Samuel losing the plot over Lampard...

Sometimes you read a story and then you have to go back and read it again to make sure you read it right first time, that happened to me this morning when I read Martin Samuel's News of the Word Blog in support of Frank Lampard.

For anyone who has forgotten Samuel wrote that dropping Beckham was the right thing to do, so following Beck's successful England comeback this week it comes as little surprise that this particular hack isn't eating humble pie. Instead the NOTW man is attacking the fans for barracking Lampard. Yes really.

This is a typical diversionary trick, when you've been made to look foolish find another target. Let me just say that I have nothing against Lampard or come to that any of the England players, or managers come to that, save perhaps Venables who I do not rate one bit.

However, having sat through the England v Brazil snoozefest with some very knowledgeable fans, several of them enquired as to whether or not Lamped was actually on the pitch.

Samuel talks about the fans turning up with their speeches and insults pre-prepared, yet who is that winds-up the jingoistic mob? The media and tabloid press, that's who, the same media that was partly responsible for getting Beckham axed in the first place, the same media who got Sven sacked following that disgraceful fake Sheik sting.

I don't know about Samuel being Sports Writer of The Year, he appears to be way off beam again here, and one final thing, Martin, Gerrard wasn't man of the match, that was David Beckham.