World Cup qual. - Parker: Capello's midfield blunder

Eurosport - Fri, 10 Oct 13:37:00 2008

Former England defender Paul Parker does not think Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard should both play Saturday's World Cup qualifier.

2007 England Frank Lampard Steven Gerrard another fine mess - 0

"It is depressing to hear that Fabio Capello is probably going to play both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in central midfield against Kazakhstan.

As far as I'm concerned, it has to be one or the other. They have played together so many times and it just hasn't happened.

Playing well for your club doesn't mean you will play well for your country, and they just can't seem to get the best out of each other.

It seems that successive England managers simply haven't been able to resist the lure of picking the big-name midfielders; Gerrard, Lampard and David Beckham.

Capello's side played so well in Croatia without the injured Gerrard - why would you drop Gareth Barry, who gives the England midfield so much more balance?

I think the best thing for players' and fans' confidence is to stick with what has worked well rather than tinkering and putting yourself under pressure.

Players like it when the team is settled - more so if they are in the team, obviously! - and they can play a few matches in the same system.

Continuity is a tremendous asset, and when the team are coming off a great performance the manager can afford to keep faith with his players.

I am a huge fan of Gerrard and would normally favour him ahead of Lampard, but on the back of the Croatia result the best thing would be to leave him on the bench.

As I said, it should always be Gerrard or Lampard, not Gerrard and Lampard.

What kind of a message does it send to Barry if he plays brilliantly and then immediately gets axed? It will dishearten him and make him think he can never establish himself.

I would also keep Theo Walcott in after his hat-trick in Zagreb. It is important not to put too much pressure on him, but he is so quick and is one of the few England players that can get in behind defenders.

I don't see Michael Owen's absence as a big factor. He can still contribute and might have been worth a place on the bench, but he doesn't have the electric pace of old.

Compare the work rate and all-around contribution of Emile Heskey with Owen - there's no contest. And with Peter Crouch back in the squad we have a good option in reserve who offers something different.

Heskey has a remarkable ability to help his strike partner flourish - Wayne Rooney looked better against Croatia than he has for years in an England shirt.

I don't think it's any coincidence that he was playing in a front two alongside Heskey.

We might not know much about Kazakhstan, but they will be no pushovers.

They conceded a respectable 21 goals from 14 games in Euro 2008, so we shouldn't expect them to be a San Marino.

They will sit back and make England beat them, and will be delighted to take a 0-0 draw home.

Nevertheless, I think that if England, with their new-found confidence, can make an early breakthrough, they should win comfortably.

My prediction is a 3-0 win at Wembley, with Capello's side able to travel to Belarus in good heart."

Paul Parker was talking to Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 26 - 45 of 85

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  1. I agree,Parker is right,
    Gerard should be in.... Lampard-too inconsistent,and bottles it under pressure!!
    Let me just go and take a dump(bad case of the old diaohrrea) and ill come back and tell you football ignoramus's whats' what.
    Capiche?!
    Vivre le futbollix

    From , on Fri 10 Oct 11:50AM

  2. Too many egos on that team. Would love to see them gel but its unlikely in a multi million pound squad.

    From fatbenny86, on Fri 10 Oct 11:46AM

  3. doubt it!

    From doubt.it.man, on Fri 10 Oct 11:45AM

  4. when england face major soccer nations like brazil,argentina or germany without atleast two of these players on the pitch ( Beckham,Gerrard & Lampard),they will be mean! Barry isnt in gerrard nor lampard's class,he can only be back-up for any of them.

    From mac81cm, on Fri 10 Oct 11:41AM

  5. Gerrard & Lampard havent been that compatible in recent yrs but it's never too late for them to be.Capello will obviously know how to merge them together,Paul...please,trust Mr Capello's selection .Imagine England's position in Fifa ranking,14th, Cameroon two places infront of England! If we trust what the Don is doin', I think it would obviously bare fruits.

