Whos better Lampard or Gerrard?

[Albion + England]

No doubt people will spin the above in whatever way they wish or try to pick holes to favour one player or another. I personally rate Gerrard higher because I think he is a better overall player. When you consider the supporting cast each had, the position each played, add a hint of deflection to the mix and then factor in the following when comparing goals scored:



Then I side with Gerrard. Sad and now very tired bastard signing out...

Yeah i'd have to agree with that. I don't how many of those Lampard goals were deflections but there were quite a few - and when you consider he has approximately 38 shots per match, some are bound to fly in. Really though, Gerrard is the superior all round player. He can get forward to score goals and he can also track back and do the dirty work too to a high standard. He can play pretty much anywhere competently i.e centre mid, out wide or full back. He has a fantastic range of passing and as Tesos said, you have to consider the supporting cast both have. Chelsea undoubtedly have a better squad and the system they play benefits Lampards game as it allows him to play more freely (in an attacking sense) than Gerrard thanks to Makelele sitting behind him. I think Lampard is overrated, same goes for John Terry.

[leg_breaker]

Lampard had a spell last season where everytime he hit the ball on the edge of the box it bounced of three players and went in. When he's not on form he's completely anonymous. He is always allowed to just sit in the D all match waiting for shooting opportunities, Gerrard has to run around the whole park all match.

[Revelian]

Gerrard could play well in any position (apart from in goal).

Lampard works well in Mourinho's formation at Chelsea, but that is not to say that he would work well in any other position or in any other system for any other club.

I would rather have Gerrard in my team, even this season, when it seems that Stevie G's form has deserted him slightly.

Revelian

[Walter3000]

Gerrard could play well in any position (apart from in goal).

Lampard works well in Mourinho's formation at Chelsea, but that is not to say that he would work well in any other position or in any other system for any other club.

I would rather have Gerrard in my team, even this season, when it seems that Stevie G's form has deserted him slightly.

Revelian

Who cares how many positions a player can play in. Lampard is asked to be a CM, and in that role produces more than Gerrard, plays more consistently, and hardly ever misses action.

We have a swiss army knife, Essien.

And for the record, everyone talking about Gerrard's defending or tracking back is having a laugh, that area of his game has deteriorated to the point, where he's becoming a glorified all out attacking midfielder.

[ForeverRed]

Who cares how many positions a player can play in. Lampard is asked to be a CM, and in that role produces more than Gerrard, plays more consistently, and hardly ever misses action.

We have a swiss army knife, Essien.

And for the record, everyone talking about Gerrard's defending or tracking back is having a laugh, that area of his game has deteriorated to the point, where he's becoming a glorified all out attacking midfielder.

Thats wrong on so many levels.

[benni...]

Thats wrong on so many levels.

Can you go into detail? I've also noticed that he does more as an ATT mid. Atleast compared to back before when he was even considered more of a Dmid, atleast as far as I can remember.

[ForeverRed]

Well, this season alone is actually a great example of how complete of a player he is. Now mind you, he only tracks back when neccessary so when he's not defending like a maniac as was the case with Milan, doesn't mean that he's not tracking back any longer. But being that he's played more in central midfield this season due to Sissoko's injury, he has become a more balanced midfielder, doing both the distributing and occassional runs forward but also the intercepting of plays from the opposing team and the cleaning up duties that Xabi and Sissoko usually do.

His game is still improving believe it or not and despite his low amounts of goals this season compared to last he is still producing fantastic performances. He was very unfortuante early in the season not to score on several occassions but thats not an excuse so please do not interprete it as such.

[benni...]

For what its worth, I'd choose Gerrard over Lampard, because he offers more in my opinion.

[Albion + England]

When Chelsea play with Makelele sitting, it allows Lampard to have almost a free reign in midfield. It lets him get forward at every opportunity and therefore he is afforded the chance to shoot 92 times over the 90 minutes. He doesn't have to put as much emphasis on his defensive duties because of the system that Chelsea play. Fair play to Lampard, he does make the most of this role but i think some people overlook the fact that Makelele allows him to play it. If i had to choose between the F.L and S.G in a straight 4-4-2 where there is far more responsibilty on the 2 central midfielders to get up and down creating and defending and also to let the play go through them i'd go for Gerrard everytime. I'd even go so far as to state that if Gerrard had Lampards role at Chelsea he'd be equally as effective. In fact, having watched Chelsea this season Lampard has been pretty anonymous at times. For example, against Everton, Arteta stole the show from him and Ballack.

I'm not saying Lampard is sh!t - that would be silly, but i don't think theres a real contest between what Gerrard and he can offer to a team.

[Walter3000]

When Chelsea play with Makelele sitting, it allows Lampard to have almost a free reign in midfield. It lets him get forward at every opportunity

Its funny how often this is said, when Frank sits most of the match deep in the left center of midfield, and if either he or Ballack were forward nearly as often as people say Frank goes forward, the diamond might look a little more like a diamond.

