Tony Dorigo aims ‘crazy’ jibe at Frank Lampard as Leeds ‘get under his skin’
Tony Dorigo has shared a first-hand account of how the drama between Frank Lampard and the Leeds United fans unfolded on Wednesday.
The Whites cruised to a comfortable victory over Coventry City in their first game after the winter transfer window on 5 February, with first-half goals from Joel Piroe and Jayden Bogle earning them a 2-0 win in West Midlands.
Daniel Farke’s side could have easily replicated the 7-0 scoreline against Cardiff City on Coventry’s home turf if it was not for the likes of Piroe and Dan James missing huge chances.
Nevertheless, Leeds and their travelling fans had the last laugh over Lampard’s side as they strengthened their place at the top of the Championship table.
Leeds fans got under Frank Lampard’s skin
Lampard cut a frustrated figure after the game as he was seen making a four-finger gesture towards the away stand, referencing Derby County’s 4-2 win against the West Yorkshire outfit in the 2019 Championship play-off final, and cupping his ears.
Asked by The Square Ball’s Michael Normanton if the Englishman actually did that, Dorigo, who was at the stadium on commentary duty for LUTV, confirmed he made the gesture and insisted that the fans got under his skin.
The pundit also opined that it got so bad that it started affecting Lampard’s tactics as he refused to stop playing a high line at the back despite being exposed to “crazy” levels.
“Yes, I was there. What I would say is clearly we got under his skin, and as a manager, I think that’s the wrong reaction, it really is”, Dorigo said on The Square Ball’s The West Stand podcast (7 February).
“It impacted the tactics as well. I can see he wants to set up his side, three at the back and all this sort of stuff.
“First half, when it started to go a little bit wrong… because we play with two wide men that get really wide and they’re quick, you’ve got to be careful.
“So, when you’re playing a higher line, you better make sure that your midfield is on top of our midfield and that [you do] not allow to get those passes through.
“Now, if we’re going to start passing around you in midfield, what you can’t do is keep the high line.
“You’ve got to do it in relation to the ball and first half, you could see that we got through once, we got through twice, we kept getting through.
“So, I’m thinking, second half, right, they’re not going to push right up, but they did it even more and even worse and I’m thinking, ‘you’re still not winning the ball, we’re still controlling everything’.
“And at the time, if you look, when our midfielders get on the ball, there were two or three runners always wanting to just to go beyond and I’m thinking, ‘Okay, this is crazy! Why do you keep staying in that high line?’, but they kept doing it.”
Frank Lampard embarrasses himself
Sometimes we do things in the heat of the moment and this is likely one such incident.
Lampard would have probably cringed at himself for cupping his ears towards the away supporters after the game as he only made himself look silly by doing it.
He should probably thank the Leeds attackers for saving him from a bigger embarrassment as the scoreline could have been much worse for Coventry.
Nevertheless, Farke would have already moved on from the game, with an FA Cup clash against Millwall at Elland Road coming up on Saturday, 8 February.
The Whites also have Championship games against promotion rivals Sunderland and Sheffield United coming up this month, with a trip to Watford also pending.
The dominant wins against Cardiff and Coventry will surely stand them in good stead for those matches.