Analyzing Lampard

[woefulwabbit]

The often repeated mantra that Lampard and Gerrard cannot play in the same midfield was something I have never really believed, but results have been showing that they cannot work together, even in a 4-1-4-1 formation last Wednesday night which would logically be the solution to play both together.

However, there was a point of time where Lampard and Gerrard have worked well together, even in a 4-4-2 formation. When Lampard first broke into the England first team, it was in a midfield partnership with Gerrard, and he had gone on to impress in the qualifiers and finals for the Euro 2004 which sealed his place in the center midfield starting lineup.

So what happened since the Euro 2004 which saw Lampard’s drop in form? I never noticed it before, but watching Wednesday night’s match, I believe I have found the answer to the problem. And the answer is Joe Cole.

The left midfield has been a problem which England had for a long time. When Lampard broke into the first team, Paul Scholes was pushed there but did not like it there, eventually leading to his retirement after the Euro 2004. Wayne Bridge took up the position after Euro 2004 and performed admirably, but was soon out with an injury. Then up and coming Joe Cole was put in that position despite being right-footed and not a natural left-winger, with an impressive performance that quickly made him the preferred starter in that position until today.

And Joe Cole’s introduction into the first team as a left winger was exactly the time when Lampard’s performance dipped.

Lampard’s best performance comes when he is able to run into spaces just outside the penalty box. With Gerrard in the same midfield also moving up from the right channel, Lampard’s space is in the left channel. However, this is the space that Joe Cole, being rightfooted, naturally cuts into instead of hugging the left touchline. Wednesday night was a clear example of this. Many times, Lampard would receive the ball in his own midfield and push it out wide to Joe Cole. Cole with the ball would then cut into the center with Bridge overlapping on the touchline. With Gerrard moving to central area outside the box, there is no space for Lampard to move into and he stays back to cover the left midfield that has been vacated by Bridge. When the ball is being moved up from the right midfield, Joe Cole would run up front cutting into the center to support Crouch, right into the space that Lampard would normally run into, so Lampard stays back.

And this explains why Lampard seemed pretty much non-existant during most of the match. The ball simply moves around him and not involves him at all.

Lampard has scored 14 goals for England, 2 from penalties. Before Joe Cole appeared as a starter, Lampard had 7 goals for England. After then, Lampard’s scored in (2 penalties against Austria and Croatia not counted):

4-0 win over Northern Ireland (World Cup 2006 Qualifiers), Joe Cole’s first start and first goal for England, Gerrard in the center
2-1 win over Poland (World Cup 2006 Qualifiers). Lampard’s most important goal for England which earned England a place in the World Cup finals. Joe Cole was on the left, Gerrard did not play and Ledley King played defensive midfield.
6-0 win over Jamaica (Friendly) Joe Cole was on the left and Gerrard in the center
4-0 win over Greece (Friendly) Stuart Downing on the left, Owen Hargreaves defensive midfield, Gerrard on the right.
1-2 loss to Brazil (Friendly) Joe Cole on the left, Gerrard did not play, Michael Carrick in defensive midfield

With Joe Cole on the left, Lampard can only perform well when paired with a holding midfielder (or against a team like Jamaica).

What about club performances?

Joe Cole NEVER plays on the left for Chelsea where Lampard is a consistent performer. Lampard has usually been working with a left winger that stays on the touchline such as Damien Duff, Robben and more recently Malouda while Joe Cole primarily operates on the right wing.

What should the new England manager do, assuming he sees what I see? Well, besides the obvious popular choice of dropping either Lampard or Gerrard, that is. Joe Cole will have to go, possibly moving back to the right wing where he belongs at the expense of the aging Beckham and unimpressive SWP. A new proper left winger will need to come in, possibly Ashley Young, Gareth Barry or (don’t cringe) Stuart Downing.

It does seem that good experienced English left wingers are really hard to come by, and Joe Cole is still one of the more consistent performers, so England’s best option would still be to drop Lampard or Gerrard.

[Matt Clark]

There are two problems with your post: one, if we've come so full circle that we're back to "gosh, England don't have a left-sided player of note" then I'm going to have to log off, go out and buy as much beer and petrol as I can whilst these 1995 prices last.

And secondly, Joe Cole routinely plays on the left for Chelsea.

[JediMindTricks]

i think you can come to the conclusion that lampard or gerrard needs to be dropped even without the analysis of joe cole's impact.

frankly (and no pun intended), i'd like to see what lampard can do with hargreaves or barry backing him.

[Joelzinho]

Joe Cole is better then Lampard. Joe Cole is not the problem, gives England much needed creativity. What is needed is a realisitc DM, Hargreaves for example should have been partnered side by side with Gerrard.

[thebigman]

i disagree with the post but nice detective work and you madr your point well

i think lampard just doesnt have the same desire he had under a firey and quality coach like mourinho in the international set up

he still has plenty of opportunities and shots but just doesnt deliver any more......his distribution is usually awful for england as well as set peices which has nothing to do with cole

[JediMindTricks]

Joe Cole is better then Lampard. Joe Cole is not the problem, gives England much needed creativity. What is needed is a realisitc DM, Hargreaves for example should have been partnered side by side with Gerrard.

i agree. for years, the excuse was that there's no quality LM.

now england have one. joe cole's fit into the position and made it his own, and he's been the one the player that hasn't been afraid to take a defender on and spark the team with creativity and innovation.

