Lampard named as England Captain

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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will captain England for their friendly against Denmark tomorrow. The position became available after Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard withdrew from the squad through injury. With full-time Captain Rio Ferdinand still unavailable, Lampard has stepped into the role.

England face the Danes ahead of a crucial Euro qualifier against Wales in March. Bigfreebet will have seen a drop in confidence in England after Capello’s men could only manage a draw against Montenegro in their last qualifying match.

Wayne Rooney had been touted as the favourite for the role having lead England out in their friendly against Brazil in Doha, but Lampard’s role as vice-captain during last year’s World Cup meant the 32-year-old was always likely to be named as skipper.

Lampard had missed a large part of Chelsea’s Premier League campaign through injury but returned after the festive period to provide a timely boost for Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
He will look to add to his twenty International goals having not been able to play for England because of injury. big free bet will likely back him to score after a string of impressive performances for Chelsea.

England boss Fabio Capello also revealed that Lampard will be joined in midfield alongside Arsenal youngster Jack Wilshire, while Ashley Cole will win his 86th cap, moving him one clear of Gary Neville to become the most capped full-back in English history.

Lampard revealed his surprise at being selected as Captain, jokingly referring to himself as one of the

Mowbray named new Middlesbrough boss

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Championship strugglers Middlesbrough have acted quickly in replacing outgoing manager Gordon Strachan by appointing former player Tony Mowbray into the role.

The 46-year-old has been out of work since leaving Celtic in March and he joins the Teeside outfit with the club sitting third from bottom after recording only three games all season.

To say his has a challenge on his hands would be an understatement. The players are low in confidence, lacking in self-belief and generally on a bit of a downer. The fans are far from happy either.

Moqbray should get a positive welcome by Middlesbrough fans though and be given suitable time to turn things around. He was a popular player for the club during his 10-year spell at the Riverside and someone who demanded respect as captain.

His name was mentioned by several Middlesbrough fans when questioned by paypal betting pundits about who they would like to see takeover, so they will be happy enough with the appointment.

Mowbray will certainly be hopeful that he is more successful with his new club than he was in Scotland with Celtic. He failed to win over the club’s fans and left with the Hoops ten points adrift of Rangers in the SPL.

Middlesbrough represents a different challenge for him though and he will look to emulate the success he had with West Brom in the Championship.

There is still plenty of expectation as far as Middlesbrough are concerned, but the fans will appreciate any progress that can be made in the coming weeks. Ending a run of defeats on the road would be a start.

Mowbray comes to the Riverside knowing that there is some quality amongst the squad and that if he can get off to a good start, the fans will be on side again and perhaps some free bets will be placed on a surge towards the play-offs.

This is a long way off at the moment though and his only thoughts at the moment will be the match at home to Bristol City on Saturday. This is then followed by another home tie against Crystal Palace, so there is an opportunity to get some much needed points on the board in the next week or so.

The Championship is a very difficult league though and if Middlesbrough are to turn their horrific form around, Mowbray will have to make one hell of an impact on proceedings.

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