Frank Lampard's goal on Wednesday night showed the rest of Europe what Chelsea fans have been seeing for the past year- that he is now one of the best midfielders in England.

His rise to prominence has been sharp to say the least and it all stems from his disappointment in the summer of 2002. Firstly, Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal in the FA Cup final. And then, as if to cap it all off, he was left out of Sven Goran Eriksson's England squad for the World Cup.

Ever since then, Frank has been nothing short of excellent. He is now seen as a natural replacement in the England team for Paul Scholes, should the ginger one ever get injured. That is a massive compliment for anyone, seeing as Scholes is, in my opinion, the best footballer in England.

But, more importantly, Lamps is now Chelsea's most important player. And that is no exageration. Without him in the team, we just don't seem to perform. He makes us click. When Claudio Ranieri said that Claude Makelele is the battery that makes his watch tick, he really should have been talking about Frank.

One key example of Lamps' importance comes from our trip to Prague last month. Frank was left out of the side and was named amongst the substitutes. The team were awful in the first half, barely creating anything and giving chances away.

Fast forward to the second half, Lamps is brought on and Chelsea spark into life. Coincidence?? I think not! Chances were coming thick and fast, Prague were struggling to create anything and we eventually won the game. The difference in performance from first half to second half was there for all to see.

Make no mistake, all of Chelsea's midfielders are important. But at the moment, it's a certain cockney lad that stands head and shoulders above the rest...