England Golden Generation: Lampard leading revival with Coventry City

50 games, 28 wins 

It's the November international break, which means it is the final time of the year where critics will inevitably attempt to measure England's current international team against their predecessors before the next year's 2026 World Cup. It's a relevant conversation to be had, with Thomas Tuchel's men maintaining a 100 per cent record throughout their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign so far after beating Serbia 2-0 on Thursday - and all without conceding a goal. It can be said that with players such as €180million-rated Jude Bellingham struggling to get into the team, this may be the most talented generation of players England has ever had. But the 'Golden Generation', featuring the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, may contest that given the array of star-studded personas that featured for the Three Lions were better on paper.

England's Golden Generation

Under the late Sven-Göran Eriksson, the team reached the quarter-finals of three consecutive major tournaments - the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, and 2006 World Cup but were eliminated each time in the quarter-finals. Steve McClaren's reign saw a nightmare Euro 2008 qualifying campaign where England failed to qualify for the tournament. And in the 2010 World Cup, Fabio Capello's men were eliminated in the last 16. The constant 'Golden Generation' talk put a significant amount of pressure on the players, with high expectations from fans and the media expecting them to fail. Perhaps it is fair to argue that has transferred across to their managerial careers too. Now in their mid-40s and 50s, seven players have tasted the trials and tribulations of management, and their impact from the sideline hasn't quite been the same.

What are England's Golden Generation doing now?

The sample size, considering their stature, isn't vast. The majority have worked in punditry for some or all of their post-playing careers, with Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen regularly seen on TV. Others have settled for lower-profile jobs in coaching: John Terry has struggled to find a job that suits his managerial ambitions so far despite an assistant gig with Aston Villa, while Ashley Cole has worked as an assistant at Chelsea, Derby and England Under-21s. Neville and David Beckham have even resorted to club ownership with Salford City and Inter Miami respectively. But Lampard and Gerrard are the two ex-players who have at least experienced some measured success both as a player and manager, with the former enjoying a dominant start to the campaign with Coventry City.

Lampard revitalised with Coventry

Lampard's Coventry side are five points clear at the top of the Championship with 34 points from 15 games, scoring 40 goals and conceding just 13 in the process. The Sky Blues flirted with promotion on several occasions before under previous boss Mark Robins, but under a revitalised Lampard, it looks more of a certainty with every game. The Chelsea icon, now 47, celebrated his 50th game for the club with a 1-0 win at fellow promotion hopefuls Stoke City, his 29th since taking charge. It marks a recent revival for Lampard, who started brightly at Derby and Chelsea before he was sacked by Everton in his last permanent job in 2022-23, and won just twice in 11 games at Chelsea as their interim manager later in the same season. With Coventry, however, he has found a level where he can develop his skills without the burden of pressure that comes with being a Premier League manager. If he can take Coventry into the top flight for the first time in 25 years, his past experiences will have prepared him for the ride.

Gerrard top of the pile

Of England's golden generation, only Gerrard (1.82) has a superior overall points-per-game record than Lampard (1.55). The Liverpool legend came through the coaching ranks at his boyhood club as an academy coach and Under-18s manager before enjoying a hugely successful reign with Rangers, where he won the Scottish Premiership in 2020/21. However, Gerrard's recent stints with Aston Villa and Al-Ettifaq have been much less impressive. His average plummets to 1.26 PPG when taking into account the 95 games he had with both clubs, offering some explanation as to why he hasn't found a job since his exit from the Saudi Pro League club in January 2025. In a similar dataset for Lampard, his last 95 matches combined as a manager have yielded 1.47 PPG. This doesn't include his forgettable temporary stint as interim manager with Chelsea in 2022-23, where he won two of 11 matches in charge. But even with that thrown into the mix, his PPG (1.36) is still higher than Gerrard's throughout the same period.

Rooney's recent decline

Beyond the legendary midfield duo's managerial respectable record, it becomes a somewhat grim reading for the rest of their former international colleagues. Wayne Rooney's career in management got off to a promising start with Derby County and later D.C. United. But the 39-year-old has gradually fallen off a cliff, with recent spells with Plymouth Argyle (0.84 PPG) and Birmingham City (0.67 PPG) leaving some lasting damage to his reputation as a coach. Gary Neville's infamous tenure at Valencia lasted 28 matches with a 1.32 PPG record at the Mestalla, while his brother Phil Neville has endured a mixed bag with Inter Miami and Portland Timbers in his 171 matches as a Major League Soccer boss.

The only other members of that squad to have been in charge of a professional team are Scholes and Sol Campbell. Scholes oversaw a disastrous spell with Oldham Athletic (0.87 PPG) and left after just seven matches, while his temporary stint with Salford City was more prosperous (1.75 PPG). Likewise, Campbell has plumbed the depths of English football with Southend United, with whom he suffered the ignominy of relegation to the National League, and Macclesfield Town, who he managed to keep in the EFL.

Lampard or Gerrard: Future England manager?

For one reason or another, England's 'Golden Generation' have largely struggled to stay afloat in management. But that could still change, with Lampard's redemption with Coventry and Gerrard's success with Rangers. Indeed, the Kop hero opened the door to another job in October: “There’s a part of me that still feels that there’s a bit of unfinished business in terms of wanting to go in and face another couple of exciting challenges. But I want a certain type of challenge. If, in an ideal world, they come available, I’ll jump at them. If they don’t, I won’t go back in.”

If the opportunity arises at some point in the future, the England job could offer a chance for one of Lampard or Gerrard to rewrite the story of the 'Golden Generation' - only this time from the dugout.