₦airaland Forum

saintwill:
IF ONLY HIGUAIN DID'T FAIL MESSI ON TWO OCCASSION (@worldcup2014 & @copa2015) THE ARGUEMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.........SOME THINGS ARE JUST MORE THAN A PLAYER..

Na wa oo! Is it not the same Higuain that scored the winner vs Belgium? Like Hoewedes didn't hit the bar in that same match. Not saying Higuain is not a wasteman but at least admit Messi didn't do enough to win either match

Messi is yet to score a goal in the knockout stage of the World Cup

StarBoard:
It's only these new jack cats that believe Messi is better than Maradona or Pele without winning any international competition.
Just like the new jack basketball fans who believe Lebron is better than Michael Jordan as the GOAT.

I don't have any problem with anyone that considers Messi or Lebron as their G.O.A.T. Someone born in the mid-90's most likely would not care for the older guys unless he/she is very devoted to the sport
My problem is when people try to downplay that era then someone has to step in and give them history lessons.

Let them go and watch Harold Schumacher almost guillotine Battiston in Espana 82 and come back and tell me about physicality

leggo:
are you saying they played harder football then? answer straight up.
were garrincha and charlton strikers elamps??

In terms of raw physicality yes! Football was rough, rugged and raw back in the day. There were no substitutions, no red cards so you could literally get away with murder. Go and watch clips of 62-70 WC. I have seen where the ref chased away a medic and prevented him from treating a clearly injured player.

Go and watch the game of the century where Franz Beckenbauer played with a sling and a broken shoulder. There was no room for diving or funny tricks back then

kliq:
The Cleveland Cavaliers are considering trading for Brooklyn Nets star Joe Johnson

LeBron and Iso-Joe on the same offence? Boy they better get another ball on the court

onila:
Lebron is still the king
screw steph

Yeah King of losing in the Finals

Mizzzbeee:
I don't hate Kobe cmon infact I love him.... Just dat He is a ballhog

Really? Hmm well lots of the great players are ballhogs. I think Kobe's is exaggerated. He has averaged more than 5 assists per game over a 19 year career

Lou Williams to the Lakers. Fantastic addition

Messi shoulda collected the award tho. Not classy enough!

When Messi dies his Argentine teammates should bury him so that they can let him down one more time

I saw this somewhere I haven't stopped laughing since

SIRcumalot:
They also want to make money and enjoy the LA lifestyle.
Once kobe retires next season free agents would flock to the purple and gold if he doesn't laker's fan better hope Russel is a bonafide superstar.
I understand Aldrige decision what about Greg Monroe ?

With that money you can enjoy any lifestyle when the season ends. Gone are the days where being in a big market counts for anything. Look at the last 2-3 years that should make it clearer to you

The Bucks are a promising team with MCW, Jabari, Middleton etc. Monroe has never been in the playoffs since he got into the league why should he continue with such streak by joining the Lakers

Mizzzbeee:
eyah... I knw it hurts .. .... Lakers Time will come 2020 #Kobetheballhoggggggg

Haha you are amusing. You hate Lebron and you also hate Kobe. How does that work?

SIRcumalot:
what about the other free agent's aside aldridge ?

Why will anyone want to play on a team with their best player in his 20th season? Everyone wants at least a shot at winning the title. If the Lakers had that people will join Kobe or no Kobe.

Phil Jackson is also at the Knicks why has he not been able to attract anybody? Even his apprentice Steve Kerr refused to join him, that should tell you something

SIRcumalot:
Kobe is the reason not byron scott.
Only a Kobe lover won't agree with this.

The guy wants the easiest route to a ring abeg! Kobe is in his last year. There is every possibility he will retire after next season. If the Lakers were loaded he woulda joined Kobe or no Kobe

Mizzzbeee:
nah he is a ballhog n pipo want to go to teams dat can win dem a ring n I must say Lakers isn't looking like it rite nw.....

Lool! Stop! Kobe is not a ballhog

SIRcumalot:
Roy Hibbert ?

You feel Hibbert would fashi $15m

And yeah while we can agree Doc Rivers is a great coach could it be that he absolutely sucks at being a GM and could perhaps delegate that task to someone else? As it stands the Clips have no cap space even after losing Jordan. This is just terrible cap space management! Not entirely his fault but he has played a significant part in this.

Wonder who they pick McGee? Kaman lol beg Kenyon Martin to come out of retirement lolololol

Roland17:
Honestly I don't know if I am impressed by this trade, is this necessarily an upgrade offensively? Are the Mavs going to build their offense around Jordan?

Who is the "go to" player on this roaster offensively? It's definitely not Parsons, he is way too inconsistent and relies heavily on perimeter shots, not Mathews either cos he is not efficient either and please don't try to convince me its Dirk. So is it Jordan?