[steveedster]

For me Gerrard.

Esp in the big games, CL final and who can forget the FA cup final.

[schafer]

When Chelsea play with Makelele sitting, it allows Lampard to have almost a free reign in midfield. It lets him get forward at every opportunity and therefore he is afforded the chance to shoot 92 times over the 90 minutes. He doesn't have to put as much emphasis on his defensive duties because of the system that Chelsea play.

It really is amazing that people can say such things. Anyone who knows Mourinho's style or watches Chelsea on a regular basis knows that he is a defense-first manager. Everyone on Chelsea has defensive duties, including the strikers. Because of Lamps' goal tally people seem to assume that he doesn't do any defensive work, but every player on Chelsea has to track back, has to get stuck in, etc., otherwise Mourinho will bench them with very little hesitation. Lampard is certainly not exempt from defensive work. I don't think the 'no defensive duties' argument really holds water against a player on Mourinho's team.

[Matt Clark]

Yes, but then the post you quote said he "doesn't have to put as much emphasis on" his defensive duties. Not "he has no" defensive duties. Thanks for jumping right on in though.

Besides, the primary reason Mourinho plays with not one but two ball-winners in the centre of midfield is precisely because he does want a third midfielder who can predominantly concentrate on getting forward. Deco at Porto, Lampard at Chelsea. Only an idiot would include Lampard in a midfield for his defensive abilities. And Mourinho's no idiot.

[soccertom]

I'm a fan of both. In my eyes Gerrard is the superior player. Gerrard is quicker, faster, more creative, covers much more territory and is a better ball distributor.

[schafer]

Yes, but then the post you quote said he "doesn't have to put as much emphasis on" his defensive duties. Not "he has no" defensive duties. Thanks for jumping right on in though.

Besides, the primary reason Mourinho plays with not one but two ball-winners in the centre of midfield is precisely because he does want a third midfielder who can predominantly concentrate on getting forward. Deco at Porto, Lampard at Chelsea. Only an idiot would include Lampard in a midfield for his defensive abilities. And Mourinho's no idiot.


I guess I should have quoted the rest of the post, where he basically implied that Lampard couldn't be as effective in a 4-4-2. But Lampard's breakout year came playing in a 4-4-2 under Ranieri.

Nor is Lampard always the most forward midfielder (Guddy did for some time last year) and in the diamond Mourinho has used this year, Lampard has been sitting deeper than Ballack. Lampard is far more capable defensively than most people give him credit for.

[benni...]

Just a short opinion on that subject. Lampard can run for days, so he has not problems putting pressure on the opponent and 'getting stuck in' but what else does he offer on the defensive side of the ball?

He tackles (not neccessarily being a great tackler) and puts himself about, but how's his reading of the game and positioning (of course on the defensive side of the ball just so some dont confuse this)?

[Walter3000]

Like someone else pointed out, he played quite a bit last season with only one ball winner, and Eidur as the attacking mid, and yesterday for example, with only one ball winner(Essien), he sits a lot more deep than he does up front behind the striker(s).

I agree he can run all day, he's just intelligent enough to know when it is time to make the run and when not to. Lampard helps out on defense, based on our system and his effort, he's definitely not a great tackler, but at least he isnt reckless and never gives away bad fouls.

[benni...]

He has injured a couple of players though. Cant remember one, but I know for sure he broke Xabi Alonso's ankle. Not intentionally ofcourse. But I agree with the rest of your post.

[Albion + England]

I guess I should have quoted the rest of the post, where he basically implied that Lampard couldn't be as effective in a 4-4-2. But Lampard's breakout year came playing in a 4-4-2 under Ranieri.

Nor is Lampard always the most forward midfielder (Guddy did for some time last year) and in the diamond Mourinho has used this year, Lampard has been sitting deeper than Ballack. Lampard is far more capable defensively than most people give him credit for.


Yeah i meant he couldn't be as effective as Gerrard is in a 4-4-2.

[Karloski]

I've not been on this forum long enough to have discussed the Lampard vs Gerrard debate, so I apologise in advance if I'm bringing up old points of view.

For me it has to be Gerrard.

Lampard has improved leaps and bounds in the last couple of years, so much so that he is classed as irreplaceble by one of the biggest clubs in the world. He's had to work hard to get where he is today, and that's to his credit. He has fantastic stamina, and with his range of shots, passes and ability to arrive in the box at key moments, he is rightfully considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world.

The thing is Gerrard has all those attributes plus more. He is one of the few players in the world who can carry and inspire teams who are playing badly/have inferior players. I think most people agree, if the players were to swap clubs, Gerrard could fill Lampards boots, but could Lampard single handedly inspire a lesser team on a consistant basis. I dont think so.