--- i saw the FSW replay of the goals by Alonso and Vieira. Gerrard's pass to Alonso was pure genius. Vieira's initial pass was run of the mill, but his finish was excellent.
Paul Scholes cannot tackle? have you ever watched football, ever? Scholes is the most underrated midfielder in England, he's got 82 EPL goals career, more than most of the EPL's better strikers! He battles in midfield and generally wins those battles, when Man Utd were in charge and Beckham, Giggs, Keane and Scholes were the best midfield bar none in England nobody ever gave Scholes much credit always annoiting Beckham as the bet thing in football, but Scholes is the real deal! He has been in a bit of a funk this season but seems to have broken out with 3 goals in last two games with two being brilliant, goal of the month contenders! (by the way i am not even a Man Utd fan and i can say this, do yourself a favour and go take in a few games before you spew foulness!) Jay-Jay Okocha is very creative and maybe he is a bad choice, admittedly he isn't a defensive player at all. Patrick Vieira, wild as he is, is not just a defensive midfielder! He plays this way to allow Arsenal the freedom for Pires, Ljungberg and Reyes to break from midfield! If Vieira pushed up as much as say Lampard or Gerrard, Arsenal would drown in goals the way REAL do! (again not an Arsenal fan, but if you look at EPl you can see this!) Vieira even as defensive minded as some may think springs up every so often to join the attack but not as frequently as some other EPL middies because he doesn't have the cover they do!
scholes is an attacking midfielder int he truest since of the word, even playing a lot as a withdrawn striker at times, viera is a defensive mdfielder, and he has had the cover BTW until this season due to injury(gilberto is a very defensive minded midfielder)
he has never even timed a tackle correctly, let alone won a tackle. Gerrard and Lampard each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Gerrard, as Benitez has said, needs to realize how to play a shorter game. He can play a beautiful 60 yard ball, but to do it as often as he does can be a bit irritating. Lampard has definitely learnt this from all those players around him. But in terms of pure drive and full field ability, I would put Gerrard on top, Lampard and Viera in a tie for second.
--- that is the great beauty of Paul Scholes. whilst everyone else is playing football at 33 and a third, he's playing at 45. it's the larger hole in the middle that causes all the bother.
No. Gerrard is up there in the top 3 but the best one IMHO is Lampard . He can score, he goes penalty box to penalty box, he's played in like 3000 matches this season counting the CL, Euros, EPL Season, Friendlies, and Qualifiers so we know he has the the fitness, and he doesn't have a tendancy to pick up too many cards like the other EPL Mid-fielders mentioned above.
No, he can't. He's a great attacking player but a terrible tackler. Yes, I watch almost every game televised on Sky or ITV in England. And it's arrogant to assume that just because someone disagrees with you, they can't have any knowledge of the subject.
Put me down for Gerrard as the best "complete" midfielder in the EPL (if not the world right now). Vieira from two years ago would be better but he has gone off the boil in the last 18 months. Lampard is on a par right now with Vieira but if Paddy returns to form I can see him exceeding Lampard again.
Wrong. That goal he scored for England against Germany, when we thrashed them 5 - 1. I had to miss my brothers wedding night party to watch it. Get your priorities in order.
The best midfielder right now in the EPL is Frank Lampard. As far as a blend of offense and defense, nobody matches him. He has really stepped his game up, after criticisms of inconsistency in past years. His passes are amazing, and with him in the heart of the formation, Chelsea is playing like a well fueled machine. Gerrard is a close second, as he is tougher than Lampard, but Frank is a better passer.
Stop you right there mate. Its called Defending and Attacking. Offence and Defence shite, keep to American football. Its called defending and attacking in proper football. Its not hard.
IMO Lampard is the most complete in the EPL right now, and Gerrard is definitely not the best midfielder in the world by now, not by any stretch of the imagination. In Europe alone Nedved for one is better than him, despite his age, you're forgetting Ballack (who can carry a mediocre German national team all the way to the World Cup finals), an in form Vieria is still better than Gerrard, and similar cases can still be made for Totti and Zidane.
you geordie twat. because you have a 'special' avatar doesn't mean that you are God's gift to football. As far as lampard defending, he is much like scholes. He has somebody behind him doing all the dirty work, because he isn't able.
waddya mean, special avatar. Its only a picture. Geordie twat, i like it. Americans have a way with words.
lampard better than gerrard ?only in your dreams ,gerrard is more inspirational ,more dynamic ,influential team captain,can take players on ,can pass the ball better ,can cross the ball better ,can defend better , can play brilliantly in different positions ,in midfield ,attacking midfield where is strength actually is or out wide. lampard looks good in a very good team ,gerrard last year was absolutely brilliant especially in the second half of the season ,he had most premiership managers lining up sing his praised and they know a bit more about the game than us. lampard is a good player no doubt ,but he is slower than gerrard he can only play one position ,and his eye for goals seems to convince people that he is better than what he actually is ,goals bring glory ,but gerrards/' all round game is far superior.
how about the people that vote for epl player of the year, do they know more than us, lampard got more votes, he also outshone gerrard at the euros. but to each his own, i think their both phenomenal players, and if you think that gerrard is so much better than lampard, and lampard is only in his class in some peoples dreams.....well i say you are an idiot. Do you even know what the word dynamic means?
If Lampard is better why aren't managers praising him as much as Gerrard? I don't think you can judge Gerrard by Euro 2004. He was absolutely burned out.
Last season Gerrard had to carry Liverpool on his shoulders to that 4th spot. Certainly Lampard played more games but he also had a better and more consistent supporting cast.
excuses, as for whos impressed with who, lampard finished ahead of gerrard in the player of the year voting in the epl.
Hey - thats your opinion and you're entitled to it but it is one I disagree with Nedved is a winger and does not offer the same defensive abilities as Gerrard. Ballack? You're having a laugh He's good but again, as a complete midfielder he lacks Gerrards all round game We don't know what an in-form Vieira is like nowadays - we haven't see it for 18 months. And I still think Gerrard has surpassed him overall. Totti and Zidane are hardly complete players are they? The idea here is to compare similar players in similar positions. Try comparing Gerrard with Gattuso, Mascherano etc.