Also Fergie is such a bitter old fool, as if his word is the word of god, especially when he says something about his most hated rivals, Liverpool.

This is what else he said about Liverpool:

Ferguson also dares suggest that Michael Owen became a better player once he had joined Manchester United

He expresses surprise that Brendan Rodgers was appointed as Dalglish’s replacement, given that he was ‘only’ 39 years old. (Then goes on and recommends Moyes to be hired in his place )

And there is much more. Might even read the book for the lolz.

No wonder he retired. Oldie losing the plot.

bought Alex Fergusons autobiography.

I thought I'd got to the end but six more pages appeared.

Blue Barrett wrote:

Cassius wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:I agree with him on Gerrard and Lampard, not many will though.

Been saying the same for a while now, especially Gerrard. Great servants to their clubs but have never been amongst the worlds best IMO.

Interesting autobiography this'll be, will have to pick myself up a copy.

Funny because if it weren't for a certain spectacular Gaucho, Lamps would have won the WFOY award once.

Proves how worthless the award is/was.

To the people who dont think Lampard and Gerrard reached the WC level in their prime, in the period of 05-09, who were these guys on par with?

1991 wrote:

Blue Barrett wrote:

Cassius wrote:Been saying the same for a while now, especially Gerrard. Great servants to their clubs but have never been amongst the worlds best IMO.

Interesting autobiography this'll be, will have to pick myself up a copy.

Funny because if it weren't for a certain spectacular Gaucho, Lamps would have won the WFOY award once.

Proves how worthless the award is/was.

Yes because crappy players like Messi, Ronaldo and Kaka have won it in recent times, what Scrubs.

DagenhamDave wrote:bought Alex Fergusons autobiography.

I thought I'd got to the end but six more pages appeared.

Hehe, subtle and classy. Anyway, it's just Sir Alex's opinion on the subject of Lampard and Gerrard which just so happens to mirror my own (Lampard mostly). Most would disagree, some would agree, many don't care.

His stance on Keane and Calderon were spot on though. And Beckham as well...

pre crack pipe

"If you saw Jose and Rafa standing together on the touchline, you knew you could pick the winner."

Forgive me if I'm wrong but did we not knock them out of the Champions League semi final in 2005 AND 2007? Were we not the first team to win in the league at Stamford Bridge in 80+ matches?



About Gerrard and Lampard, people try too hard to criticise players like that. Half the time it's to act smart anyway, I doubt they even believe it. Both were world class players.

"They didn't achieve anything with England" - Neither did Gazza, Scholes, Owen, Rooney, Hoddle, Barnes, the list goes on. Coincidence? No. England have been poorly coached and managed for years.

Judge them on their club form. When they were undoubtedly world class for years. Lampard was a goal scoring midfielder who scored 200 goals. Say what you want about his overall play, one of his main jobs was to score from midfield, and he was absolutely brilliant at it.

Steven Gerrard destroyed teams for a decade. Between 04 and 09 he was simply sensational. There was literally nothing the man couldn't do.

I admit that English players are sometimes over hyped, but at the same time people often put down English players saying "no technique", say what like about technique an style, they got the job done no matter what. The result is the most important thing, and these two got the results for their teams, they could do it in style, but what imo makes them truly great players is how can they drag a team to victory when everything is against them. World Class.


Anyway, kicking it dead hard from miles away is great



Most players score 3 of these in a career if they're lucky. 40 to feast your eyes on here. Could easily be 50+.

The Gerrard and Lampard criticism is pathetic. These are players that perform year in and year out in the CL for crying out loud. Which has been the echelon of competitive football since around the Bosman rule.

People love to hold their international record against them but by that logic that means Messi and Ronaldo aren't really all that while Podolski is the GOAT.

Gil loves living in the past

Messi and CR have been carrying their club form to the international stage for over two years now.

Meanwhile Podolski doesn't even play

Gerrard and Lampard have been world class players in the last decade and despite what Ferguson says , they were much more than great servants to their clubs. Both these players would be very important -bar the exception that proves the rule-for any team in the world in that period in time and it says a lot.

