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The Gerrard/Lampard dilemma & a look at England's road to Euro 2008

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
After the game vs Spain in midweek a lot of people understandably who i know at school, neighbourhood etc have been blasting England's performance, calling for Mclaren to be sacked & even questioning whether England will qualify for Euro 2008. But one debate that seems the come up regularly is whether Lampard/Gerrard can stay in the same team if not who should go?.

I personally don't know what to think, majority want Lampard out, but one thing people seem to be forgetting that post World Cup between Euro 2004 to then Lampard was brilliant for England complementing the good work he had showed @ Chelsea & since the WC i don't know he has absolutely look a different man for England but with Chelsea he still is superb in whatever position he plays. A perfect example was in the Champions League game vs Barcelona @ the Nou Camp late last year where he showed great versatility by playing on the left & having a superb night. Add that to very solid performances for Chelsea every week its extremely weird that since the World Cup their seems to be two different Lampard's which is though to take because i for one don't want to believe for a second that players in England aren't commited to playing for their country, for me its just tactically in the national side they seem out of place. Looking at how he plays at Chelsea in that attacking mid-field role mainly with Makele as cover, i don't see why with England he can't adapt that same successfull combination with Hargreaves.

Having a mid-field or Gerrard/Hargreaves/Lampard/Cole is potenially one of the best in the world once they can work well together, playing free flowing football similarly to what we saw vs Argentina in late 2005 & vs Sweden in the WC & not that stagnant crap that they are showing way too often which definately is frustrating supporters.

But even if Lamps is to be dropped & Gerrard goes into the centre with Hargreaves, a bloke the other day was talking about how England need to utilize their options wide which seems a fair idea, i would send Joe Cole on the right instead of Lennon since he is more natually suited on that wing not to say i don't rate Lennon but i like him as an impact player at this stage, but then who goes on the left?. As much as i would go for Barry i wouldn't look too far past Matthew Taylor, i've been very impressed with him this season.


Looking at the progress to Euro 2008, i'll go out on a limb and say England will qualify despite all the hiccups to date. Based on recent performances i'd be foolish to say England should take Israel for granted, Russia who has Hiddink with them nor Croatia. Its a crucial year for the national side come the end of the year when we tackle Russia at home & Croatia at Wembly England just can't afford to mess up, deep down once key players are available (most importantly the return of Michael Owen) i feel England will make it.

So just over a year away from the tournament this is what i think the best 23 could look like:

GOAL-KEEPERS:

1. Paul Robinson - Going a through a bad period for Club & country since the WC, hopefully between now & the Euro he'll get his act together.

2. Ben Foster - Great talent, great future in the game, could tip Robbo as # 1 unless he lifts his game quickly i reckon.

3. David James - He may be getting on but he's been superbly for Pompey & has been the best keeper in the premiership this season, if he can repeat that next year Mclaren would be mad to leave him out of the squad.

DEFENDERS:

4. Gary Neville - No explation needed although he may not be # 1 right back come Euro.

5. Michah Richards

6. John Terry

7. Rio Ferdinand

8. Ashley Cole

9. Wayne Bridge - Lack of first team oppurtunites could hurt him, especially if Baines keeps doing well or goes to a bigger club in the next year. But overall i'm would take Bridge regardless

10. Ledley King

11. Jonathan Woodgate/Jamie Carragher - Both top defenders, Woodgate slightly better in my book, but who goes will depend on performances.

MID-FIELDERS:

12. Steven Gerrard

13. Frank Lampard

14. Owen Hargreaves

15. Joe Cole

16. Keiron Dyer - sort of ruled him out of contention, but performances for Newcastle & England since his return from injury reminded me of what a good player he really is. A definte pick for me once fit.

17. Aaron Lennon

18. Gareth Barry/Matthew Taylor - won't mind which is picked TBH

19. Michael Carrick/Scott Parker - performances for both club & country in the next year will decide who gets the final pick.

STRIKERS:

20. Wayne Rooney

21. Michael Owen - for England sake lets hope the man comes back with a bang, since he is needed & missed.

22. Peter Crouch - I'm picking him because i think he offers something different with is height. He definately won't be a easy man to defend to late on or if one of Rooney/Owen if injured, he can form a decent combination with either one similarly to what he has done at liverpool with Dirk Kuyt.

23. Jermaine Defore/Dean Ashton/Andy Johnson/ - This is a though selection, Defoe at times has looked out of depth at international level but for the spurs of late he has looked superb. Johnson is good as well but i guess he's a bit over-rated while i really like the look of Ashton & would go for him personally. But performances will decide.

Its strong, has potential, just needs to be guided in the right direction & international glory should not be far away.
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
Lampard has always been ****e for England, not just since te World Cup. Good amongst good players at Chelsea, ****e otherwise. Anyway, why can't this go in the normal football thread?
 

grecian

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Lampard has always been ****e for England, not just since te World Cup. Good amongst good players at Chelsea, ****e otherwise. Anyway, why can't this go in the normal football thread?
Ditch fat frank, 'tis easy.

I actually approve of the new thread, this way the same things won't be posted in the other one, over and over again:)
 

Matteh

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Lampard gets slated for no reason. Had a pretty average WC granted but to claim he's always been dire for England is just wrong.

Main problem is the fact that McLaren is like a cheap knock off copy of Sven. It looks and acts the same but at the end of the day is inferior.
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
He was good at Euro 2004, but that was when he first broke into the first team, he had done nothing of note internationally before then. Since then he's been consistently average (WC qualifying) and occasionally rubbish (WC finals).
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
He did, that doesn't mean he played well. He wasn't as bad as he was at the World Cup, he was very average though IMO.
 

Matteh

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
If Peter Crouch scored 5 goals in WC qualifying, people would have said he'd played well.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
You really convinced me with that argument.
yo, i guess you didn't bother to read the rest of that post which i said lets take the argument to the football thread so as to avoid confusion.

But anyway Lampard has not always been tripe for England he was the best player in Euro 2004 & was one of the best players (if not the best) in WC qualifying. Yea he would have a bad game between Euro 2004 & the WC i.e the Northern Ireland shocker, but since the WC its has been very obvious that he has gotten very poor.
 

roseboy64

Cricket Web Content Updater
Good point there. Crouch is supposed to score. Lampard's supposed to score and supply goals.
 

Matteh

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
So according to you Xavier, Lampard was doing at least half of his job well, and the fact he scored 5 means he did that half very well.
 

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