After the first instalment of The Scout Debate, I opened the floor and invited anyone to offer up suggestions for debate. From the response I got it was clear that there is one topic in particular that has fantasy mangers up and down the country (and across the globe) frantically tinkering away. So just before the bell tolls for the first deadline of the new season… Steven Gerrard and/or Frank Lampard?

Many of the site workers have submitted to me their views and tactics regarding this issue, and I have nicely collated them onto one page for you to peruse and consider…

Akers: “Lampard and Gerrard went straight in my team without hesitation. There was a lot of debate on the site several weeks ago, discussing whether the trend of value defenders and over-priced strikers was here to stay, or whether it was perhaps the year of the striker at last. Personally, I’ve no idea and have hedged my bets somewhat. One thing I am confident on however, is the reliability of Lampard and Gerrard. Take a gander at the set-piece takers page and you’ll see monopolies at Chelsea and Liverpool. With a hand in virtually all of their clubs attacking play, I see them as essential for the start of the season. The added bonus is Chelsea and Liverpool’s alternating home fixtures, making captaincy dilemmas redundant (satire).

Come gameweek 6 however, and Andrei Arshavin will probably walk straight into my team. Whether this is at the expense of one of my two midfield juggernauts remains to be seen.”

Andy: “If you asked me at the end of last season who I would have chosen; many of you will have seen my posts saying I was going to completely ignore Frank this year and bet my bottom dollar on Gerrard.

What a fickle manager I must now seem. I have one Mr. Lampard in my team, but not a  Gerrard in sight. If Lampard is given a berth high up at the top of the diamond then he is absolutely impossible to ignore. Give a man lemons and he’ll make lemonade, give Frank a ball on the edge of the box and he’ll make goals appear.

So what of Gerrard? He is undoubtedly brilliant, the driving force of Liverpool. But you know what? I don’t want him! I wholly admit to being a massive fan of Fernando Torres, I think the man is dynamite, the best striker in the world – I can’t not have him in my team. It takes a very brave manager to spend £24m on only two players from the same team, and I’m not that man.

I’ll be happy to see Gerrard keep getting his assists… as ‘Nando will get me the goals on the end of them.”

greek fan: “For me, the hardest dilemma has actually been Gerrard or Torres. I started last season, having Fabregas and Ashley Young as my heavy weaponry in midfield. It had been a terrible start, until the preening Portuguese returned to fitness. I paid about £66m less than señor Florentino Pérez for him, and he has been a good value. But I started scoring really big only after I added Lampard too. This season starts with favourable fixtures for the Reds and the Blues and, even more, a blue and a red star shift, week after week, lighting the path to enviable, captaincy’s double scores. Something like a Doppler effect for football stars in a fantasy universe. Watching Liverpool last year was horrifying, I could not enjoy Stevie’s runs and shots and efforts due to his absence from my Fantasy Team. My choice today is Gerrard over Torres because I expect a smashing season for him and because I am happy with Berbatov for 1m less. I am neglecting Torres for the moment and there is also Arshavin who can ruin my weekends alongside the Spaniard, but we can not have everything. Can we?”

I’m Not Marshal Foch: “Gerrard or Lampard, Gerrard or Lampard? Wait, Gerrard AND Lampard… that sounds better. I’m going for both. Unless one of them gets injured or Torres has a Ronaldo-like season then I fully intend to have the two remaining parts of the original Tri-force in my team for the foreseeable future. Not much more I can say about that!”

Mark: “Both are going to be essential at regular points throughout the season but perhaps not right from the off. A fortnight ago I was well on board for getting both Gerrard and Lampard in my initial lineup. Right now, I’ve suffered a change of heart on Gerrard – for several reasons.

Firstly, with Alonso now out of the picture and Aquilani injured, I don’t trust Rafa to stick with Lucas in alongside Mascherano. If Liverpool stutter in the first couple of games, I wonder whether Rafa will consider switching Gerrard back to a central midfield role and handing Babel the opportunity out wide, with Benayoun or Kuyt shifted behind Torres. That could hamper Gerrard’s returns.

The other factors feeding my doubts on Gerrard is Liverpool’s struggle for goals pre-season and the fact that Torres looks the best option if you looking for a fire-and-forget signing up front. Lampard is nailed on for my starting lineup and a combination with Torres would free up more slots in midfield for mid-price options. While it was low-to-mid forwards that provided value last season, I actually think that players like Richardson and Pienaar present better value this term and are assured of starts. That’s in contrast some of last terms bargain forwards, who have also suffered a rise in value as a result of last season’s output.

So, Lampard from the start for me. Gerrard will no doubt come in once Liverpool have demonstrated form and I’m assured on Rafa’s tactics.”

Granville: “Can’t really afford to have both right at the start of the season as well as a big striker and at least 2 top 4 defenders. Later in the season, once the team is worth a bit, it’s a better option.

So which one to choose? It’s a giveaway really, Gerrard is struggling to make the first game and Spurs away is not my idea of gimme. I’m also interested to see what Liverpool do with the midfield after the departure of Alonso, surely Lucas/Mascerano is a stop gap. Just can’t see enough creativity in there unless they get more width from the likes of Johnson and Kuyt. On the other side of things, Lamps is a must. Creator, free kick and penalty taker and free scoring midfielder, easy choice”

SIR PAULOS: “Who to choose? Individually, it’s pretty much impossible to split Lampard and Gerrard; their previous FPL records illustrate a consistency that cannot be denied. It would be naïve of me to predict with any confidence which of the two is more beneficial to your team.

Both are number one choice for penalties, direct free kicks and corners at their respective clubs, and both are backed by mean defences which help add points to their tallies. Plus, the pair of them are bonus point magnets.

However, there are a couple of situations at their respective clubs that I’ll be watching with interest:

Will Chelsea’s new formation help or hinder Lampard’s situation, ie- will two up front give him more goals and assists or take them away from him? And will the new formation mean they will have less clean sheets than in previous years?

Will Xabi Alonso’s departure affect Gerrard’s position on the park? Will Fernando Torres stay fit all season and score the thirty-plus goals most expect him to, thus making him a more appealing Liverpool selection?

My advice? Wait till the bargain front-men become obvious, and make sure you budget well enough to get both Frank and Stevie.”

SUPERIOR BEING: “For me Lampard AND Gerrard are essential this year, especially for the first few weeks. I think there is a very strong case for including both players, here are my reasons:

1.   In the absence of Ronaldo they are obvious replacements for the Captain’s armband
2.   Their points per game are consistently high
3.   They both have great fixtures to start the season
4.   They are almost 100% guaranteed starters
5.   They play for very strong teams
6.   Their home and away fixtures rotate perfectly so you can give the armband to one of them playing at home every week
7.   They don’t miss out on Gameweek 2
8.   In terms of the stats, Lampard seems slightly worse value than Gerrard but with Lampard playing at the head of the new diamond formation, his points output could increase

Now I hear you asking, what about a certain Mr Arshavin? Well he is on my radar too however, with him mis sing Gameweek 2 and also having noticeably tougher starting fixtures I think I’ll avoid him at first and worry about getting him in later!”

So with these views to consider will you be splashing out on both, picking one, or totally bucking the trend and leaving them out completely?

This topic was first suggested by Daniel Stojanovski (thanks Daniel), after he emailed in the suggestion. If you would like to suggest a topic for next time (or leave any feedback), then please email me at akers@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.