Source: team_talk
Duo hail Cleverley's impact
Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard hailed the impact of Tom Cleverley on his competitive debut for England.
Cleverley was the surprise name in Hodgson's starting XI in Friday's 5-0 win over Moldova in their opening World Cup qualifier.
The Manchester United midfielder impressed in a supporting role behind lone striker Jermain Defoe and Hodgson is a big admirer of the 23-year-old.
"I'm not going to talk about other greats from the past," said Hodgson. "I thought Tom did play well.
"I thought he stepped into that position just as he had done against Italy in the friendly about a month ago and looks very, very much at home there.
"Tom's come into a team alongside the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Carrick and didn't look at all out of place.
"It's easy to understand now why Sir Alex (Ferguson) picks him so often to play in the Manchester United team and it's also becoming evident for me that it was a good decision to use him in the GB team where I think he got a lot of experience and I got the chance to really discover him." Lampard was equally impressed by Cleverley in his only his second appearance for his country.
"Tom played with such intelligence he was a pleasure to play with.
"He will be part of this team for years to come."
Cleverley was happy with his own performance and felt the system used by Hodgson worked well against Moldova.
"Obviously a win is the most important thing and a 5-0 win away from home anywhere is a good result but these places can be tricky," noted Cleverley.
"Individually I am happy and our collective performance made me happy as well.
"We all know where we are supposed to be, we are free to rotate and if either Stevie [Gerrard] or Frank [Lampard] goes upfield I fill in for them and I feel we rotated really well.
"The system seemed to work for us."
