Post by caspday on Sept 12, 2012 1:03:29 GMT -5
It was a weekend of change in the centralGiants Jerseys midfield zones of many zyhaa912 major European nations. For Holland, gone are the days of Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong – it's now Jordy Clasie and Kevin Strootman. Spain gave a first competitive start to Be?at Etxebarria, France to Rio Mavuba.In fairness, Roy Hodgson did use Tom Cleverley in an advanced midfield role – the Cesc Fábregas position, as he put it – but behind the Manchester United player was that old, tried and troublesome partnership of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Can it work this time around?
Gerrard and Lampard's failure to form Official Giants Jerseysa reliable partnership at international level can partly be attributed to their positional evolution for their clubs. The first time they appeared together for England, more than 10 years ago, it made sense. Gerrard had established himself as a tough-tackling, energetic defensive midfielder in the national side; his partnership with Paul Scholes, at its peak in the 5-1 win in Germany, worked because Scholes was an attacking central midfielder who popped up in dangerous positions on the edge of the box while Gerrard provided the mobility, tenacity and tackling ability alongside.
Lampard was yet to prove himself at Eli Manning Jerseysinternational level but had enjoyed a solid first season at Chelsea. He partnered Emmanuel Petit in a 4-4-2 and, although the Frenchman's discipline gave Lampard freedom to attack, he was an all-round box-to-box midfielder rather than an outright offensive threat.In subsequent years, the two made significant strides – both in terms of ability and positioning. Gradually, both reached their peak at the head of a midfield triangle – Lampard in José Mourinho's 4-3-3, where his primary function was to break forward and provide goals from midfield.
Gerrard took longer to find his true positionVictor Cruz Jerseys at Liverpool but he also thrived with a holding midfielder and a passer behind him, so he could focus on linking up with the sole striker. It was a 4-2-3-1 at Liverpool but the same principles applied – both players had gone from all-rounders to outright attacking midfielders. In 2001-02, the season of their first England appearance together, they scored a combined 11 goals in 98 club appearances. By 2005-06 that figure was 43 in 103.To replicate their club form for the national side both players needed to be at head of a midfield triangle, which was the first problem.
The second was that England frequently used a Hakeem Nicks Jerseysduo rather than a trio anyway, and so Gerrard and Lampard in a two-man midfield didn't make sense on either level.That's all history. Now, there's been another change; both players lack the outright directness and energy they possessed in the middle of the last decade, and are forced to play deeper roles for their club sides.Lampard adjusted admirably to Roberto Di Matteo's European approach last season – he sat deep as part of a flat three-man midfield and played diagonal passes out of defence to prompt counter-attacks.