YZFRydn

When i saw this thread i expected Mongy comments but i didnt expect Smiley Dan to make them.

retired_erynelouise

Oh well, at least I've got a ****-hot PVR

retired_gracie77

The ginger prince.

retired_erynelouise

(See the other Earl thread, rereading that sounds bizarre)

retired_stevesgrl

who's winning?

retired_jennifer89889

Whoever shouts loudest / includes the most amount of 's.

StewDogg

Serious lack of actual analysis of the players here.

Scholes can best be described as a tidy player. The only thing that's spectacular about him are his long range shots. But Lampard is good at that too. Scholes rarely gives the ball away, can read the game well and has the vision and technique to play the subtle through balls that Gerrard can't.

However, his tackling's appalling and, as has been mentioned, is a master of his trade. He's been able to focus on playing in 1 position pretty much consistently throughout his career in a team whose tactics, movement, etc are ingrained thus making it easy for him to play consistently well. Also Scholes cannot dribble particularly well and does not have the same close control when running at speed as Gerrard. Scholes is not a particularly influential player when the going gets tough. He'll do his job quietly and effectively without shouting at people or trying to drive the team on.

Gerrard is a jack of all trades and that while being a great strength is perhaps his biggest downfall. He's played right back, right and left midfield, central as a defensive, box-to-box and attacking midfielder. In every position he's been effective and no-one can argue with that. His long range shooting is excellent, he has a great engine, can tackle and head the ball can dribble well and times his runs into the box well. He's also extremely influential which was seen more in the 03/04 season when he almost-singlehandedly dragged Liverpool into the top 4.

On the other hand, his pass selection can be poor at times, he lacks the positional discipline and has about zero subtley when it comes to playing defense-splitting passes in and around the box.

In Gerrard's defence, he hasn't reached his peak yet, has improved his pass selection since Owen left (remember that he'd been playing with Owen since they were about 12 so were used to his runs and often tried to find him with those Hollywood balls) and has been shoved around from pillar to post on the pitch.

So in summary...

...well, I'm not sure it's a fair comparison really given that Scholes has played in 1 position with a load of great players throughout his career. Going back to Le Tiss as a famous man once said "even Pele would look inconsistent playing with the likes of Maddison, Dowie and Benali". You could argue the same is true of Gerrard playing with Biscan, Diao, Smicer and Heskey.

For me, given my analysis I'd say it's Gerrard, but I'll get shouted down no doubt!

retired_amadhani

I think the problem is that also Lampard is ridiculously underrated reading this thread its getting a bit silly now.

retired_bigsean999

Scholes has amazing close control and can get himself and the ball out into some space when it seems like there isn't any to go into.

retired_kris10nicole

I think there are lots of players who can do the things that Gerrard does well. His real strength is that he can do more of them to that level than most players. there are very few players who can do what Scholes does to the same level. It's that extra bit of "fantasy" that puts Scholes ahead for me.