Is Gerrard really versatile or is it all a myth?
Liverpool fans who believe Steven Gerrard should be chosen over Frank Lampard for England often argue that their man is a more versatile player.
But when Gerrard started on the left-wing against the Czech Republic in August, Harry Redknapp, one of England’s most experienced bosses, claimed: “He has to be in the centre.” Fabio Capello obviously believed before that game that Lampard and Gareth Barry were his best options in the centre and thought he could rely on Gerrard’s fabled versatility by playing him on the left. It turned out he couldn’t.
It’s also astounding that someone supposedly so capable of adapting can’t find a way to operate in a midfield tandem with Lampard despite partnering him for over five years, while Deco developed an understanding with him minutes into his Chelsea career. The common consensus in the past was that Lampard was the one incapable of adapting, that outlook now looks questonable.
Lampard stood out as England’s star player against Kazakhstan while Gerrard was largely anonymous and as well as delivering on the pitch, the Chelsea man has since said all the right things off it by expressing a willingness to adapt for Capello. Lampard said:
“My first instinct is to get forward, but I have no problems playing like that. At Chelsea there are times when I cannot bomb on and with England the manager lets me know emphatically when he doesn’t want me to get forward.
“He did that in the second half. I don’t have a problem with that.
“I don’t need to get into the box every five minutes. I actually enjoyed the second half once we got a grip on the game playing in midfield. It’s very important that you are able to play in different positions for your country.”
So while Gerrard moaned last month about only playing in his favoured position “five times” for England, Lampard has shown hunger to play in whatever role Capello sees fit. Which attitude do you think is more likely to impress the England boss?
23 responses so far
1 Graham // Oct 13, 2008 at 11:27 am
For me Gerrard is grossly over-rated, tries to score spectacular goals from 25 yards+ and most of the time misses the target but is lauded by all Kopites as a saviour!
Sorry Kopites and anyone else who believes that, you are wrong, very wrong!
I have little time for Lampard either to be honest but at least he knows where the target is and more often than not makes the ‘keeper save his shots PLUS he does get involved throughout a game and not occasionally as Gerrard does.
Gerrard is NOT GOD and should play where he is told, if that does not suit him, fine, decline being selected and let someone else have his place!
As for Gerrard and Lampard playing together - NO WAY - they do not complement each other and only one should play, Lampard!
Rant over!
2 honest abe // Oct 13, 2008 at 12:05 pm
As a United fan I naturally hate both. But when it comes to England. The clear choice has to be based on current form, picking one over the other. Which means Lampard should partner Barry.
Which is a shame, because I’m sure im not the only one who remember’s Gerrard’s early England career when he was so good he dislodged Scholes.
3 matt // Oct 13, 2008 at 12:14 pm
very poor article AND response. as for the article everything that was said was based on the fact the lampard played well against Kazakhstan and gerrard was only ok. gerrard is versatile enough to still be good in other positions but of course wont be at his best. for the last 5 years its been generally lampard getting his favourite position and gerrard accommodating him and STILL performing better. really the article is not even worth responding to its so ill informed.
as for graham over there…. he starts of by basically sayin he doesnt really think gerrard or lampard are any good…..they are two of the best midfielders in the world. i dont know what he is talking about people saying gerrard is god for?? of course not. both are only one player. and in their positions are far superior to most players. they cant always single handedly win games. but if u actually watched football regularly you can tell when a player has quality and they both do.
finally u said gerrard just TRIES to score from 25 yards. he recently scored number 100 for liverpool. u just go look at how many were outside the box. probably more that anyone ever has in the premiership. prof footballers arent superheroes as u seem to expect they are just really good at football.
4 Impartial Observer // Oct 13, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Matt, you speak as though Saturday was a one off but Lampard has scored more goals for and was voted England player of the year in 2004 and 2005, indicating it’s not just a recent thing.
Lampard isn’t playing in his favourite position either so it’s unfair to say he is. I’m sure he like Gerrard would rather play with Barry but instead of whining and arrogantly suggesting the team should be built around him, he just works tries to make it work. And he’s trying harder and having more success.
5 Tony // Oct 13, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I think that english journalists are really hypocrits. Some mounths ago they critiquised lampard ans fans booed him,and now just beacause he played weel in one or two games they are praising him.
Lampard is good but they are really unfair to Gerrard who for me is the best english player. He played in all the positions to help the team,and he just say that he prefers to play in the center of midelfield,but if the manager tells him to play back or on the wings he ‘ll do that.
If capello drops Gerrad he ‘ll regert one day,because this only make gerrad to play better for Liverpool.He ‘ll be unhappy with that but i’m sure it will gives him more motivation.
