Even the mention of the name Steven Gerrard produces a smile on the face of his friend and longtime rival Frank Lampard.
“I still get that question asked now…especially in cabs in London, they love that conversation,” he says with a grin, as he looks forward to meeting his old England team-mate as a managerial rival this weekend.
It is of course the age old one: who is better. The former Liverpool man, the all time Chelsea record goalscorer, or even Paul Scholes, the little Manchester United genius.
“They always want to know who was better - what do you do with that?! And they’ve got big mouths those cabbies, it’s not going to stay between us!
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“We were different, I don't think there is any point in that conversation at all, especially now we have packed up. I think myself, Steven - and Scholesy is the other one - we were all different and I think we can all be pretty happy with the careers we had.”
Both are managers now, with concerns wider than an age-old rivalry from the days when their two clubs met so often in the biggest games in the Champions League and top flight.
But with the pair due to meet up when Everton travel to Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime, Lampard is keen to look beyond those playing days…and especially the notion that they have had an easy pass into management because of their reputation and illustrious name.
“Maybe because of our high profile (playing) careers, there is a greater focus on what we do, but it doesn’t matter what your route to becoming a manager is, you have to prove yourself either way,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what you did as a player. If you are going to do this job, you have to give your life to it. It is completely different (from playing). Yes, being a player at the top level can prove a benefit in some ways. But it doesn’t mean you don’t have to work incredibly hard. That remains exactly the same.”
While Lampard knows he must focus on the here and now of turning his relegation haunted side of last season into solid Premier League stock this time around, the Everton boss couldn’t resist one last smile.
When it was pointed out Gerrard almost joined Chelsea back in 2005, and could have made up a midfield trio with him and Claude Makelele, he joked: “Would have been good wouldn't it!
“I think it worked out alright for me and Stevie in our own ways. We ended up being one club people pretty much in our careers and I think that was the right story. But it could have been good in another world.”
And is one other slight regret…with England, where various managers tried to shoehorn him and the Liverpool legend into a midfield four two with wide players.
“I did always think, even when I was playing for England, we should have had three in the middle - because in tournament football we got outnumbered in midfield,” Lampard said.
“When you’re outnumbered at the high level at things like the World Cup, then it’s difficult to control games. So I think that was just part of the puzzle to be fair.”
The Everton boss is still trying to complete his transfer window puzzle with a move for a back up striker - of which he suggested there will be money to spend on the right candidate - and a pursuit of Idrissa Gana Gueye, which is not dead.
