Caporegime
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Poll: Best Central Midfielder in the PL?
- Thread starter Tom84
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Caporegime
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Wilshire was excellent last year, but played as a defensive midfielder, he's shown what he can do offensively for Bolton, for England and the odd rare game for Arsenal. In terms of form and multiple great seasons he's not there yet. I'd be grateful at this point to see him have another 2/3 long season without getting injured.
As for best midfielder, anyone that doesn't say Lampard is out of his mind. Even at Scholes best, Lampard has been excellent defensively and scored and assisted more.
There has never, and likely will never be a midfielder who has shown Lampards consistency or outright contribution in goals and assists.
He had his first injury hit season last year, came back into a struggling Chelsea team, and was dropped several times and played under a manager that was doing just about everything possible to hurt his confidence and form, and he still scored 21 goals in the league alone in the past 2 shorter than normal(for him) seasons.
Before that 22 goals and 14 assists, 34 goals and 17 assists for club and country. That is outstanding. He had a "poor" season this year and got 19 goals and 10 assists for club and country, Yaya got 9 goals, 9 assists, with vastly more in form strikers ahead of him.
Lampard has not scored less than 10 in the league for 9 years, that is simply incredible, barely any strikers can make a claim like that(in any league/if they've moved to other teams or not). He's got 10 or more assists in 7 of those seasons(one of those being his only injury hit season, in all competitions). Gerrard, often talked about as better, has only scored over 10 three times in the past decade and not gotten above 10 assists 5 times.
Gerrard isn't a bad player, he was exceptional until a few years ago, yet Lampard has consistently outscored and out assisted one of the best in the league.
Yaya is great, but he spends long spells in multiple games barely running, though he still manages to burst around now and then, his fitness is definitely an issue. Also Yaya went 2-3 months playing barely average during City's spell of dropping points which almost cost them the league.
I love Scholes but ultimately he hasn't had a good scoring season in almost 7 years, before they he was a 8-14 goal a season player, below what Lampard has averaged the past decade but still very good. Since then its lucky to get above 4 goals a season and hasn't scored more than 7 in all competitions since the 04/05 season. Stunningly good passer, rash defensively(but not incapable, he just likes showing the other team he's there), but ultimately Lampard is better defensively and contributes more direct game winning goals/performances.
As for best midfielder, anyone that doesn't say Lampard is out of his mind. Even at Scholes best, Lampard has been excellent defensively and scored and assisted more.
There has never, and likely will never be a midfielder who has shown Lampards consistency or outright contribution in goals and assists.
He had his first injury hit season last year, came back into a struggling Chelsea team, and was dropped several times and played under a manager that was doing just about everything possible to hurt his confidence and form, and he still scored 21 goals in the league alone in the past 2 shorter than normal(for him) seasons.
Before that 22 goals and 14 assists, 34 goals and 17 assists for club and country. That is outstanding. He had a "poor" season this year and got 19 goals and 10 assists for club and country, Yaya got 9 goals, 9 assists, with vastly more in form strikers ahead of him.
Lampard has not scored less than 10 in the league for 9 years, that is simply incredible, barely any strikers can make a claim like that(in any league/if they've moved to other teams or not). He's got 10 or more assists in 7 of those seasons(one of those being his only injury hit season, in all competitions). Gerrard, often talked about as better, has only scored over 10 three times in the past decade and not gotten above 10 assists 5 times.
Gerrard isn't a bad player, he was exceptional until a few years ago, yet Lampard has consistently outscored and out assisted one of the best in the league.
Yaya is great, but he spends long spells in multiple games barely running, though he still manages to burst around now and then, his fitness is definitely an issue. Also Yaya went 2-3 months playing barely average during City's spell of dropping points which almost cost them the league.
I love Scholes but ultimately he hasn't had a good scoring season in almost 7 years, before they he was a 8-14 goal a season player, below what Lampard has averaged the past decade but still very good. Since then its lucky to get above 4 goals a season and hasn't scored more than 7 in all competitions since the 04/05 season. Stunningly good passer, rash defensively(but not incapable, he just likes showing the other team he's there), but ultimately Lampard is better defensively and contributes more direct game winning goals/performances.
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I'm amazed you managed to create this without sticking Carrick in...unless he's going to be in the AMC one
I was going to include Xavick but then compared to someone like Modric even I wouldn't of voted for him so figured there wasn't much point
I have no idea how anyone could say that, for as long as I have been using this forum people have said he should quit and be replaced at united. He is the ultimate pro that any manager would be lucky to have but he wasn't even the best midfielder at united for most of the time he has been there, let alone all time in the epl.
