FRANK LAMPARD and Steven Gerrard had a fierce rivalry with England and that was rekindled in the battle to be Aston Villa’s boss.
The former Chelsea boss was interviewed to succeed Dean Smith, but fellow ex-midfielder Gerrard was always the overwhelming choice to get the job at Villa.
So Lamps lost out to his old international team-mate.
Lampard also ruled himself out of the Norwich job after being interviewed while on holiday in Dubai by director Stuart Webber.
Yet even without backing away from the appointment, Lampard was by no means certain to get that job anyway.
This is because Smith impressed with his philosophy and overall knowledge.
In the summer, Lampard was interviewed for the Crystal Palace job.
He was not keen at that stage although it seems the feeling was mutual.
Lamps, a bright and engaging character, did some good stuff at Chelsea before it went wrong.
But where is he actually going to end up?
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Because you can take away the likes of the Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs.
So he is hardly spoilt for choice.
Lampard, 43, must ensure that he is not a modern-day Alan Curbishley.
He worked wonders at Charlton, had two years at West Ham but after leaving aged 50 in 2008, has never worked as a manager again because he would not drop into the Championship or go abroad.
Lampard will not make the same mistake and hopefully he will be a success.
Equally, moving forward, he will not be able to pick and choose.
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