[Joelzinho]

i agree. for years, the excuse was that there's no quality LM.

now england have one. joe cole's fit into the position and made it his own, and he's been the one the player that hasn't been afraid to take a defender on and spark the team with creativity and innovation.

Exactly, the last thing England need is to regress. The problem wasn't even Lampard I believe, but more of a tactical one. A strong standing DM should have been integrated into the team. Allowing Gerrard to move into offensive positions as he pleases.

[KumarsS]

Joe Cole is better then Lampard. Joe Cole is not the problem, gives England much needed creativity. What is needed is a realisitc DM, Hargreaves for example should have been partnered side by side with Gerrard.

Very much agreed on Cole-Lampard, except that for now I'd go with Lampard and Hargreaves or Barry over Gerrard and Hargreaves or Barry.

[FCSF]

Ive noticed Joe Cole cutting in bit to much as well at times. See some of my other posts for that...

I think Ashley Young would be great on the left and provide England with much need width and crossing from that position. I like Joe's creativity but England needs a true left winger.

I was thinking against Croatia Joe might have worked well paired w/Croutch as a forward which would have freed up the left wing spot for Ashely Young.

[el_urchinio]

You know what the problem is? The problem is that like Rooney, Lampard has hordes of defenders with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of excuses whenever he underperforms.

Gerrard is obviously a superior player. I don't think we even need to discuss this. Lampard peaked 2-3 years ago, and has failed to capture that form since. Yet, in all these discussions about what's to be done with England's midfield, he's treated as if he was Messi. Drop Gerrard. Play Gerrard out of position. Put a holding midfielder behind him. Drop Joe Cole and look for another Steve Guppy who won't get in Lampard's way. At what point do you stop and think that instead of inventing ever more complicated equations to prove that the Sun goes around the Earth, you start thinking that maybe the Earth revolves around the Sun. Because it seems like that's what's going on here. Maybe Joe Cole needs to play on the left because he's the best option England have there. And maybe SWP or Beckham should play on the right instead of Gerrard who hates playing there. And maybe Gerrard should play the position where he's among the top 5 in the world.

This lunacy reached its highpoint when Petric scored the now famous third goal and the BBC commentator had the audacity to suggest that it was Gerrard's fault for not coming back to close down. Of course! England have two central midfielders on the pitch, but it certainly couldn't have been Lampard's fault. No, by definition, of the two players, Gerrard should be the one worrying about coming back and defending. Fat Frank certainly can't be bothered to do it, and naturally, Gerrard's versatility works against him. Fat Frank can only play one position, so he can't be asked to drop back or play on the right wing. If either one of them should play out of his natural position, it's always Gerrard.

How long? How long does this go on? How long does Lampard keep underperforming before it becomes his fault, and not the fault of all those around him? And you know the real irony here? The man who so thoroughly humiliated him on Wednesday will probably take his club spot away if the rumours are true.

[comme]

You know what the problem is? The problem is that like Rooney, Lampard has hordes of defenders with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of excuses whenever he underperforms.

Gerrard is obviously a superior player.

The great problem with this is that most people like you are totally oblivious to the contradiction in this. You slate Lampard and Rooney's defenders and then try to absolve Gerrard of any responsibility.

Gerrard has been poor throughout this campaign. When Lampard was dropped to accomodate Barry and let Gerrard "play his natural game" he did nothing. Was it Lampard's fault that Gerrard missed a sitter in Russia? What were Gerrard's excuses for the game against Russia away or home to Croatia?

It seems that everyone (myself included to some extent) seeks to defend his own favourite, and then ignores their own massive failings.

The fact is that Gerrard, Rooney and Lampard have all disappointed in this campaign, along with practically every other player in the squad. By trying to shunt the blame onto both Lampard and Rooney you are ignoring the fact that Gerrard has played a major part in our failure.

[thebigman]

gerrard rooney and lamps have been mostly useless for england since 04 ish

im a lampard hater, and i used tod efend gerrard but i have no excuse for him now, hes just as bad at int level

and young isnt a left winger naturally, hes a striker, and if im not mistaken is right footed too?

[FCSF]

and young isnt a left winger naturally, hes a striker, and if im not mistaken is right footed too?

I really dont care what foot he uses. All I know is that his crosses are laser guided from the left and that hes know how to play with width and make use of space on the left wing. He did start out as a striker but Martin O'Neil is making excellent use of him on the left wing and as hes only 22 I don't see why where he started playing would be an issue.

Check him out for Villa and you'll see for yourself. Its refreshing cause you don't see a ton of talented left wingers these days...

[thebigman]

hes good i agree, but hardley laser sighted crossess

he could have a good impact internationally i guess, i really hope the next boss gives the younger players more chances

[KumarsS]

And you know the real irony here? The man who so thoroughly humiliated him on Wednesday will probably take his club spot away if the rumours are true.

Who are you referring to?