Lampard says that we dont’ care playing back,but i didn’t see him making that so many times. So this article is very poor
6 TiTi // Oct 13, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Gerrard is with Scholes probably the most sacrifiqued english player. In the saturdays game when Barry was off it was Gerrad who makes the most defensive work,so the arguments in this article are unfounded.
It’s really unfair to critiquise a player who played anywhere for the team and always gaves his 100% for the team.
7 Impartial Observer // Oct 13, 2008 at 2:26 pm
There wasn’t that much defensive work to be done and none of it was done with any real conviction in my opinion so I don’t buy that Gerrard put on a defensive masterclass in the second-half.
You’re acting like Gerrard is a hero because he plays where the manager tells him - that’s a footballer’s job and if he doesn’t like it he can retire from international football.
After Croatia (when he missed out but came on for Liverpool a few days later), I don’t feel like we’d miss him. Barry and Hargreaves have both played better for England and would bring better balance to the team if partnering Lampard. The same would probably go for Carrick, Parker, Bullard or even Jenas.
8 TiTi // Oct 13, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Yes it’s a football job to play where the manager tells him to play,i’m not making gerrad an hero,nobody is perfect,but you are making Gerrard a vilan who is unfair to him. He lacks of form these times,but every player suffers that one day.Yes there are not that so much defensive work to do,but when Gerrad plays with Lampard he’s plays more defensivly than him,so it’s not suprising that we scores more goals. I rarely see Lampard takes a defensive role in england team.
Perhaps Gerrard should be droped ,perhaps the english team play better without him and perhaps not,you can’t make a analysis only based on one game it’s nonsense.Gerrad played well in a lot of games with england.
If Gerrad is droppedi’m sure Liverpool ‘ll take a benefice from that.
9 matt // Oct 13, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Many would ague that rooney and gerrard are englands best players. Gerrard has been an exceptional player for the last 10 years. The worst season I can think of him having would be a very good one for most players. That is why i wouldnt drop gerrard. His form for england has not been as outstanding as for liverpool, but it is certainly better than lampards. Lampard plays a good friendly and does well against a team ranked outside the top 100 and people are saying drop gerrard, its ridiculous. surely a player of his talent must be at least on the pitch if u compare he to other individual players he is a class above most on the england team and has far more credentials. im not going to argue about what englands midfield should be. also gerrards quality is more likely to come through against top opposition he has never been a deco type player who picks defenses apart when clubs play deep and just defend eg. Kazakhstan. more open or counter attacking games is when he thrives. when england play a real game, against germany or argentina who do u want to see on the pitch? wright philips, downing, carrick, hargreaves, heskey, beckham?? or steven gerrard
10 JB Jones // Oct 13, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Thank you!!! Finally, people are starting to see that it is $tevie Mbe, NOT Frank Lampard, who is the problem in England’s midfield. Lampard is one of the hardest-working and most consistent players in the Prem, and it is high time that people give him the respect he deserves! SG was worthless on Saturday, but somehow he managed to escape ridicule. By the way, he’s a fool for siding with the so-called English fans who boo the likes Lampard, Ashley Cole, and David Bentley. I wonder, will he still claim that the fans have a right to “voice their opinions” when they realize that he’s overrated and start booing him?
11 Upminster Iron // Oct 13, 2008 at 9:00 pm
matt: Your argument seems to be that Lampard only does well for England against bad teams but funnily enough the only good Gerrard game for England that I can remember in the last three or four years is the one away to Andorra under McClaren.
Yes Gerrard doesn’t have bad club seasons because his side are tailor-made to accomodate him and to suit his style of play. That can’t happen with England and unfortunately he can’t adapt and doesn’t deliver.
I’ve never been a huge Lampard fan (obviously) but you can’t argue with his club form this season and he has carried that into all three England competitive internationals this season, while Gerrard missed the first few to make sure he was fit for Liverpool and then did nothing this Saturday.
12 TiTi // Oct 14, 2008 at 11:18 am
This tread is ridiculus,the most important is the team,and if the team play well it’s what counts.They are only two players in a team,don’t put all the england failure in them.
Gerrad says that if lampard is choosen,he ‘ll accept that and will work hard to come back in the team,so give the man a rest and get more worried about the team.
13 JB Jones // Oct 14, 2008 at 12:55 pm
TiTi, this thread is not ridiculous, and I think it’s absurd for you to say so simply because we don’t agree with you.
You are right about one thing: The team is most important. The team is the 11 professional players on the pitch at any given time, and as professionals they should be able to work together to get the job done. That is precisely why I feel that Gerrard should be dropped from the England team. He obviously cannot adapt his playing style to fit the needs of the team, and in my opinion Capello has an obligation to the team to replace him with someone who is willing and able to play in whatever position best suits the team. I would say the same for any other England player who fails to do what is in the best interest of the team.
