“All of you forgot that John Terry scored the first goal, and had a flawless performance. For those who doubted his appointment as captain, I think you have been proven wrong.”

er… correct me if i am wrong but, this is NOT a Chelsea v Liverpool discussion is it?

I agree, john terry was again excellent. he is one of the best CB’s in the world. He will make an excellent captain for England, as would Gerrard, but I think that terry is the right choice. He is a chest thumper, He is so much more overtly jingoistic about england, and the general public love to see that. It helps the gutter press make funny little headlines that harp on about ’2 world wars and one world cup’, but i digress, i agree with you that Terry is an excellent choice for the captaincy. That is not to say that gerrard would have been a bad choice.

“If you tell me it’s because he’s out of position. Why were you saying he can play like a pro anywhere, and why did Aaron Lennon come on in the same position and put in 2 balls equal to Gerrard’s input in the whole game in about 10 minutes.”

it is a FACT that Gerrard did not just stick to the RW. He was obviously given the freedom to roam, which is why he could be found breaking up opposion attacks in defensive areas as well as supplying ‘champagne’ passes in other areas of the pitch, including the left hand side. wasn’t it gerrards work on the LEFT that created on of the goals?

“Gerrard was shit last night”

Deary deary me… I am now convinced that you have decided to slate Gerrard even if it makes you look like you haven’t got the first idea about football. I know from your previous posts that you must know a little bit about the game, so why spoil it all by coming out with nonsense like that??

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion, but it seems that…. YOU ARE IN A MINORITY.

Below are the opinions of a couple of football journalists. It doesn’t mean that they are Gospel, they are just opinion, but how come they all see Gerrard as having the better game than Lampard??

FRANK LAMPARD: Started move that led to his goal with a decisive tackle and a surging 60-yard run before converting via a deflection. Much-needed improved display. 7/10

STEVEN GERRARD: Supposedly on the right, he seemed to be everywhere in his imperious display. Revelling in his new-found role, McClaren may finally get the best out of him. 8/10

STEVEN GERRARD

STAR MAN. Much was made of Gerrard’s position on the right. But the change in formation has immediately set both Gerrard and Lampard free. The Liverpool talisman was constantly on the ball. 9

FRANK LAMPARD

THE Chelsea ace was stung by the criticism he received in the World Cup. If he’d performed like this, it would never have come. A performance full of energy plus a goal, albeit a fortunate deflected one. 7

look, if you admit that gerrard had a better game than Lampard last night, dont worry, it doesn’t make you any less of a chelsea supporter…

Gerrard had about 7 misplaced “champagne” balls in the first half, getting disposessed twice and playing one good ball into the area.

Lampard put the free-kick into the area for the first goal, made a run from the edge of his own box for the second goal (got tugged back as he accellerated past the defender which put him of balance, should have been a penalty). He was right in the zone for the 3rd goal when the ball dropped into the area, took it down and managed to get enough power on it to force a parry for Crouch to slide in and get it (good awareness by Crouchy). Lampard didn’t get disposessed once, and made 3 misplaced passes in the whole game.

If you tell me it’s because he’s out of position. Why were you saying he can play like a pro anywhere, and why did Aaron Lennon come on in the same position and put in 2 balls equal to Gerrard’s input in the whole game in about 10 minutes. Gerrard was shit last night, he gave away possession frequently. Looks like his old England form is back. For Liverpool he’s a fucking colossus, for England he’s still not doing it for me.

If you think it’s academic that he will be in the starting line up, think again.

All of you forgot that John Terry scored the first goal, and had a flawless performance. For those who doubted his appointment as captain, I think you have been proven wrong.

magicspacemonkey, football fan, normski, TrueBlue – please read this page and contact me

the rest are welcome as well.

You state Lampards play was adequate, last night was one of his better games for England but because of the scoreline people fail to identify problem areas, England could have better squad options in midfield if those in charge take this opportunity handed them (honeymoon period i think its called) to find the missing midfield link that will improve the cohesion of the midfield, Gerrard and Hargreaves look to have that cohesion Dowwning looks suited to the left and slots in well, Lampard does well enough going forward but lacks in other areas which better teams have and will continue to exploit. Lets not get carried away, we played a poor Greece side and won, this should be expected, its not something that will have opposition thinking England are any better than they were during the world cup and yes if you do watch last nights game again look out for the points made earlier you might notice them if you take your glasses off.

“Lamps owned, he moved things from side to side and drew the midfielders high up the pitch to make room for the other attacking players to bomb forward.”

Come on mate, take the rose tinted spectacles off! Lampard had a tidy game. Nothing outstanding, just competant. He missed at least one sitter. His distribution was good for the most part, but he didnt really create that much. He certainly wasn’t playing like the player you have been describing in this blog. Lampard was nothing more than adequate.

“Gerrard seems to have taken knock of confidence since losing his chance to become the captain, thought there were a few too many misplaced passes tonight.”

