Could Frank Lampard be the man to solve the conundrum that is the centre of Man United's midfield?
"Do you really think Chelsea would sell to United in January? There's no foundation in that. Chelsea want to do something in the second half of the season so they want to keep their best players." Sir Alex Ferguson.
And so it would appear one of the transfer window's more spurious rumours is put to bed. When we turned to the back pages of the
Daily Mail this morning and were greeted with the headline 'Fergie wants Frank' our initial assumption was that they were referring to the helpline. In a way they were.
In the past Sir Alex has regularly spoken of the disdain he reserves for shopping in the January sales, so a purported bid for Frank Lampard seems unlikely; although, with the England man seemingly less than enamoured with Andre Villas-Boas' predilection to see him more as a squad man than regular starter and United short in the centre of the field, the story is perhaps not as left-field as it first seems.
The manner in which Ferguson elected to deflect attention by saying Chelsea would never sell to United, rather than deny any interest outright, gives the impression he's not averse to the idea of Lampard being sat at home wondering whether red would suit him.
The manner in which Newcastle's twin engine room of Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote dominated Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick at St James' on Wednesday evening has once again brought to the fore a wide-held belief Manchester United are light in terms of both numbers and first-rate quality in the centre of the park. While it is kneejerk to suggest that United are 'in crisis' as they sit just three points shy of their neighbours with half of the season still left to play, even the most blinkered supporter would concede the current side lacks a natural leader to dictate and dominate.
In the first four games of the season United were superb as Anderson and Tom Cleverley profited most handsomely from a hangover endured in May, when United were outplayed by Barcelona at Wembley, which rendered Fergie still cranky when the new season kicked-off in August. Ferguson's decision to twin the arch underachiever Anderson with the latently talented but untested Cleverley was vindicated as United swept all before them.
In the four games the pair started together United scored 18 and conceded just three goals (although it's worth pointing out Cleverley lasted just 24 minutes of United's 5-0 win at Bolton). Giggs and Carrick, at this point, seemed a footnote to a previous chapter in the club's recent history.
Ferguson's recruitment over the summer had pointedly looked to the future, with Carrick's profligacy in the company of Xavi and Andre Iniesta seeing him ostracized to the point he made not a single start in United's first eleven games of the season.
On this point, it is worth considering none of United's midfielders figure in the Premier League's most accurate list, with stray passes a constant source of irritation in midweek.
| PL Midfielders - 11/12 |
|
|
| Player |
Passing Accuracy |
Passes |
| Britton, Leon |
93.8 |
1046 |
| Allen, Joe |
90.3 |
1013 |
| Arteta, Mikel |
90.0 |
1393 |
| Yaya Touré |
90.0 |
1552 |
| Parker, Scott |
89.9 |
983 |
| Modric, Luka |
88.3 |
1128 |
| Silva, David |
88.0 |
1117 |
| Barry, Gareth |
87.2 |
1145 |
| Ramsey, Aaron |
87.1 |
1252 |
| Lampard, Frank |
86.7 |
941 |
| Minimum 900 Passes |
|
|
|
The presence of Leon Britton and Joe Allen underlines the quality of Swansea's short passing game (mini-Barcelona indeed) but perhaps even more telling is the inclusion of midfield pairings from each of United's title rivals. Scott Parker and Luka Modric complement each beautifully - the quintessential passer and tackler pairing - at Spurs, while the underrated accuracy of Manchester City's Gareth Barry allows David Silva and Yaya Toure to flourish ahead of him.
Arsenal are represented by Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta but Chelsea, tellingly, can boast only Lampard in the top ten as like United their failure to have a consistent first XI seems to have stopped a natural partnership developing in the centre of the pitch.
Xabi Alonso recently spoke eloquently of an English obsession with tackling: "I can't get into my head that footballing development would educate tackling as a quality. The collective ideal hasn't always been there. Paul Scholes maybe hasn't had the international career he should have. Or Michael Carrick: he makes those around him better, regardless of the fact that he's not the one who scores the most goals, or a great tackler."Tackling as a last resort may take a while to catch on in the Premier League but in terms of interception and possession taking precedence over tackling, United are actually employing quite a European outlook when using Carrick alongside Giggs. Neither are predisposed to put their foot in, preferring instead to read the game ahead of them rather than tear in when not in possession. The problem arises when an early foothold can't be found. As against Newcastle, the opposition's pressing high up the field and aggression swamped United's more prosaic passers. Carrick can be a human metronome in his distribution when given time but without a harrier alongside him, a la Fletcher, too frequently looks pedestrian.
