Both are English, both are midfielders, both are top performers in the Premier League, both can’t play together for England…. Sound familiar?

The dilemma that seems a permanent thorn in any England manager’s side has reared its ugly head once more; how do you get Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to play well together.

England’s World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on Saturday look set to hand Chelsea’s Lampard and Liverpool’s Gerrard yet another chance to remedy the problem, but what can Fabio Capello do differently to make it work this time?

This week Lampard finally caught up with the rest of the nation in admitting that if he and Gerrard had managed to thread a pass to one another in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, England may have reached the finals in Austria and Switzerland.

However, he says the difference this time is tactics.

It appears the tactical leadership of former England managers Sven Goran-Eriksson and Steve McClaren stretched as far as ‘when one goes, the other one stays,’ but with Capello Lampard seems more comfortable with what is being asked of him.

So maybe that is it. Lampard and Gerrard, both all-round inspirations at club level, need to be told what to do when they pull on an England shirt. It all seems so simple now doesn’t it?

Do you think that Lampard is making excuses simply to maintain his England place, or is Capello a genius about to unleash both players’ club form upon a soon to be sorry Kazakhstan?

Personally, I’d rather have Gerrard in the centre with Gareth Barry or failing that Jimmy Bullard!

PHOTO: England’s Gerrard and Lampard attend a team training session in London Colney, Oct. 7 REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Frank Lampard’s decision to sign a new contract with Chelsea and shun the advances of Inter Milan was hardly a surprise.

The midfielder made a wise choice if he based the decision on the previous experiences of English players in Italy.

Only David Platt at Sampdoria was really a success. Ian “it’s like living in a foreign country” Rush lasted just a season at Juventus while the likes of Luther Blissett, Lee Sharpe, Ray Wilkins, Des Walker, Paul Ince and Jay Bothroyd hardly set Serie A alight.

Paul Gascoigne was injured for much of his time at Lazio. Rather than his stunning play, he is best remembered here in Italy for shocking the nation by burping into a microphone.

In recent years only David Beckham at Real Madrid can claim to have done well away from English shores. That’s largely because he was one of the few who dared to try something new.

I actually think Lampard would have been a success at Inter, especially playing under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. The Italian champions, and Serie A in general, are crying out for a goalscoring central midfielder.

Instead Lampard will start another English season this weekend, admittedly with packed stadiums and bags of money in his pocket. Stuttering Serie A can’t quite compete with that. 

Mark Meadows, Milan

Very few people believed the story that Samuel Eto’o was considering a move to Uzbekistan’s Kuruvchi.

All of sudden it turned out to be true with Barcelona’s Cameroon striker speaking at a news conference in the country’s capital. Despite mega money being thrown in his direction, Eto’o will probably not end up there but at least they got him to go out and talk. Even if it was just a publicity stunt, it worked.

San Marino champions Murata also tried to coax Romario out of retirement to play in their Champions League first qualifying round first leg. He turned them down but with former Brazil team mate Aldair already on Murata’s books, they almost managed to convince the striker to pull on the boots again.

Tales of unknown clubs bidding for household names make a refreshing change from what has been a turgid transfer window.

It took AC Milan three months to sign Ronaldinho while Inter Milan are still chasing Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Liverpool seem to be no closer to taking Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. I haven’t even mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo…

Every day the papers have said there will be crucial developments in the next 48 hours and yet we are still left waiting. Why do close season transfers drag on so much? Should a cut off point of ‘three bids and you’re out’ be introduced?

More radically, should soccer take on America’s draft system? Then Eto’o and Romario really could end up in Uzbekistan and San Marino. 

Jose Mourinho, who hopes to sign Frank Lampard this week, sees winning trophies as just part of his job as the new coach of Inter Milan.

The former Chelsea and Porto boss also aims to help stuttering Serie A rule the roost like it did in the 1980s and 90s by serving up entertaining soccer and burying the troubled recent past.

Some English fans might question whether Mourinho has the credentials to preach the virtues of champagne soccer, given that his Chelsea side were not adverse to the odd ugly win.

Nevertheless, the arrival of one of sport’s most charismatic and successful personalities has already enabled the Italian top flight to regain some of the ground lost to the Premier League and Spain’s La Liga.

If the Portuguese makes a fraction of the big signings the media expect of him and Inter’s rivals splash out to keep up, so much the better for Serie A. A footballing renaissance could be on the cards.

Mourinho is also keen to do his bit in fighting hooliganism in Italy, speaking of the need to make “the fans more responsible and change their relationship with the police”.

He didn’t give details of how he could contribute to beating a problem numerous crackdowns and anti-hooligan laws have failed to solve, but Mourinho likes a challenge. If he can meet this one, it really would be something special.

Paul Virgo, Rome

PHOTO: Jose Mourinho is officially unveiled as coach of Serie A champions Inter Milan. June 3. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini