Is De Bruyne the best midfielder the EPL has ever had?

Who has been the best for you?

  • De Bruyne

    Votes: 134 28.5%

  • Lampard

    Votes: 24 5.1%

  • Scholes

    Votes: 51 10.8%

  • Gerrard

    Votes: 202 42.9%

  • Vieira

    Votes: 25 5.3%

  • Keane

    Votes: 15 3.2%

  • Silva

    Votes: 6 1.3%

  • Toure

    Votes: 4 0.8%

  • Other? (please name)

    Votes: 10 2.1%
  • Total voters
    471
Not near it for me.

I think he is a fantastic player, but he does tend to have spells where he is off it, and even big games that he has no effect on at all.

For me, and It is all down to personal opinion, Gerrard, Lampard are just 2 that were better than him.

There is a bit of a blind spot with the media and some neutral fans just now because its Peps team, they instantly try and put everyone of his squad and players onto a pedestal they don't necessarily deserve.

I do think though, that in 3/4 years, if he keeps going the way he is, Foden will be in the top 2 players in the world, with another Englishman.
 
Deserves to be in the discussion purely on ability/talent & his goalscoring record is probably roughly in line with Gerrard, Scholes & Lampard.

However I don't think he's quite done in enough due to injury. He must have played about half the number of games that lot did.
 
There are are solid arguments for most of the guys in this poll tbf. Telling that kev and stevie g have the majority of the votes tho.

Glad Yaya has a mention in the poll even though he'll never be seen as right up there. He was one of those that on his day was unplayable. Just inconsistent and temperamental to his detriment at times. As a footballer though on his day he was extraordinary. And delivered in big moments for us too.
 
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final_straws said:
Deserves to be in the discussion purely on ability/talent & his goalscoring record is probably roughly in line with Gerrard, Scholes & Lampard.

However I don't think he's quite done in enough due to injury. He must have played about half the number of games that lot did.
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His fitness record is the one black mark against him tbh.
 
ICA_86 said:
He’s in the top bracket as has been said, but he’s still not as good an all round player as people we’ve seen before.

Must have missed 100 odd games with injuries as well.
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Injury record isn't the greatest no.

In terms of all round player, where is he lacking?
 
Gerrard for me. Unbelievable player in an average Liverpool side. De Bruyne world class but imagine putting Gerrard in today's City team or De Bruyne in that Liverpool team and difference would be clear
 
rfcally91 said:
Not even the best midfield Man City have had - David Silva

Not even the best Belgian to play in England - Eden hazard
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Nah kev has to get the city vote because of the sheer numbers as well as performance. That's not to downgrade Silva who probably set the tone for how we played football.

Hazard was phenomenal but not sure he was consistent enough to be known as a greater player overall. He might be the most talented player I've seen play in the prem at City though on his day he was frightening.
 
Nowhere near robust enough and only really contrutes to the attacking game. So certainly not the best all round as far as midfielders go.

An amazing attacking player though. Viera is the correct answer. Could do it all at his peak.
 
MancGer86 said:
Nah kev has to get the city vote because of the sheer numbers as well as performance. That's not to downgrade Silva who probably set the tone for how we played football.

Hazard was phenomenal but not sure he was consistent enough to be known as a greater player overall. He might be the most talented player I've seen play in the prem at City though on his day he was frightening.
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De bruyne wouldn’t get near the Spain midfield that played total football.

David Silva is much more talented as an individual. Most Man City fans I know think he’s the best you’ve ever had.

Hazard was better individually and better for Belgium.
 
rfcally91 said:
De bruyne wouldn’t get near the Spain midfield that played total football.

David Silva is much more talented as an individual. Most Man City fans I know think he’s the best you’ve ever had.

Hazard was better individually and better for Belgium.
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Noel Gallagher has said it a few times. Said he’d even let him bang his Mrs if he ever asked. :))
 
rfcally91 said:
De bruyne wouldn’t get near the Spain midfield that played total football.

David Silva is much more talented as an individual. Most Man City fans I know think he’s the best you’ve ever had.

Hazard was better individually and better for Belgium.
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Very different players with very different skill sets. Both equally as sensational as each other in my book. I can't separate them. Not exactly an insult to hold them in equal esteem.

Hazard, can see your point. Incredible talent. That Belgian generation at its best should have achieved more given the ability in that squad.
 
MancGer86 said:
There are are solid arguments for most of the guys in this poll tbf. Telling that kev and stevie g have the majority of the votes tho.

Glad Yaya has a mention in the poll even though he'll never be seen as right up there. He was one of those that on his day was unplayable. Just inconsistent and temperamental to his detriment at times. As a footballer though on his day he was extraordinary. And delivered in big moments for us too.
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There was a season or two where yaya was better than anything on the list but most of them done it for longer periods
 
MancGer86 said:
Very different players with very different skill sets. Both equally as sensational as each other in my book. I can't separate them. Not exactly an insult to hold them in equal esteem.

