Most disappointing player

[jonny c]

Which English player was the biggest let down in the world cup?

For me, Fat Frank Lampard has been shown up as one of the most overrated footballers in the world. No pace, can't beat a man, rarely delivered a killer ball, rubbish at heading. At least for Chelsea he scored some of his long range shots.

The other is Beckham. IMO has been overrated for a long time, and living off his set piece delivery and Greece 2000 performance.

Worst:
1. Lampard
2. Beckham
3. Gerrard

Best:
1. Hargreaves
2. Ashley Cole
3. Joe Cole

 

[Edmundo]

Can't really disagree with that. If Carrick had had more than one game, perhaps he would have been in the best list too.

Here's my view of which of the 23 players enhanced their reputation and which were found out.

Enhanced: Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon.

Did nothing to harm their reputation: Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Jamie Carragher, Peter Crouch, Rio Ferdinand, Stewart Downing (plus David James, Wayne Bridge, Jermaine Jenas, Scott Carson, Theo Walcott - none of whom played).

Found out: David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Paul Robinson, Gary Neville, John Terry, Michael Owen, Sol Campbell.

To me this shows exactly why we are coming home. Compare the teams in the last four, who have all found players showing the world how good they are - we are like Brazil, with a load of over-hyped players who just haven't done the business.

 

[Sweepy]

Found out: David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Paul Robinson, Gary Neville, John Terry, Michael Owen, Sol Campbell.

Perhaps another question could be aimed as to what Mourinho and Ferguson are able to get out of most of these players that the overpaid one wasn't able to.

Of all the names mentioned though, I think Lampard is the one who will probably need to spend the most hours with a sports psychologist after the fortnight he has just had.

 

[Mr Cynical]

Can't really disagree with that. If Carrick had had more than one game, perhaps he would have been in the best list too.

Here's my view of which of the 23 players enhanced their reputation and which were found out.

Enhanced: Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon.

Did nothing to harm their reputation: Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Jamie Carragher, Peter Crouch, Rio Ferdinand, Stewart Downing (plus David James, Wayne Bridge, Jermaine Jenas, Scott Carson, Theo Walcott - none of whom played).

Found out: David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Paul Robinson, Gary Neville, John Terry, Michael Owen, Sol Campbell.

To me this shows exactly why we are coming home. Compare the teams in the last four, who have all found players showing the world how good they are - we are like Brazil, with a load of over-hyped players who just haven't done the business.

I think you're prob being a bit harsh on Owen and Rooney, neither of whom were fully fit and certainly shouldnt have gone without any proper cover.. Rooney's not a lone striker and never should have been played in that position, he was always going to end up getting frustrated in that role..

I'd swap Terry and Rio round in your list.. Terry, you know what you're getting and for me he was fine. Got in a few vital last minute interceptions and headers. Rio however was the one with the wayward passes from defence, when he's supposed to be the better player on the floor..

I think the major difference between us and the last four teams is that they all play as that, A TEAM, whereas we seem to struggle to string 4 or 5 passes together before going for the Hoddle pass or the Le Tissier goal..

 

[Edmundo]

Perhaps harsh on Owen and Rooney, but they would certainly not make the enhanced reputation section. Terry made defensive errors, especially against Sweden and that's why I put him there. But your viewpoint is valid.

Would anyone argue that we only had three players enhance their reputations and two of those played only a bit part in our tournament?

 

[mhead bee]

The manager has a massive part to play in all of this. The lack of cover, the reliance on playing rooney on his own in a unfamiliar and unproductive role after 6 weeks out and continuing to do so for such a long time when we could all see the warning signs.

Cole, gerrard, lampard and rooney are world class..it takes a world class fukk up merchant to turn them into poor players and a poor team.

 

[Datchetbee]

Lampard is the most overated player in the world without doubt...
Probably our worst player at the world Cup!!

 

[mhead bee]

Lampard is the most overated player in the world without doubt...
Probably our worst player at the world Cup!!

He was certainly our most disapointing player. If he played anything like how he did 4 months ago he woukld have scored half a dozen goals.

England were an unmotivated and disorganised rabble start to finish. Frank L was awful..do not however just write him off on the strength of this awful period in english football. He is a very good player. He should have been dropped as we moved to a 442 because he was off form..this does not make him over rated...just badly managed!

 

[jmcp]

We all know first day of the season for Chelsea, Lampard will suddenly turn it on again, although of the Chelsea mid fielders in the world cup i personally think Ballack, Essien and Makelele have all been better than him.

It probably says more about the manager than him i suppose but when people say we have world class midfielders i cant agree. Lampard, Gerrard Cole etc are good but not world class. Gazza in Italia 90 probably was our last one.

 

[mhead bee]

We all know first day of the season for Chelsea, Lampard will suddenly turn it on again, although of the Chelsea mid fielders in the world cup i personally think Ballack, Essien and Makelele have all been better than him.

It probably says more about the manager than him i suppose but when people say we have world class midfielders i cant agree. Lampard, Gerrard Cole etc are good but not world class. Gazza in Italia 90 probably was our last one.

Erikkson picks his best players not his best team. Failure in the WC was a matter of time only. We need to 442. lampard or gerrard on the middle and see how that goes before we say he is not world class.

 

[jonny c]

Erikkson picks his best players not his best team. Failure in the WC was a matter of time only. We need to 442. lampard or gerrard on the middle and see how that goes before we say he is not world class.

Hmm... sort of. I hate Eriksson and have done for a long time, and agree he has hampered our chances of winning anything, with arguably our best team in years, severely. However, blaming him for an underperforming Lampard is wrong. Misplacing passes, missing shots, whatever - the player's fault, not the manager's.

 

[Edmundo]

It's the manager's fault for continuing to pick him, though, is it not?

