Is Lampard the answer to Manchester United's soft centre midfield ?

Manchester United struggled at Newcastle, particularly in midfield. Look at their current troubles and why Frank Lampard could provide the answer

A MIDFIELD MESS

United were outpowered in midfield against Newcastle, something which will again be a concern for Sir Alex Ferguson when they face Manchester City. They have struggled to find a settled central midfield this season, fielding 10 different combinations in their 20 Premier League games.

SLOPPY SERVICE

United had just three shots on target against Newcastle, most likely down to the fact that their passing in the home side’s half was dismal — it’s only been worse once this season.

SO IS LAMPARD THE ANSWER ?

Lampard has scored more goals than any midfielder this season — only Robin van Persie has netted more match-winning goals — and the Chelsea man is also in the Premier League’s top 10 most accurate passers, a list which contains no Manchester United players.

Lampard toom a dig at the WAGS by praising her 'hard working' girlfriend Christine Bleakley

Just last month Elen Rivas gave a candid interview in which she claimed her ex Frank Lampard 'put her in a bubble' of being a home-maker and mother.

Now, the Chelsea footballer has given a revealing interview of his own, in which he appears to dismiss jobless WAGs and gushes over his TV presenter girlfriend Christine Bleakley's work ethic.

'Christine is very hard-working and we are very similar in our mindsets, liking to work hard,' the 32-year-old told a tabloid newspaper. 'We are our own biggest critics.'

In what appears to be thinly-veiled dig at the notorious WAG culture, Lampard tells the Sun: 'Certain people can expect things to come to them and have an easy ride in life, but Christine does not. She has worked since she was 15 or 16.

'She has worked hard to get where she is. To see someone working hard at what they do and getting the benefits is very impressive.'

The midfielder, who has been dating the Daybreak host for 18 months, adds: 'I have got nothing but admiration for the way Christine has kept her head down at her new show. She is one of the hardest-working people I know.'

'When she gets out of bed at three in the morning I have to give her a pat on the back. Admiration does not sound the right word to use about your girlfriend but I have huge respect for what she does.'

His esteem for 32-year-old Bleakley's career comes a month after ex Elen's interview with the Daily Mail, in which she criticises the father of her children.

'Frank put me in a bubble,' the Dancing On Ice contestant said, speaking candidly last month for the first time about the break-up in November 2008.

'I used to decorate our homes, look after the children, of course, cook the dinner, sort out the clothes, but I couldn't do many other things. I suppose that it's the way some men love you.

'But the thing is, when a man puts you in a bubble like that, what happens? He comes home and he's got a hundred things in his head and you've got nothing to speak about but the children and the house.

'A woman needs to have other interests,' the 35-year-old - who is now in a high-profile relationship with Peter Andre - said.

Lampard also gave his two cents on his girlfriend's rough start on new show Daybreak.

'Christine is a lot better at handling (criticism) than I am,' he said. 'It is water off a duck's back.

'She just carries on doing her job and it is good to see them getting the rewards now,' Frank told the paper. 'She is not trying to be the big celebrity, just continuing to do her job and working hard.'

Indeed, Bleakley and her Daybreak co-host Adrian Chiles this week spoke of their relief over improved ratings for the ITV breakfast show.

After being ravaged by critics and suffering a plunge in viewers, the show is experiencing a change in fortunes.

‘We set ourselves up for a kicking, which we duly got,' Chiles said of the high-publicity launch in September.

'It’s been a stressful time but we feel that things are moving in the right direction. The scars and bruises are now starting to heal.’

Frank Lampard and Christine Bleakley enjoyed a PASSIONATE kiss for all to see!!

They were clearly trying to go incognito for a relaxed afternoon at the pub.

But Frank Lampard and Christine Bleakley couldn't help but draw attention to themselves as they enjoyed a passionate kiss for all to see.

The couple, who have been dating since last November, kissed and cuddled as they basked in the sunshine with a couple of cocktails outside the London watering hole.

And they only stopped kissing when a group of tourists spotted the Chelsea player, and asked Bleakley to take a photo of them with Lampard.

While Bleakley wore an unusually casual outfit of beige shirt, denim shorts and wedges, Lampard also dressed down in a patterned white T-shirt, khaki shorts and sandals.

The pair also both sported tans, but appeared to have decided to leave the fake tan at home after an embarrassing dinner date for which they both lathered on the 'sunshine in a bottle'.

And instead of resorting to faking it for their day at the pub, both Lampard and Bleakley decided to show off their natural tans from their recent holiday to Sardinia.

The couple looked more loved-up than ever on their day out, and are even rumoured to be looking for a house together in the West Sussex village of Ferring.

Locals have seen Lampard, 32, in the village, fuelling speculation he is eyeing properties in the exclusive Kingston Gorse Estate.

Frank Lampard's girlfriend seems uncomfortable in her bikini top while in holiday

Friends of Frank Lampard have told how he will propose to his TV presenter love Christine Bleakley within the next six weeks – before the start of the new football season.

The couple have been dating for the past eight months, but the Chelsea midfielder, 32, is said to be planning his moment to pop the question, especially as Miss Bleakley, 31, has proved a hit with his father, Frank senior.

