PL's best midfielders

VJ1762

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So, I was thinking about this. From the players I have seen,

Best attacking midfielder - David Silva
Best box to box midfielder - Yaya toure
Most versatile midfielder - Paul Scholes
Best defensive midfielder - N'golo Kante

What do you guys think? Who would be your picks?
 

el3mel

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Best attacking Lampard, best defensive Makelele. Agree with the rest.
 

Red Rash

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At least in the discussion...

Keane
Vieira
Scholes
Gerrard
Lampard
Makalele
Youre
De Bruyne
 

iHicksy

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I can't pick one so i'm going three in each and changing some categories ;)

Best attacking midfielder - Gerrard, Lampard, Silva
Best box to box midfielder - Keane, Yaya, Viera
Best defensive midfielder - Kante, Makelele, De Jong
Best passing midfielder - Scholes, De Bryune, Alonso
Best PL midfielder - Paul Scholes, Keane, Viera.
 

The Original

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I can't pick one so i'm going three in each and changing some categories ;)

Best attacking midfielder - Gerrard, Lampard, Silva
Best box to box midfielder - Keane, Yaya, Viera
Best defensive midfielder - Kante, Makelele, De Jong
Best passing midfielder - Scholes, De Bryune, Alonso
Best PL midfielder - Paul Scholes, Keane, Viera.
I quite agree that it would be hard to pick just one player for each position as there have been several who could lay equal claim to having been the best at each one.
 

kidbob

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Roy Keane is the best PL midfielder in history so him and 2 others is the correct answer.

For me it'd be Vieira and Scholes.
 

Prometheus

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I know one thing: Lampard is the best midfielder in the history of the premier league.
 

Lynty

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Lampard never looked spectacular but it's hard to argue with his output.

It's hard to argue with any players on this list.

But if I had all the money in the world and access to a time machine, my midfield 3 would be:

Kante, Scholes, Silva
 

VJ1762

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Last two, obviously completely unbiased

Robson, obvs.
What kind of player would you classify him as? Was he similar to Steven gerrard? I read somewhere that gerrard idolised Robson and was told off by his father.
 

VJ1762

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Lampard never looked spectacular but it's hard to argue with his output.

It's hard to argue with any players on this list.

But if I had all the money in the world and access to a time machine, my midfield 3 would be:

Kante, Scholes, Silva
Man, that would be an amazing midfield.
 

iHicksy

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I know one thing: Lampard is the best midfielder in the history of the premier league.
Strongly disagree. I don't think he's even close. Compare him to De Bryune, Scholes, Keane, Viera.

He never controlled games, his main attribute was scoring goals. And while that's a fantastic attribute to have, if you take away the goals of every midfielder on the list he comes out bottom in every other area by comparison. The others simply offer so much more.
 

VJ1762

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Strongly disagree. I don't think he's even close. Compare him to De Bryune, Scholes, Keane, Viera.

He never controlled games, his main attribute was scoring goals. And while that's a fantastic attribute to have, if you take away the goals of every midfielder on the list he comes out bottom in every other area by comparison. The others simply offer so much more.
But goals are important, no? I agree that he didn't have the technical ability of KDB, Scholes or Silva.
 

Denis' cuff

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What kind of player would you classify him as? Was he similar to Steven gerrard? I read somewhere that gerrard idolised Robson and was told off by his father.
Box to box marauder. Superman... and honest with it.

In some ways similar, better, without the self-interest, cheating and diving.
 

Pow

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Strongly disagree. I don't think he's even close. Compare him to De Bryune, Scholes, Keane, Viera.

He never controlled games, his main attribute was scoring goals. And while that's a fantastic attribute to have, if you take away the goals of every midfielder on the list he comes out bottom in every other area by comparison. The others simply offer so much more.
Goals win games. He has 100 plus assists too.
 

VJ1762

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Box to box marauder. Superman... and honest with it.

In some ways similar, better, without the self-interest, cheating and diving.
I wish I had seen him play. Just Imagine if we had Sir Alex in the early 80's. Maybe we could have broken the Merseyside domination earlier.
Well, atleast he won 2 PL titles. Which is 2 more than gerrard.
 

Denis' cuff

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Strongly disagree. I don't think he's even close. Compare him to De Bryune, Scholes, Keane, Viera.

He never controlled games, his main attribute was scoring goals. And while that's a fantastic attribute to have, if you take away the goals of every midfielder on the list he comes out bottom in every other area by comparison. The others simply offer so much more.

Agree with this. Lampard was a very clever player but not the same level as others mentioned, largely due to his limited, although valuable assets.
 

Denis' cuff

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I wish I had seen him play. Just Imagine if we had Sir Alex in the early 80's. Maybe we could have broken the Merseyside domination earlier.
Well, atleast he won 2 PL titles. Which is 2 more than gerrard.

