The mancityfans.net football forum

Depends on the criteria. The OP asks which is the better player. If we are talking about on their day, then they are both match winners, capable of winning games through sheer willpower and no shortage of skill, both in passing and shooting. If we then say for a three or four year period, then I'd say Yaya. Between 2011 and 2014 he was majestic. If we are talking about a career then Gerrard would come out on top.

Both scored great goals and in games when it really counted. Gerrards record of scoring in four major finals is mightily impressive. But Yaya also scored in cup finals and important league games.
Yaya's passing is more accurate and he is involved in more of the play. One of Gerrards weaknesses was his penchant for the "Hollywood" pass, which when it came off looked great but all too often it conceded possession.
Defensively I would put Gerrard ahead of Yaya. He was more a box to box midfielder who covered more ground and put in a bigger shift in his defensive duties than Yaya did.
But Yaya was arguably more a threat in the final third. When he was pushed further forward in the first title season he was devastating. His power and presence was immense. There was no finer sight than seeing Yaya pick up the ball in the middle and start a surging run, brushing off opponents as if they were children who had found themselves in a mans game, before picking his spot and slotting the ball into the net.

All in all, both are great PL players, Gerrard is not nearly as good as he or his fans think he was internationally, but at the end of the day he is a dipper. So Yaya gets the vote

nottsblue wrote:Depends on the criteria. The OP asks which is the better player. If we are talking about on their day, then they are both match winners, capable of winning games through sheer willpower and no shortage of skill, both in passing and shooting. If we then say for a three or four year period, then I'd say Yaya. Between 2011 and 2014 he was majestic. If we are talking about a career then Gerrard would come out on top.

Both scored great goals and in games when it really counted. Gerrards record of scoring in four major finals is mightily impressive. But Yaya also scored in cup finals and important league games.
Yaya's passing is more accurate and he is involved in more of the play. One of Gerrards weaknesses was his penchant for the "Hollywood" pass, which when it came off looked great but all too often it conceded possession.
Defensively I would put Gerrard ahead of Yaya. He was more a box to box midfielder who covered more ground and put in a bigger shift in his defensive duties than Yaya did.
But Yaya was arguably more a threat in the final third. When he was pushed further forward in the first title season he was devastating. His power and presence was immense. There was no finer sight than seeing Yaya pick up the ball in the middle and start a surging run, brushing off opponents as if they were children who had found themselves in a mans game, before picking his spot and slotting the ball into the net.

All in all, both are great PL players, Gerrard is not nearly as good as he or his fans think he was internationally, but at the end of the day he is a dipper. So Yaya gets the vote

I wholeheartedly agree with this !!

Sparklehorse wrote:

nottsblue wrote:Depends on the criteria. The OP asks which is the better player. If we are talking about on their day, then they are both match winners, capable of winning games through sheer willpower and no shortage of skill, both in passing and shooting. If we then say for a three or four year period, then I'd say Yaya. Between 2011 and 2014 he was majestic. If we are talking about a career then Gerrard would come out on top.

Both scored great goals and in games when it really counted. Gerrards record of scoring in four major finals is mightily impressive. But Yaya also scored in cup finals and important league games.
Yaya's passing is more accurate and he is involved in more of the play. One of Gerrards weaknesses was his penchant for the "Hollywood" pass, which when it came off looked great but all too often it conceded possession.
Defensively I would put Gerrard ahead of Yaya. He was more a box to box midfielder who covered more ground and put in a bigger shift in his defensive duties than Yaya did.
But Yaya was arguably more a threat in the final third. When he was pushed further forward in the first title season he was devastating. His power and presence was immense. There was no finer sight than seeing Yaya pick up the ball in the middle and start a surging run, brushing off opponents as if they were children who had found themselves in a mans game, before picking his spot and slotting the ball into the net.

All in all, both are great PL players, Gerrard is not nearly as good as he or his fans think he was internationally, but at the end of the day he is a dipper. So Yaya gets the vote

I wholeheartedly agree with this !!

I personally think this post quite glaringly overlooks Yaya’s Barcelona years. Maybe not seeing/heading as much about him before he arrived in England perhaps, but he wasn’t too shabby there either.