Offense has never been the Mavs problem its always been defense so from a defensive standpoint this is a serious upgrade. DeAndre is a well-known rim protector and alters shots plus he is never injured
Monta is 30 and his style of play likely means he won't age well, and while there are question marks with Matthews achilles injury he at least doesn't rely so much on his athleticism and can create his own offense without dominating the ball, shoots the 3 better than Monta and he also adds size at SG which Monta didn't. If he stays healthy Monta won't be missed

I don't think anyone has to be the go to guy. It all boils down to Carlisle finding a system that plays to everyone's strengths and a good way to start is by extending Barea and getting a PG, Felton and Harris won't cut it

Roland17:
I thinks it's more about a satisfied Jordan getting paid the max contract the Clippers refused to offer and not some garbage talk about being an integral part of an offense.

I think the Clippers wanted to pay him but they decided on it too late. I don't think DeAndre is worth the max either but that's modern day basketball for you

Roland17:
Bledsoe would not be living the Suns anytime soon bro, the Suns traded Isaiah Thomas to us ( The Celtics) to create cap space for Bledsoe, the market is pretty shallow with point guards, in fact there is none available, except the Mavs are planning for next year's class of free agents which is better talented than this year's.

The Suns are dumping cap space so they can land Aldridge plus I doubt Bledsoe and Knight can co-exist

Roland17:
This is pretty hard to see as a positive, your post sounded troubled, it had pessimism reeled around it.

Was just being realistic but make no mistake, with these signings things are looking up

Austeenx:
`[color=orange]What's wrong with people?
Muller is head, shoulder, knees and toes ahead of Bale. [/color]

Yahoo1:
Mueller is like a Sergio.B...u dnt see him that much in a match but when you watch him you see his influence. Give me Mueller any day anytime. When did speed and long range shooting start deciding matches like intelligence,positioning and awareness? Even 80percent or more of Ronaldo's goals were from inside the box. Abegii...Mueller is better,even in consistency.

Impressive. You keep drumming it in the ear of these guys and you would think after the last World Cup they would have known better by now

Rondo to the Kings

Roland17:
Breaking news: The Dallas Mavericks have agreed on a Four year deal with free agent D. Jordan of the Clippers for $80 million..
Suddenly it's looking likely the Mavs would decide to keep my boy Rondo , I hope Rick Carlisle doesn't eat his words

Phuck Rondo, Get Eric Bledsoe.

DeAndre and Wesley Matthews actually. I think its an upgrade in both positions. Matthews is a good 3 pt
shooter, very good on the ball defender

DeAndre well we don't need to talk too much about him, aside from being waaay younger and far more athletic the rebounding improves by 100%'of course the free throw shooting is an issue so there is serious work to be done there

Roland17:
How about D. West walking out on the Pacers and L. Bird for throwing R. Hibbert under the bus after a horrible season last year, you can only hope George comes back very strong and Hibbert gets his groove back, no doubt they are building something strong over in Indiana.

That was classless from Bird and the Pacers putting Hibbert on blast like that. Look at how the Warriors handled Lee and Bogut, I don't blame West for his decision. It could be him tomorrow

Krasid:
Muller is not a star figure and does not have that explosiveness of a star player.He does his job well(scores, assist,et all), but does not look like a player who would one day become the best in the world.You wouldn't expect Bale to have more individual accolades than him when he started his career as a left back at Southampton and metamorphosed to the explosive winger at Tottenham.He also happens to be playing for Wales, unlike Muller who started from the Bayern youth team and plays for Germany.

Then you need to adjust your definition of a star. Star is not by dong fancy hairstyle and all. What Mueller does you need to study a game very closely to identify his importance. What is explosive? That is just a fancy term people throw around. Hulk and Emenike are also 'explosive' doesn't mean they are not average players

Do you think Gareth Bale can become the best in the world? He is just the typical British player that has loads of speed. Granted he is slightly better than the average British player but that doesn't put him on the same level with Mueller who uses his intelligence to make room for Robben and Ribery to shine with his runs and interpretation of space

I will name 100 of players who came from Bayern youth team and possess a German passport and have amounted to nothing.

Mueller is better than Bale. As a footballer, in terms of trophies na everything Mueller take pass Bale

Krasid:
Mueller is a good player but is certainly not better than Bale.People seem to have forgotten how good Bale is because of his dip in form this past season.He will prove you all wrong next season.