 

[ChessingtonBee]

Perhaps another question could be aimed as to what Mourinho and Ferguson are able to get out of most of these players that the overpaid one wasn't able to.

Indeed. Nothing wrong with the players. Team performaces were not good enough.

A well-drilled and motivated team of journeymen could do nearly as well. Look at Trinidad and Tobago for example.

Penalties is now a huge psychological issue for future England teams.

 

[mhead bee]

Hmm... sort of. I hate Eriksson and have done for a long time, and agree he has hampered our chances of winning anything, with arguably our best team in years, severely. However, blaming him for an underperforming Lampard is wrong. Misplacing passes, missing shots, whatever - the player's fault, not the manager's.

I am not blaming him for lampards poor form, I am blaming him for not picking the best team which could have meant leaving lampard out!

 

[RoyBee]

We all know first day of the season for Chelsea, Lampard will suddenly turn it on again, although of the Chelsea mid fielders in the world cup i personally think Ballack, Essien and Makelele have all been better than him.

It probably says more about the manager than him i suppose but when people say we have world class midfielders i cant agree. Lampard, Gerrard Cole etc are good but not world class.

On world cup performances alone, those three ae not fit to lace Ballack's boots.

Our players are very overrated. On that showing, we do not have a single world class player.

 

[Edmundo]

Perhaps we suffered from having a pi-ss-easy group to qualify through, making us believe that we are better than we truly are. Or at least in making the coach think that there weren't some fundamental issues of selection and tactics to address. Maybe we should have paid more attention to some of the woeful performances in friendlies, like Australia at Upton Park?

 

[GABS]

...we are like Brazil...

I don't think the England fans were singing "Braaaaazil, its just like watching Brazil" though were they Ed

 

[shaun]

Lampard is a f(l)at track bully - great in the Premiership against mediocre players. Found wanting at the highest level.

The big problem now is the Premiership. Too many foreign players taking the English shilling and consequently a paper thin squad as the choice is pretty limited. Whilst Defoe should have gone to the World Cup - bit depressing that he is the 3rd/ 4th best that we have to offer.

 

[Rod Gowers]

I hope i never see Lampard ever play for England again.

 

[mhead bee]

Maybe we should have paid more attention to some of the woeful performances in friendlies, like Australia at Upton Park?

Or even the qualification games as we struggled to beat sides like lichtenstein who the poles stuck 9 odd goals past! In fact, really since the last world cup!

 

[Sweepy]

Penalties is now a huge psychological issue for future England teams.

This is true. Even last night, it looked like the players all had a huge mental block against it.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

From Sky Sports :

I've been a little bit upset that, after what I've done in the last couple of years, I've missed chances and a few people have been on my back," Lampard said.

"I'm upset about that because I've worked my socks off to try to be successful in this World Cup. "I would have loved to have scored the winning goal and shown a few people what they wanted to see.

"I'm getting criticism from outside and I feel it's a bit unjust and it gets my back up. "I think I deserve a little bit of respect for what I've done in the last few years, but sometimes people come and want to knock you down.

What is it with these people. You were sh*t Frank, if you played like that for Chelsea, Mourinho would have had your arse on the bench in no time flat. Why can't these feckers show a bit of humilty instead of carrying these huge great chips around. :sad:

I'll never forgive him for not knowing who played at Griffin Park on A Question of Sport.

 

[finchbee]

It's the manager's fault for continuing to pick him, though, is it not?

It is just the managers fault !

Lampard was disappointing but for me, exactly what was going to happen happened and that was Rooney was found out, he was going to be our saviour, he was not fit to start the tournanment and should never have gone ! We should have gone with 4 strikers excluding Rooney, 3 of which could play alongside Crouch ! Owen who was unlucky but Defoe and Bent

 

[GP200]

...Lumphard..........

 

[Brain-dead Bee]

Over the tournament, Hargreaves enhanced his reputation, as did Carrick and Lennon in the time they had available. Joe Cole reinforced his.

I had no problem with Neville, Ferdinand, Ashley Cole or Gerrard (though he was OK rather than a star)

Robinson, Terry, Carragher, Crouch and Beckham were disappointing (in general play, Beckham was worse than that, but he scored one and made 2 of 6 goals)

Lampard was the greatest disappointment

Would leave Owen and Rooney out of comments as they weren't fit, and Campbell and Downinnweren't on for long enough to judge them

Sven was the worst of all, of course

 

[West Ealing Bee]

IMHO it was only Lampard who was a long way below what he is capable of, or a long way short of what is needed, depending on your point of view.

Whatever, it wasn't the same player who scores bags of goals for Chelsea, and a poor way to perform in your only World Cup. It was a shame that his best period was in the last 30 minutes of our tournament, which I guess proves how fit he is :shrug:

Beckham was also poor, but hasn't really done much for England for a while so it was hardly a surprise.

I thought Ferdinand, Hargreaves, Ashley Cole and Joe Cole showed that they are very capabale on an international stage.
Rooney was below his best, unfit and played out of position but has shown in the past how good he is. A bad WC at 20ish is unfortunate but not disasterous, ask Maradona.

Gerrard and Terry had good and bad moments. Terry was less secure than I thought he'd be but really stepped up agaisnt Portugal and Gerrard was affected by playing out of position and in an ever changing midfield, but TBH he will be disappointed with the way he played.

Robinson strikes me as not quite up to International standard but didn't make any huge howlers.

The rest, Neville, Carrick, Crouch, Carragher, Campbell and Lennon were bit part players. Neville is still the best right back we've got and Carrick, Crouch and Lennon showed they might well be good enough for the world stage. Campbell should retire and Carragher shouldn't try to be anything other than a centre back.