The question ‘Which player was better between Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes?’ has been asked by English football fans for many years.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scholes has the backing from Manchester United fans, Chelsea fans will of course pick Lampard and Liverpool fans are on Gerrard’s side. Whilst fans of other teams simply cannot choose between the three.
The trio was in their prime during Sven Goran Eriksson’s time in charge of England, and he had the biggest problem of them all to try and fit them in his midfield. Eriksson had arguably England’s best ever midfield in the shape of Gerrard, Lampard Scholes and David Beckham.
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In a bid to fit them all into his formation, Eriksson often played Scholes on the left side of the midfield.
Back in 2013, it seemed that Eriksson gave his own opinion on the debate, he was questioned on BBC Radio 5 Live by presenter Mark Chapman, who asked: “In your eyes, who was the best midfielder in that squad when you were in charge of England?”
Eriksson gave a cagey reply at first, he said: “If you look at all-around footballers, they are good all of them.”
The Swede then appeared to pick out his choice from the three.
He said: “But, if you look at Paul Scholes in a very, very good shape he can do everything with the ball. He didn’t lose the ball. He could pass it short, he could pass it long, he could score goals. Fantastic footballer and a joy to see him playing football.”
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“What do you do with Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham? You have to use them. Because if you take Beckham, he had talents that nobody else had. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were goal scorers, midfielders who were hard-working and could defend and attack.”
“The best solution if we wanted to use all four midfielders was to put, at that time, Paul Scholes on the left.”
Having seemingly picked Scholes out as the best of the bunch, Chapman then quizzed Eriksson, he asked: “Surely if he is your best footballer do you not play him in his best position?”
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Eriksson replied: “Yeah, but to put some of the others to the left is not very good.”
“And you want the four best midfielders on the pitch and it’s always like that. You want the best football players on the pitch as much as possible.”
So there it is, the man who has managed them all has picked Scholes out as the best, but this debate will for sure continue in years to come.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/ BBC Radio 5 LiveTopics: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Sven-Goran Eriksson, England, Football
