Lampard pulling out of England duty could prove costly

• zocoss

  9 Sep 10, 11:27

  Sorry Frank, you've lost centre stage: Adam Johnson and James Milner push Lampard to the periphery
  

   

  

  Out of the picture? Frank Lampard faces a fight to regain his England place

   

   

  When Frank Lampard returns to the England fold for the match against Montenegro at Wembley next month, he is likely to find some unfamiliar figures blocking his way to the pitch.

  Not just Steven Gerrard, whose form in Lampard’s central role alongside Gareth Barry in the last two games has been outstanding, but younger men, too. There will
  be no easy route into the team for Lampard, barring injury.

  This will be joyous news to some. Lampard has been a symbol of derision for an unthinking element since the World Cup in 2006. They ignore his status as the most influential midfield player in the Premier League — he scores and creates more goals from the position than any player in the country — and focus on errant nonsense, such as jibes about his weight. 

  If England have a bad game, it is always because Lampard and Gerrard cannot play
  together, even if they are in different areas of the field. Lampard has done nothing to merit being dropped by England, except being out of the team when phase two of Fabio Capello’s game-plan has come together.

  His return is an issue because it would necessitate shifting Gerrard back to the left,
  therefore stifling the progress of James Milner and Adam Johnson, two of the players
  who have given England fresh impetus after the disappointment of the World Cup.

   

   

  

  Making the grade: James Milner has given England a new lease of life

   

  

  Not so much as a hair out of place: With two goals in two games, Adam Johnson has adapted to the rigours of international football remarkably

   

   

   

  Milner will be suspended against Montenegro, but coming on for Theo Walcott after 11 minutes against Switzerland, his Manchester City team-mate Johnson showed the way forward for Capello, in the short term at least.

  Over time, Milner may come to occupy the left midfield role regularly and Johnson might battle it out with Walcott on the right, but unless injury messes with Capello’s
  plans, simply switching the City pair seems the most obvious tactic, given the need to put the dark horse Montenegrins to the sword. 

  The rise of Milner and Johnson has done most to shake up Capello’s thinking since
  the World Cup and bring a premature end to Lampard’s status as an England regular.
  By solving the conundrum on the left, they have returned Gerrard to the centre, probably for good. This squeezes Lampard from his familiar berth beside Barry.

  It is hard on Lampard, but Gerrard’s form makes him irresistible in the role and, while doubts remain about Barry as a defensive midfield player against top-class opposition, there is nothing in this qualifying group that he should not be able to handle. Euro 2012 itself is another matter; Jack Rodwell of Everton needs his chance, once his fitness is restored.

   

   

  

  Double act: Xabi Alonso (left) and Segio Busquets (right) keep Cesc Fabregas out of Spain's side

   

  International football is about finding a balance, and there will always be undeserving casualties. Spain find room for Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets ahead of Cesc Fabregas, not because they are better midfield players but because the system works.

  Considering the dismal displays in South Africa, Capello’s England have performed better than anyone can have expected in the first two competitive games of this campaign.

  Walcott, Milner and Johnson, the young players on the flanks, have been integral to the transformation. Lampard picked the wrong time to have hernia surgery.

  It is a myth Gerrard could not perform from a left-sided starting position for England. He has been just as influential from there as he was against Bulgaria and Switzerland, but using him in that role has always been a matter of compromise and necessity.

  Lampard could not start on the flank, using Wayne Rooney there would have hindered his partnership with Emile Heskey and now Jermain Defoe, while Walcott needed to find his feet as a right winger first.

  So Gerrard turned in what he came to call the graveyard shift. It should never have been a hot-button issue, as plenty of match-winning players operate from there, not
  least Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho, but no matter.

   

  

  Middle man: With the added responsibilty of captaincy, Steven Gerrard has flourished in a central role

   

   

  Gerrard is no longer required there because Capello can choose Milner or Johnson. With Gerrard returning to the centre, it becomes a straight battle between three players for two positions.

  Gerrard and Barry would appear a better fit in that role than Gerrard and Lampard. The problem is that none of the three is a conventional holding player. That is the next riddle for Capello to solve, at which moment Lampard and Barry may be reunited; but
  this time, on the bench. 

• zocoss

  9 Sep 10, 12:38

  Lampard and Terry will not walk back into England team, warns Capello

   

  

  Out of the picture: Fabio Capello will stand down as England manager in two years

  
  
  

   

   

  Fabio Capello last night warned John Terry and Frank Lampard they cannot expect to walk back into his England team.

  The rejuvenated Capello spoke of a "new atmosphere" in his squad after the back-to-back wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland that put them in command of Euro 2012 Group G.

  Capello even refused to confirm inspirational stand-in skipper Steven Gerrard will automatically hand the captain's armband back to Rio Ferdinand, although the Liverpol midfielder himself expects his seven-match reign is over.

  But the Italian's clear statement that Gerrard will continue in his preferred central role, rather than shifting back to the left, and his praise for the contribution of Phil Jagielka, were a message that may concern the missing Chelsea pair.

  Capello, who reiterated his intention to quit at the end of the European Championship campaign, said: "For a long time Steven Gerrard has played for Liverpool as a second forward but this year he is playing as a midfielder.

  "In this position Steven is playing fantastic. He is strong in every moment and always good. He wins back the ball and then when he does, his passes are really important passes.

  "I also do have central defensive options. Jagielka is good, Rio is good, Joleon Lescott played very well.

  "John Terry is another important player. Lescott played before he was injured. Jagielka was the same.

  "It is good for me to know more players and about the confidence of the players. They played very well in both games."

  James Milner will miss next month's game with unexpected group rivals Montenegro through suspension but Capello's insistence that Gerrard will remain in the middle, and the acceptance that utilising him alongside Lampard as the central axis, does not work suggests Adam Johnson is likely to start on the left after his second successive scoring appearance from the left.

  That would leave Lampard on the bench, with Terry possibly alongside him after Capello described Jagielka as "the driver of the back four".

  What is evident, too, is that Capello is opting for change in his squad, although by evolution rather than revolution.

  The England boss added: "It is important that we created a new group with a winning mentality.

  "I understood immediately when these players trained together what they could do. It is a new atmosphere.

  "It is a new atmosphere because when we finished after the Germany game the atmosphere was not so good.

  These players did very well. They won two games and scored seven goals. Also, they created a lot of chances. This is a nice group but the door is open for all the players.

  "Next time I have to decide. I have always said the door is open for all the players. I have to decide who will come in, after that I will decide who is in the first eleven."

  Gerrard is a certainty to be in that side but having insisted last month that the armband was only on loan to the Liverpool man pending Ferdinand's return, Capello was decidedly more equivocal.

  He said: "The captaincy is another question. For me the performance of the player is important, not the armband.

  "It is not a priority for me. What is the priority is the players, the performance, the next game. We have six points. Now we have to play Montenegro, who also have six points. The armband is not important."