I mean , many seem to have forgotten today who was the man that took Liverpool to the knock out stages of the 2004-2005 Champions League , who they went on to win against all odds . They were very lucky to come out of that group , if you told me Liverpool would win that CL that season , i would LMFAO right in your face. And without Gerrard , they wouldn't.

Liverpool v Olympiacos
With this and that they found themselves leading the score 2-1 at Anfield, but couldn't find that 3rd goal they needed to qualify and the game didn't have much left.. then Gerrard gets out of nowhere with a shot so unbelievably well timed , so well executed and powerfull that made it look like a playstation goal . All that under the shadow of elimination.. You might think lol , just Olympiacos. Well that was the best Olympiacos ever quality wise in Europe and got out of the CL with 10 points , just for Gerrard .

For Lampard , i won't say much , he may never have been the fastest or the most fancy midfielder , maybe not the most decorated midfielder , not even the most talented one . But he is by far the most intelligent one i've ever saw and easily one of the best footballing minds ever.And he also has everything i've mentioned so far , a jack of all trades , total midfielder. He has been what Chelsea needs him to be in each game and he succeeds more often than not. The fact that he has scored goals that the majority of strikers can only dream of , both in quality , amount and occasion , speaks volumes about how good he has been , simply put world class player in his best years. For me , though not sure i can describe him as such today , he still one of the best.

I've always rated these two in the last decade , don't even get what Ferguson wants to say here. Gerrard may have slowed down a bit , but he's still very good today and Lampard , that man doesn't even age. As for Paul Scholes , even though he remained classy and legendary , he wasn't really the example of world class for some years , untill he adapted his game to his age. Scholes had been top 5 midfielder up untill 2002-2003 for as long i remember myself watching football , but up untill 2006-2007 , FOR ME at least , had nothing on Gerrard and Lampard. Not saying he wasn't a great player , but when age begun to knock on his door , he refused to listen and took him too long to adapt to the new standards his body had set for him .

Even up untill 2010 , one could argue they were on par .. but i don't want to go there , i might as well be off the mark on this one .

As for the list Cassius provided , just lmfao . Keane? Pires ? G.Silva ? ffs Totti ? Totti in 2005 was playing as a midfielder only on paper and if my memory serves me right , he begun the season playing as a 10 alright , but when Spaletti begun playing Roma with the 4-6-0 , he was playing the striker part really , Totti's days as true midfielder were numbered that season and i think he really stopped being a true midfielder after the 4-6-0. So not Totti as well lmfao..

Tbh , many of the players he mentioned have obviously been world class too at the time , but it's not the same thing comparing Kaka or Beckham and Ronaldinho to Lampard and Gerrard. In their position , very very few have been on par or even better at some point in time, but the thing is , there's no need to compare these great players actually , Lampard and Gerrard have been world class and top 10 for a really , really long time now. If they weren't the best in the world in some seasons , doesn't mean they weren't world class players.

I don't Ferguson ever meant to say they wasn't world class.... at least my interpretation of it was that he meant.... they were never among the top 5 players in the world and struggled at international level.

Which i do agree with but at that same time they were fantastic players and were World Class.... i have seen so many different interpretations of what Ferguson said you can't be sure i really should get hold of the direct quotes....

Because if he did say they were never World Class then that's not on tbh because they clearly bloody were.

I am not sure about top 5 in the world , although one could make a case alright , as far as their position goes , they have been at least in the top 10 for many , many years. Perhaps i didn't translate Ferguson's words properly ok , but imo , he talked about them as if he was talking about Carrick and Essien e.t.c . Players who only complimented the real strength of their respective midfield , which were the likes of Scholes , Lampard and Gerrard.

Like i said , there have been times that other midfielders around the world did better than them , but it's fair to say here that they weren't just great servants even though for their fans this counts for more and they also did reach certain hights in European football , which no player can reach without being at the top level at least at some point. And they've been there for years.

Not the most talented or the most technical of the best midfielders of the last decade , but i would say they have been in the top 10 in their best years alright . It also matters a lot where each of them has been playing , you know it's different between England , Italy , Germany or Spain. Each league has it's characteristics and one can spot these out by how such players such as Gerrard and Lampard , or Seedorf , Ballack and Xavi mastered their respective leagues.

