PETERSBURG, Fla.The St. Louis Cardinals are having a flare for the dramatic and all the Pittsburgh Pirates can do is watch. The Cardinals target a series win over the NL Central-rival Pirates Wednesday in the third installment of a four-game set at Busch Stadium. Catch the game live on TSN starting at 8pm et/5pm pt. Matt Adams belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth of Mondays 2-0 victory, then it was Kolten Wongs turn Tuesday. Wong broke a 4-4 tie in the ninth with a two-out solo home run for the hosts and finished with two hits and three RBI. "When I hit it, I knew it was gone," Wong said of his clutch hit off Pirates reliever Ernesto Frieri. "For a moment I forgot to run. Just excited to get home and be the guy jumping into the dog pile. Its something Ill always remember." Matt Carpenter, Jhonny Peralta and Oscar Taveras ended with two hits apiece and helped the Cardinals pull within three games off the Milwaukee Brewers for first in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is 3 1/2 games behind the Brewers, who have lost three in a row. Carlos Martinez started on the mound for St. Louis last night and was reached for four and eight hits in six innings. Wongs home run made a winner out of Trevor Rosenthal, who worked around a hit and a walk in the ninth. The Cardinals, winners in five of seven games, announced that Jaime Garcia will undergo season-ending surgery due to thoracic outlet syndrome (shoulder), the same procedure former ace Chris Carpenter had back in 2012. The left- handed Garcia went 3-1 with a 4.12 ERA in seven starts. Lance Lynn is one of the healthy St. Louis starters and draws the start Wednesday. Lynn threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in last Fridays 3-2 win over Miami, struck out six and walked three. Lynn was blasted for seven runs (6 earned) in his previous start June 28 at Los Angeles. Lynn has alternated results in the past six trips to the hill and is 9-6 with a 3.17 earned run average. The right-hander is 5-2 in nine homme starts and 7-2 in 12 appearances at night. Scott Bull Jersey. Lynn has faced Pittsburgh 12 times (10 starts) in his career and owns a 4-3 record with a 5.13 ERA. He lost at Pittsburgh back on May 10 in a 4-3 setback, allowing all four runs in six innings. Pittsburgh will try to avoid its first three-game slide since June 15-18 when they gets back to work Wednesday. Justin Wilson gave up Adams home run on Monday and Frieri was the mound victim in last nights loss. Vance Worley allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings, while Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen each hit two-run homers for the Pirates, who are still 12-5 in the last 17 games. "Its not the first time weve had two tough losses and it probably wont be the last time," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "One swing of the bat changed the game. You shower up and get ready to play tomorrow." The Pirates have lost three in a row on the road and had prevailed in five straight series as the visitor. In the last 29 games, Pittsburgh starting pitchers have combined to go 15-6 and it will be Brandon Cumptons turn in the rotation on Wednesday. Cumpton was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis when Gerrit Cole was activated off the disabled list, but is now replacing an injured Cole. Cumpton pitched against Louisville on July 4 and was reached for four runs, three of which were earned, and eight hits in six innings of a 7-6 loss in 11 innings. He is 3-2 with a 4.61 earned run average in nine starts this season and unbeaten (3-0) in the past five outings. In a 3-2 win over the New York Mets on June 27, Cumpton tossed seven innings of two-run ball in a no- decision. He has allowed two runs over 14 innings in his last two games. The right-hander won his only start against St. Louis last July 30, when he fired seven scoreless innings of a 6-0 win at PNC Park. St. Louis is 6-5 against Pittsburgh this season and each of the last five games in this series has been decided by two runs or less. ' ' '