Hazard, can see your point. Incredible talent. That Belgian generation at its best should have achieved more given the ability in that squad.
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It’s an insult to David silva to me lol

Depends how you see football, de bruyne obviously much more pace power and better ball striking but football intelligence, technique, vision and they way he plays the game id much rather watch silva.

www.givemesport.com

Premier League: Neville, Keane and Carragher's 'greatest' ever XIs

Man United legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville and Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher picked their greatest Premier League XIs ever - with a twist.
www.givemesport.com www.givemesport.com

Interesting de bruyne doesn’t get in any of their teams
 
rfcally91 said:
It’s an insult to David silva to me lol

Depends how you see football, de bruyne obviously much more pace power and better ball striking but football intelligence, technique, vision and they way he plays the game id much rather watch silva.

www.givemesport.com

Premier League: Neville, Keane and Carragher's 'greatest' ever XIs

Man United legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville and Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher picked their greatest Premier League XIs ever - with a twist.
www.givemesport.com www.givemesport.com

Interesting de bruyne doesn’t get in any of their teams
Click to expand...

Not seen this video did Silva get in? I bet kev was strongly considered at least by all of them. He has to be.

Opinions tho isn't it, prem league era quite long now so a lot of fantastic players to consider when trying to choose an all time 11.

Silva was a joy to watch. And as I say he was pivotal to how we played a lot of the time. He's one that goes under the radar to everyone outside of city when considering the best the prem has seen. I just prefer Kev because of those explosive match winning moments he's given us. Just watch a compilation of his goals and assists and what he can do with a ball, you can't not enjoy it.
 
De Bruyne, Gerrard, Scholes, Lampard and Viera, probably high on the list as the best midfielders since the inception of the EPL. Each one of them is/was a world class player, who all brought something different in their game.

How do you pick who is or was the greatest amongst them, it's all going to be down to individual choice. I voted for De Bruyne, but that's only because of what he's won with Manchester City over recent years. It could easily have been Gerrard, who can ever forget that Champions League Final against AC Milan in 2005 "The Miracle of Istanbul" match, where Gerrard turned Liverpool around in the second half after being 3 - 0 at half-time to win the Cup. Paul Scholes, who had a big hand in Manchester United's success in the 90's/2000's, which included 11 Premiership Titles and 2 Champions League wins (though was suspended for his 'first win in 99). To me he was probably the most complete player in the list, but tend to forget how good he actually was. Frank Lampard was the driving force and another top-drawer player with Chelsea, winning multiple Premier Titles, FA Cups, the Champions League and much much more. In all honesty, I was never Patrick Viera's biggest fan, there's no disputing he was a world class player, but I was never much of an Arsenal Fan. He had a lot of success with Arsenal, with Premier League Titles and FA Cup wins.

On hindsight, I might've voted for Paul Scholes, but there's definitely no losers on that list ........ but

Roy Keane, good player, a hard player, but a dirty player who more or less put Erling Haaland's Dad (Alfie) out of the game after a deliberate and horrendous tackle (Keane had waited four years to get retribution for an incident between them in 1997, when he tried to 'nail Haaland, but ended up doing his own cruciate ligament in - Haaland accused him of 'faking injury, and Keane never forgot). Haaland did play after recovering, but never played a full match again. Keane is also a 'Celtic loving Rangers hater', so he definitely wasn't being considered, the tosser.
 
MancGer86 said:
Not seen this video did Silva get in? I bet kev was strongly considered at least by all of them. He has to be.

Opinions tho isn't it, prem league era quite long now so a lot of fantastic players to consider when trying to choose an all time 11.

Silva was a joy to watch. And as I say he was pivotal to how we played a lot of the time. He's one that goes under the radar to everyone outside of city when considering the best the prem has seen. I just prefer Kev because of those explosive match winning moments he's given us. Just watch a compilation of his goals and assists and what he can do with a ball, you can't not enjoy it.
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Silva gets in Neville and Carragher’s not Keane.

De Bruyne is not a genius to me, I don’t get the same joy watching him play as I did a David silva, or iniesta or Ronaldinho etc

But as you said game of opinions.
 
He’s certainly the midfielder who’s been surrounded by some of the most expensive and highly paid footballers in the game…

Good though.
 
LC1872 said:
It's De Bruyne. He can do thing with the ball that no one else can.
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He’s a midfielder though, what he does off the ball is just as important.

There isn’t a right answer here, but as Tiger Woods always said when he was asked about being the best of all time - all you’d want is to be in the conversation, and KDB is.
 
MancGer86 said:
Because all the other guys in the discussion were surrounded by talentless paupers weren't they lol
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No, lol.

i just think there’s been very little in the way of precedent beyond the last few years when oil rich sheiks have pumped billions into otherwise wee and inconsequential clubs like city.

I’d suggest it’s therefore a bit unfair to compare KVB to certain other players in certain other teams who were hampered by things like financial realities .

Great player mind, but a bit like comparing an apples with oranges.
 
RaoulDuke11 said:
No, lol.

i just think there’s been very little in the way of precedent beyond the last few years when oil rich sheiks have pumped billions into otherwise wee and inconsequential clubs like city.

I’d suggest it’s therefore a bit unfair to compare KVB to certain other players in certain other teams who were hampered by things like financial realities .

