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New York Soccer Fans Will Be Cheated If Frank Lampard Loan To Manchester City Is Extended

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Frank Lampard of Manchester City salutes the Chelsea fans at the end of the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on September 21, 2014 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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It’s their first season in Major League Soccer, but fans of New York City Football Club are already about to get shortchanged.

NYFC are expected to begin play in MLS away to expansion Orlando City SC on Mar. 8 without one of their star players in Frank Lampard. But Lampard’s absence won’t be because of injury — at least yet not yet.

NYFC have already loaned out Lampard to Manchester City until the end of this month, but now City and manager Manuel Pellegrini are hoping that the MLS club allows the veteran midfielder to stay on in the Premier League until the end of the season.

The request by City will likely receive a rubber stamp in the coming days mainly because NYFC are co-owned by Manchester City along with baseball’s New York Yankees. But the expected decision on Lampard’s loan extension couldn’t be worse from an NYFC perspective.

Firstly, NYFC will lose one of their key players for the first two months of their inaugural season at a time when they need him most. Not only will they lack his skills and leadership on the field, but Lampard will also be a huge drawing card for the new team which is set to play its home games at sprawling Yankee Stadium. They play their home opener on Mar. 15 against the Eastern Conference champion New England Revolution.

Aside from the box-office bust, MLS will also take another hit in its already weak television ratings with Lampard missing.

It should also be noted that the English international also requires time to adjust to style of play in MLS, which differs greatly from England’s Premier League. There are huge tactical differences with soccer in North America — not to mention climate, travel and other factors — which will take Lampard some getting used to.

But the most important reason why NYFC and MLS should be unhappy with the pending announcement is Lampard could very easily join his new team as damaged goods. Maybe NYFC realized this when they loaned out their other big signing, Spanish international David Villa, to Melbourne FC where he played just four matches before quickly returning to NYFC.

While Lampard, the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005, might be considered one of the best midfielders of his generation by some, he is now 36 years old and is starting to slow. Another few months of playing in the harsh conditions of the physical Premier League could see his batteries further drained by the time he arrives in the Big Apple or even worse, he could get injured.

Despite the promotional value of allowing its stars to play in one of the world’s top leagues, MLS is only looking short term and is taking a huge risk in its high-priced player investments. Would any top club in Europe or South America consider loaning one of its stars to an MLS team during any point of its season or training camp? Definitely not.

Showcasing its stars in the Premier League isn’t something new for MLS, as Landon Donovan (L.A. Galaxy) was loaned out to Everton on more than one occasion, teammate Robbie Keane had a loan spell with Aston Villa and Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) made a triumphant return to the Emirates to play for Arsenal once again in 2012.

These players avoided serious injury during their return to the Premier League, but at some point MLS will pay the consequences and learn one of their stars has blown out their knee or broken an ankle.

Last season Toronto FC allowed Tottenham Hotspur star Jermain Defoe to continue playing in the Premier League even after they had signed him as their designated player. Unfortunately for TFC fans, the gamble didn’t pay off as their marquee player suffered a hamstring injury in January and then missed several games for Spurs. He arrived at the MLS club in the end of February, and despite having a strong start, he then re-injured his hamstring and was lost for most of last season.

So beware NYFC and MLS commissioner Don Garber; you are playing a game of Russian roulette if you allow Lampard to stay on with City. In the end you may pay greater consequences than only missing him for a portion of the season.

Peter Mallett is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RedCardTheRef1 like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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