Tbh, past his best by the time it became PL but if ever a player routinely took a game by the scruff of the neck, at every level, vs Maradonna led Barca, frequently for England and otherwise too numerous to recall, it was Robbo. Do yourself a favour mate and seek out some footage.
 

Invictus

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Poor Cesc gets no respect...



Anyway, all things considered I'd say...

Best box-to-box midfielder: Roy Keane
Best offensive midfielder: David Silva
Best conduit/regista: Paul Scholes
Best versatile central playmaker: Cesc Fàbregas
Best disruptor: NGolo Kanté
Best free-style midfielder: Steven Gerrard
Best wide midfielder: David Beckham
Best defensive midfielder: Claude Makelélé
Best goalscoring midfielder: Frank Lampard
Best holding midfielder: Michael Carrick

Overall ranking:
1. Roy Keane
2. Paul Scholes
3. Frank Lampard
 

VJ1762

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Tbh, past his best by the time it became PL but if ever a player routinely took a game by the scruff of the neck, at every level, vs Maradonna led Barca, frequently for England and otherwise too numerous to recall, it was Robbo. Do yourself a favour mate and seek out some footage.
Time to hit youtube.
 

Denis' cuff

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Poor Cesc gets no respect...



Anyway, all things considered I'd say...

Best box-to-box midfielder: Roy Keane
Best offensive midfielder: David Silva
Best conduit/regista: Paul Scholes
Best versatile central playmaker: Cesc Fàbregas
Best disruptor: NGolo Kanté
Best free-style midfielder: Steven Gerrard
Best wide midfielder: David Beckham
Best defensive midfielder: Claude Makelélé
Best goalscoring midfielder: Frank Lampard
Best holding midfielder: Michael Carrick

Overall ranking:
1. Roy Keane
2. Paul Scholes
3. Frank Lampard

Yet Giggs doesn’t make it on any of your lists? Odd.
 

iHicksy

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Goals win games. He has 100 plus assists too.
The discussion isn't about goals winning games though. It's about who was the best midfielder. And he simply can't compare in other areas, to be a complete midfielder it requires more than simply goals. Defoe for example, is the 7th highest premier league goal scoring striker of all time, in a position where goals are seen as the vital requirement of a striker. However, I don't think anyone would rank him in the top 10 forwards of all time.
 

iHicksy

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But goals are important, no? I agree that he didn't have the technical ability of KDB, Scholes or Silva.
No they absolutely are. But if we're talking about the absolute best prem midfielder of all time I don't think he has the other attributes to be in that discussion. Don't get me wrong, I think he was the best goal scoring midfielder the prem has ever seen. But for me, the other midfielders skill sets are so much higher and more complete. I think the others will create a better "team" and their involvement would lead to more team goals and ultimately winning games by dominating other areas of the pitch and bringing out the best in their team.
 

Dave Smith

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This is such a hard thing to do as it is hard to compare eras etc. However, in my opinion my top 5 are:

Keane
Lampard
Yaya Toure
Vieira
Kante

There are obviously other players that have missed out that were top top players and I am sure people will disagree with my list but for me those players could be relied upon to drag their teams out of trouble the best when the chips were down.
 

BlackShark_80

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Best attacking midfielder - David Silva
Best box to box midfielder - Roy Keane
Most versatile midfielder - Paul Scholes
Best defensive midfielder - Claude Makelele
 

Invictus

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Yet Giggs doesn’t make it on any of your lists? Odd.
I wouldn't classify prime Giggs as a midfielder, even though he had good work-rate and frequently started deeper. Unlike Beckham — who wasn't a proper winger and had the characteristics of a midfielder playing in wide positions because that would bring out the best in his incomparable crossing ability. Giggs goes in the same broad category as Cristiano (winger / wide forward), Pirès (outside left), etc.
 

Pow

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The discussion isn't about goals winning games though. It's about who was the best midfielder. And he simply can't compare in other areas, to be a complete midfielder it requires more than simply goals. Defoe for example, is the 7th highest premier league goal scoring striker of all time, in a position where goals are seen as the vital requirement of a striker. However, I don't think anyone would rank him in the top 10 forwards of all time.
This is nonsense. Unless they had the consistent control of 70 plus percent possesion prime xavi iniesta which no prem mid could id take the guy consistently scoring 10 plus goals for 10 straight seasons.
 

11101

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Best attacking midfielder - Gerrard
Best box to box midfielder - Roy Keane
Best all round midfielder - Paul Scholes
Best defensive midfielder - Makelele
 

Mogget

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If we take their absolute peak, not longevity, then Fabregas was the best attacking midfielder in the league. 15 goals and 13 assists in 27 league games in 09/10, I don't think anyone else beats that.
 

roonster09

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If we take their absolute peak, not longevity, then Fabregas was the best attacking midfielder in the league. 15 goals and 13 assists in 27 league games in 09/10, I don't think anyone else beats that.
Lampard 22 goals + 14 assists in 36 games.