@Eldee,

Based on the bone of contention. . it's all about who will make the team. Valid point.

Now. . away from the argument my choice will be Paul Scholes. . I watched this guy come in on saturday and his first touch was a 30 yarder to pick out rooney. The class is still there. Sorry mate.

Are u guys aware that Fab4 was sold to Arsenal because he couldn't displace Iniesta and Xavi at Barcelona?

look @ ur last post?isnt it ridiculous?how old was fabregas when he left barca?ARE YOU AWARE iniesta is 3 YEARS OLDER than fabregas?or do you expect a 15 year old fabregas to be rated higher than an 18 year old iniesta?damn,xavi is old enuf to be his grand dad .and iniesta being picked ahead of fab4 doesnt necessarily mean he is a better player.take sagna and diarra for example.diarra was being picked for france ahead of sagna but couldnt hold down a place on the bench for arsenal cos of the same sagna.do the math.

ritchboy:


look @ your last post?isnt it ridiculous?how old was fabregas when he left barca?ARE YOU AWARE iniesta is 3 YEARS OLDER than fabregas?or do you expect a 15 year old fabregas to be rated higher than an 18 year old iniesta?damn,xavi is old enough to be his grand dad .and iniesta being picked ahead of fab4 doesnt necessarily mean he is a better player.take sagna and diarra for example.diarra was being picked for france ahead of sagna but couldnt hold down a place on the bench for arsenal because of the same sagna.do the math.

Now you are going against your initial point. You said it is not about age but present class. So where do you stand . .age or class?

@ Ritchboy,

You seem to be making a syntax error.
All these lads grew up in FC Barcelona TEAM B.  They all grew up in the same academy.
Messi-Fab4-Bojan-Pique-Arteta-Iniesta all grew up together and Barcelona felt Iniesta offers more than Fab4.
Can u tell me Fab4 is better than Iniesta as a midfielder? 

Pound for pound. . . . .Iniesta takes Fabregas to the cleaners.
He is by far the best midfielder in Spain.
Are u aware the under-rated Mikel Arteta(Everton) is better than Fabregas?
Fab4 is just HYPE . . . . . .Anderson is better than him by miles.

@Whoever

why do u guys just like arguing over just about anything  

how much games has Fab4 played that u all will be comparing him to SCHOLESY ?

FORGET CLUB SENTIMENTS . . . IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, AMONGST BRITS, ONLY GERRARD AND SCHOLES HAVE REALLY MADE THEIR MARKS IN ENGLISH FOOTIE  

basically . . .why dont u guys just start comparing C Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy ?  

truth is . . . .Fab4 has more games ahead of him, SO HE COULD BE GREATER THAN SCHOLESY but definitely Fab4 would never be mentioned in the same breath as Scholesy, forget current form  

@Richboi

u claim to be the most unbiased gunner on Nland ? that na ur new title  

who exactly are u trying to impress ? Like the chavs or scumtwats care ?  

@nateevs
you make your choices anyways
ur telling me that u'll exchange class and experience for someone that has class, a reasonable amount of experience, goal scoring ability, better goal creating abilities, higher pace, youth and agility, etc
heaven knows why people are calling for local coaches _{just kiddin}
but we all know that those passes are not new to fab4

@jackal
even at that you can't compare him to the rest of them
xavi and iniesta started playing for spain before him, but he has more caps than iniesta
and xavi only has higher amount of caps because he plays DMF

and besides the way barca and madrid have been chasing him cannot be explained based on just his affiliation
but also because of his talent, they admitted it was a big loss
why do u think they still get scared of selling players to us

@nateev
15 is so freakin young, 18 is the beginig of real football
34 is the grey years of a football career

@McOmo

Thank you very much. That is exactly what I was saying. Though Eldee got my point, we should not even be talking about it in the first place.

Now you are going against your initial point. You said it is not about age but present class. So where do you stand . .age or class?

jackal said iniesta and xavi are better than fabregas,to drive his point he said fab left barca cos of them.so i pointed out fab was only 15 when he left(while iniesta was 18 and xavi was in his mid 70's  ).at 15 do you expect him to be rated higher in the pecking order than iniesta(18) or xavi(76)  ?

Barcelona felt Iniesta offers more than Fab4

ofcourse they did.he was 15,iniesta was 18.do you expect a 15 year old to "offer more" than an 18 year old?@ 15 ur probably not ready mentally/physically for top flight football in a league as strong as la liga.arsenal signed a 15 year old striker from gillingham recently,do you expect him to bench adebayor?

@ Eldee,

Any player plying his trade in the English league gets a nod. . . .This is why they are over-rated!!!!!!!!!!
The English Premiership had the highest number of players at the last world cup . . . .That speaks volume, mate.
If we put it down to their game techniques, Iniesta takes Fab4 to the cleaners . . . .
Have u forgotten his cameo performance against y'all @ the UCL finals in 2006?