Great player mind, but a bit like comparing an apples with oranges.
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None of the “big” clubs in the PL are ‘hindered’ by that though. For example United have now outspent City in recent years and look at the state of them. Chelsea, Liverpool, Madrid, Bayern etc aren’t exactly budgeting either. All Europe’s top clubs spend disgusting amounts of money.

United weren’t shopping in the bargain bin when Scholes and Keane was there, and Chelsea were more or less operating with a blank cheque book while Lampard was playing with them.
 
WLF said:
None of the “big” clubs in the PL are ‘hindered’ by that though. For example United have now outspent City in recent years and look at the state of them. Chelsea, Liverpool, Madrid, Bayern etc aren’t exactly budgeting either. All Europe’s top clubs spend disgusting amounts of money.

United weren’t shopping in the bargain bin when Scholes and Keane was there, and Chelsea were more or less operating with a blank cheque book while Lampard was playing with them.
Click to expand...
WLF said:
None of the “big” clubs in the PL are ‘hindered’ by that though. For example United have now outspent City in recent years and look at the state of them. Chelsea, Liverpool, Madrid, Bayern etc aren’t exactly budgeting either. All Europe’s top clubs spend disgusting amounts of money.

United weren’t shopping in the bargain bin when Scholes and Keane was there, and Chelsea were more or less operating with a blank cheque book while Lampard was playing with them.
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The money argument is a bit tiresome and city won't ever come out of that on top so it's pointless taking it on as a debate. To use it as a metric to discredit the ability and contribution of a clearly world class player tho is just a bit weird.

None of the big clubs have ever shopped on a shoe string especially since football became big business when sky etc came along and revenues started to grow. Let's not forget Chelsea were well ahead of city with their rich owner investment, those who talk about Lampard in this topic. Let's not forget he was surrounded by the most expensive and best in class for a long stretch of his career. Doesn't diminish him as a player though and doesn't make his own personal contribution any less significant.

Just because city have had loads of money pumped in doesn't mean we've always gone out and spunked it on the best players in the world at the time of us signing them. In fact we've very rarely done that. And I doubt Bournemouth were crying financial foul play when they took over 40 mill for Nathan Ake. And Villa were hardly sobbing their weigh to the bank weighed down by the 100mill we spent on Grealish. I could go on about the numerous players we've signed that were not the best players in the world at the time.

Kev is a little different because despite a shitty spell at Chelsea he did come to us off the back of a terrific body of work in the bundesliga so was seen as a marquee signing at the time at least. £54m well spent though.

His body of work stands up against anyone else in the league. Whether you have him 1, 2, 3, is kind of irrelevant. It's opinion and will never be a conclusive answer but he's right up there in the discussion. Zero debate.
 
RaoulDuke11 said:
No, lol.

i just think there’s been very little in the way of precedent beyond the last few years when oil rich sheiks have pumped billions into otherwise wee and inconsequential clubs like city.

I’d suggest it’s therefore a bit unfair to compare KVB to certain other players in certain other teams who were hampered by things like financial realities .

Great player mind, but a bit like comparing an apples with oranges.
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Who are these clubs you mention shackled by financial realities? You can't possibly be referring to Utd Liverpool or Chelsea?
 
Voted Scholes but there’s an argument for most on the list.

In saying that if I had to pick one to put into our team for the last 6 games I’d take Keane
 
MancGer86 said:
Injury record isn't the greatest no.

In terms of all round player, where is he lacking?
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Defensively, robustness, possibly mentality as well - could he have played through some of those wee niggles?

I always find it hard to class him in the same bracket as Gerrard and Vieira etc, I think my brain’s always defaulted to seeing him almost as a number ten.
 
Won’t be long until Odegaard is in the conversation who for what it’s worth I would go out my way to watch over De Bruyne.
 
Empire said:
Won’t be long until Odegaard is in the conversation who for what it’s worth I would go out my way to watch over De Bruyne.
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Odegaard is top quality. Think he's similar to David Silva, he's got a similar eye for a pass as him.
 
I'm going for SG.

If he played for Chelsea or Man U, then he'd have won a whole lot more and would be the GOAT of the EPL without doubt.

Liverpool would've been mid table or relegation fodder if it weren't for him imo.
 
ICA_86 said:
Defensively, robustness, possibly mentality as well - could he have played through some of those wee niggles?

I always find it hard to class him in the same bracket as Gerrard and Vieira etc, I think my brain’s always defaulted to seeing him almost as a number ten.
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Those wee niggles have generally kept him out a couple of months at a time so I imagine he's had a major psychological battle with his own body to be fit enough to perform at the level he has. So I'd argue he has incredible mental fortitude to keep coming back from his injuries to be a major player for us.
Defensively he's never been needed so kind of a redundant point.
 
RobboTheBear said:
I’ve seen both, but I was referring to Kevin
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I'll lean on my obvious bias to agree with you!

The one on the list who actually impressed me more seeing him live than watching on TV was lampard. Seen him play live in some immense midfields with Ballack, Essien and he was a hugely intelligent player. Never lost the ball and was a top finisher as well.
 
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