JamDav1982
Senior Member
Top player that gets in any team in the world.
Simple as that.
Simple as that.
Jude Bellingham
- Thread starter snowy
- Start date
El Gato
Villarato!
Sorry I know this ain't Aston Villa dawg
Then again even Dortmund are beating them now
Haraldinho
Active member
Fake Zidane. After Fake Ronaldo.
Maradona37
Well-known member
In a glorified pre-season friendly no doubt. Like I say, football fans are reactionary and shoot their bolt too early. It will be the same tomorrow night if United win (as we expect them to) all the 'I told you sos' and 'hahas' will come out aimed at me because I talked them down. Overlooking there's another 37 gameweeks to go.
Novice football fan behaviour. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Did he actually play well in general play this time (didn't watch it)? Or is it another anonymous performance with an assist to cover it up, a la the CL Final.
Obviously a quality player, but technically weaker than physically.
Shame he couldn't do anything for England. Playing for Real Madrid is like having a cheat code given the deal with the devil they have. It's really difficult to fail there for any half-decent player.
The guy is clearly good, and will achieve a lot, but it's hard not to be successful when you play for Real Madrid.
That's why guys like Blanco 'support' them. It's guaranteed success for him and alleviates his insecurity about life.
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Maradona37
Well-known member
I watched the away game against Barca. He was invisible most of the game other than popping up with moments.He said himself it does and has been on painkillers. He's refused surgery. Doing an Umtiti
Birdy claiming fraud when dude romped Barca in both Clasicoscomplete jokers
He's one of those type of players. Some lads love kids who are anonymous all game then arrive in the box and score. I personally don't.
Maradona37
Well-known member
Can tell the type who think he's the new Zidane off a mile away too
Maradona37
Well-known member
So when he struggles it's because he's hindered by his shoulder? But when he does well the shoulder magically doesn't impede him?He said himself it does and has been on painkillers. He's refused surgery. Doing an Umtiti
Birdy claiming fraud when dude romped Barca in both Clasicos
Reminds me of Ronaldo's phantom 'knee injury' he's had for the last 10 years.
Supreme stuff.
El Gato
Villarato!
Nah
Had season full of games. Shoulder been a problem at the start too when was powering through it banging them in at ease. Normal to be a bit beaten up towards the end of it and then feel fresher in first game back. Not a surprise he'd have been bothered by it and feels less stiff now. Will see if it comes back to bite him this yr if opts to leave it for several months to a year to get it sorted
Fati_Future_BallonDor
Well-known member
If ham doesnt have the run he had in first half of last ll season where he won numerous games by his late goals we will be fine
Well for now, he seems to be more consistent at club level than Zidane.
Fati_Future_BallonDor
Well-known member
he is not prime Messi who will dribble and create chances like crazy but he is the perfect output player who will give you a lot of wins
for Real Madrid he is the perfect player
Fati_Future_BallonDor
Well-known member
Olmo will be our ham
Maradona37
Well-known member
Very long post coming up.
Never denied he is a great output player. I AM NOT SAYING HE ISN'T A QUALITY PLAYER AT WHAT HE DOES.
I am not saying he's not effective, or that he won't get goals and assists.
My point is he's like Haaland, or latter-day Ronaldo. He gets you big 'moments' but he's often a liability throughout the other parts of the match, and disappears for long spells. Guys come on drooling about his assist (see CL Final) ignoring his no-show (and his team-mates) for the rest of the game is partly why Dortmund were able to create chances and on another night could have been in the lead. These guys cannot think hypothetically. It will come back to bite RM at some point. Their supernatural ability to finish every chance in a big game will run out.
That's just not my type of player. I like guys like Xavi, Iniesta, Modric, Ribery, Messi, Kroos just to name some. These guys won't go crazy on the stats sheet (other than Messi), but they have an ability to pass the eye test, they're better to watch, and they're proper footballers.
The two named above and Bellingham are more like glorified athletes and physical specimens than footballers. They will score plenty of goals and win trophies, but they lean into athleticism more to do it. When you compare Ronaldo to Messi, or Bellingham to Zidane, or Haaland to Romario, or Bruno Fernandes to Maradona, or even Bale to Hazard, you can see that the first guys maybe get better stats. But the point I am making is that they don't affect the game in the non-statistical parts. They're more likely to lose the ball in a good area, or guys like Xavi and Ribery are more likely to do something that doesn't show up in the stats but is a real positive contribution in the game and leads to a chance or a goal.
Now of course it is folly to say these guys aren't good players just because they are mostly 'output players'. That can win you points. But I think there's a reason why Ronaldo's international record is bad in knockout games of big tournaments (and why he's invisible in most big CL Finals), why Haaland's big-game record is terrible, why Fernandes is generally mediocre in big games, why Bellingham generally disappeared at the end of the season and in the Euros.
That reason for me is that their sheer output and physical dominance is much more prevalent against teams that are weaker than them, and in games where they get more space (yes smaller teams can give more space too). Against big teams that press them relentlessly and can match their athleticism AND are superior technically, it's much harder for them.
I just think that - of course these guys are good and in some cases great players. But there's something missing from them as footballers - the genius gene I call it. Zidane, Iniesta, Messi, Pele, Maradona, Neymar etc all have or had it. These guys don't. They don't have a natural affinity with a football and they don't look like they were born to play the game - they look like trained, manufactured athletes.
The thing about the biggest stats guys not being the best players in the team is something you'll know if you played football. I have played football and there were plenty of us supplying a guy up front and he just poached and got most of the goals. Now the stats sheet tells you he's the superstar but watching the games tells a different story.
It's the same principle at an infinitely higher level. Idiots were enraged Modric got BD over Ronaldo and compared them on stats, totally overlooking that Modric isn't a stats footballer.
Point is people are obsessed with the 'output' you refer to there, to the detriment of all else. It's become a thing in this era that all people care about is goals and assists and 'end product players'. I blame the rise of the internet and the growing influence of American sports in football.
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