@ Ritchboy,

When a player is good . . .he is good,
Cristiano Ronaldo forced Luis Figo to an early retirement. Rooney kept many English strikers out of EURO2004 at the age of 18.
Leo Messi and Bojan are keeping Gudjohnsen and even Ronaldinho out of Barcelona team.
When a player is good . . . . .Age has nuthing to do with it.
A good player will always be a GOOD PLAYER. Fabregas has nothing on Iniesta and Mikel Arteta.

Mc Omo:

@Whoever

why do u guys just like arguing over just about anything  

how much games has Fab4 played that u all will be comparing him to SCHOLESY ?

FORGET CLUB SENTIMENTS . . . IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, AMONGST BRITS, ONLY GERRARD AND SCHOLES HAVE REALLY MADE THEIR MARKS IN ENGLISH FOOTIE  

basically . . .why don't u guys just start comparing C Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy ?  

truth is . . . .Fab4 has more games ahead of him, SO HE COULD BE GREATER THAN SCHOLESY but definitely Fab4 would never be mentioned in the same breath as Scholesy, forget current form  

@Richboi

u claim to be the most unbiased gunner on Nland ? that na your new title  

who exactly are u trying to impress ? Like the chavs or scumtwats care ?  

me?impress? do you think i care whether the "chavs" or "scumtwats" care.  

jackal,
by saying "when a player is good he is good" are you implying players dont improve/get worse?
ronaldo?rooney?messi? these dudes are/were 18 plus at the time they benched whoever.FABREGAS WAS 15 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

When a player is good . . .he is good,
Cristiano Ronaldo forced Luis Figo to an early retirement. Rooney kept many English strikers out of EURO2004 at the age of 18.
Leo Messi and Bojan are keeping Gudjohnsen and even Ronaldinho out of Barcelona team.
When a player is good . . . . .Age has nuthing to do with it.
A good player will always be a GOOD PLAYER. Fabregas has nothing on Iniesta and Mikel Arteta.

Like Jackal has been learning some thing from me.

Ronaldo lima won world footballer at 19. Del Piero sent legendary baggio out of Juventus. Wayne Rooney and Darius Vassel who is older?

@ Dayokanu,

I am not looking at u dude . . . . .that sounds like an excerpt of Jigga's HEART OF THE CITY(BLUEPRINT)

Sure

@ Ritchboy,

Dont mis-inform us.
Fabregas was born in May 1987 . . . . He joined Arsenal in Sep 2003(He was 16 years 4 months) and NOT 15 years of age.
Cesc moved to Arsenal because he sensed his appearances will be limited in Barcelona. He knew he had better players fighting for his space.

@ Dayokanu,

Jackal learning from u?
Try it the other way round, mate!!!!!
U didn't have to bite Jigga's lines . . . . Why not bite Pasuma's

Some Pasuma's lines are tight like Awwwwwhhhh Mr Pasoooooooooooo

jackal,
ok.fabregas was 16.then that means iniesta was 19.its still the same shitzo.do you expect a 16. . . . (you know the rest

ritchboy:

jackal,
ok.fabregas was 16.then that means iniesta was 19.its still the same shitzo.do you expect a 16. . . . (you know the rest

How old is Bojan Krkic?

Chacal

Fabregas displaced Paddy V as the main MF at Arsenal, what are you on about mate

YA'LL REALLY DON'T HAVE NOTHING TO DO!!

GOONER 89

Bojan? I dont know
why dont you tell me

loyika:

Chacal

Fabregas displaced Paddy V as the main MF at Arsenal, what are you on about mate

YA'LL REALLY DON'T HAVE NOTHING TO DO!!

GOONER 89

Displaced? Like Dudu displaced Henry or Wesley Sneijder displaced David Beckham.

Cesc only got a regular spot after Vieira sought and got a transfer to Juventus.

What won't i hear on Nairaland.
Okay . . . . . . . . . . .ANDERSON displaced PAUL SCHOLES.

I think he meant to say "replaced"

Are u suggesting Loyika is a semi-illiterate?

Bojan is 17.
He is playing in one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Bojan waited for his time and he is reaping the benefits now and scoring good goals.
If Fab4 was good, he should have waited for his time as well as he didn't start playing WELL at Arsenal till he clocked 18.

@ Chacal

that analysis is flawed - players peak at different points in their playing careers

Drogba was shyte till he turned 26, he was busy shagging all the Marseilles chicks to focus on footie, does that mean he is not good enough?

Where was Cantona playing when he was 17? does that mean he was not good?

Johan Micoud was a great player, almost as good as Zidane in my estimation, but because he emerged at the same time as Zizou who was better than him, he never got that shot in the French team.

