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 

By Neil Ashton for the Daily Mail

Published: 18:25 EST, 30 September 2014 | Updated: 02:47 EST, 1 October 2014

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

David Beckham on England, St. George's and Wayne Rooney

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

Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs on England 'failing'

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.

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