The new Frank Lampard?

Is Collison the real deal, our new Frank Lampard? The thing that strikes me most is the boy's confidence. He WANTS the ball and wants it in key areas. Against Boro at home in the cup he missed a sitter, blasting over when he should have squared to Di Michele or Tristan, but he was there, at the far stick, further forward than any other player, and he had the balls to let fly. Yes the decision to shoot was wrong, but in our side, a player confident enough to shoot is a precious commodity.

Look at him against City. Never mind the finish, and that goal was beautifully taken, look at the run that took him into the box in the first place. Savio is quick but not quick enough to leave Collison in his wake. As Nsureko broke forward, there was Collison bursting through the middle, actually pointing at the space he wanted the ball played into. Savio chose to shoot instead and who was on hand to sniff in the box as Given parried? Not Cole or Di Michele, the guys paid to do that job, but Collison. That sort of awareness, that sort of hunger to get into goal scoring positions, is rare.

Who does it in the modern game? Lampard, Gerrard, Ronaldo, Giggs, Cahill, Ireland, special players because they read the game and somehow take up positions that others don't see. It is as if the ball is drawn to them, they gamble and time and again, unlike Ethers, they back a winner. Now I accept that it might be going too far to say Collison has that knack based on three goals but that is a good return for a 19 year old playing in a goal shy team that doesn't create bucket fulls of chances. Crucially, the kid has key defensive duties in the formation that Zola picks. Look at Behrami. He is all energy, loads of endeavour, but how often does he actually make it into the opposition box? He is being lauded as a West Ham great but that is more down to sweat and graft than down to any end product from what I have seen. Think again of the City game. Who forced Given into his only meaningful save in the first half? You've got it, Collison, breaking into the left hand corner of the box and driving low towards the bottom corner. The movement and confidence were Lampard like.

So is he that good? Only time will tell of course but confidence, an ability to read the game and quick feet are key ingredients for a quality player. The boy can control a ball, the boy can pick a pass (look at that through ball to Cole against Wigan), the boy can knock in a cross, the boy can dribble, the boy can score, the boy can play down the right, the left or down the middle, the boy can tackle...there's only one mystery. With all that ability, why on earth did he opt to play for Wales when he was qualified for England? Will he become the new Giggs? What a shame he never got to grace the final stages of a World Cup because he opted to play for Wales!