Is Frank’s England career really coming to an end?
Lampard has often been the target of frustrated England fans, and has been criticised for his failure to replicate the kind of form he has shown at club level on the international stage. It has also often been argued that Lampard and Steven Gerrard cannot play together in the centre of England’s midfield, though Gerrard has generally not come under fire in the same manner as Lampard, despite having made more appearances and scored less goals than the Chelsea man at international level.
Of course goals are not everything, Gerrard has put in numerous man of the match performances for England and was undoubtedly our best player in South Africa last summer. However, it would be a mistake to suggest that he is able to replicate the kind of form that he shows at Liverpool week in week out; on three occasions Gerrard has scored more goals in a club season than he has throughout his international career, yet England fans do not demand more from their Scouser as they do from Lampard.
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Questions have been raised over Lampard’s future after a season in which he missed nearly a third of games through injury, and was able to rack up a total of just thirteen goals in all competitions, less than half of his total the season before. It is not only Lampard’s international career that is the subject of speculation, with Chelsea seemingly prioritised with locating a new central midfielder themselves, and Luka Modric top of their wish list. Whether or not there would be room for both Lampard and Modric in the Chelsea line up is certainly a contentious issue, but unless ‘super Frank’ can rediscover his form of two season ago, the 33-year-old is only going to come under further scrutiny, and is likely to find himself further down the picking order than he has been used to for most of his career.
Lampard had previously insisted that he would never voluntarily retire from the England set up, but has now suggested that for his “own benefit” and his “own career as a player”, he may be forced to follow the likes of Paul Scholes and focus solely on prolonging his career at club level for as long as possible. With the likes of Jack Wilshere and teammate Josh McEachran gradually establishing themselves at club level, Lampard has conceded his future with the national side is ultimately out of his hands. Lampard will be given his chance to prove his abilities at Chelsea, and it seems only fair that the England manager do the same. Unfortunately for Frank, it seems his England future may have already been decided thanks to media and disgruntled fans, and even consistency at Chelsea may not be enough to earn him a place in the national side for much longer. Questions over Gerrard’s England future are yet to be raised by either fans or the media – he will of course be only 34 though by the 2014 World Cup, and should probably play until the finals in Russia, if not Qatar.