Eras can begin with an air of excitement and end with a sense that a fresh future is being ushered in at the expense of the tired past. That tends to be welcomed, too: perhaps that is a sign of a fondness for the new or a collective sense of ennui with the old. In the chequered history of the England team, a frustration with failure on the major stages means its contributors are afforded less patience.
It all explains the reaction to Frank Lampard's diminishing status. With high-profile admirers and plenty of vocal detractors, the Chelsea midfielder is a cause celebre whatever Andre Villas-Boas decides, but the indications are that the Portuguese is planning for a team without Lampard. His rank as an automatic choice is not so much under threat as already removed; now there is discussion when the 33-year-old's name is on the teamsheet, as opposed to off it.
Yet his troubles are being mirrored elsewhere. His former team-mates from East London are similarly endangered. Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Lampard could all be in the same position, as regulars for neither club nor country. They represent West Ham's golden generation - the unfortunate phrase that has become part of the case for the prosecution of the national team - and, given the Hammers' three-pronged contribution to England's sole World Cup win, it seemed symbolic when the club produced another gifted group at the end of the last millennium.
Rather than enabling England to crow, the Upton Park academy nevertheless furnished often successful Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham teams for much of the past decade. Now, however, that is changing.
Villas-Boas' remodelled, newly adventurous Chelsea is evolving by the game, and definitive judgments should not be rushed. Nevertheless, it looks as though Ramires and Raul Meireles are pencilled in for two of the midfield places when a 4-3-3 formation is preferred; when it is 4-2-3-1, there is even less scope for Lampard as, despite his outstanding goal return, he is ill at ease with a starting position closer to the striker.
Even when a trio are chosen, Lampard is left competing with Florent Malouda, John Obi Mikel and the likely long-term choice, Oriol Romeu, for the final spot. If Chelsea are configured with Juan Mata and Fernando Torres in mind, Lampard looks an odd man out. Like many another, he is yet to gel with the £50 million man, but has a symbiotic relationship with Didier Drogba. If the Ivorian is phased out, it bodes badly for his sidekick. If efficiency gives way to artistry, and box-to-box running is valued less than the long-range passing skills to release Torres sooner, then his case is weakening.
None of which, of course, detracts from his accomplishments. Arguably the least talented of the midfield trio, Lampard is the highest individual achiever. Carrick has won the Champions League, but he has never been voted the planet's second best player, too. While he did a fine job for his first three-and-a-half years at Old Trafford, an inability to impose himself upon games has become more apparent in the last 18 months. The Champions League, with its slower style of play, may be his metier, but Manchester United's quicker, more open game is increasingly unsuited to him.
An improved Anderson and an emerging Tom Cleverley have been the major midfield influences, but it was telling that Darren Fletcher was preferred for Sunday's win over Chelsea. While there remains a vacancy at Old Trafford for a blue-chip defensive midfield player, the 18-year-old Paul Pogba may yet prove the man who consigns Carrick to the past.
Cole, the midfielder who arrived to most fanfare, is attempting to revive his career on loan at Lille. While almost three years remain on his Liverpool contract, Kenny Dalglish's heavy investment in alternatives shows there is little scope for a return to Anfield, let alone the central role in the team that appeared his destiny 14 months ago. In one respect, he is the anti-Lampard - a cold analysis of the statistics suggests he does not contribute enough - and in another, he can be compared to Ferdinand: both have acquired a reputation for being injury-prone.
Ferdinand's fragile frame is one reason to fear for him. Another is the precocious brilliance of Phil Jones; the suggestions that the teenager is a future England captain are justified by his early United performances and, while a short-term fix could be using the former Blackburn player at right-back, there will come a time when that is impeding his development. The success of his tried-and-trusted alliance with Nemanja Vidic and the factual evidence that United have been more frugal with Ferdinand may spare the 32-year-old for now, but his grip on his place has never been more precarious and Fabio Capello even omitted him from the last England squad.
As the youngest and, as he showed against Liverpool on Sunday, the man in best form of the quintet, Defoe may seem the safest. However, Rafael van der Vaart's excellent debut season at White Hart Lane and the addition of Emmanuel Adebayor this summer point the way forward for Tottenham. The Dutchman, too indolent in his defensive duties to be relied upon in midfield, is at his best in the hole, and that requires a multi-dimensional striker, rather than a specialist poacher. Adebayor's height, pace and ability to score a range of goals makes him ideally suited to leading the line.
It may leave Defoe both on the bench and in good company. Having come through the ranks at West Ham, Lampard, Ferdinand, Carrick and Cole could have another, and less welcome, shared experience: of being downgraded.
By Norman Hubbard
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