Malouda: 'Lampard gets too much credit'

[the wes 7,212]

Chelsea's Florent Malouda believes Frank Lampard is getting more credit than his performances deserve and says he is frustrated at Stamford Bridge playing second fiddle to the England midfielder. Malouda said that Lampard's status at the club is enhanced by his role as a leading England player in a World Cup year. "It's his position in the national team," said the France winger. "He plays like that in the England team, and we are in a World Cup year. But at a certain point, the status has to be in relation with the performances."

Malouda has made nine Premier League starts this season and has had talks with manager Carlo Ancelotti about his discontent. He believes Chelsea would not be willing to let him go but insists he will push for a departure if things remain the same.

"Before the match against Birmingham, I talked to the coach to tell him about my frustration," he told L'Equipe. "The frustration is above all for the big games. I'm ready to look elsewhere. Finding another club is not a problem. But the club has closed the door to any departure, whether it be in January or in June. The coach is counting on me. We'll see from now until the end of the season."

At the end of last season Malouda was linked with a move to AC Milan or Barcelona, but the 29-year-old signed a new contract in the summer, tying him to the Blues until 2013.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/02/malouda-lampard-Chelsea-ancelotti-england

Edited January 3, 2010 by the wes

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

He says this just after the other comment, I have a sneaking suspicion he might not be playing in the game against Watford, or any more games for that matter .

[gary gordon 1,777]

Well, Malouda had a great season under Hiddink but thats it! We have seen shades of that under Ancelotti. So who do you blame? Ancelotti perhaps? I blame the Formation. Malouda has the skill to be one of the most dynamic wingers in the Premier Leageue if utilized correctly. I feel that he isn't the only one frustrated by Ancelotti's stubborn decision to stick with the diamond formation even though it is slowly killing the form of several players.. Including Lampard....

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Was bloody brilliant today to be fair.

[warnie_666 1,081]

Was bloody brilliant today to be fair.

He had a bloody brilliant performance against Wolves but was benched against Arsenal and replaced by Ballack. It is frustrating for him, I can understand. Hence I want to see Malouda play in the 11 instead of Ballack,.

[Rambo 1,729]

I can understand his frustration. He's been playing top form football last year under Guus and all of a sudden he's no longer a first choice player, Carlo should give him the starting position and let Deco/Ballack be reserves.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

We have to appreciate that both Malouda and Lampard are playing out of position. We all know that 4-3-3 is the formation we can accommodate both players in, and I also think we're at our defensive best when we have two wingers who can drop back and play in a five-man midfield when the opposition have the ball. Carlo will have noticed that we are much more comfortable in this role after trying it against Fulham and now Watford, and I'll be very surprised if we start with two strikers against Hull.

[Badboy 1,526]

We have to appreciate that both Malouda and Lampard are playing out of position. We all know that 4-3-3 is the formation we can accommodate both players in, and I also think we're at our defensive best when we have two wingers who can drop back and play in a five-man midfield when the opposition have the ball. Carlo will have noticed that we are much more comfortable in this role after trying it against Fulham and now Watford, and I'll be very surprised if we start with two strikers against Hull.

The only thing is i don't like anelka playing out wide. I think we should play a flat 4-4-2 at home with malouda and joe cole on the wings and anelka and droggers up front.

[Rambo 1,729]

Most international players get misquoted when interviewed in their own language. Glad to hear he cleared that up.

[CFCwehatetottenham 2]

When Malouda does something good for this club he'll get the praise that Lampard does

[ghaly 0]

Well, Malouda had a great season under Hiddink but thats it! We have seen shades of that under Ancelotti. So who do you blame? Ancelotti perhaps? I blame the Formation. Malouda has the skill to be one of the most dynamic wingers in the Premier Leageue if utilized correctly. I feel that he isn't the only one frustrated by Ancelotti's stubborn decision to stick with the diamond formation even though it is slowly killing the form of several players.. Including Lampard....

i totally agreed with you

[Alee. 182]

Answer to everything = 4-3-3.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I agree. Ancelotti seems to like the Christmas tree variant; the 4-3-2-1. I think we've played some of our best football this season with that formation; the second half against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light remains our best 45 minutes of the campaign so far in my opinion, besides perhaps the first half against Wolves. I think the players are more comfortable with it; we've played the system regularly since the Mourinho days, and we have the wingers and forwards that are capable of playing in that formation. The Diamond has kept up top but it has severe limitations in terms of width; teams like Wigan and Villa have stopped us from playing by doubling up on the full-backs. With orthodox wingers we have more creativity, and the width we produce means players like Mikel, Lampard and Essien can become more involved, and when the full-backs have wingers to play with, they seem to get renewed attacking energy. Our performance against Watford highlighted that; Ivanovic and Zhirkov, and later Cole, played really well against Watford, and although it was against Championship opposition, we played brilliantly and really could and should have scored eight or nine.