The all-in-one consolidatory football thread Page 242

Quote: TopBanana @ May 31 2011, 11:57 AM BST

The top ten was lifted straight from Wiki.

Sneijder?

Modric?

Apart from that, there is no one who could match Scholes. United also need a box-to-box midfielder- Jack Rodwell?

Great point. It is another example of London bias, I'm afraid.

Spurs, Everton and Villa- there is only a cigarette paper between them in terms of club size. But, Villa have been European champions which gives them the edge (and I'm a Blues fan )

Plus, Leeds United have played more Champions League games than Spurs (and maybe Newcastle, too).

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I know we're beginning to sound like 12-year-old boys here, but I should point out that the last of Spurs' league titles was 50 years ago, in '61, whereas Villa's last was '81 and Everton's was '87.

I think some of the media can be biased towards the London clubs. I mean look at the Gazza era at Spurs. The media gave them so much attention back then, that you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd been league champions, but all they won was one FA Cup.

Quote: BuryBob @ May 31 2011, 9:44 AM BST

Paul Scholes has retired, one of the top 5 midfielders ever to grace the Premiership in my opinion. Wonder who Alex Ferguson has in mind to replace him long term, there isnt that many out there (Barcelonas midfield excluded) who could perform to Scholes' level for so many games.

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Wasn't there a South American player who kicked an owl off the pitch? That's Ferguson's type of player.

Quote: lofthouse @ May 28 2011, 9:28 PM BST

I think Messi is better than Maradona was.

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I've been trying to find a compilation of Maradona's best goals, but the ones that are on YouTube all seem to have left out many of his best. So, instead, I'm posting this clip of his Top 20 lobbed goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnjZB_vjSU&feature=related

The last one is truly amazing. I don't understand why it's never shown on TV over here.

Hmm, pretty loose definition of lob there, I think. One of them was a header. And the goal keeping wasn't great for many of them! Even against a standard English premiership keeper, half of those would not have been goals. Is there a top 20 of his hand ball goals?

Quote: catskillz @ May 31 2011, 8:55 PM BST

I've been trying to find a compilation of Maradona's best goals, but the ones that are on there all seem to have left out many of his best. So, instead, I'm posting this clip of his Top 20 lobbed goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnjZB_vjSU&feature=related

The last one is truly amazing. I don't understand why it's never shown on TV over here before.

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Not a patch on Pele though. They had heavier balls in those days!!!!!!

From what I've seen so far, I'd pick Messi over Maradona because his finishing is so clinical, but he's got to keep that level up. If he loses form, like our Rooney does, he may not be seen as great as Maradona overall. Maradona probably had more flair, more style, as did Best. Messi seems more clinical to me but maybe lacking a bit of that sexiness.

I can't see Messi throwing it all away by turning to drugs though.

Quote: Chappers @ May 31 2011, 9:16 PM BST

Not a patch on Pele though. They had heavier balls in those days!!!!!!

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Only because masturbation was less acceptable than it is now

Quote: Chappers @ May 31 2011, 9:31 PM BST

I can't see Messi throwing it all away by turning to drugs though.

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The whole Pele/Maradona argument is a bit silly, when you consider two things:

1. Maradona spent his best years playing in Spain and Italy, going up against the world's best players, week in, week out. In Italy alone, he was competing against the likes of Zico, Falcao, Platini, Conte, Passarella, Rossi, Altobelli, Baresi, Bergomi, Maldini, Van Basten, Gullit, Laudrup, Elkjaer, Rummenigge, Matthaus, Klinsman, Voller, Mancini, Vialli and Baggio. Pele, on the other hand, only ever played in Brazil and the U.S., where the standards were obviously lower.

2. Maradona won the World Cup in '86, and made it to another Final in '90, with players who were all virtually unknown outside South America. Pele, on the other hand, had the luxury of playing in Brazil sides that featured the likes of Didi, Garrincha, Santos, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson, and Carlos Alberto, who were/are known all around the world.

Anyway, here's a compilation of some of Maradona's best dribbling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah8xBnjtYWw&feature=related

This one's good, because it also shows the moves that didn't always end in goals, unlike most compilations.

Messi would be in my top 5 greatest ever footballers already:
1 Best
2 Pele
3 Maradona
4 Messi
5 Puskas

Talking of messy, Fifa are going to 'elect' that old dinosaur, Blatter in for another four years today, because they have no choice. Who says democracy is dead? So there is no point whatsover in England bidding for another world cup in this time, or for hoping that referees stop being biased or for hoping that technology that's been around for 20 years will sort out their embarrassing mistakes seen by millions in major comps, or stopping football turning into a souless relentless money making machine for dodgy millionaires and robbing fans blind.

Let them re-elect him, it'll only speed up the complete collapse of a rotten and corrupt old boys network afraid of change.

The FA need to accept that FIFA won't chage for the next four years. So they should simply shut up and let them get on with it. They also need to accept that we won't be awarded the world cup for another 50 years.

They also need to accept that we aren't well liked in the world of football.

So its time to get our heads down and work out how to make sure England win every World Cup European Championship for the next twenty years.

**It wouldnt surprise me if wither Russia or Qatar actually find out they can't stage this event and then FIFA come to us cap in hand with about 8 months to go**

Quote: bigfella @ June 1 2011, 11:36 AM BST

The FA need to accept that FIFA won't chage for the next four years. So they should simply shut up and let them get on with it. They also need to accept that we won't be awarded the world cup for another 50 years.

They also need to accept that we aren't well liked in the world of football.

So its time to get our heads down and work out how to make sure England win every World Cup European Championship for the next twenty years.

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I like how you make the FA sound like the model of a well run organisation.

Quote: bigfella @ June 1 2011, 11:36 AM BST

**It wouldnt surprise me if wither Russia or Qatar actually find out they can't stage this event and then FIFA come to us cap in hand with about 8 months to go**

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I think it's very likey that they'll be so much fallout from the conviction of Fifa board members for fraud, that the WC awarding process will have to be done again, at least for Quatar, if Bin Hamman is tried and found guilty of fixing it.

Allardyce vows to play 'the West Ham way'. That'll be interesting to see, seeing as he made his name by stopping teams playing the West Ham way.

If George Best was around now and at his peak, he'd be being touted as the greatest player ever- just like Messi. I'm not saying that Messi isn't the greatest, but 'we' always tend to talk up the current or latest player/album/movie/event, etc, as the greatest thing.

I think you can only judge a player's greatness at the end of his career. Remember Ronaldinho at Barca? He was as OUTSTANDING for 2 or 3 seasons, yet he faded. As did Rivaldo.

Plenty do seriously tout Best as the greatest though, top footballers and pundits. Some people forget now just what he achieved.