Why it's time for Fabio to axe Lampard from the England team

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Published 23:05 07/03/10

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Fabio Capello has made some ruthless decisions recently and I now think he must also axe Frank Lampard from England’s World Cup starting line-up.

England boss Capello has already taken the captain’s armband from John Terry for his off-the-field antics.

And having watched England at Wembley last week in their friendly against Egypt, I think the time has come to drop Lampard from midfield.

I am a massive fan of Steven Gerrard, Lampard and Gareth Barry as individual players.

But it was only when Michael Carrick replaced Lampard at half-time, did England come alive last week against Egypt.

Manchester United ace Carrick came on as a deep-lying midfielder.

And his presence enabled both Barry and Gerrard to perform as the more advanced options.

Carrick is well-suited to sitting infront of the back four as he breaks up play and has good long passing.

I then saw a different Barry and Gerrard in the second half when they got forward to help turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 victory.

So for me there is a case that Gerrard and Lampard can’t play together in the middle of the pitch for England.

And now, if I was picking the team, it would be Barry and Gerrard all day long with Carrick as the defensive player.

I think left-footed Barry is wasted as a defensive midfielder as he gives England far more going forward.

His passing and crossing are good and he rarely gives the ball away.

While Gerrard is one of the world’s best attacking midfielders who creates plenty and can score.

So bearing in mind what I saw in the second half last week, unfortunately on current form Lampard would be the man to drop out.

The 31-year-old has scored 20 goals in 77 appearances for England but I wonder how many more he will get?

The other main talking point from England’s friendly was the disgraceful state of the Wembley pitch.

I was at our national stadium for two games in four days, including the Carling Cup final.

And the place is in danger of becoming a shambles as it hosts everything from pop concerts to American NFL matches.

The Wembley surface should be flawless and reserved for special occasions like the FA Cup final and internationals.

But unless something is done soon we will be having FA Cup third round ties played there at this rate.

Sadly the arena is loaning itself out in a desperate attempt to recoup cash.

But how on earth are we supposed to have our best players performing at their peak this summer if they have to practise on that surface?

It is time for the FA to relay the pitch at a cost of £1million and take the hit.

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