Quote:
Originally Posted by phelan
Jon - I'm curious what you think of your midfield situation now. Lampard at crossroads? Lampard out? Or is it all media hype, and we'll see him in the team soon?
It seems like AvB is being very cordial, but cautious of the media when they ask about Frank. And...well, honestly, the midfield is rubbish when Lampard is playing right now. His lack of pace is absolutely ruinous when Mata and Torres are trying to link up.
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I don't know really. Its hard for me to say that he should be left out of first team play, but at the same time you're right, he's a bit slower than the rest of the midfield. I think AVB will find a way to use him, and I think he may end up playing in more of a holding midfield/deep playmaker role. Players who can launch attacks from deep, like Andrea Pirlo or your Alex Song can be crucial to a teams success. Even Schweinsteiger, who models his play after Lamps, has been used deeper in the heart of Bayern than of previous seasons, where he was almost used as a winger.
I think they can still play a 4-3-3, but you could position Lamps like:
-------------- Cech -----------------
Ivanovic/Bosingwa --Luiz -- Terry -- Cole
------------- Lampard ---------------
Meireles ---------------------- Ramires
Mata/Anelka ---Torres/Drogz -----Sturridge/Malouda
So he's not exactly part of the midfield attack, but can link defense to attack, and break down the opposition. I think he could do well playing deeper, but who knows. We'll see what formation and starting 11 are called on tonight.