10 months ago
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Kieron Dyer has weighed in on the Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes debate and he's in no doubt his favourite is the Manchester United legend.
Dyer was a guest of Drivetime on talkSPORT and discussed a number of topics, including the age old debate that's divided fans for years.
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The difference is, he's one of the few to have played alongside all of them having done so during his England career.
He also didn't play alongside any of the elite trio at club level, meaning there's no risk of bias, and Dyer believes Scholes is better than Liverpool icon Gerrard and Chelsea great Lampard.
When asked who his favourite was out of Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes, Dyer said: “Paul Scholes. No disrespect to Frank Lampard, but that’s not even a conversation.
“Frank has got the most assists in the Premier League and has scored more goals than him, but my answer to that is that Chelsea played a completely different formation to Manchester United and Liverpool at the time, if you throw Steven Gerrard into the mix.
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“I love Frank Lampard because out of the three including Steven Gerrard, he had nowhere near the same amount of natural ability and talent as them, so for him to have the career that he had.
“Every single time I saw him in training he was doing extras – shooting and he was being labelled as 'fat' by West Ham fans and the amount of fast-feet stuff that he’d do – he was completely dedicated.
“Everything that he’s got – it’s a bit like Messi and Ronaldo when they say Messi has god-given talent and Ronaldo’s all hard work – that’s how I see Scholes and Gerrard and Lampard.”
Asked to rank the three in order, Dyer said: “Scholes, Gerrard and then Lampard.”
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The conversation with Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent then moved onto David Beckham and whether he can be considered world class, and Dyer is in no doubt that the former Man United, Real Madrid and England star was.
Dyer said: “Definitely world class. I think a world-class talent means you’re in the top three or four in your position.
“Luis Figo was Ballon d’Or winner at the time – he had more than Becks because he could beat people, but with Becks’ delivery he didn’t need to beat people.
“It was a touch, out of his feet and then whoosh – I’d see it in training, he can do anything he wants with a ball. He could put it anywhere.
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Dyer added that in his opinion Beckham was better than Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard when it came to playing for England.
Dyer added: “Beckham's delivery was brilliant and I always say that when you think of England and the golden generation – every time Becks played for England, he performed.
“Okay, he got sent off against Argentina in a crucial game but that’s the only slur that he’s got on his England record. He performed every time for England and he’s played over 100 times for England.
“We can’t say that about Wayne Rooney; we can’t say it about Scholesy, Steven Gerrard, Lamps or Rio, but you can say it about Beckham.”
Asked if got nervous around Beckham, he said: “Yeah. I used to ask him all the questions.
“He was at LA Galaxy at the time and he’d be saying that Eva Longoria and Jessica Alba were coming round for lunch and that he’s doing Pepsi adverts with J-Lo [Jennifer Lopez] and Beyonce and I’m just like, ‘I love you, Becks!’.”
But was he happy, Kieron...?
Catch Drivetime every weekday from 4pm (GMT) on talkSPORT