In essence, what I'm saying is that timing matters - Cesc emerged when two or more players in the same position were ahead of him on the curve, he had to leave.

@ I-man

you can't compare Dudu or Wesley's case to Cesc

Cesc was at the club prior to Paddy V's departure, so it is possible to say he was displaced - AW probably felt it was a better bet to build his new team around Cesc than around PV who was not as motivated as before and was looking to secure his future pay checks.

He was vindicated by Cesc outplaying his mentor a few months later against Juve.

@ Debosky,

Flawed analysis? I think my analysis is FLAWLESS.
Please don't bring Cantona into this argument. There is a wider appeal these days.
Managers/Coaches dont need to travel 300,000 miles to monitor a good player in New Zealand.
Fabregas had an outstanding under-17 tournament so everyone expected him to rise through the ranks.

Ok. . . . . . Cesc Vs Iniesta
Who is the better player AS WE SPEAK?

Damn. . . . . Nigeria's game is about starting.

debosky:


I-man

you can't compare Dudu or Wesley's case to Cesc

Cesc was at the club prior to Paddy V's departure, so it is possible to say he was displaced - AW probably felt it was a better bet to build his new team around Cesc than around PV who was not as motivated as before and was looking to secure his future pay checks.

He was vindicated by Cesc outplaying his mentor a few months later against Juve.

So Paddy V left because of Cesc? Otherwise,he would have remained at Arsenal? You have a distinctly unique memory of events.I seem to remember Vieira desperately aching for a move away from Arsenal.

Cesc "outplaying" Vieira in one game proved nothing.Vieira has won more titles-ignoring Calciopoli-since he left.Precisely the reason he felt it was time to move.

@ Chacal

who is better?

Cesc has 11 goals in 26 games this season, Iniesta 3 goals in 30 games

answer the question yourself.

@ I-man

I'm just painting one aspect of the situation, Vieira's aching to move was due to a need to secure his future as I noted, and AW decided building around Cesc was a more promising option.

Vieira did not leave Arsenal to win just league titles, he had those in Arsenal, he left for security and for the CL, which he has still not won.

@ Debosky,

The goals scored this season does not count.
I am talking about awareness, vision, passes and game techniques.
Lets debate like real soccer buffs, mate.
It's like saying Fab4 is better than Gerrard because he has scored 11 goals . . . .Are u shitting me?

On what count is CR better than Fabregas this season except for goals

I don't understand you mate, goals are a legitimate measure, especially when the players are in a similar role.

Game techniques? Iniesta is probably better defensively, but Cesc's vision is far better than Iniesta's, so is his nose for goal (at least based on this season's stats)

what exactly do you mean by 'game techniques'? Cesc has added steel to his game now, he is not easily pushed around, so he is improved in that respect. La Liga is decidedly less physical, so I would give Cesc an edge in that as well.

CHACAL!
Dat was a low blow directed @ loyika.You should be SHOT!
How can you say goals dont count.Fabregas is a much better passer than iniesta.Gerrard has scored MORE GOALS than fab so wat are you on about?

CR is better than Fab4 in every aspect of the game.
They don't play in the same position but it aint quantum physics.
Ronaldo edges him in dribbling skills, pace, dead balls, aerial prowess, goal sense and good entertainment value.

Back to Iniesta and Fabregas . . . . .
It's obvious u don't watch La Liga games . . . .Ardent lovers of La Liga will tell u Fab4 has nothing on Iniesta.
In my own opinion  . . . . . .Arteta and Iniesta are tactically and technically better than Fab4.

Can someone tell me why Nigerians are running like pregnant donkeys?
Drogba has done us a favour now . . . .I don't see Nigeria scoring here today.
Utaka, Yakubu and Etuhu are a disgrace to the EPL. Apologies to Mikel Obi.
I think Osaze should take Yakubu's position. Yakubu looks bloated with Ghananian beans.

@Jackal
we won. . .Saw a few minutes of the game.
I didnt want to see it.

Nigeria now play like Ethiopia, its so annoying

We are gonna have a busy weekend, Pompey and Spurs again?
if we can get the 3 points in those games, then we are aight

Its so annoying to see these Nigerians win Why did Drogba and co do that now?

There is no denying that the Barca team is star studded and Fab4 would have problems breaking in. You can t tell me that Giovani, Boja, Iniesta,Messi and those youngster wont stroll into any EPL team see the way Fab4 and Anderson did it. If they had gone to Barca they would have had to contend with those prodigious talents in Barca

@dayokanu
what did u expect, for them to lose and face Ghana, it's not sensible

and as for fab4 and iniesta
if they have been in the same barca team
then barca would prolly not have gone for deco
all said, fab4 still kills iniesta and anderson anyday