Lampard in Profile

The late great Freddie Trueman was one of England’s finest ever fast bowlers and, as an expert summariser on Test Match Special for many years, he never tired of reminding listeners that cricket is, as he put it, ‘a sideways game’.

One wonders what he would have made of lumbering Frank Lampard, because there is growing evidence that the Chelsea and England midfielder is hell bent on turning football into a sideways game. At least as far as he is concerned.

Watch him closely and you’ll find that the vast majority of his passes are directed sideways – to a point where he has become highly predictable and consequently readily containable. And when he does play the ball forward, his success rate plummets alarmingly. Add to that the recent inadequacy of his shooting and his lack of genuine pace and you can understand why people are beginning to see Lampard as a decent player and a model professional who through no fault of his own has unfortunately been burdened by the weight of too much expectation.