Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard disappoint

By Clive Tyldesley

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Like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can't seem to hit it off. Can't or won't. Unmatched individuals, mis-matched team-mates.

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However Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren tried to dress them up in England colours, they always looked like brown shoes with black trousers. They just didn't go.

	Midfield muddle: Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in action

Yesterday, the two No 8s captained their club sides at Stamford Bridge. Each has been central to the success that Liverpool and Chelsea have enjoyed in recent years. Inspirational institutions both. Rarely rested, often called upon to rally or rescue their teams. Lampard, making his first appearance since Boxing Day, stretched his legs for 70 minutes, Gerrard scampered around for the full distance. Neither managed to emerge from the crowded midfield muddle.

Fabio Capello watched and wondered if he could solve the greatest mystery of the English international scene. Perhaps, Gerrard and Lampard shared a power drink in the players' bar because the solution to the puzzle may lie with them rather than the new manager. In the end, McClaren decided he had to choose between 'Stevie G' and 'Lamps'. Gareth Barry split the partnership and immediately formed a going concern with Gerrard. Balance was restored. Left-footer and right-footer, passer and runner, Indian and chief.

Lampard was not available to Capello last Wednesday against Switzerland, and Jermaine Jenas came in to further complicate the picture. Will Capello arrange a reunion in the Paris springtime next month? Is the marriage of Gerrard and Lampard worth another try, or is it beyond saving? The font of all wisdom that is Joey Barton suggested they needed a ball each when they played for England.

The tantalising thing is that none other a tactical wizard than Jose Mourinho wanted to bring them together at club level. As Rafa Benitez arrived at Liverpool in 2004, Chelsea were offering to double Gerrard's wages. The following summer, in the wake of his Champions League final heroics in Istanbul, Gerrard reached breaking point with Liverpool over a new contract, and a £32 million move to Stamford Bridge was in the offing until a sudden change of heart.

Lampard's Chelsea future has filled the transfer gossip columns on occasions too. Every time Real Madrid or Barcelona boast a player that may appeal to Roman Abramovich's quest for a Chelsea superstar, Lampard is floated as a potential bargaining tool.

Last season, Mourinho tried to integrate Michael Ballack into a midfield with Lampard. It remains a work in progress. Avram Grant wrote their names on the same team-sheet for the first time this season yesterday, but neither got a clear sight of goal until the German's wayward volley in the closing moments. Lampard filled the same left of centre role, just behind Joe Cole, that Gerrard fulfilled in Capello's 4-5-1 at Wembley.

The two skippers occupied the same territory for a while with Gerrard lining up on the right of a Liverpool 4-4-2, but he soon began to wander off into the centre of the action with Dirk Kuyt pulling wider. For once, Gerrard did not make the most of his licence to roam, squandering possession too often.

Benitez feels that his captain's heart sometimes rules his head and rewrites the manager's masterplan. Capello does not look like a man who will tolerate much ad libbing with his script.

But if the shape of the England team against Switzerland is the shape of things to come then there are still vacancies for both Gerrard and Lampard. Capello's slate is clean, but England's support may take some convincing. Last June, Lampard became the latest boo-boy of the more disenchanted among them.

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If a lone front man is the way forward for Capello, the England manager will be looking for midfield players who can run beyond his forward and score goals. During the last four years, Gerrard has scored 68 Liverpool goals and Lampard 76 for Chelsea. They are both rich in Champions League

as well as international tournament experience. It should not be beyond them to work something out together. The alternative is for one of them to get used to a view of the back of Capello's head.

www.telegraph.co.uk/tyldesley

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Mourinho also bought Ashley Cole when he already had Wayne Bridge. I think the interest in Gerrard was to replace the inferior Lampard
Posted by Andrew on February 11, 2008 4:07 AM
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