Lampard beats him by a mile for me in this poll.
Lampard doesn't even have 5% of Scholes technical ability
Oh and the opinions of the likes of Nickg on an internet forum really doesn't represent the majority (as I keep saying over and over again)
EDIT: I haven't voted yet but I suspect I'll go with Toure
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Yet he score and creates more and as shown in his european games this season can still do a great job of getting back to defend.
Of course opinions are different but I'd rather have Lampard, even for England scholes never did enough tracking back for my liking, especially when he lost the ball or tackled like a junior school kid in the playground
n though I felt for him being played out of position for england he clearly didn't do enough to justify the spot despite all the promise.
Not really sure why not running around makes is a bad point?
You see players like Parker running around like a headless chicken and he is touted around like he is some kind of genius despite doing nothing. "proper midfielder" "a proper Englishman" etc. Yaya being 100x the player Parker he is doesn't need to run around a lot.
His fitness is not an issue at all. He looks tired when he is on the pitch but he isn't. Still makes powerful runs even in the last minutes of games.
Which 2-3 months where these?
I can only see one month we did badly where we suffered 5 defeats, 3 in the cup however. That month was January and Yaya missed it anyway. After he came back we lost twice in the league and once in the cup. Hardly average.
Caporegime
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His fitness IS an issue, he had dozens of games where he'd spend the a large portion of the second half, doing 3-4 powerful runs, but he'd lie down afterwards for 30 seconds, and it was the other area's he wasn't running in that cost you. Defensively he becomes annonymous, anyone running around him at speed finds it vastly easier from 60mins into a game onwards. He saves all his energy for those powerful runs, and concedes running around at any other time. He becomes an incredibly powerful attack force for a minute total, but barely gets involved in the rest of the attacks. Sorry but being unable to run maintained for 30 mins of most games is most definitely an issue. It hurts your attack and defence.
Running around like a headless chicken and moving at all are very different things. Yaya stands almost still for large portions, when he needs to back up to maintain the shape of the midfield line, he often doesn't, when moving sideways 5 yards to cut off passing angles is all that's required, he often doesn't.
City's performances and Yaya's performances aren't the same thing, likewise, results aren't performances. City struggled to win games from maybe early/mid december through, late Feb early March, when earlier in the season you were winning by scoring 4 goals or more, more often than you scored less than that. From, well Norwich till West Brom, you were suddenly losing games, winning or drawing games scoring 1 goal or less several times, and never scoring more than 3, which is a complete contrast to the first 3 months of the season.
Up to the end of November City were out of this world brilliant, from then till Feb/March they stuggled in mulitple games and the biggest culprits were Yaya and Silva, both who had a bunch of annonymous games and few if any stand out performances.
Running around like a headless chicken and moving at all are very different things. Yaya stands almost still for large portions, when he needs to back up to maintain the shape of the midfield line, he often doesn't, when moving sideways 5 yards to cut off passing angles is all that's required, he often doesn't.
City's performances and Yaya's performances aren't the same thing, likewise, results aren't performances. City struggled to win games from maybe early/mid december through, late Feb early March, when earlier in the season you were winning by scoring 4 goals or more, more often than you scored less than that. From, well Norwich till West Brom, you were suddenly losing games, winning or drawing games scoring 1 goal or less several times, and never scoring more than 3, which is a complete contrast to the first 3 months of the season.
Up to the end of November City were out of this world brilliant, from then till Feb/March they stuggled in mulitple games and the biggest culprits were Yaya and Silva, both who had a bunch of annonymous games and few if any stand out performances.
A year ago Fabregas would have walked this poll IMO, but a bit more tricky now he's gone.
Also despite your reasoning I think Gerrard should be in this list if Lampard is.
My gut feeling is that there should be another player from a 'lesser club' in the list - however, I'm struggling to think of one... possibly Arteta?
Oh and don't forget Joey Barton, based on ability he walks into the England squad donchyaknow!!
Also despite your reasoning I think Gerrard should be in this list if Lampard is.
My gut feeling is that there should be another player from a 'lesser club' in the list - however, I'm struggling to think of one... possibly Arteta?
Oh and don't forget Joey Barton, based on ability he walks into the England squad donchyaknow!!