Ballack: Lampard Is Not 'Untouchable'

Ballack: Lampard Is Not 'Untouchable'

21.02.08

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has warned team-mates Frank Lampard and John Terry that the ‘Untouchables’ are a thing of the past at the club.

Previous Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho introduced the notion of the 'Untouchables' at Stamford Bridge, in relation to a select band of players who were virtually guaranteed a starting place in the first XI if fit.

Current manager Avram Grant, though, left England pair Frank Lampard and John Terry out of Chelsea's midweek draw with Olympiakos, opting to ease them back selectively after injury.

Lampard said on Wednesday that he hoped Grant would not choose to do the same on Sunday when picking his Carling Cup Final team to play Tottenham Hotspur.

While the prospect of leaving out Lampard and Terry, two of his untouchables, would not have arisen under Mourinho, Grant has proved to be his own man.

And German midfielder Ballack is keen to stress that nobody is now ‘untouchable’ under Grant's competitive regime.

“John and Frank have been injured for a long time and Olympiakos was a big game,” Ballack told The Sun.

“I’m not sure if anyone is untouchable now. They are both still very important players for us but you have to be careful after injuries.

I know this, having had eight months out. It’s not easy when you come back – you can’t play every game straight away. The coach knows what he’s doing.”

Mark Hinton, Goal.com


Source:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3175831,00.html
and http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=594099
and http://www.iloveballack.popstory.com/cnews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1203629219&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2&