Source: Team_Talk
Lampard not offended by JT verdict
Frank Lampard took "no offence" from John Terry's claim only Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole of the current England squad can unlock opposing teams.[LNB] The Chelsea midfielder believes Terry was trying to highlight the special talent of that duo rather than implying the remainder of the squad was lacking in similar quality.[LNB]Terry made his claims even though Cole was overlooked by Fabio Capello for the opening two World Cup games with the United States and Algeria while Rooney has struggled to fire on all cylinders.[LNB]Lampard said: "I don't think John meant what he said in a negative way. What he said was right.[LNB]"Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole, they have that special ability. We had it at Chelsea for a long time.[LNB]"Even though we've got (Didier) Drogba, even though we've got (Florent) Malouda, (Salomon) Kalou, all these players, people will always say Joe Cole is the one who can give you something different.[LNB]"But that's not saying that Drogba isn't probably the best striker in the world. It's just a figure of speech. John was speaking about those two players."[LNB]Lampard added: "I'm sure if you want JT to speak about Steven Gerrard or Aaron Lennon, then he'll tell you they can unlock defences and score great goals.[LNB]"If you want to start taking it literally what he said, then you can. Everyone knows really what John was saying. He wasn't saying no-one else in the squad can do that.[LNB]"He was talking specifically about those players. Players aren't that sensitive.[LNB]"I wasn't knocking John's door down and saying: 'are you saying I can't unlock a defence?' I didn't take any offence from that. It wasn't like that at all."[LNB]Lampard recognises the need for England players to replicate their club form but knows obtaining the right result is the main criteria.[LNB]He said: "Players have produced it for England at certain times. We'll hold our hands up and say there have been times when we haven't done that.[LNB]"International football is something different. The players here are all striving to do that. It's not always that easy. But you'd do well to pick an outstanding player out at this World Cup so far.[LNB]"There hasn't really been one. (Lionel) Messi and Kaka are both outstanding, and they will arrive and do special things, but it's not always that way.[LNB]"What we have to make sure is that, if everyone isn't performing at our best, we get the group and the team getting the results we need. That's important."[LNB]Lampard admits: "We can improve the performances, without a doubt but we have to put a lot of this into perspective.[LNB]"We can get carried away with wins and with bad performances or losses in football.[LNB]"I remember sitting there three months ago at Chelsea after the loss to Inter Milan and, looking back, we didn't believe we could win the league or the double. The players turned that round.[LNB]"We have to look at ourselves now and remember what a qualifying campaign England had, the way we played, and we should never forget that.[LNB]"We can take the negatives from the Algeria game, but let's think more about the positives of the team we have, the players we've got and what we can do."
