Lampard is the cancer in Chelsea

Lampard won his 87th cap as a substitute in Friday's win against Bulgaria, but was displaced from the first team by Scott Parker and Gareth Barry.

The pair are expected to start against Wales on Tuesday, and the imminent return from injury of Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere means the 33-year-old could be pushed further down the pecking order.

"I don't know," Capello responded when asked if Lampard would start games for England. "I need to wait because he's got two training sessions before Tuesday's match against Wales and I don't know what will happen.

"He's part of the squad. He's one of the best English midfielders but as the manager I need to chose the players and not the name. At this moment, Gareth Barry is in really good form and at the start of the season, Lampard needed to play more games.

"I remember Frank Rijkaard, who for the first two months of a season was not a player, then he found good form. The first two games that Lampard played this season were not good but the last one was better. I need to choose the player in a good moment of form."

Capello reported that Lampard reacted to the bad news with dignity and was delighted at the manner with which he applied himself after being introduced as a late substitute.

However, given the excellent platform Barry and central midfield partner Scott Parker provided for England, it is hard to see how Lampard could be considered for an early recall.

Capello started the week by demanding pride from his players and at an age well beyond the point when Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes both quit to concentrate on their club careers, Lampard is facing a test of his often-repeated pledge never to abandon his country.

Chelsea's Frank Lampard vows to prove England critics who think he is 'old and crap' wrong
The midfielder came under fire during the recent round of international fixtures and insists nothing will please him more than to silence his doubters, as he vows to improve form

England midfielder Frank Lampard wants to prove critics who think he does not belong in the side wrong, following intense speculation concerning whether or not he has a future in the national team.

The 33-year-old was not picked to start against Bulgaria though he did figure from the off in the victory over Wales at Wembley, but a subdued performance in an underwhelming team display has led to even more discussion about his role in the set-up.

However, he insists that nothing will give him greater satisfaction than to prove his naysayers wrong.

"I’ve been here before," Lampard said, according to The Mirror.

"I’ve had slow starts to seasons when I was 25-26, I had a World Cup which didn’t go well. I wasn’t told I was old then, I was just told I was crap!

"That is just the game. I honestly don’t mind. When I was 25, I probably would have had a different reaction to it all.

"Once you’ve been around the block a little bit, you understand how things are and my main aim is to play for Chelsea week in and week out.

"People can talk about my age for as long as they like. There is nothing better in football than proving people wrong and I’ll try and do that for as long as I can."

The former West Ham United man also revealed that he would like to reach 100 caps, as he currently sits on 88 appearances for England.

But for now, he intends to play regularly with Chelsea and improve his form.

He said: "But no excuses. I’m going to hopefully be on top form very soon. We’ve only played three games. I’ve not flown out of the blocks, I don’t think Chelsea have as a group.

"I’d love to get to 100 caps but it’s not something I’m going to hang around and be trying to do if it’s not there. I’ll just be proud to play for as long as I can."

England currently need only a point from their final game to secure qualification to the European Championships that will take place in Poland and Ukraine next year.

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babun1024 wrote:
Discuss! :lol!:

huntsman wrote:He's slow, and he makes very bad crosses, and even worse free-kicks. His strongest point was always about positioning. Good positioning played in his favor for a couple of years and he scored goals and he made a name.

A very mediocre player.

Arquitecto wrote:LOL at this thread.

Lampard may not be the player he used to be but he still is Chelsea's best midfielder and was their best last season. Just due to injuries and inconsistencies from Torres, Ancelotti and other factors, Lamps simply had it bad. I mean he scored 27 and 20 goals in Carlo's debut season ffs.

And even then in last season he had 13 goals and 6 assists

Plus, Lampard not being creative for Chelsea is one of the BIGGEST myths.

usman111 wrote:lampard is the most consistent midfielder in the premier league/

babun1024 wrote:Once upon the time, there was a super consistent, not injury prone club talisman for Chelsea who scored 20+ goals per season. As of now he is clearly on decline and hasn't been his former self for a long period of time. Now, Chelsea want to keep him in the lineup at all costs, where to play him?

