Roy cracks Gerrard-Lampard puzzle...but is it far too late?

Roy Hodgson, in his tenure so far, as England boss has made a lot of improvements in the underachieving England team and implemented a lot of changes that his predecessors found hard to tackle; most notably, playing both of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the center of midfield. Maybe Moldova aren’t an ideal opposition and aren’t the yard stick to measure by. But going by the not-so-impressive performances of both when working together in the middle of the park, the Moldova game was incredible for the duo. But is Roy Hodgson 8 years late?

Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are club legends at Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. Both are, in some ways, mystifyingly similar; both renowned for long-range shooting, high assists tallies, high goalscoring midfielders, like to go on late runs and are both set-piece experts. The duo have been the driving force behind their clubs and are looked up to as role-models and inspiring leaders.

Neither of the two are self-centred and hold no rivalry against each other. Yet, how is it possible that two of the best central midfielders England has produced, can not play alongside each other?

Actually, they can perfectly fit in together. And would have formed a formidable partnership in the middle, to say the least, for the Three Lions. Rather than the players not cooperating, it was down to the managers. Sven Goran Eriksson, though voicing his opinion about the duo, could not fit them into a 4-5-1 during his time. It was a time when both midfielders were at the peak of their careers and raring to attack. Eriksson implemented a formation where Hargreaves sat in front of the defence, allowing both Stevie Gerrard and Frank to maraud down the field and prove their attacking prowess. Boosted by the confidence instilled in them by Eriksson, both spent a lot of their time attacking at will. There were times when Gerrard and Lampard were so far up in attack that a pacy counter by the opposition would leave a gaping hole in the centre of the park with their rearguard exposed.

‘They can both do it [play holding midfielder] but it is a question in their heads. Do they like to do it? Are they prepared to do it? We have never talked about it,’ said Sven Goran Eriksson

You should have talked about it with them, Sven.

The fact that Gerrard and Lampard were strikingly similar in their mentality was something that baffled managers. They were younger but both were equally mature and held responsibilities. After the failure of the 4-5-1, when made to play in the 4-4-2, neither of the two wanted to venture upfield for the fact that they were aware of the liabilities from their experience in playing the 4-5-1. Hence, neither went forward to do what they were best at and sat behind, moving the ball around the middle. Instead of sitting down for talks with Gerrard and Lampard, Eriksson wore out the FA’s patience with his constant formation changes and failure to reach the Euro 2008 Finals.

At the World Cup in 2010, Fabio Capello did play both Lampard and Gerrard in the same team, though they were not playing beside each other in the centre. Lampard was paired with Barry in the middle while Gerrard was made to operate on the flank. But Barry and Lampard never really formed an understanding and Gerrard playing in the flanks instead of down the centre, making those killer tackles seemed like a waste of resources. Back to the drawing board, but the clock was already ticking for Capello.

Enter Hodgson. He’s sort of revolutionized and galvanized an under-performing and under-achieving England side and injected a fresh shot of much-needed youth and energy into the team. Against Moldova, he played Gerrard and Lampard in the centre. Both had changed and gone through much since the last time they were paired in the middle. Their legs were wearing out and they saw themselves fighting for, previously assured, starting places. Lampard had been used in the holding role for most of the previous season by Chelsea and Gerrard, having previously played there, also knew what the role demanded out of him.

Against Moldova, it was nice to see one of the most talked-about-but-never-happened partnerships bear fruit. Gerrard and Lampard were both comfortable on the ball and seemed, I dare say, to be enjoying playing alongside each other. Lampard took the penalty that gave England an early lead and Gerrard played a vital role in the build up to Lampard’s 2nd goal. Lampard seemed happy to lay off the ball into Gerrard’s path for a set piece on the edge of the box – a position from which he could have taken a fair shot – while Gerrard was satisfied to hand over the captain’s armband to the Chelsea midfielder after being withdrawn for Michael Carrick.

CHISINAU, MOLDOVA – SEPTEMBER 07: Frank Lampard celebrates scoring to make it 2-0 with Steven Gerrard during the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifier match between Moldova and England at Zimbru Stadium on September 7, 2012 in Chisinau, Moldova. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

It does delight a football fan to see the two Premier League legends play together, but Gerrard is 32 and Lampard, 34. Isn’t it a bit too late, now that Roy seems to have the key to the mystery? The emergence of youngsters like Tom Cleverley, Jack Wilshere and so on might mean that Lampard may be resigned to a place on the bench for England; Gerrard – as captain – still remains indispensable asset to the England side as, with all due respect, he still has at least 2 years of more football left in him than Lampard. However, Lampard’s days aren’t all behind him. His recent form at Chelsea has proved that he can continuously prove his critics wrong. And as for Gerrard, his old, yet strong legs can still create a beautifully weighted pass for the front-man, or pray, even Lampard to finish off in one of his trademark runs. These two are still very much essential in the squad, if England are to ensure that the baton is passed onto the youngsters in time for Rio; they will be vital in sharing valuable experiences and guiding the ones still wet behind the ears.

Gerrard and Lampard may not make it to Rio 2014; but in the buildup, let’s just sit back and feast our eyes on a partnership that finally seems to be blossoming.