    From mac81cm, on Fri 10 Oct 11:37AM

  6. Gerrard is in a different league to Lampard,Lampard is moody,slow & keeps looking at the sky.But Gerrard can win a game any time but he walks like a penguin

    From markweston2001, on Fri 10 Oct 11:28AM

  7. To those who say won't win this game 6 0 as we should, well the game hasn't been played yet has it? To those who say it's the wrong team being picked, the team hasn't been picked yet, has it? If he does pick what you say is the wrong team the game hasn't been played yet so what you think is the wrong team may prove to be the right team if England win 6 0.

    England have played well the last two games, so wait and see. I think if we actually went on to win the world cup, instead of celebrating you lot would be screaming we could have it won even better if they didn't play both Gerrard and Lampard in the same team. What a laugh, wait till after the game

    From POTTER, on Fri 10 Oct 11:26AM

  8. That meant to be 5-1-3-1

    From United, kids, wife, on Fri 10 Oct 11:25AM

  9. benak77 u must be a FC Twente supporter

    From Harry, on Fri 10 Oct 11:23AM

  10. Why should we always assume a 4-4-2 formation, I think against such opposition, and at home, we should be positive and adopt a 3-5-2 formation that would allow Gerrard and Lampard in the midfield with Barry in his holding role, Heskey left, Wallcott right and Rooney and Crouch up front. Lets go for the jugular for heavens sake and not be so negative...."Meat pie, sausage roll, come on England give us a goal, ooohhhh, we gorra corner". I'll get me coat.

    From dmconnell1970, on Fri 10 Oct 11:21AM

  11. What about that?
    James

    Johnson Ferdinand Bridge

    Barry
    Brown A.Cole
    SWP Gerrard Rooney

    Heskey

    ???

    From United, kids, wife, on Fri 10 Oct 11:20AM

  12. I agree with everyone - SHUT UP PARKER u r @#$%

    From Harry, on Fri 10 Oct 11:18AM

  13. they all tok kuma na the the things way they worry them

    From oti, on Fri 10 Oct 11:18AM

  14. they all tok kuma na the the things way they worry them

    From oti, on Fri 10 Oct 11:18AM

  15. they all tok kuma na the the things way they worry them

    From oti, on Fri 10 Oct 11:18AM

  16. Don't forget also that Lampard spends most of his Premiership games playing alongside Michael Ballack, another midfielder who spends most of his time driving forward, and they rarely have any problems playing alongside each other!! Any manager with half an ounce of nouse would get Gerrard and Lampard to play alongside each other with no trouble, it's just that our last two England managers have been retarded when it came to being tactically aware.

    From melaniepoynton@..., on Fri 10 Oct 11:16AM

  17. Heskey makes other strikers look good because he is sh#t fact. Actually he is really good at what he does, he is a big bulking bully boy who will win everything and anything thrown at him. Lets just play the same team that beat croatia plz. Continuity is good.

    From Billy, on Fri 10 Oct 11:11AM

  18. lampard and gerrard cant play together because of lamprds massive ego to me hes just a mediocre player and doesnt like it when hes not the centre of attention as gerrard is a ten times better player than lampard fatty frank dont like being overshadowed and goes into his sulk mode also i dont rate garreth barry either the crab hes another ray wilkins only not as good

    From ALAN A, on Fri 10 Oct 11:09AM

  19. I still don't understand why parker is made to comment or analyze on this page. @ chelsea, they said lampard cannot play with ballack. Yet they formed a a strong partnership after, though it took a while. Now even with deco, they formed a fearsome threesome. To me, lampard & gerrard don't have similar playing style. While gerrard is more direct, lampard sprays passes. The only similarity is both are on the move. And that is plus for any midfield. It is the onus of the manager to blend them. It is lazy reasoning to say 2 players cannot play together, period.

    From bosun_dele, on Fri 10 Oct 11:03AM

  20. Parker conveniently forgets to mention that the previous two England managers have been tatically inept anyway, so it's hardly surprising that our two best midfielders have spent most of their time treading on each other's toes...If anyone is capable of solving this particular conundrum it's Cappello. One thing's for certain, if he can't make it work he won't hesitate to leave one of them on the bench, he certainly doesn't play favourites.

    From melaniepoynton@..., on Fri 10 Oct 10:59AM
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