100 England Caps For Frank Lampard - A Look At The Chelsea Midfielder's International Career

An effective midfielder is said to be one who can tackle, pass and score goals.  Although England have not had too many in recent years, they do have one who is about to receive his 100^th cap. 

Click to read more ...

Will Gerrard Be Included In The England World Cup Squad?

With a poor performance against Scotland the other night from Steven Gerrard, it got me wondering - can we (England) afford to drop our captain for another player, and if so, is there anyone able to replace him with?

Click to read more ...

Should Chelsea be excited with Jose Mourinho's return?

After his departure in September 2007, Chelsea have been indifferent.

Click to read more ...

Lacklustre performances only highlight England's dried up talent pool

Much criticism was directed towards Roy Hodgson following an unquestionably poor display against Ireland last Tuesday night, yet in truth this was just another glaring example of how empty the stocks currently are in regards to picking an England squad.

Click to read more ...

Have Torres and Ba done enough to lead Chelsea’s brave new world?

The transfer fees of Chelsea’s two leading strikers have had endless column inches written about them. The £50m paid for Fernando Torres has long been seen as one of the great swindles in living memory, while the reported £7m for Demba Ba is a deal relatively in-keeping with the austerity of the real world. Will either be at Stamford Bridge a year from now?

Click to read more ...

Thomas Muller: A closer look at Bayern's composer (Video)

Think back, if you can bear it, to the 2010 World Cup and that game against the Germans. 

Click to read more ...

Did the golden generation fulfill their potential?

One annoyingly loveable question surrounding English international campaigns in the Noughties was when were the country’s alleged world-class players going to add up to the sum of their parts? The question must be asked – was too much expected of them or was the problem ineffective management? A look at the individual club records of each would suggest the latter to be true, but can there ever be a decisive answer, as David Beckham, Golden Balls himself, announces his retirement?

Click to read more ...

Discuss: Are modern advances stunting our national team's growth?

 

England coach Gary Neville recently joined national manager Roy Hodgson in bemoaning the fact that young English players aren’t getting the chance to make their breakthrough into Premier League teams.

Both were specific in blaming the influx of foreign players for

Click to read more ...

'Arry tells 'em how it is - A look back at what Redknapp thought of a young Frank Lampard (Video)

West Ham have developed some of England's finest players over the past 15 years or so and you can argue that Frank Lampard is the best of that brilliant bunch from the Irons academy.

Click to read more ...

AVB's rehab at The Lane.

Andre Villas-Boas’ reputation as Europe’s hottest young coach took quite a battering at Chelsea, lasting the increasingly standard nine months at Stamford Bridge. As Tottenham’s weekend 3-1 win over Man City confirmed, that protege status was indeed no joke.

Click to read more ...

Spirited to Sophisticated

English players have been criticised in recent history for lacking in creativity. As a football nation, being ‘Spirited’ seems to be our greatest achievement.

Click to read more ...

New to the job - a manager's perspective

Nigel Adkins has recently been appointed as manager of Reading and his sole task is to help the club avoid relegation from the Premiership. How then does a new manager actually approach the daunting task of trying to rapidly improve the fortunes of a club, and lead them into a position where both the fans and the players are content?

Click to read more ...

The minnows of the world.

England put eight goals past San Marino during last week’s World Cup qualification match in Group H. To say that the result was a foregone conclusion is an understatement; we needed to know how many Roy Hodgson's men would score, not whether they would be victorious. Ranked in joint 207th place, alongside Bhutan and Turks & Caicos Islands, San Marino are right at the very bottom of FIFA's list and look like staying there for some time. Should teams such as this continue to participate in qualification group stages and what, if any, benefit are they gaining from doing so?

Click to read more ...

5 of Frank Lampard's greatest Chelsea goals (videos)

'Super' Frank Lampard - One of the most accomplished English midfielders of his generation. The former West Ham man went down in Chelsea folklore when he nodded in his 200th goals for the Blues in this weekend's game against the Hammers.

Click to read more ...

Which players are Chelsea after?

After reports on Tuesday suggested that Chelsea have offered midfielder Frank Lampard a new contract, rumours Ron Gourlay confirmed, the Blues chief executive also hinted a “two or three new players” arriving once the transfer rumour reopens at the end of the season.

Click to read more ...