posted Oct 11, 2007

Football is a harsh sport if you have a series of bad games you blown it until someone else has a series of bad games. Like Jermaine Eater for Wycombe scored in every round of last years carling cup and is now not even in the starting 11.

Lampard has had a diabolical last 10 games for England. While Gerrard has kept us in most of those games.

So Gerrard has to be in the first 11, and how can't you put in Garreth Barry after the way he played inm those last two games.

In my opinion Lampard should and deserves to be sitting on the bench for England. if he is lucky.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 12, 2007

Sheva7chelsea:

In a period of 1 cup and 1 qualifying campaign up against Wales, N.Ireland and Poland, Lampard scored some goals. Fully acknowledged. This was 2004-2005. I think 3 years of utter rubbish is justification enough to to believe that maybe he shouldn't start anymore, and that he isn't all that he's made out to be.

You say he has other qualities:

1) Work rate : Not really. Stats indicate that he has the lowest possesion rate for both club and country. He hardly gets a touch, which is why when watching either team, people often have to ask : "Is Lampard playing?" 2 minutes contribution in 90 is possibly why he has managed to play in so many games. Just a threory.

2) Assists : An Americanisation of our sport. A little pass to Drogs at the end of a team move is in no way a greater acheivement than seting the move off; something midfielders are supposed to do. Taking all the set peices and playing the last pass to the prems top goal scorer might just have something to do with his 'ability' in this area.

3) Set plays : He takes pretty much every set piece. You'd hope he'd be pretty good at it. Oddly enough, you don't see him score many from free-kicks.

4) Box-to-box runs : Nonsense. Opta stats show he spends 87% of his time in the opponents half and his tackling is next to invisible.

5) 1-2 touch ball control : Ahh, you mean Franks 'panic passing'. With his ball skills, he'd better get rid sharpish! It's how I play actually.

6) Long balls : rarer than blue steak. The territory gain from his passing is notoriously low, which is why he is instructed to sit tight on Drogs like a support striker and keep his passing shorter than Ronnie Corbett standing in a ditch.

7) Leadership : Do you mean happily married Frank directing his mates in gang-banging call girls in hotel rooms?

8) Mentality : Read selfishness. Even Drogs is cheesed off with Frank, the player who is awarded more goal kicks against him than any other player in the prem.


It's not jealousy, mate - it's just important. England is our team, and it's right that people care who is in, and who is not - Frank is such a disruption for the team as he brings nothing to the table as a midfield player, and should be deployed as he is for Chelsea as a support striker if anything. His complete inefficiencey in midfielding qualities is the prime reason England haven't played with any fluidity or creativity for a number of seasons. If this isn't the case, how come we look such a different and better team when we play without him?


Awards/honours: Again, all this is in the past - a player who scores a bunch of goals sure, gets recognised - you do realise FIFA awards are completely lobbied by commerciality and marketing? Watch the next Nike advert. Paul Scholes was far better than Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney put together for this years award, yet doesn't get nominated - nothing to do with his marketability, is it?

You can keep your pin-up. Actually you can't. Chelsea want to sell him. Odd decision getting rid of a 'world class midfielder' isn't it? Other clubs will only be interested if he comes with Maka and Essien as a package deal - otherwise the guy is a liability, as he shows when he plays for any other team.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 12, 2007

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 12, 2007

Lampard is a good player on his day, but its more about the team than just one or two players. If the midfield area can work better (and therefore whats in front and behind of it) without him, then we'll have to go with that. I thought Barry has been superb in the last 2 games, he seems just the right man to partner Gerrard, probably cos they are quite similiar in some ways, and Barry's defensive and covering abilities are welcome indeed.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 12, 2007

Is this not just like the 'Chelsea player mentality' to believe that he (Lampard) should be chosen for England above all others. Lets stick with Gareth Barry and David Bentley and keep winning. At least they are honest enough to hold up their hands when they have a bad game. The Gerrard-Lampard combination doesn't work. Sven never appreciated this and how long will it take Maclaren to grasp the metal?

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 12, 2007

Yes but the Lampard-Gerrard combination sells the most shirts.

I can't see Barry making it into one of those tidy Nike commmercials anytime soon.

Oooooh Barry balances it on his head and flicks it over to Messi in a close up shot.... that'll be the day...

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 13, 2007

Regardless of whether Lampard is a good player or not, in the England team he is poor. At best he can be described as ineffectual and at worst a liability. The same goes for Phil Neville. If McClaren starts playing under performers like Lampard again, who were responsible for getting us into the terrible position we were in 4 games ago, he’s a witless idiot who deserves to fired.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 14, 2007

i think the person ryucoo knows absolutely nothing about football as his comments suggest. he probably thinks savage is good. lampard is good but makes mistakes like everyone else.
there is no perfect football player in the world. thats a fact. another fact is that the person ryucoo knows nthing about football

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 15, 2007

I agree, Ryucco knows nothing about football<>

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 16, 2007

"i think the person ryucoo knows absolutely nothing about football as his comments suggest. he probably thinks savage is good. lampard is good but makes mistakes like everyone else.
there is no perfect football player in the world. thats a fact. another fact is that the person ryucoo knows nthing about football"

Oh no. I'm so upset that someone who can't grasp the English lanaguage states I know nothing about football!

I'll wait for someone who can string a coherant sentence together to suggest I'm ignorant before I take this viewpoint seriously!

Logic, why don't I know anything? Is it because I said mean things about your fantasy boy?

add comment | complain about this comment