Beckham vs Scholes. Passing.

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So who was the better passer? For years I always thought Beckham was the best passer at United and Scholes never even crossed my mind.

Then Scholes moved further back and became a Deep Lying Playmaker and his passing range was more noticeable and ridiculously good.

So who was the better passer then?
 

Thaumaste

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Scholes. Insane to think of the combined passing ability of that Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Beckham midfield. 4 players who at different points in their careers all showed they could control games from the middle of the park.
 

Eriku

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Scholes.

Crossing alone would be Becks, hands down, but overall Scholes’ passing was better, for me.
 

RedRonaldo

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Crossing - Beckham
Hollywood ball - Beckham
Long pass - Tie
Short pass - Scholes
midrange pass - Scholes
One touch pass - Scholes

Scholes really master all type of passing, he is easily the best passer I've ever seen in England, his range of passing is unreal. But then Beckham is comfortably GOAT in crossing.
 
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harms

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Scholes - simply for the variety of his passes. Beckham is very close though if we're counting crosses.
 

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Scholes - simply for the variety of his passes. Beckham is very close though if we're counting crosses.
agreed.

I think Scholes was always 2 steps ahead of the pass before he received it which is why his accuracy and variety was so good. The fact Becks was stuck out on the wing limited his range to a degree. Would have been interesting to see what Becks would have been like as a deep lying play maker though for a true comparison

Both amazing passers of the ball though and better than anything we've got at the club now, incl pogba
 

LARulz

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Scholes for variety but the thing that makes me give it to him is that his passes controlled the game. Each pass was with a complete purpose it felt and if it was a short pass to a defender, it was so he could move elsewhere to get the ball back and rip up a midfield.

Beckham's passing/crossing was insane but always a decent chance you'd still lose the ball. Scholes you were more in shock when he did lose it. Also Beckham's passes tended usually go one direction (into the box), whereas Scholes sprayed it around the pitch and knew where everyone was at all times to keep his options open
 

harms

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Both amazing passers of the ball though and better than anything we've got at the club now, incl pogba
To be fair I think that Pogba has a better passing arsenal than Beckham did, but the latter was much more consistent and better in his decision-making. Some of Pogba's through-balls and first-touch passes though :drool:
 

fps

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Passing - Scholes
Crossing - Beckham

As others have said, Scholes always seemed a step ahead of the game. Those attempts Beckham made to move himself into central midfield were only ever partially successful. His decision-making around his passing was a big part of that.
 

shamans

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It's Scholes but it's closer than most people think.

Beckham has a much better, if not the best ever, crosses into the box from the wings though. Perfect whip, timing, accuracy and intensity.
 

shamans

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Passing - Scholes
Crossing - Beckham

As others have said, Scholes always seemed a step ahead of the game. Those attempts Beckham made to move himself into central midfield were only ever partially successful. His decision-making around his passing was a big part of that.
He had a really good run there for Madrid. Beckham also read the game really well but he didn't have the close control Scholes did.
 

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I picked Beckham on the assumption it was about mid to long range passes and as good as Scholes was on them, Beckham was GOAT. Scholes was a god at one and two touch play but it’s pointless comparing him with Beckham on that as it was never in Beckham’s remit. When Beckham played in CM he was a quarterback and the first thing he did was get his head up and see who could start the counter attack.
 

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To be fair I think that Pogba has a better passing arsenal than Beckham did, but the latter was much more consistent and better in his decision-making. Some of Pogba's through-balls and first-touch passes though :drool:
consistency is the key here though as he needs to be able to do it week in week out - but yeah, Pogs is damn good when he puts it on
 

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Do you count crosses as passes ? Cause that one gravity defting cross beckham did for a ronaldo goal at madrid is one of the best ive ever seen.
 

RooneyLegend

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Becks for mid to long range, Scholes for the short game. We all know Scholes could ping a ball beautifully but Becks was different gravy.
 

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Beckham is a better passer than Scholes and actually has more variety. Scholes cannot put much curl, whip or spin the way Beckham could so there are plenty of balls Scholes could not play they Beckham could do easily. Those claiming Beckham is only a crosses, have a word with yourself. Rewatch vids of him playing central or of his passes to remind yourself
 

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Scholes. Although Becks is underrated for his quality as a player. People got distracted by the celebrity and decided his rep was more than his ability. Beckham is one of the greatest players to ever kick a ball in this country.
 

Nico87

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In my opinion Scholes, his switch of play is the best ever, the way he was able to ping a ball stopped it from hanging in the air a second or two longer than his peers which allowed the recipient and extra yard of space.
 

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Scholes. Although Becks is underrated for his quality as a player. People got distracted by the celebrity and decided his rep was more than his ability. Beckham is one of the greatest players to ever kick a ball in this country.
Weird how someone with Scholes’s passing range never took set-pieces.
 

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Weird how someone with Scholes’s passing range never took set-pieces.
Because set piece wise Becks was arguably at the time the best in the world - but after Becks left us a good point. Perhaps there's a different skill involved in dead ball situations compared to in-play vision etc
 

GodShaveTheQueen

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Both of them were great passers, but here's the difference.

