Collymore – I was wrong to write off Lampard!

The ex-England striker Stan Collymore suugested that Fabio Capello should replace Frank Lampard after England’s performance against Egypt. Now he thinks that he was totally wrong and that Lampard could steal the show at the World Cup in South Africa!

Collymore wrote in his column in the Mirror: “After England’s recent friendly with Egypt, I wrote that perhaps the time had come for Michael Carrick to replace Lamps in Fabio Capello’s team.

But Lampard’s recent performances have shown how wrong I was.

His heroics against Villa illustrate that when you play Lampard in an advanced midfield position, he has the ability to score 20 goals a season.

I just wonder now whether Chelsea boss Ancelotti, who initially played Frank in a more defensive role, might view it as a mistake not to have harnessed the star’s attacking talent more before.

Chelsea could have been home and dry in the title race by now had Frank been given a greater license.

I think he is the archetypal modern midfielder with an eye for goal.

It is difficult enough for strikers to score 20 goals a season but for a midfielder to do it regularly is incredible.

I just hope now he will play at the head of an attacking midfield three for both club and country.

If you ask Lampard to get back as well as go forward, you take away 50 per cent of his game.

Any team in the world would love to have Lampard arriving at the top of the penalty area.

And I now hope Capello plays both Lampard and Steven Gerrard where they can hurt other teams.”

It’s nice when someone admits they got it wrong! Lamps is far away the best midfielder in England for Chelsea. If only he could play like that for England as well.