Michael Owen says Steven Gerrard was ‘on a different level’ to Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard during their playing days.
Despite never winning the Premier League, something Scholes and Lampard have done multiple times, Owen thinks his ex-teammate from Anfield was the better player.
The former Liverpool captain scored 120 goals in 504 Premier League matches and won the Champions League in 2005. He also secured two FA Cups, three League Cups and the UEFA Cup, but still no league title to throw in the mix…
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You’ve got to wonder, for the great leader and motivator on the pitch Gerrard is said to have been, that wasn’t evident enough to bring them league success during his time as captain, and you can’t put that down to being in rubbish teams. They came close under Brendan Rodgers but ultimately slipped up.
Owen told Jamie Carragher, another mouthpiece for LFC in the media, on The Greatest Game podcast: “If you watch Scholesy in training, your tongue is hanging out.
“He can give you the eyes, you can think he’s heading it that way and he’ll almost do a reverse spinner off the other side of his head. He can drop a ball on a six pence. He is just total and utter genius.
“Frank Lampard, who can question his goalscoring and how he got every ounce out of his ability?
“But to me, Stevie’s on a different level than anything I’ve seen or played with and as you’re said, I’m now blowing smoke up my a***, I’ve played with some great Man United players, Liverpool players, Real Madrid, England.
“Put it this way: If I’m saying tomorrow rewind the clock, you’re going into battle now, you’re playing in the Champions League final, who’s your first pick? I’d have Steven Gerrard as my first pick out of everyone.”
Let’s take a look at the trio’s Premier League stats:
Steven Gerrard
Appearances: 504
Goals: 120
Premier League titles: None
Paul Scholes
Appearances: 466
Goals: 102
Premier League titles: 11
Frank Lampard
Appearances: 429
Goals: 147
Premier League titles: 3
All three turned to management after hanging up their boots.
Scholes left his role as Oldham boss after just 31 days, while Gerrard and Lampard have had better success from the dugout.
After taking over Liverpool’s Under-18 side 2017, Gerrard took over Rangers a year later. He has already overseen more than 100 matches as Gers boss and now has them in a position where they can push Celtic for the SPL title.
Let’s hope they slip…
As for Lampard, he’s doing a reasonably good job in his first season as Chelsea manager considering they were unable to really start their rebuild with his as manager last summer, due to a transfer ban restricting them from making any signings. He also had a promotion push with Derby County before taking over at Stamford Bridge.
Before someone brings the England aspect of the debate forward, it is important to note that Sven-Goran Eriksson made the fatal decision of playing Scholes out of position to accommodate Gerrard and Lampard, a midfield pairing that constantly failed.
Scholes packed in his international career following this, rightly deciding to concentrate on his club career instead, which proved beneficial not just to himself but United.
He made United tick.
