Lampard var da netop en god all-rounder. Det er som om, at han udelukkende af eftertiden bliver bedømt på målene, han scorede. Som om det var hans eneste berettigelse.
Selvfølgelig var målene en stor del af Lampards spil, men han var jo en ret atypisk offensiv spiller forstået på den måde, at han timede de offensive aktioner nøje i forhold til resten af holdet. Lampard oppererede med et utrolig sundt risk-reward tradeoff. Han manglede sjældent i defensiven eller var årsag til omstillinger og bidrog stadig med et vanvittigt slutprodukt i offensiven. Det var som om, han til tider helt bevidst holdt igen og tålmodigt ventede på, at de rette situationer opstod. Han forsøgte sjældent at forcere sit spil.
"And so it was that I saw Lampard play live three times, but never saw him score. In many ways, I was fortunate, as I saw the less heralded side of his game; the clever movement, the tactical intelligence. Jose Mourinho, a manager who values loyalty more than most, paid Lampard the ultimate compliment when he moved to Inter Milan; he tried to take him with him. Lampard refused, after careful deliberation, a decision that was forever Chelsea´s gain.
Here´s why I think Lampard was underrated; because I can´t think of a major category in which he was less than an eight out of ten. His crossfield passing was superb - ask Barcelona when he knocked them out on the way to victory in the UEFA Champions League in 2012. His finishing was astonishing - ask Bayern Munich. His mental strength was remarkable - witness the time he had to retake a penalty twice at Upton Park, a ground where he was hated beyond measure, and scored each time. He could play the ball perfectly long or short with the inside or outside of his right foot, and mastered free-kicks late in his career. He had extraordinary stamina and an incredible injury record. In terms of his skill set, he was to England what Clarence Seedorf was to Holland and Michael Ballack was to Germany"
https://www.tifofootball.com/features/the-frank-lampard-paradox/