"One of the criticisms of this team has been a lack of goals from midfield. We can't always depend on the strikers." Sir Alex Ferguson.
Here is where a player of Lampard's ilk would provide something different to what Ferguson currently has at his disposal. The Chelsea man has scored more than any other Premier League midfielder this season with eight, a remarkable total given he's spent half of the season scowling at the back of Villas-Boas' head.
| PL Midfielders - 11/12 |
|
| Player |
Goals |
| Lampard, Frank |
8 |
| van der Vaart, Rafael |
7 |
| Bale, Gareth |
7 |
| Dempsey, Clint |
6 |
| Nani |
6 |
| Pilkington, Anthony |
5 |
| Johnson, Adam |
5 |
| Silva, David |
5 |
| Sebastian Larsson |
5 |
|
In relation to his counterparts at Old Trafford, only Nani, who is as much a forward as a midfielder in any case, comes anywhere close on six. Elsewhere Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung have just six between them. In the previous eight seasons Lampard has hit double figures, with a career best of 22 arriving in the 2009/10 campaign. United rely on width more than any other side in the top six, and always have, but a midfielder capable of getting beyond their furthest man would provide an extra bow to their armoury. On Sunday, Ferguson may look over at the opposition bench and consider an unused Samir Nasri to be the one that got away over the summer.
| Lampard v Man Utd midfielders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Player |
Frank Lampard |
Anderson |
Michael Carrick |
Darren Fletcher |
Nani |
Park Ji-Sung |
| Appearances |
18 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
20 |
11 |
| Minutes played |
1,318 |
694 |
926 |
643 |
1,561 |
729 |
| Goal Attempts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Goals |
8 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
| Total shots |
23 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
39 |
8 |
| Shooting accuracy |
65% |
67% |
25% |
50% |
38% |
62% |
| Goals-to-shots ratio |
35% |
22% |
25% |
50% |
15% |
25% |
| Passing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Goal assists |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
| Chances created (inc. assists) |
34 |
13 |
11 |
9 |
50 |
7 |
| Passes |
941 |
514 |
651 |
476 |
751 |
379 |
| Pass completion % |
87% |
86% |
90% |
90% |
79% |
89% |
| Pass completion % final third |
75% |
74% |
76% |
77% |
70% |
86% |
| Crossing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Crosses |
38 |
16 |
3 |
3 |
157 |
17 |
| Cross completion % |
37% |
25% |
67% |
67% |
22% |
6% |
| Dribbling |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dribbles |
7 |
11 |
5 |
4 |
57 |
15 |
| Dribble completion % |
43% |
73% |
40% |
25% |
68% |
40% |
| Defending |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tackles |
34 |
23 |
47 |
11 |
27 |
31 |
| Tackles won % |
79% |
70% |
70% |
55% |
67% |
71% |
| Interceptions |
18 |
15 |
38 |
9 |
21 |
18 |
| Total Clearances |
20 |
7 |
22 |
6 |
10 |
4 |
|
In the past Carrick, who has deservedly earned his manger's praise since winning his place back in the team, has been accused of being a flat-track bully and failing to dominate in the big games. Lampard, for all his detractors, frequently makes decisive contributions - with only Robin van Persie having scored more match-winning goals this season.
Whether that'll be worth a speculative phone call on Ferguson's part before the close of the window only time will tell, but let's remember, Eric Cantona's name only popped up in conversation when then Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson was making a cheeky call about Denis Irwin...
| PL 2011/12 - All Players |
|
|
| Player Surname |
Team |
Winning Goal |
| van Persie |
Arsenal |
8 |
| Lampard |
Chelsea |
5 |
| Sinclair |
Swansea City |
4 |
| Agüero |
Manchester City |
3 |
| Ba |
Newcastle United |
3 |
| Bale |
Tottenham Hotspur |
3 |
| Dempsey |
Fulham |
3 |
| Dzeko |
Manchester City |
3 |
| Hernández |
Manchester United |
3 |
| Morison |
Norwich City |
3 |
| Rooney |
Manchester United |
3 |
|
Would Frank Lampard fit into Manchester United's system or are the press stoking up a story that isn't there? Does Sir Alex need to spend in January to fend off the threat of Manchester City or is Tom Cleverley the man to step up to the mark on his return from injury? Have your say on the conundrum that is the centre of Manchester United's midfield by filling in the feedback form below...
