Sports
Joe Cole Was More Gifted Than Gerrard, Lampard & Scholes
When it comes to the best England players in football history, fans can often be overcome with choice. The Three Lions have consistently produced top players who have made an impact on the world stage — just look at what Jude Bellingham is doing at Real Madrid presently.
It’s impossible, though, not to mention legendary midfield trio Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the debate. While each of them brought something different to the engine room, they were all superb options for their respective clubs, dominating in England and in Europe.
Ranking the three is an arduous task for fans, as well as current and former players. However, former Tottenham defender Ledley King believes that another former England international was even more gifted than the three midfield technicians.
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King Names The Most Gifted English Player He Played With
Having played a total of 42 games with Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes, King is in an excellent position to cast his verdict on who he believes to be the best of the lot. But in an interview with BetMGM, via the Metro, the former Tottenham centre-back believes that former Chelsea winger Joe Cole was more gifted than any of his former England teammates.
“I want to see match-winners and players that get people off their seats,” King said. “The one for me was Joe Cole, who I can, hand on heart, say was the most naturally gifted English player that I played with.
“Wayne Rooney was probably the best. He had a mixture of so many different attributes: power, strength and tenacity but, in terms of just natural ability, Joe Cole was the best.
King continued: “Joe went to Chelsea and it changed his game. He turned into a very much a team player and it wasn’t the same Joe that I remember when he was 17, who just played the game for fun and on pure instinct.
“I’m sure he’d probably say the same thing if he looks back on all that he’s achieved – he could have actually been even better than he was. [Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard and [Paul] Scholes were incredible players, don’t get me wrong, but at that age Joe was pure magic.
“He was more natural than Stevie G [Steven Gerrard]. Stevie could do everything, but Joe was just a magician of a player. He was definitely different in that respect from most English players that we had at that time.
“When he was 16 or 17 years old, Joe was different to everyone. He was different from all the English kids, he played like he was Brazilian.”
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Ledley King’s Record with Cole, Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Wins |
Draws |
Losses |
|
Joe Cole |
11 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
|
Frank Lampard |
22 |
12 |
5 |
5 |
|
Steven Gerrard |
16 |
11 |
4 |
1 |
|
Paul Scholes |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
King: England’s Formations ‘Killed’ Cole
King is far from the only player to have lavished praise on the former Chelsea and Liverpool star. Ashley Cole believes that his former teammate was the most “underrated” player he lined up alongside, while Gerrard went even further, stating back in 2010 that Cole could do things at a level similar to Lionel Messi.
He enjoyed a spectacular career, winning three Premier League titles and two FA Cups, while also earning 56 caps for England. But in the eyes of King, the Three Lions might have been even better had they found a way to play Cole centrally as a number 10 instead of out wide.
Once again describing him as “the most talented young English player that I have ever seen,” the defender went on to add: “He was so natural. It’s a shame the way formations were with England back then. Because number 10 would be Joe’s best position but we just stuck him on the left.
“In a 4-4-2 he would be stuck out on the left. That killed him as a player. He’d be so much better if he were able to play in today’s formation.”