Johan Cruyff once said that anybody could be a genius with 5 yards of space. The special players are those who could be genius within the 2-3 yards of space as well.

That is where Scholes was miles better IMO. Give Beckham space and he'd probably find as many passes as Scholes. Put them in a tight spot and Scholes will come out on top everyday of the week.
 

Inter Yer Nan

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It's close but they are different. I think Scholes' advantage was his reading of the game was so good that he was a master at being in space and he was incredible at keeping the game flowing with short, simple passes and finding space. He could also ping the ball from deep with great accuracy. Beckham could play sensational floating balls or cross field passes and then his crossing is in the all-time best category. I think with Beckham playing out wide and whilst an intelligent player, not quite having Scholes' football IQ, the types of passes he had to play were perhaps more challenging. Probably explains why we remember Scholes has the "better passer", but Beckham's highlight reel probably looks "better".
 

Inter Yer Nan

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Both of them were great passers, but here's the difference.

Johan Cruyff once said that anybody could be a genius with 5 yards of space. The special players are those who could be genius within the 2-3 yards of space as well.

That is where Scholes was miles better IMO. Give Beckham space and he'd probably find as many passes as Scholes. Put them in a tight spot and Scholes will come out on top everyday of the week.
I don't necessarily think that qualifies him as the better passer per se, but definitely the better football player.
 

GodShaveTheQueen

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I don't necessarily think that qualifies him as the better passer per se, but definitely the better football player.
Well, free style footballers can dribble as good as most footballers. Which of course can't be a measure for comparison. Need to have other parameters as well. Space being a big one in this era where closing down fast has become the norm.
 

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Weird how someone with Scholes’s passing range never took set-pieces.
In a way but Scholes was also a goal threat. If you wanted a corner or a free kick to be cleared to anyone on the edge of the 18 yard box it'd be Paul Scholes. Therefore having him take corners and most free kicks would have been a bit of a waste.

You might have had him on direct free kicks but Scholes prefered the straight ball, both in terms of passing and shooting. Most free kicks are curled. He played in a team with the likes of Irwin, Beckham, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney and Van Persie. All were demonstrably better at that type of set piece than Scholesy. However, I doubt any could clip a ball with the right level of backspin to cut open a defence as easily as Scholes. Its just a different skill.
 

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I picked Beckham on the assumption it was about mid to long range passes and as good as Scholes was on them, Beckham was GOAT. Scholes was a god at one and two touch play but it’s pointless comparing him with Beckham on that as it was never in Beckham’s remit. When Beckham played in CM he was a quarterback and the first thing he did was get his head up and see who could start the counter attack.
Completely disagree. Scholes had better short passing, but it was his long passing that set him apart from any other midfielder. There have been midfielders, Pirlo, Xavi etc who have had better short passing, but none I can think of that had better long range passing. It's a different thing playing through the middle. It's a weird comparison really. If the question was, who had the best right foot, I might actually be inclined to say Beckham because his crosses and set pieces set him apart, but from a passing perspective, Scholes was better in every regard - I don't count crossing as passing, but as, well, crossing.
 

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Both of them were great passers, but here's the difference.

Johan Cruyff once said that anybody could be a genius with 5 yards of space. The special players are those who could be genius within the 2-3 yards of space as well.

That is where Scholes was miles better IMO. Give Beckham space and he'd probably find as many passes as Scholes. Put them in a tight spot and Scholes will come out on top everyday of the week.
I could have saved me some writing - this!
 

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This is tough because they were fundamentally quite different, obviously, so the assessment boils down to how much weight is allocated to the myriad categories of passing. Beckham was quite possibly the greatest crosser of all time as well as one of the most deadly long passers of all time — but he was a relatively restricted specialist in that he couldn't mix things up like Scholes and didn't offer similar super-short passing precision, didn't have Scholes' quick feet in confined spaces at the heart of the pitch, didn't have the same awareness or press-resistance or ability to read things (which helps you in the build-up before making a pass), wasn't as good of a defensive passer with regard to circulating the ball as a retainer, couldn't set the tempo of the team in a frantic game (all relative to Scholes), etc. Both were extremely influential, needless to say, but Scholes was definitely superior as a multi-dimensional passer, and gave United exceptional control over proceedings...whereas Beckham provided better cutting-edge qualities at the peak of his powers and was obviously unbeatable in his area of specialization.
 

El Jefe

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I don't see how so many people are obviously going with Scholes. For the most part they hardly made the same type of passes, Scholes was a better passer for a CM and Becks was a better passer for a wide player.

As beautiful as Scholes long range passing was, Beckham was the best ever at that in my opinion with Scholes being very close behind.

Take Beckham's crossing away (even though this is still a form of pass) and he still had the more impressive assists. In saying that though, Scholes short passing game was majestic and in a different league to Beckham.
 

Luke1995

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Scholes did it at the top level for longer. 1999 Beckham was perfect though...