They have never taken to Lampard ever since he extended his ‘loan spell’ at parent club Manchester City (in fact he was never on loan) instead of moving to the Big Apple, as expected, on Jan 1, 2015.
As NYCFC struggled at the beginning of their debut campaign, Lampard sat on the Man City bench week-in, week-out. It made for uncomfortable viewing and increased frustration in New York.
“We’re the same family. I was asked from the top to stay on in Manchester. … I’m not trying to wipe my hands of it because I’m a man, I make my decisions. But it kind of felt right at the time to carry on playing,’’ Lampard said by way of explanation to reporters after he finally arrived, following a holiday with his then fiancee in Dubai.
“I did get frustrated in January, February, March, because a footballer wants to play games; I’m not going to lie. … It wasn’t easy because things were being said like I tried to pull the wool over peoples’ eyes. It certainly wasn’t that from my point of view: I was just trying to play good football.’’
Lampard’s much-heralded arrival in New York only raised tensions further after he injured a calf in practice while trying to get back up to speed, further delaying his debut.