Steven Gerrard

[HangTheDJ]

Also, Gerrard is better than Toure. At the minute? Probably not, but Gerrard's peak is better than what Toure has been past couple of years.

2005-2010 Gerrard was immense and in hindsight is mad underrated.

[Benicio del Toney]

In all honesty Gerrard is very limited as footballer.

He had that long shot which is the same technique he used to volley them power passes, he has a curler on him and engine.

Sheringham technically >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Gerrard

So was Beckham

Fair point.

[Benicio del Toney]

Also, Gerrard is better than Toure. At the minute? Probably not, but Gerrard's peak is better than what Toure has been past couple of years.

2005-2010 Gerrard was immense and in hindsight is mad underrated.

I've said on here that I thought Gerrard was the best in the world at one point, even more effective than Ronaldinho think it was 2005.

But as a footballer he ain't seeing Yaya, Yaya arguably won Man City the League last year, when he went to ACN they started f*ck*ng around.

Stevie has never won Liverpool the League despite what he has done.

[Bobby Reds]

Aguero Silva Kompany Barry played just as much a part in winning for the league for City

If liverpool had them Sheiks pitch up over there instead with there cash im sure Gerrard probably would have "won liverpool the league" by now

[stacksbranning]

Fact is liverpool players will say gerrard , everyone else, anyone with common sense will say scholes . From time zidane says you are the best and xavi says you are his idol you are the best . Gerrard at his best is world class though not even gonna front

[Flojo]

The salad tossing of players on the continent is becoming as unbearable as the pro english player bias these days. and since when did fitting in at Barca become the way to determine how effective a player is.

Yaya is technically sound but his biggest strengths are physical, it's interesting that he hasn't been dubbed an 'athlete' by some.

Me of all people salad tossing players from the continent? lol come on.

The Barca point was basically a point about technical ability, if you ain't at that level then you can't play at Barca, especially in Midfield, it would be hard to see how Gerrard could fit in at Barca based on his ability, even at his Peak.

Yaya is a big guy but that is the thing, he is more than just a big guy, notice when listing what he is better at than Stevie I never even mentioned tackling or anything physical, I forgot tbh lol.

He uses his size to good effect but that guy is a baller straight up and down.

Come on what? In every topic on here it's the same thing, football hipsters trying to underline they're removed from the hoi polloi of the footballing watching world and the "I'm so cultured I can only appreciate the game in it's purest form" is becoming the default mindset for doing so.

I wasn't aiming that part of the post at you anyway.

/

Again Gerrard's shortcomings are nothing to do with his technical ability but more to do with his mentality, he wants to be all action like his hero Bryan Robson. Ged encouraged Gerrard to play this way and it wasn't until Rafa got in charge you started to see a more controlled and disciplined player because he urged him to be more intelligent with his play. Gerrard has said this himself and even went as far to say that he was sceptical about playing as a wide midfielder and off the striker when Benitez originally suggested it to him because it took him away from being involved in the way he wanted.

When Gerrard plays with players that he trusts he is a lot less impatient and doesn't try to compensate for what others lack, hence why when we had Torres, Masch and Xabi he was unplayable. the problem arises when he plays alongside players he doesn't feel are good enough and he starts running around like a mad man trying to make things happen everywhere on the pitch which is where the Roy of the Rovers tag comes from.

On numerous occasions he's played a more disciplined role for both club and country, look at how when he was at the peak of his powers and picked alongside Lampard at the 06 World Cup he basically played a sitting role and allowed Lampard to be the most forward player (he still outscored him by the way). Even this summer at the Euros I was seeing bare people on here talking about how his kick and rush style would be embarrassing to watch but it didn't happen, he was much more reserved in his play and contributed 3 assists and a goal despite the way Hodgson set the team up.

Technically and athletically he was ridiculously good, had he been moulded by a manager who encouraged him to be smarter with his play and played with team mates who he trusted he would be deemed as one of the very best.

[Fighting Weight]

People confuse the term technical ability with footballing intelligence

HOWEVER

Gerrard does not have the technical ability where he can manipulate the ball well in tight spaces or pass 'cute'

ala scholes, ala xaxi, ala busquets, ala pizarro, ala riquelme

But he isn't a donkey

[Flojo]

You been watching football on Eurosport when it was channel 13 on cable

Then surely if I threw names from that era who plied there trade on continent then you would be able to name English players who were better technically

That's all I am saying if you can do that I will take the L on this

Seriously you come across mad feminine at times.Why are you always trying to pull people's card to show you know more than them?

I was watching European football from early, how can that result in an L for you?

If I tell you I have a soft spot for Celta because I rated Mostovoi highly is that proof? What about if I tell you that I named my saturday league 5 a side team Ajax Juniors when I was 10 because I liked how they played?

Probably not but what does it even matter, you could question me on the Uzbeki league if you want it's 2012 and we have Google.

[HangTheDJ]

It's not all about being a good technician. Eg. Beckham and Keane making up 50% of the second best midfield from the past two decades.

[Flojo]

People confuse the term technical ability with footballing intelligence

HOWEVER

Gerrard does not have the technical ability where he can manipulate the ball well in tight spaces or pass 'cute'

ala scholes, ala xaxi, ala busquets, ala pizarro, ala riquelme

But he isn't a donkey

I agree he isn't a cute player but neither was Batigol, does it make him a lesser striker than say a Bergkamp?

[Flojo]

It's not all about being a good technician. Eg. Beckham and Keane making up 50% of the second best midfield from the past two decades.

Someone that could find a player with the accuracy and frequency he could is a technically gifted player in my book.