ACM? He wasn't cut out for that role from a technical point of view but made himself famous with workrate and awsome scoring stats for a midfielder. At the moment, he lost a step= struggles there, can't get himself into shooting positions like before, doesn't provide creativity for his teammates. Creativity was always a weird part in Chelsea because forwards were the source of creativity instead of midfield Their most creative guy was Drogba

CM? He doesn't have the work rate or proper positioning as CM. It clearly shows when he plays for England or Chelsea in that position last year. You could pair him with a monster of a DM but Chelsea have Ramires and Mikkel, not exactly the DMs you need to compensate

What to do with him?
I can see Chelsea lose the next EPL campaign if they continue playing Lampard in primary role. He needs to step down and act from the bench or play less games but with more effort.

Discuss! :lol!:

Lampard won his 87th cap as a substitute in Friday's win against Bulgaria, but was displaced from the first team by Scott Parker and Gareth Barry.

The pair are expected to start against Wales on Tuesday, and the imminent return from injury of Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere means the 33-year-old could be pushed further down the pecking order.

"I don't know," Capello responded when asked if Lampard would start games for England. "I need to wait because he's got two training sessions before Tuesday's match against Wales and I don't know what will happen.

"He's part of the squad. He's one of the best English midfielders but as the manager I need to chose the players and not the name. At this moment, Gareth Barry is in really good form and at the start of the season, Lampard needed to play more games.

"I remember Frank Rijkaard, who for the first two months of a season was not a player, then he found good form. The first two games that Lampard played this season were not good but the last one was better. I need to choose the player in a good moment of form."

Capello reported that Lampard reacted to the bad news with dignity and was delighted at the manner with which he applied himself after being introduced as a late substitute.

However, given the excellent platform Barry and central midfield partner Scott Parker provided for England, it is hard to see how Lampard could be considered for an early recall.

Capello started the week by demanding pride from his players and at an age well beyond the point when Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes both quit to concentrate on their club careers, Lampard is facing a test of his often-repeated pledge never to abandon his country.

Arquitecto wrote:LOL at this thread.

Lampard may not be the player he used to be but he still is Chelsea's best midfielder and was their best last season. Just due to injuries and inconsistencies from Torres, Ancelotti and other factors, Lamps simply had it bad. I mean he scored 27 and 20 goals in Carlo's debut season ffs.

And even then in last season he had 13 goals and 6 assists

Plus, Lampard not being creative for Chelsea is one of the BIGGEST myths.

bhends wrote:Im noticing a theme of awkward situations surrounding aging players who have been at their respective clubs for long times...

Zanetti, Totti, Lampard, Gerrard, Del Piero, Raul, Inzaghi, Pirlo...

Art Morte wrote:

bhends wrote:Im noticing a theme of awkward situations surrounding aging players who have been at their respective clubs for long times...

Zanetti, Totti, Lampard, Gerrard, Del Piero, Raul, Inzaghi, Pirlo...

It's a good point and can be a tender issue.
Good managers will notice when someone is losing form & fitness due to their age and will have the balls to bench those players. But for fans it's different, a portion of them will go mad if their club legend is made a bench player. Moreover, good professionals will accept their new, diminished role and won't throw their toys outte pram (like Carvalho did and I guess Totti is having his issues as well). Lampard is one to watch in this regard (why not Gerrard, too), both in the NT and at their club.

Art Morte wrote:

bhends wrote:Im noticing a theme of awkward situations surrounding aging players who have been at their respective clubs for long times...

Zanetti, Totti, Lampard, Gerrard, Del Piero, Raul, Inzaghi, Pirlo...

It's a good point and can be a tender issue.
Good managers will notice when someone is losing form & fitness due to their age and will have the balls to bench those players. But for fans it's different, a portion of them will go mad if their club legend is made a bench player. Moreover, good professionals will accept their new, diminished role and won't throw their toys outte pram (like Carvalho did and I guess Totti is having his issues as well). Lampard is one to watch in this regard (why not Gerrard, too), both in the NT and at their club.

bhends wrote:Im noticing a theme of awkward situations surrounding aging players who have been at their respective clubs for long times...

Zanetti, Totti, Lampard, Gerrard, Del Piero, Raul, Inzaghi, Pirlo...

RedOranje wrote:

bhends wrote:Im noticing a theme of awkward situations surrounding aging players who have been at their respective clubs for long times...

Zanetti, Totti, Lampard, Gerrard, Del Piero, Raul, Inzaghi, Pirlo...

Not sure why Gerrard's being mentioned.