Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were at loggerheads on many occasions during their playing careers, as hot-blooded representatives of great rivals Liverpool and Manchester United.
The duo is now an eloquent, deep-thinking team on the Sky Sports punditry panel, and they usually do well to remain neutral in their impressive analyses of football.
But it was only a matter of time until their allegiances caused fireworks in the studio, and it has finally happened.
The subject of their entertaining and enlightening on-screen spat was the identity of England’s greatest modern midfielder.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Carra lists living Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard, slightly ahead of Chelsea icon Frank Lampard and retired Manchester United star Paul Scholes, who Barcelona ace Xavi once branded the best player on the planet.
Carra believes Gerrard wins for his ability to single-handedly win matches on his own, with Lampard credited for the same ability.
He says Scholes’ shunting to the wing by former England boss, Sven Goran Eriksson, in order to accommodate Gerrard and Lamps in central midfield, is evidence of the ex-Red Devil’s marginal inferiority.
Of course, Neville heartily disagrees, branding the Ginger Ninja Scholes as the “best player” he ever played with.
That is high praise indeed, considering Neville partnered stars like Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo in vacuuming up trophies at Old Trafford.
He thinks that Scholes’ talent for dictating the pace of games was vital to United’s strategy of ball possession, and for that reason, he marks his old friend above Lampard and Stevie G.
Football is considered a game of opinions, and it is certainly fun and worthwhile listening to two intelligent warriors like Carragher and Neville spar about some of the heavyweights of the modern game!
Watch: Carra and Neville argue about Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes
Vote: Tell us which of the three contested midfielders you believe is the greatest
