Sincerely yours, Frank
A transcript of Frank Lampard's speech to the Footballer of the Year Awards dinner last Thursday night.
I was told I had to do a speech, to say a few thank yous and was lying in bed a couple of nights ago till about 2.30 in the morning thinking what I was going to say. I had it all planned out perfectly, fell asleep – and then was woken up at 4am when my cars were being driven off in the driveway! This award is massive, an achievement I hold very highly. I watched JT [John Terry] pick up the PFA Award earlier this year and was genuinely delighted for him.
This award is voted for by journalists, who can be your biggest critic and get on your nerves sometimes, but they all know football and I am very respectful of their thoughts, and very proud they have decided to give me this award this year.
I look around the room and see so many players [pictures of previous winners] on the wall. I notice there are not so many English players in recent years. With John winning the PFA Award, and me this one, with Jamie Carragher third in this award, as an Englishman it makes me very proud that I have performed well enough to be voted for. It is a great advert for English football.
We are really going to try our utmost to bring the World Cup home next year. We promise that. I WILL GO back to my West Ham days, and I owe a massive thank you to Harry Redknapp.
There were some difficult times for me as a player at West Ham. I remember running on the touchline, and being told: 'Go and sit down with your uncle and your dad [Redknapp and coach Frank Lampard senior], because you're not good enough to get on the pitch.' I would love all those people to be in this room tonight so I could answer them.
I'm sure Harry had people saying the same thing to him about me and I really respect the fact that he stuck with me and that he played me week in, week out. So I would like to say a massive thank you to him and his wife Sandra, who is my aunt – I love her to bits.
Moving on to my Chelsea days, I'd like to say a big thank you to Ken Bates and Suzannah [his wife]. I am very privileged that they have decided to fly over specially for tonight [from Monte Carlo]. I know Ken has the money, but he still had to make the effort!
Ken took a chance on me and paid what people thought was a lot of money at the time [
