GERRARD OFFERS CAPELLO THE ANSWER

Gerrard - Malley's choice for England.

There are some questions in sport which come around with such monotonous regularity they are guaranteed to raise a yawn.

You know the sort of thing.

Should they rip up the grass at Wimbledon? Why does Jonny Wilkinson get injured so often? When will Sir Alex Ferguson retire? Who is The Stig in Top Gear?

But none of them, for sheer repetition, come close to the question with which the last three England football managers have been confronted. Can Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard play together in the same national team?

No, don't turn the page. Stick with it. It is vital to England's World Cup hopes.

Sven-Goran Eriksson thought so. So did Steve McClaren, even if the jury is still out on the real thoughts of Fabio Capello who, with Gerrard injured, had the benefit of being able only to pick one of them against Croatia and duly saw England turn in their best performance for seven years.

Why bring up the subject in a week in which both Gerrard and Lampard were involved in Champions League action for their clubs and when the next England match is not until next month?

Easy. To highlight the problem managers have had in juggling the conundrum of England's best two midfield players.

A television tracking device illustrated perfectly the intelligent forward surge Lampard made through the middle to arrive late into the box to score the header which set Chelsea on their way to a comfortable win against Bordeaux at Stamford Bridge.

No artificial aid was required to appreciate the thrusting run and arcing shot which saw Gerrard score arguably the goal of the season so far for Liverpool against Marseille.

The point is both goals shone a spotlight on why Gerrard and Lampard are so frequently exceptional for their clubs but have struggled to show the same consistency in 68 and 64 appearances respectively for their country over an eight-year period.

They crave the same space. Both are perfectly suited to a free role through the middle. They are at their best when answering the call of instinct which is to thrust at the opposition without the need to worry about what is going on behind them. The Champions League saw the best of them.

Too often for England when they have played together those natural instincts, if only fractionally, have been compromised. Should they surge? Should they hold? There has been a marginal delay, a consequent lack of freedom.

Which is why Capello has a big call to make when next month's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus come around.

After Croatia, the temptation will be to stick with one and stay with Lampard - and that was my first thought - but if Wednesday's Champions League action had been a final audition then it is difficult to see how Gerrard could be overlooked.

Dynamic, inspiring, a born leader, Gerrard ticks just about every box required in the armoury of the modern international midfielder.

Plus he is capable of moments on a football pitch, such as the goal he scored against Marseille, which confer true greatness.

As Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said: "You may not see many such goals in 10 years. It was that good."

The question of Gerrard and Lampard may be the next best thing to temezepam as a cure for insomnia, but it still needs to be addressed.

The answer? On the evidence of this week it has to be one and it has to be Gerrard.

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Chelsea captain John Terry quite clearly rugby-tackled Manchester City striker Jo to the ground last weekend. No problem with that, except it was a football match.

Yet Terry's red card has been rescinded and referee Mark Halsey has been demoted to League Two this weekend after refusing to admit he had made a mistake.

Well, the rule-makers can argue the semantics of the difference between a professional foul and serious foul play all they want but in my view it is another kick in the teeth for football's men in the middle.

The game needs to protect the skills of players such as Ronaldo and Robinho and Jo and support the reputations of its officials.

Allowing blatantly cynical defending to prosper is not the way forward.

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Gus Poyet says the Newcastle job is not for him and no billionaire as yet appears too keen to hand owner Mike Ashley a fat profit for the club he is hawking around the Middle East.

Someone eventually will bite. They always do if the price is right.

But it makes you wonder how supporters with a reputation for being among the most clued-up in football collided with men who haven't a clue.