Player Focus: Are Lampard and Gerrard Too Similar?

With Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard appearing in the same side for the first time in over two years at international level on Friday and set to do so once again this week, the debate as to whether the two can play in the same team has resurfaced. The duo haven't featured as prominently in the same side in recent years, mainly due to injury to either one of them, though many had been calling for at least one to be dropped for some time.

With the main concern generally being that the players are too similar, we have decided to look at the experienced pairings stats over the last few seasons to gauge whether that is indeed the case. As well as that we will be looking at any possible regression in form, along with whether each of them have had to adapt their games respectively as they enter the latter stages of illustrious careers.

A straightforward look at Gerrard and Lampard's statistics since the start of the 2009/10 season do suggest that the pair have very similar games, in certain aspects at least. Lampard has always been more of a goalscorer, indeed netting 45 in his last 93 league appearances compared to Gerrard's more modest tally of 18. The Chelsea man also leads the Liverpudlian in assists, however, with 21 to Gerrard's 15.

When analysing their passing statistics the two begin to look extremely similar though, with Gerrard's 53.7 passes per game marginally ahead of Lampard's 52.5. In terms of creativity the tables turn, but again only slightly, with Lampard averaging 2.39 key passes per game to Gerrard's 2.31. The former West Ham midfielder also comes out on top for pass accuracy, this time with a more significant margin between them, (83.3% to 79.9%) though neither are particularly impressive here.

In more attacking regards it is no surprise that Lampard attempts more shots with a huge average of 3.07 per game, though Gerrard is not too far behind on 2.56. Said figures leave the former with a far superior chance conversion rate of 15.7% compared to Gerrard's 9.4%, while elsewhere neither look to dribble past their opponents often, though Gerrard does so markedly more than Lampard (0.81 to 0.37).

Defensively, the pairing have remarkably similar tackling averages, with Lampard again, perhaps surprisingly this time, just edging it with 1.86 per game compared to 1.83. Gerrard does manage to trump the Chelsea man for interceptions, with 1.33 per game compared to 1.11 but when looking at the duos averages over the past 3 seasons the argument that their games are too alike certainly seems valid.

As we look at Lampard and Gerrard's statistics by season, it becomes evident that their games have changed in recent seasons and both unquestionably find it harder to have the impact that they used to, particularly in the final third. Almost half of Lampard's aforementioned 45 goals in the past 4 seasons came in the 2009/10 season (22), while exactly 50% of Gerrard's came in the same campaign (9).

In terms of assists, as many as 14 of Lampard's 21 since 2009/10 came in that season (67%), while 7 of Gerrard's 15 also came that term (47%). Since then there have been significant drops in their averages across the board and though many have felt that they have become more defensive, that isn't really the case.

In fact, both peaked in the 2010/11 season when it comes to both tackles and interceptions, with Gerrard's averages at a considerable 2.76 and 1.76 respectively. Lampard, meanwhile, also picked up his best figures in that season, with 1.76 and 1.21, though both players averages have dwindled since that campaign, with Gerrard’s falling rapidly to 1.33 and 0.94 respectively last season.

When taking all into account, it seems that the players’ respective regression will only continue and could deem them surplus to requirements come Rio 2014. When looking at whether they can play together, they certainly had no problems against Moldova, but few would, and although they are hardly world-beaters, Tuesday’s game with Ukraine will be a much tougher test.