Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Gary Neville, John Terry or another of the 'Golden Generation' should be the next England boss... those boys have The Knowledge
- Frank Lampard has had talks with the FA to become an England ambassador
- He will move to the USA and New York City in a few months
- Golden Generation could help shape future of English game
- There should be nothing to stop one of them - Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes etc - becoming the next England manager
- They would all still have the respect of younger players
- Germany have done it with players such as Oliver Bierhoff
- FA can't afford for Golden Generation to become the Lost Generation
In a few months’ time, when Frank Lampard heads out to the United States to start a new career with New York City, there is a danger that he will be lost to English football.
The FA cannot allow that to happen. They are already in talks to make him an ambassador for the national team, but it cannot end there. He still has much to offer.
At the age of 36 Lampard will be a star when he moves to New York, just as he is here after a decorated career for club and country.
Frank Lampard (left) training ahead of Manchester City's Champions League tie with Roma
David Beckham was part of Fabio Capello's management team at the 2010 World Cup while Gary Neville is the current England No 2 - both have the knowledge to become the next national team boss
More from Neil Ashton for the Daily Mail...
- Manchester United at Accrington or Yeovil, Liverpool facing AFC Wimbledon (and Real Madrid in the mix)... with a couple of simple tweaks, we could save the FA Cup 09/12/14
- Manchester United ditched David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy etc when they were at the top... but Samir Nasri and Co can rest easy, Manchester City aren't like that yet 25/11/14
- Daniel Levy is always looking for the man of the moment, from Juande Ramos to Andre Villas-Boas - if Paul Mitchell doesn't work out, Tottenham chairman is under pressure 18/11/14
- Calum Chambers played once every two weeks last season... in this campaign he's turning out every four days - he is being rinsed by Arsenal and England at age of 19 11/11/14
- Emmanuel Adebayor's display against Aston Villa was an insult to football - Mauricio Pochettino has to drop Tottenham's striker 04/11/14
- John Terry once showed me how easy it is to use dark arts in penalty area - and at Old Trafford referee Phil Dowd proved just how tough they are to spot at top level 28/10/14
- Jose Mourinho is the Sporting One (for a day at least)... and was sinned against in that touchline dust up with Arsene Wenger 21/10/14
- Raheem Sterling must follow Cristiano Ronaldo's example and know his body... he's got to work hard and smart 14/10/14
- Raheem Sterling was beaten by pal Christian Nanetti at Skill Skool on national TV in 2010... but one's now playing for England while the other is a waiter 07/10/14
- VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
Manchester City’s midfielder is an intelligent and reasoned guy. Those qualities have served him well over the years, engaging with fans, media, managers and coaches at West Ham, Chelsea, Manchester City and England. The FA, rightly, have picked up on it.
He is one of the Golden Generation, among a number of players from the Sven Goran Eriksson era who can help to shape the future of the English game.
There should be nothing to stop Ledley King, Sol Campbell, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Lampard, or others becoming the next England manager.
Throw that lot into a room with some sandwiches and a few pots of coffee for a couple of hours and you would soon hear some of the best ideas in the sport. These boys have The Knowledge.
Surely they have so much to give after careers that took them to World Cup quarter-finals against Brazil (2002) and Portugal (2006). Even the bad memories, such as the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 or the 4-1 defeat against Germany at the 2010 World Cup, can be used to England’s advantage. It would be foolish not to tap into these resources.
With the exception of Gary Neville (who already holds the Pro Licence), if any of those players committed themselves to the idea of becoming England’s head coach, there would be a clamour for one of them to be given the job inside five years.
The younger players would have caught the tail end of their illustrious careers and could still associate with their dressing room mentality. The Golden Generation would still have their respect.
If they don’t want to be in the frame to succeed Roy Hodgson, then there should be opportunities elsewhere within the organisation for some of the most experienced heads in the game.
John Terry (left) could be another candidate and has shown he has the nous by effectively managing Chelsea here in a crucial Champions League last 32 match against Napoli in 2012
In Germany, Mattias Sammer was technical director of the national team between 2005 and 2012. He has since taken a role as sporting director at Bayern Munich.
Former Germany striker Oliver Bierhoff is the country’s general manager, a role created during the leadership of Jurgen Klinsmann, another former player.
Christian Ziege, who had spells with Liverpool and Tottenham during his playing career, has been coaching Germany’s Under-18 and Under-19 teams since 2011.
Steffen Freund, now assistant head coach at White Hart Lane, was in charge of the German Under-16 and 17 teams before he returned to work in north London.
Paul Scholes (left), Phil Neville (centre) and Nicky Butt have coaching experience at Manchester United
Jamie Carragher is an excellent Sportsmail columnist and Sky Sports pundit but could be a good manager
It sounds like jobs for the boys, but experience counts at the very highest level. It is the right time for the FA to milk it.
A couple of weeks ago Sportsmail’s Martin Keown told a story about an offer he once made to the FA to travel around Europe at his own expense to pick up tips from the world’s best coaches.
No-one got back to him.
It seemed like a pretty good offer. Keown, a former England international with 43 caps and numerous honours at Arsenal, wanted to be part of the international set up.
This week the FA have been rather more pro-active by reaching out to two of England’s most reasoned and intelligent footballers as part of a strategy to keep former players involved. Good on them for that.
Former Germany striker Oliver Bierhoff is involved in the country's set-up as the general manager
There are some other ideas kicking around, such as opening an Ambassadors Club or such like at Wembley to entertain former England internationals on matchday.
It seems like a neat idea, an honourable way of remembering past heroes and making sure they still have a part to play with the national team.
Instead of a few ales before kick-off and some stories about the past, far better for these players to be on the fields of St George’s Park and working with the next generation of international footballers.
Without them, the likes of Lampard will become the Lost Generation.
- Louis van Gaal loses his rag over the future of David de Gea
- At it again! Manuel Neuer doing what Manuel Neuer does best!
- Pietro Tomaselli 'the new Totti' - Roma's nine-year-old...
- Sportsmail Big Match Stats: Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool
- Manuel Neuer pretends to kick a ball at a ball-boy
- Jeff Powell: Mayweather will be scared watching Khan's...
- Amir Khan: Hype about my chin is b*******
- Sportsmail's player ratings: Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool
- Brendan Rodgers: Team spirit is good inside the dressing...
- Brendan Rodgers: Simon Mignolet dropped for foreseeable...
- Augsburg 0-4 Bayern Munich match highlights
- De La Hoya: You have Floyd, you have Manny and now you have...
- Liverpool dressing room 'has issues' after Manchester United...
- Liverpool crumbled and Steven Gerrard could not leave Old...
- Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool: Wayne Rooney, Robin van...
- Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool MATCH REPORT: Wayne Rooney...
- Real Madrid's World Club Cup semi-final against Cruz Azul...
- Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool PLAYER RATINGS: David de Gea...
- Amir Khan dominates Devon Alexander in Las Vegas... will the...
- David de Gea's excellent performance sparks Twitter...
- Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher launches attack on 'lazy'...
- Brendan Rodgers is under pressure, says Jamie Carragher,...
- Amir Khan may never fight Floyd Mayweather as Manny Pacquiao...
- Jurgen Klopp for the Kop if Liverpool axe Brendan Rodgers,...