AS HE has lurched from one crisis to another, the eternal regret of anyone connection with Paul Gascoigne is that when he left Newcastle, he did not join Manchester United.

Perhaps only Sir Alex Ferguson had the power to mould Gascoigne’s qualities in such a way that he would have been a better footballer and a less destructive human being.

England fans can therefore be thankful that Wayne Rooney did opt for life at Old Trafford for, as Frank Lampard revealed, Rooney is the nearest thing to Gascoigne in terms of the sheer joy of playing football since Gascoigne’s famous tears at Italia 90.

“The only person I can remember being like Wayne – and I was only around the squad and never played with him – was Gazza,” said Lampard.

“He had the same kind of bounciness around the hotel and the dressing room and it got people going around him.

“Some people get quite nervous.

Having Wayne come round to them to have a chat or make a joke is something that is very relaxing.

“I have met a couple at club level at various times in my career who were similar, but with England Gazza was the only one.”

In these high-tech days, every movement a top professional makes is monitored to the most minute detail. Diet, exercise. Even sleep times.

But with Rooney there is very little point.

As wife Coleen is due to give birth to the couple’s first child later this month, Rooney may soon have more than one type of dribbling to occupy his mind.

However, such is his obsession with football that he once revealed he challenges himself to a game of keepy-uppy when he goes to the fridge for a snack.

According to Lampard, not much has changed.

“Wayne comes into the dressing room an hour before the game, puts his kit straight on and starts kicking and flicking the balls around,” he revealed.

“He has been like that since he first came into the squad.

“He is a one off. If someone else did it you would criticise them for not stretching properly or something.

“But that is Wayne. Only certain players can give you that enthusiasm.

“Some players have it and keep it to themselves. He gives it out to people. It is a very big thing.”

England will not have it tomorrow though when they conclude their World Cup qualifying campaign against Belarus.

Rooney is back home in Manchester, nursing a calf injury which will be monitored until Sir Alex Ferguson returns from a short break in New York on Thursday.

In his absence, England must find a solution and that either means shunting Steven Gerrard further forward into the position he occupies so successfully for Liverpool, or introducing another striker.

Jermain Defoe would have been the obvious replacement but, as he was not selected due to a hand injury, Carlton Cole and Gabriel Agbonlahor – who would be making his first competitive start – appear to be above Peter Crouch in the pecking order.