One source told the Mail: ‘Frank has told his closest friends that Christine is absolutely the girl for him.

‘The thing that has clinched it for him is that his dad, Frank Snr, loves Christine and has told Frank that his beloved mum Pat, who died two years ago, would have loved her too.

‘All bets are on that they will be engaged by the start of the football season, which kicks off properly in the second week of August.’

The friend added: ‘Frank will be thrown back into football, while Christine is going to be extremely busy as she will launch ITV’s new breakfast show in September– so expect a wedding next summer.’

Miss Bleakley has appeared to be tight-knight with the Lampard clan after joining her multi-millionaire lover on holiday with his cousin, former footballer Jamie Redknapp and his wife Louise.

However, the former One Show host managed to lure Lampard away yesterday as they hired a small boat to ferry them around the Costa Smeralda.

And passions were running high as Miss Bleakley, who flaunted her model figure in a small bandeau bikini, and Lampard could not stop kissing each other as they took a dip in the clear waters.

For Lampard, this is the first serious relationship he has had since a bitter break-up with Elen Rives, the mother of his two young daughters, Luna, four, and three-year-old Isla, in February 2009.

Lampard and Christine Bleakley confirm their relationship by kissing in public

They've been very careful not to be seen engaging in any public displays of affection, not even holding hands.

But Christine Bleakley and Frank Lampard threw caution to the wind today when they shared their very first public kiss.

The couple were snapped puckering up at a hotel in Sardinia where they have joined Jamie and Louise Redknapp on holiday.

If her status as Frank's girlfriend needed any more establishing, then this shot proves that Christine has more than secured her man.

The couple had a glass of wine and a spot of lunch at the plush resort on the island of Sardinia and were seen laughing and joking before they leaned in for a kiss.

Then it was off to meet the Redknapps, and judging by the warm greeting that Bleakley was given, she has been welcomed with open arms into the footballing family.

Frank, 32, is cousin to former Liverpool and Tottenham player Jamie Redknapp, 37, whose father is Harry, 63, Spurs's current boss.

Frank's father Frank Sr, 61, is Harry's brother-in-law, and was married to Harry's wife Sandra's sister Pat, who died aged 58 in April 2008 following a long battle with cancer.

They are a very close-knit family so it's good news for Christine that she has been accepted into the fold.

And it's just as well that she gets on with Louise as she may be in need of some female company.

If she's sick of hearing about football, then she may want to make a girlie escape with the former pop star.

Because being such a huge football family, no doubt Jamie and Frank may want to spend some time dissecting the World Cup - and the upcoming football season.

She already established herself as a proper WAG when she travelled to South Africa to support Frank and the England team in their game against Germany last Sunday.

And she was on board the official England plane that brought the dejected players back to Heathrow after they were knocked out.

Rumour of Lampard getting married>>.Fake

Christine Bleakley is a girl who always seems to have a permanent smile on her face.

But that toothy grin of hers seemed even wider today as she left boyfriend Frank Lampard's house - and showed off a huge ring on her wedding finger.

You'd have thought she would have little to smile about after watching her man get dumped out of the World Cup. But there was no mistaking her happy mood as she and Lampard dashed out of his London home.

The TV presenter, 31, blatantly held up her left hand as she and the 32-year-old footballer rushed passed the waiting photographers into a car.

Perhaps she wanted to make a not-so-subtle announcement about the next step in their relationship. But chances are she was just having a bit of fun teasing the paparazzi.

This afternoon, her spokesman denied that she and Lampard were getting married.

Speaking to Mail Online, he said: 'They are not engaged, I can tell you that for definite.

'It's a ring of hers that she has worn loads of times before - she wore it for the Glamour Awards and even at the England-Germany game on Sunday.

She's just shifted the ring around and put it on another finger.'

Christine did appear to be wearing the same ring as she cheered on Frank and the rest of the England squad during their match against Germany on Sunday.

She had flown out to South Africa for the game, but was back on the plane with Lampard and the rest of the team last night as they flew back into the UK this morning

Lampard celebrates with a German sportsman after coming back from South Africa

You'd think after England's World Cup defeat, Frank Lampard would be giving German sportsmen a wide berth - especially considering his disallowed goal.

But as he arrived back in the UK yesterday following Sunday's 4-1 thrashing by Germany, the midfielder's first celebrity outing was, rather ironically, to Boris Becker's 25th anniversary party celebrating the tennis star's first Wimbledon win.

Chelsea player Frank, 32, even posed for pictures alongside 42-year-old Becker at private members club Morton's in Mayfair, London, last night.

Frank looked relaxed as he chatted with the former World Number 1 tennis champ, suggesting Boris was perhaps politely refraining from any gloating.

England fans have also been left furious after a picture emerged of some of the England team relaxing with cigars and beers just hours after they went crashing out of the tournament.

The snap was taken by defender Ledley King on Sunday in the Hotel Marang in Rustenberg, where the England team was holed up.

Taken on his BlackBerry phone, it was apparently leaked by someone using a function which allows selected friends to share photos.

The image is low quality but Aaron Lennon can be seen puffing on a cigar, while fellow winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, striker Jermain Defoe, right back Glen Johnson and Michael Dawson are among the others chatting merrily around tables dotted with beer bottles and empty glasses.