Lampards sticks his knife in

[davieG]

Begs the question what was the new England Manager doing whilst this was happening?

If he was serioulsy involved why didn't he do something, if he was a bit part player why was his involvement seen as so telling in his appointment?

England star Frank Lampard has delivered a damning verdict on Sven Goran Eriksson's tenure after questioning both the training methods implemented by the Swede and also his decision not to take Jermain Defoe to the World Cup.

A World Cup challenge that never rose above a level of mediocrity in Germany saw Eriksson end his tenure in indistinguished fashion and, while previously he has always enjoyed the support of his senior players, Lampard has now spoken out.

The Chelsea workhorse, who endured a tournament best forgot, feels that England's preparations were not what they should have been and that the players involved should have been pushed harder in their pre-tournament preparations.

''My legs were really heavy,'' revealed Lampard in his autobiography, serialised in the News of the World.

''It's one thing running but football needs a different kind of fitness.

''And there were days when I became frustrated - I know what I need to do to be sharp - because the manager gave us days off when I'd rather have been training.

''The day before we were due to return from Portugal we were due to take the day off so Rio Ferdinand and I did some work on our own.

''Though I was told I was the fittest player in the squad when we were in Portugal, I knew I was a bit short of my optimum level.

''Sometimes a manager needs to trust his players to know what they need. In retrospect maybe I should have been more forceful.''

Another bone of contention with regards England's failed challenge was the inclusion of just four strikers, with two of those - Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney - still in the process of recovering from serious injuries and another, Theo Walcott, entirely untested at the highest level having yet to even make his Premiership bow.

Calls for the inclusion of Defoe, or alternatively Darren Bent fell on deaf ears and this is another folly Lampard believes Eriksson committed.

"Questions had been asked about why we didn't have five strikers in the squad when two of our forwards went into the tournament trying to recover fitness,'' he added.

"Personally, I'd have included Jermain as well. I played with him at West Ham and he is a natural goalscorer.

"In terms of the line-ups for each match, I don't think they would have been affected.

"I'd have preferred some insurance though, and it would have given us more options. In that respect I would have taken Defoe."

[Jay]

it seems to me that most England players need to take a long hard look at themselves instead of taking the easy option and blaming Sven!!

once they cross that line it's all down to the players and to see that Frank Lampard has said he would like to be captain of England when in reality he should count himself lucky if he gets in the starting line up after the way he performed in Germany sums them up to me

[wooo]

i thought we shud ov droped him in the world cup because he was producing nuthing in the games

[davieG]

i thought we shud ov droped him in the world cup because he was producing nuthing in the games

Can we have that in English please?

[Ultra]

it seems to me that most England players need to take a long hard look at themselves instead of taking the easy option and blaming Sven!!

once they cross that line it's all down to the players and to see that Frank Lampard has said he would like to be captain of England when in reality he should count himself lucky if he gets in the starting line up after the way he performed in Germany sums them up to me

Absolutely.

All these England players who have brought books out in the aftermath of the World Cup should be giving the proceeds to charity.

As a team they brought no glory on us at all.

[TrickyTrev]

Frank Lampard is an arrogant ****. WHen reporters asked him about his form at the world cup he asked for "some respect." Respect in his eyes is obviously everyone telling him that he's great and incapable of playing badly.

How a player of such limited ability got voted 2nd best player in the world I will never know. He's Chelsea's 4th best central midfielder for christ sake!

[Thracian]

I was staggered at how ineffective Lampard was and would certainly have left him out as well as trying to find out why he was playing so ineffectively.

But some people in the England team seem safe whatever they do. The set-up needs a MON type but it isn't going to get one.

[Daggers]

So, according to Lamps, he knows how to train to get the best performance from himself? He thought it silly to take days off for R&R did he?

If he deserves any respect then it would have been to stand up for what he believes in, in a polite manner, and have explained it all to Sven...not to some serialised-article journo ghost writer.

His comments to the Sun count for nothing. A player should do his talking on the pitch ... and Big Frank kept his mouth firmly shut during this summers debacle. <_<

I have less respect for him than I have for Svennis.

Oh, that's not very much

[Janx]

Frank Lampard is an arrogant ****. WHen reporters asked him about his form at the world cup he asked for "some respect." Respect in his eyes is obviously everyone telling him that he's great and incapable of playing badly.

How a player of such limited ability got voted 2nd best player in the world I will never know. He's Chelsea's 4th best central midfielder for christ sake!

MY fantasy team last year will tell a different tale old chap

[Hullfox]

The biggest failure in an England shirt in the World Cup and somehow it's Sven's fault for not training him hard enough.

Had they trained any harder, that would have been to blame.

Face up to it Lampard, you were shit and you were to blame. Let's see what sort of player/man you really are and how you come out the back of this.