Gerrard on the other hand was without doubt our most creative/threatening player. If he had stayed on for the whole 90 mins there is no doubt he would have been man of the match, but owen hargreaves desreves that honour this time round.

I was happy with the formation, and the players used for each position. i would prefer gerrard in the middle and lennon on the right but, Gerrard operates extremely well on the right, especially when given license to roam. That allows us to play Frank in the middle. As long as Frank can keep linking well with the opposition defenders to score bizarre deflected goals then he should start to rediscover his form.

Roll on south africa…

2. How did Lampard manage to miss from five yards after having time to control the ball in the box after being left unmarked.

3 England were found wanting from corners last night, 3 opportunities were created by Greece, one of which was cleared off the line, with the same player guilty of losing (standing like a statue) the player he was ment to be marking, that Greek player getting on the end of each corner but really should have done better.

4. We saw crouch filling in at midfield at times to cover Lampards forward runs, Lamprd NEGATING crouches purpose in the team to provide an aerial threat in the box, he should be joining the attack, not sacrificing another forward players attacking attributes for his own thirst to get on the scoresheet.

5. Gerrard along with Hargreaves made the midfield tick last night, gerrard popped up in a number of positions providing width on the right, providing defensive cover for when neville got forward, looked for the ball in midfield to start attacks, linked well with the forwards and managed to create a few very good opportunities which really should have been put away, oh yes he even appeared on the left hand side providing a couple of quality crosses and contributing yo one of Crouches goals from that side of the pitch. Thought he linked extremely well with Hargreaves who both seem to have developed an understanding of each others game already, Downing was also a plus point at night, looked a liitle naive at times, but on a whole looks made for that right hand side.

There seems to be a common misconception that stats will paint a true picture in a dicsusion of this type, relying on stats alone (Handpicked stats) will tell us that Lampard is a better player than Gerrard, it wont tell the real impact a player has on a game and how he contributes to the all round performance of that team. Sure Lampard scored a goal last night but against better opposition he could have been at fault for conceeding 3, these are the facts stats dont provide, football as we all know is not black and white so please try and see past the blue coloured glasses, its not because Lampard is a “Blueboy” its just that most people know what Lampards game is about apart from the few who seem to think that just scoring goals makes you the best midfielder around.

I would stop using the stats to compare Gerrard and Lampard, as already explained, they are two different types of player with different roles at club and International level. The fact that Gerrard is not that far behind Lampard in the goal chart considering he has a less attacking role doesnt really suggest that Lampard is outperforming Gerrard, it merely suggests that with Gerrard’s contribution elsewhere on the pitch along with his attacking threat he is of greater value to both vlub and country, but stats are stats and they can be twisted.

Agree about Crouch, he’s proving a very good international option up front, linked well with Defoe and midfield, made himself available moved well and looked to supply ammunition for his team mates, maybe he’s getting the hang of this scorinf lark!

Congrats on making the most sensible comment I have ever heard from a Chelsea fan. “Mourinho wants to be the star.” So true! Personally I have never jumped on the whole buying the title wagon because every club spends money, some just more than others. The only problem I have is the ease at which Chelsea spends it. Surely the Chelsea fans would have to agree that the inflated market is because of the money that they are spending on players. They have made it impossible for teams to compete for players. Especially English players which is why Arsenal look abroad. Come on 10mil for Curtis Davies? Anyway it means nothing now with the season a couple of days away.

I watched the England game last night and I would like to make a couple of views as to the players on show hear.
Gerrard was the best player on the pitch. He looked very comfortable out wide and showed his class at being able to play anywhere on the pitch. Now before anyone says Lampard was prefered to him for the CM role I would like to point out that the only reason it was Gerrard moved was because Lampard only knows how to play one kind of game. Lampard also had a pretty decent game although he seriously needs to get over himself and realise there are times to shoot and times to pass. He missed a couple of sitters and if he had produced a pass at times when he shot…then who knows.

It is because of Lampard that England ONLY won 4-0. Not a critism just an observation. Ashley Cole had a great game. I hate him now but I will be sad non the less to see him go.

Neither are very compelling, which you would understand if you could read properly. I’ll spell it out carefully for you, as there were two separate points:
Point One – It is not interesting to read about “the rich getting richer” – Chelsea adding expensive, established/declining players to their already full squad.
Point Two – As an Arsenal fan, I’m used to seeing a lot of negative headlines, only to find that the article has very little to do with what was implied or that the article itself has been manipulated to truncate quotes or reanimate long-lost ones to suit the writer’s purpose. It is not as inviting for the masses to read an article with a more descriptive, accurate (and positive) headline as it is to read one with negative implications. It’s human nature.

In truth, those were the most minor points in my posts. Every big club feels persecuted. We gooners often felt unduly done by in comparison to ManU, but the Mancs will tell you that they are the press’s number one target. Care to respond about your club’s behavior perhaps having played a part?