Nexus of Thought: Do you agree that Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are the best English footballers? If not than who is the best English footballers in your opinion?

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Do you agree that Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are the best English footballers? If not than who is the best English footballers in your opinion?

My answer on Quora

Steve Gerrard and Frank Lampard were both excellent players and Gerrard in particular should be ranked in my opinion in the Top Ten of All-Time.

Gerrard was a classic box-to-box midfielder who could tackle, pass effectively (both long and short range), cross, take set pieces and score goals. He could literally play at any position on the pitch (other than goalkeeper of course). Although he never won the league he did win everything else. His genius was most displayed by the way that he orchestrated Liverpool’s come-from-behind win in the Champion’s League Final (2005) and the FA Cup Final (2006).

Stevie G. Source: Steven Gerrard to play for Liverpool FC Legends v Milan Glorie

Lampard was more of an attacking midfielder who played in a Chelsea system that afforded him the opportunity of essentially functioning as an auxiliary striker. Unlike Gerrard he had the luxury of deep midfield cover afforded to him by Claude Makélélé and Michael Essien and rarely (if ever had) had to dig deep and carry out the ball winning play in his own half. He was a prolific scorer but I don’t believe that he was as versatile as Gerrard. Still he was a player of tremendous ability.

Frank Lampard Source: Chelsea offer Frank Lampard new deal after contract re-think

Returning to the question…The English game is old and has had many storied players who deserve an inclusion in an all-time Top Ten List. These lists are of course subjective but I would, as much as I like Gerro, I would place Bobby Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Stanley Matthews, Kevin Keegan, Tom Finney, Gary Linker and Alan Shearer ahead of him (maybe not in that order of course) in terms of overall contribution to the game.

Jimmy Greaves Source: Players rally to show support for Jimmy GreavesScoring Machine 386 Goals in 566 appearances. 44 goals in 56 games for England.

Paul Gascoigne, Glenn Hoddle and Paul Scholes were first rate as well but I am still convinced that in terms of player completion that Gerro can ride alongside any of them.

Kevin ‘Mighty Mouse’ Keegan Source: Kevin Keegan at Liverpool - Won back-to-back Ballon D’Ors (1978 and 1979)

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My beliefs

I believe ….

1.That there is a God who transcends space and time. (I call it God for want of a name although I personally prefer the Kabbalistic term Ein Sof).

2. That it is impossible to know the nature of God. It cannot be truly defined.

3. That the universe operates according to the Laws of Physics. Life evolved through a combination of natural selection, genetic drift and other selection pressures acting on a genome whose variation arose as a consequence of mutation.

4. That God can intervene but such intervention is undetectable and does not contravene the laws of physics. God is a subtle actor who presents no evidence of understandable design.

5. That an agnostic position on a personal God makes sense.

6. That revealed religion are merely man made attempts at trying to understand God and although some carry the wisdom of earlier thought they are all inherently flawed.

7. That humans need to develop their own moral code based on reason, logic and the collective thinking of what has worked in the past.

8. That some religious customs may serve a purpose with respect to group cohesion but they need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

9. That God is a minimalist in action but not necessarily a disinterested party.

10. That the afterlife is unknowable.

11. That skepticism and the scientific method are the best tools we have in understanding the world.