It's also ironic that by a lot of people's logic Beckham isn't a technically gifted player yet to see the imprint he made on the game you only have to go to any park on a sunday morning and see how his technique of kicking the ball is now almost the norm.

[Fighting Weight]

Beckham was technically gifted

/

It's a different matter with strikers. Gerrard isn't Batigol lol

If you want to compare him to a striker I'd say he's Rooney

And Bergkamp > Rooney

[Bobby Peng]

Seen some really silly things posted here.

1) If Beckham is not a good technician then neither is Gerrard because the technique of how Beckham struck the ball was second to none and if we want to talk about Gerrard technique then that was without a doubt his biggest gift, HE STRIKES THE BALL WELL.

2) Yaya manoeuvres the ball better than Gerrard (IMO) and can play a cuter style of football AND strikes the ball well .

3) Yaya leaving Barca had zilch to do with his technical ability and more to do with the style of football which Barca wanted to play, they wanted to share the ball and Busquets just happened to be way more adept at this than Yaya, this is more about the players mentality than any technical ability. An example of this is Zlatan who is one of the most technically gifted players in the world but just did not suit Barcas philosophy, Ronaldo probably wouldnt either but thats a completely different argument.

4) If some peoples arguments are to be followed then Michael Carrick is a better footballer than Steven Gerrard because he would suit Barcelonas style of play more than Gerrard.

[Fighting Weight]

Carrick is a better footballer than Gerrard

[Lieutenant]

We need to define technique seriously

I can't see beckhams name being brought up

[darkman]

Carrick is a better footballer than Gerrard

[HangTheDJ]

I didn't mean Beckham is a bad technician, but he wasn't a top class footballer by the criteria some (mostly Porchy) are rating them by.

Yet he was part of many successful sides, and 1/4 of a history making midfield.

You can't discredit his attributes as a football player just because he wasn't what some describe as a footballer.

[O Fenomeno]

Beckham is technically good

He adapted to La Liga well due to this IMO but you can tell compared to the likes of Zidane/Figo there were levels

[Marly Mar]

why are man saying Becks has no tek

lard

[Anderson]

People seem to have a warped perception of what is good technique and what is 'culture/flair'. There are also varying styles of technique and obviously some players have better technique for particular skills than others.

Beckham and gerrard both have good technique. Crossing, long passing, shooting(striking a ball, not the same as finishing) they are both technically excellent at. There is not even a question about it.

Other players who i would describe as cultured who cant cross a ball or strike a ball as well as either of the above two, yet possess greater technique when it comes to ball control, short passing, dribbling (guys like iniesta) are seen as having better overall technique. Which they dont *necessarily* have but what sets them apart is thier mental skills.

Decision making being the main one. When to pass, where to pass, what type of pass to use. When to run, where to run, when to beat a man etc. The cultured and flair players do this better than your gerrards etc but these skills have no bearing on a players technical ability.

[Guest M12]

For me technique is general mastery of the ball and making it do what you want to includied in that is passing, first touch, curlers etc. no1 would say berbs or zlatan play the best long balls/through balls in the world. But both of them have tekked out touches. There are also plenty of players with mad tekk who generally don't score or assist prolifically.

[Benicio del Toney]

Carrick is a better footballer than Gerrard

Without a doubt.

Carrick is 1 of the few cultured footballers England have produced in the last 20 years.

I've said it before Carrick is the closest thing England have to a Pirlo, the guy just doesn't understand how he could boss games off if he grew some balls.

Gerrard on the other hand was way more effective hands down, but Carrick has lacked confidence in the past it's clear to see whereas Stevie in his prime thought he was the best in the Galaxy and anything he hit was going in.

That's why talent ain't enough, to get to that next level you need 100% belief in your own ability.

Pirlo has it, Gerrard has/had it, Carrick don't.

[Lieutenant]

People seem to have a warped perception of what is good technique and what is 'culture/flair'. There are also varying styles of technique and obviously some players have better technique for particular skills than others.

Beckham and gerrard both have good technique. Crossing, long passing, shooting(striking a ball, not the same as finishing) they are both technically excellent at. There is not even a question about it.

Other players who i would describe as cultured who cant cross a ball or strike a ball as well as either of the above two, yet possess greater technique when it comes to ball control, short passing, dribbling (guys like iniesta) are seen as having better overall technique. Which they dont *necessarily* have but what sets them apart is thier mental skills.

Decision making being the main one. When to pass, where to pass, what type of pass to use. When to run, where to run, when to beat a man etc. The cultured and flair players do this better than your gerrards etc but these skills have no bearing on a players technical ability.

Spot on

[HangTheDJ]

People seem to have a warped perception of what is good technique and what is 'culture/flair'. There are also varying styles of technique and obviously some players have better technique for particular skills than others.

Beckham and gerrard both have good technique. Crossing, long passing, shooting(striking a ball, not the same as finishing) they are both technically excellent at. There is not even a question about it.

Other players who i would describe as cultured who cant cross a ball or strike a ball as well as either of the above two, yet possess greater technique when it comes to ball control, short passing, dribbling (guys like iniesta) are seen as having better overall technique. Which they dont *necessarily* have but what sets them apart is thier mental skills.

Decision making being the main one. When to pass, where to pass, what type of pass to use. When to run, where to run, when to beat a man etc. The cultured and flair players do this better than your gerrards etc but these skills have no bearing on a players technical ability.

Spot on

[Lens]

It's not all about being a good technician. Eg. Beckham and Keane making up 50% of the second best midfield from the past two decades.

I'm assuming You're placing current Barcelona top and not counting international teams

still

Current Chelsea midfield > that midfield

Arsenal midfield (unbeaten for a whole season year) > that midfield

AC Milan with in form (world player of the year) Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf and Gattuso?