[el_urchinio]

Who are you referring to?

Modric.

[schafer]

You know what the problem is? The problem is that like Rooney, Lampard has hordes of defenders with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of excuses whenever he underperforms.

Gerrard is obviously a superior player. I don't think we even need to discuss this. Lampard peaked 2-3 years ago, and has failed to capture that form since. Yet, in all these discussions about what's to be done with England's midfield, he's treated as if he was Messi. Drop Gerrard. Play Gerrard out of position. Put a holding midfielder behind him. Drop Joe Cole and look for another Steve Guppy who won't get in Lampard's way. At what point do you stop and think that instead of inventing ever more complicated equations to prove that the Sun goes around the Earth, you start thinking that maybe the Earth revolves around the Sun. Because it seems like that's what's going on here. Maybe Joe Cole needs to play on the left because he's the best option England have there. And maybe SWP or Beckham should play on the right instead of Gerrard who hates playing there. And maybe Gerrard should play the position where he's among the top 5 in the world.
.

Without wanting to turn this into another Lampard v. Gerrard debate, the idea that Lampard has been free from criticism, or even criticized less than Gerrard is way off, IMO. Lamps has been booed for awhile, was actually dropped in favour of Barry and in the opinion of quite a few fans on this forum, should be seen as Gerrard's back up. Whatever your opinions on that, I don't think you can honestly claim that Gerrard has been singled out more than Lampard. And as comme said, most of the players were guilty of a poor campaign.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

The mistake you made was believing that Lampard's overall performances have suddenly declined because of Joe Cole. Lampard has always played in a similar way for England in that he contributed little overall other than shooting but thanks to that he would normally score to compensate for everything else. The obvious problem being that when he does not score then he is invisible. Currently he is not getting into the same shooting positions and therefore not scoring but it is not the fault of Cole or even Lampard. It has more to do with Gerrard suddenly declining which leaves England with a weak central midfield that is almost always on the back foot. Therefore both players struggle to do anything of note. The one thing you are correct about is that Cole cutting inside does cause problems but those are for the left-back and Rooney. The former because he is often left exposed on the break and the latter because Cole simply adds to the mass of players trying to play in Rooney's area of the pitch. Consider England's usual 'best XI' and you will find that you have Lampard, Gerrard, Cole and Rooney who all like to operate in roughly the same area of the pitch offensively. When Crouch plays and is not used as a target man (instead dropping back to get the ball at feet) then that leaves 5 players getting in each others way. Add to that the shocking movement and passing that we can usually expect from England and there is little wonder that the team (and their best players) often struggle.

[fernb8]

The mistake you made was believing that Lampard's overall performances have suddenly declined because of Joe Cole. Lampard has always played in a similar way for England in that he contributed little overall other than shooting but thanks to that he would normally score to compensate for everything else. The obvious problem being that when he does not score then he is invisible. Currently he is not getting into the same shooting positions and therefore not scoring but it is not the fault of Cole or even Lampard. It has more to do with Gerrard suddenly declining which leaves England with a weak central midfield that is almost always on the back foot. Therefore both players struggle to do anything of note. The one thing you are correct about is that Cole cutting inside does cause problems but those are for the left-back and Rooney. The former because he is often left exposed on the break and the latter because Cole simply adds to the mass of players trying to play in Rooney's area of the pitch. Consider England's usual 'best XI' and you will find that you have Lampard, Gerrard, Cole and Rooney who all like to operate in roughly the same area of the pitch offensively. When Crouch plays and is not used as a target man (instead dropping back to get the ball at feet) then that leaves 5 players getting in each others way. Add to that the shocking movement and passing that we can usually expect from England and there is little wonder that the team (and their best players) often struggle.

correct as always- Rooney struggles because of Cole...

(rolls eyes repeatedly)

[thebigman]

The mistake you made was believing that Lampard's overall performances have suddenly declined because of Joe Cole. Lampard has always played in a similar way for England in that he contributed little overall other than shooting but thanks to that he would normally score to compensate for everything else. The obvious problem being that when he does not score then he is invisible. Currently he is not getting into the same shooting positions and therefore not scoring but it is not the fault of Cole or even Lampard. It has more to do with Gerrard suddenly declining which leaves England with a weak central midfield that is almost always on the back foot. Therefore both players struggle to do anything of note. The one thing you are correct about is that Cole cutting inside does cause problems but those are for the left-back and Rooney. The former because he is often left exposed on the break and the latter because Cole simply adds to the mass of players trying to play in Rooney's area of the pitch. Consider England's usual 'best XI' and you will find that you have Lampard, Gerrard, Cole and Rooney who all like to operate in roughly the same area of the pitch offensively. When Crouch plays and is not used as a target man (instead dropping back to get the ball at feet) then that leaves 5 players getting in each others way. Add to that the shocking movement and passing that we can usually expect from England and there is little wonder that the team (and their best players) often struggle.

this is why id move rooney deeper and play 2 strikers ahead of him who naturally stay up top so rooney can do the running in the space between the strikers and midfield

like you said before and me too, you have to accomodate your best players and their practices on the pitch rather than 4 or 5 who all play in the space rooney uses better