QuoteYou're right , He's rubbishOriginally Posted by old git
taught great players played well in big games.. well big game tonight and the boy wonder messi looked very poor
He hasn't proved himself against the top sides YET but he is only 21! He surely will, given all the talent he has.
You're right , He's rubbishtaught great players played well in big games.. well big game tonight and the boy wonder messi looked very poor
Did he just mention Drogba in the same sentence as Maradona???
You obviously missed the hat trick he got against Real Madrid. You are only using three games to judge him- hardly a fair judgement to make. He has done it all throughout the CL to date (top scorer ffs), done in La Liga against the best they have to offer and for Argentina too. I hate this ******** of players not doing it against the best teams- anyone can use one game to prove anything.
Messi was never going to thrive in that game tonight. Chelsea packed the centre and when you cut in, no matter how good you are, there's no coping with the amount of bodies around you.
This the same Real Madrid that Liverpool thrashed at Anfield and beat well in Madrid?
Spanish defenders particularly in recent years have not been the best in the world. Pique who started tonight for Barcelona was in the reserves at Man U where he still would be if he stayed. And he would be considered one of the better Spanish defenders, imagine the rest.
I'm afraid it wasn't just tonight he failed to make an impact. Last year in both games against Man Utd he failed to make an impact. Tonight he took a free kick and ballooned it over the dead ball line. You cannot say that's because of Chelsea packing the defence.
I just think he can get predictable after a time and it's easy for a good defence and a good manager like Hiddink to read him and counter him. His style of play doesn't seem to suit playing big physical English teams who defend in depth.
The English League is unquestionably the top league, the proof is there are 3 English teams in the semis as there was last year. If Torres, Drogba, Kaka, Lampard, Roy Keane, can do it against top English sides, then you'd expect the 'best player in the world' to do it, at least in one game.
No doubt his age may have something to do with it, and he may yet become a great player, probably will, and he has done it already and has nothing to prove to people like me, but if he wants to prove to the world that he is a legend like Pele, Maradona, Zidanne, Gerd Muller, then he needs to do it against the top teams in the world game, internationally and at club level, otherwise there will be questions about him and Venezuela is not a top world team. I hope he does go on to prove people like me wrong.
As for his age, great players are usually great players by the age of 21, ie Fabragas, Maradonna, Pele, Kaka. I don't think age is really an issue.
Last edited by Emmet7; 29/04/2009 at 12:23 AM.
3 games....
Jeez,he must be useless so
At the age of 21 kaka was still at sao paulo and had done nothing with the brazil national team.Hardly what one would call "great".
At the age of 21 fabregas couldn't get in the spanish starting 11,again while he is v.good i wouldn't call him great and certainly he isn't better than messi as you have implied.
If you watched spanish football regularly you would know how good he is. How many full games have you seen him play in?
The rte commentators were clowns as well. After about 10 minutes he got on the ball,can't rememberwhat he did with it,but the commentators were saying he hadn't settled in yet. What player had settled in after 10 minutes? Were they expecting him to score a hattrick inside 5 minutes?!
I knew coming on here thios morning there'd be the few "Messi not all that" type posts. Must have been oblivious to the doubling and tripling up on him all night by Chelsea. Nobody would shine under these circumstances, NOBODY.
The current Barcelona team is more overrated than the 2001 Pike Rovers team here in Limerick. Fact!
maradona / best were able to deal with amount of bodies and a hell of a lot more tackling
" football is a simple game "
He's still only 21. Maradona had his greatest moment at the age of 26. 21 is still very, very young to be classed as a true great. The fact that he's already being talked about as the heir to Maradona says a lot. He's a very complete player already and it's frightening to think how good he'll be at his peak. He's three years younger than Ronaldo too.
My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method, is love. I love you Sheriff Truman.
Yet you'd probably count Torres goals against them as scoring against a top European side, which they are by the way as there aren't that many around.
So Pique isn't as good as Ferdinand or Vidic so he must be rubbish, you sound like Dunphy. He's only 22 and looked very good at times last night, also made a couple of mistakes.
There's a difference between not having scored against an English team and not playing well against an English team. He was excellent at the Bridge 3 yrs ago, giving them a torrid time down the right an ultimately getting Del Horno sent off in the first half.
Come on man Torres Drogba Keane and Lampard play(ed) in the English league so their opportunities are (were) slightly less limited.
This was already dealt with by Rovers fan, thankfully.
Last edited by DeLorean; 29/04/2009 at 11:19 AM. Reason: Bit harsh, maybe?
What??
I agree 100%. Or even the Fairview Rangers side of 2005!
what I look for in a great player is a game breaker in top top matches.
Barcelona vs Getafe is not a top top match, nor is most of the matches Barcelona play week in week out.
Look at the team Arsenal beat to get to the semis, they were woeful at the Emerites, didn't get near the Arsenal goal.
Spanish soccer is in decline, clearly, apart from Barcelona, there is no other team who would do well in Europe.
I don't think being a game breaker against sides like Getafe contitutes greatness, Getafe I would rank with Blackburn, Stoke, West Brom, Sunderland. Even an average or poor player could look world class against that level of team.
Last edited by Emmet7; 29/04/2009 at 3:43 PM.
Thanks Eamon, any more pearls of wisdom for us?
telling it as I see it...
If I was a manager and someone offered me Messi or Drogba, I'd take Drogba...
Maybe Utd. will come knocking on your door when Ferguson retires, in fact send them your CV so they know you're interested
"the team" is Villarreal
I don't see how you can say Spanish football is in decline , They are the European Champions and have a team that might just be the European club champions. Messi is the top scorer in this seasons Champions League so clearly having a player that can outshine the rest of his peers in the goalscoring stakes isn't beyond them either. Going on last nights evidence , Chelsea had many average performers , Should they not also be judged by your standards so ? There are not many players that regularly look head and shoulders above the rest when playing against other top teams . That's why they are top teams.
And your assertion that an average or poor player could look world class against those aforemention teams is rubbish , By that reckoning there are only about 10 good players in the world
Spanish club football is in decline compared to English club football, apart from Barcelona, so that means Barcelona are meeting weaker teams.
The CL is the only real way you can measure the strength or weakness of domestic leagues, and it usually pretty accurate, Italy has fallen behind, Germany too, France was always not that great, Spain dominated the CL 10 years ago, now only Barca do any good in it.
Why does everything have to compared to English football ?
So they went from being the most successful league in Europe to the 2nd , Hardly a marked declince, These things are cyclical anyway .
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