14 neutral // Oct 14, 2008 at 6:45 pm
JB Jones your far too anti gerrard for my liking. for someone not to rate and appreciate how goo gerrard is, means they don’t know much about football. this talk about him not being able to adapt? it was the season before last that he spent nearly the whole time playing right midfield! and he scored over 20 goals and had over 20 assists! doesnt sound to me like he had trouble adapting. also ive watched nearly every england game over the last 6years and i can remember gerrard getting the man of the match award more than anyone else. he has often accommodated lampard before. remember the last meeting against brazil where he played defensive midfield and kept kaka under wraps brilliantly? or that in the last world cup lampard was allowed2 get forward and gerrard stay behind. lampard didnt score all tournament while gerrard got 2 venturing forward far less. dont judge gerrard on 2 games
15 TiTi // Oct 15, 2008 at 9:08 am
.I think that both lampard and gerrard are good players,but it’s like there are too many anti gerrard in this tread, and they say that he is an over-rated player that is not fair. Everybody can have his opinion and you are free to have yours,an i’m free to have mine.
But you are judjing Gerrard in one game that ‘is nonsense. I remeber that Lamprad was as poor as gerrard in the chec republic game and he was playing in central midelfield .And just because he played well in two games it’s seems that he is better than gerrard,and suits better to the team.
Sorry but it’s not logical,if Gerrard had played badly in ten games and lamaprd played weel in ten games this tread could be logical,but the arguments are based on two games.England played well against croatia but croatia played awfully ,if croatia had played better,the result would not be the same.To say that he can’t adapt himself to england team is an exageration,because i remember him perfectly adapting himself to the england team, in a couple of games.
It’s like gerrad is the bad man ,he is not disciplined,he is not suited for the team,he is selfish,etc,etc. And it seems that lampard is a an angel,when everybody knows that he is no better than gerrard in this point.He says that he don’t care defending but in all the english games i don’t see him made that a lot of times.So if your opinion is based and good and brave man lampard and bad and selfish not suited gerrard i ll respect that.You can have your opinion,but perhaps you should wait for more games to really judge him in a more rational basis.
16 JB // Oct 15, 2008 at 9:45 am
Gerrard’s own words: “Fabio speaks with me before each game and says he wants me to emulate my Liverpool form. That’s also what I want, but it’s not happening.”
Enough said.
17 Impartial Observer // Oct 15, 2008 at 10:29 am
Yea gerrard hasnt played as well for england as he has for Liverpool where he plays as one of the best midfielders in the world. But he hasn’t even played 10 games for england in his best position. Any nation in the world would love to have gerrard in their team. By your logic excluding the last 2 games rooney AND lampard and gerrard should have been dropped of the last few years because they havent shown their club form for england. actually england have been so poor they all should have been dropped. do germany drop ballack when he is off form? no because he is one of their best players. so is gerrard JB needs to just appreciated having him and learn something about football.
Enough said.
18 TiTi // Oct 15, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Yes Jb,that proves that he reackes like an adult,and that he knows that he must to improve his form and play.Finally he is not as stupid as you think.
He you are right Gerrad was rotaly shit in the todays game,so shit that he scored a goal and make an assist to Rooney.He had a poor game on saturday,but today he played quite well.
All players have their off days,and Gerrard is not different.You can’t judge a player in one game.
19 JB // Oct 16, 2008 at 12:38 am
As I told my friends at the pub when $tevie G scored that BRILLIANT goal for England, I will eat my words.
Today he stepped up to the plate and played as well for his Country as he usually does for Club.
That is all I ask from the England players.
Humbly enjoying my pie,
JB
P.S. to TiTi, neutral, and Impartial Observer: I’ve been following England for 7+ years. I may not agree with you, but I do know my football.
C’MON ENGLAND!!!
20 Upminster Iron // Oct 16, 2008 at 8:28 am
I’d agree there was a drastic improvement and mainly due to the fact he accepted Capello was playing him on the left and focussed on excelling there rather than feeling sorry for himself that he wasn’t in the centre. Lampard did well again though so potentially Gerrard could stay left but Joe Cole and Ashley Young would feel hard done by were that the case.
21 deby // Oct 24, 2008 at 2:51 am
lampard is better than gerrard.
even i love england england, but i prefer lampard than gerard. sorry stevie…!!!
22 deby // Oct 24, 2008 at 3:02 am
i would like lampard than gerard. i love england and all the player. but, if i have to choose one, lampard is the answer for the shake one. bravo lampard..bravo chelsea!!!
23 deby // Oct 24, 2008 at 3:08 am
i love lampard..
i love ellen rives, luna and isla lampard…
i love chelsea fc…
i just wanna say i love lampard all the time…