I don't know if Gerrard would have been the same player in Spain for instance , or Xavi in England , were his backpasses and patience could have been described as even lack of skill maybe , lol. Or Gerrard's forceful play may have resulted in him playing as a holding midfielder and having him sitting back for others to play passes all day .. Just saying , these players are proof of the top quality each league has to offer ; being so consistent over the years is exceptional , it can't be they weren't one of the best in the world at some point , not only they did excell in europe but they also dictated their respective leagues , which have always been the best football has to offer.

top top player...
can rodgers please stfu with that phrase? thanks brendon
is gerrard at zidanes / cruyff / ronaldo / berbatov level? no. is lampard?
no.
thats what he means. boo hoo, he didnt call them poor players, hes saying they werent at the elite...which they werent

anyway, sacchi said the same thing a few years ago.

boo fcking hoo

The fact is Gerrard and Lampard will never be mentioned in the same breath as the truly world class players that have graced the game.

They have had good careers and both shown spells of greatness, but they exist in that space below the higher echelons that Zidane, Xavi and co. reside.

Berbatov ?

cyberman wrote:top top player...
can rodgers please stfu with that phrase? thanks brendon
is gerrard at zidanes / cruyff / ronaldo / berbatov level? no. is lampard?
no.
thats what he means. boo hoo, he didnt call them poor players, hes saying they werent at the elite...which they werent

anyway, sacchi said the same thing a few years ago.

boo fcking hoo

Holy shit..

yes, berbatov.
how many hat tricks has gerrard scored in the utd / liverpool rivalry?
its all about accomplishments.

anyway.. mourinho asked about lampard.. i have to read it in context.
wenger? i have to read it in context.

rodgers? jumps right in, calls sir alex jealous of liverpool and tarnishes his legacy...
despite sir alex being complimentary about liverppol, even dedicating a full chapter entitled liverpool and their proud tradition.

nothing like scousers getting on that high horse..

just read this lol.. this is brendan rodgers accusing sir alex of sabotaging hendersons career..
what did he say...
that he runs with his knees instead of from his hips and it could cause him trouble later in his career..

that bastard!!!

cyberman wrote:yes, berbatov.
how many hat tricks has gerrard scored in the utd / liverpool rivalry?
its all about accomplishments.

anyway.. mourinho asked about lampard.. i have to read it in context.
wenger? i have to read it in context.

rodgers? jumps right in, calls sir alex jealous of liverpool and tarnishes his legacy...
despite sir alex being complimentary about liverppol, even dedicating a full chapter entitled liverpool and their proud tradition.

nothing like scousers getting on that high horse..

They're still bitter that Fergie knocked them off their perch despite them desperately trying to blame Souness for their demise.

cyberman wrote:yes, berbatov.
how many hat tricks has gerrard scored in the utd / liverpool rivalry?
its all about accomplishments.

anyway.. mourinho asked about lampard.. i have to read it in context.
wenger? i have to read it in context.

rodgers? jumps right in, calls sir alex jealous of liverpool and tarnishes his legacy...
despite sir alex being complimentary about liverppol, even dedicating a full chapter entitled liverpool and their proud tradition.

nothing like scousers getting on that high horse..

Your trolling and wuming well past your sell date. Been a repeated record for the best part of 3 years now.

Give it up and get ready for decades of relegation battle and championship mediocrity under the "Chosen One"

I get what Ferguson is trying to say, he could have worded it better. His definition of world class might not be the same as GL, it might be extremely narrow. He is trying to say that Lampard and Gerrard are not on the level of Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Iniesta etc which I agree with.

M99 wrote:I get what Ferguson is trying to say, he could have worded it better. His definition of world class might not be the same as GL, it might be extremely narrow. He is trying to say that Lampard and Gerrard are not on the level of Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Iniesta etc which I agree with.

Yup. On GL you're either world class or a scrub. They were top players, but not top, top players.

Not wording your sentences properly can get you into great trouble sometimes

As i keep finding out....