Apart from long range shooting and pace there is nothing else Bale has over Mueller. Bale is a fantastic player but Mueller is an all round juggernaut. He is definitely better than Bale. Go and check their individual records and titles they are not in the same class at all

jimmy4x:
A40, I go chop ur money, why won't Hazard make top 10, it's not possible, We are talking about the World Best player of the year and you think after that stellar performaNce for Chelsea this season and the fact that he was crowned the best player in a whole league?
with Ribery and Robben getting injured for most part of last season.....The PFA alone has upgraded his status this year....no be coaches, captains abi na Goal keepers and Journalists they vote for Ballon D'or??

Neymar's ban at the Copa might actually work against him.

Read closely! I'm not ignorant about EPL hype, That is why I reduced it to top 5 even though he does not deserve to make top 10. If Hazard makes top 5 for either one you win

Best player in a league that could not get past the 2nd round in all European competitions is not an achievement to brag about. The Copa ban will count for nada!

jimmy4x:
The contenders right now are
Messi
Ronaldo
Suarez
Neymar
Hazard
Robben was injured for most part of the season except he makes up for it before January.
which other Bayern player deserves to be there.
Hazard might probably be the ONLY EPL guy to make the top 10.

Hazard will not make top 10 for anything. He didn't sniff UEFA team of the year so that should tell you his head is not there either for UEFA or Balon D'or

Messi
Ronaldo
Neymar
Suarez
Iniesta
Rakitic
Pique
Mueller
Robben
Tevez

Will all finish ahead of Hazard. Don't be suprised to see Bacca, Pogba and even small boy Morata ahead of him

We can go oo! 10k. Hazard is not making top 5 either Balon D'Or or UEFA

To sweeten the pot if he gets either you win.

raumdeuter:
Shoe get size.

We have the Messi, Ronaldo, then followed by the Robben, Neymar, Suarez, RIbery, Bale, Then followed by the Muller, Hames Pogba class before we now get to the Hazard class players that dribble with little end result like the new age Quaresma

I'd actually put Mueller in the 2nd tier. With Neymar, Suarez, Ribery, Robben he is certainly better than Bale

@chic2pimp
Ol boy una dey para oo! Bertolacci, Adriana and Carlos Bacca in one window! Plus una offload Muntari sef! Na just CM una need to challenge Juve now. And replacement for Montolivo cos he don lana

raumdeuter:
Below was what I copied from another site from aShaktar fan about Douglas Costa I hope Spambot wont ban me

Interesting observation but let's be honest the few times you saw Douglas did you see anything that stood out? I don't watch Ukranian League but I saw him vs Dortmund, Leverkusen, Man U and Chelsea and aside the odd goal he was just there.

We still need to get someone maybe Felipe or preferably Griezmann. I've given up on Ribery getting fit

They still need to fix their Point guard and Roy Hibbert size problem plus try to keep one or both of Luis Scola and David West. They are not in the clear just yet.

Roland17:
Davies is one of the premier weak side defender in the center position and despite his body frame which he alluded to trying to improve he has stood up to some of the toughest players in the league, I quite agree with you when u say he would function better as a power forward especially if his quest to increase size fails but for the center position I mean without the added condiments of the modern NBA which Davies posses I would take Cousins.

You and I know a Center is a dying position in the league. We just saw it at the last three NBA Finals with teams giving traditional centers limited roles. Davis is the better all-round player and its not even close

Roland17:
Boogie has far better foot works under the rim, his post moves are tough and he attacks the rim with Vernom, if you ask me compared to Davies, he is also an above average free throw shooter, he is not scared of the freethrow lane

Boogie has the power in size and strength, it's almost impossible to pull him down, his defense is lazy and I think that has a lot to do with the team he plays for, he makes no effort and gets into a lot of foul trouble.

Davis is the better free-throw shooter and while Boogie has the size to bang in the paint, Davis still has a better field goal percentage. Davis has a higher elevation and finishes with more finesse, Boogie has moves but they are not highlight reel stuff like Davis

All Davis needs is a consistent perimeter guy that can reduce the scoring burden on him and the Pelicans would definitely be a team to watch. I'm keen on seeing what Alvin Gentry can do with that team. Jrue Holiday, Tyreke and Eric Gordon are not playing to potential (personally I think they should trade Eric Gordon)

Roland17:
My brother as for these men getting paid, I thank God say I dey country when appreciate youth sports, by fire by force dem must play college sports (soccer, American football, baseball and basketball) dem must pick one ooooo..no time.. She as small small children dey count millions, some dey even form shakara for teams sef..

They must pick oo! Any sport apart from UFC. And I'd be their agent

Now to Douglas Costa. We have signed him so its now obligatory to support him when he suits up for Die Roten

This doesn't stop me from stating my fears and observations anyway. Brazilian football at this moment is at an all-time low. Europe is littered with numerous fancy names that can't play shingbain. They are signed at obnoxious rates and simply fail to deliver even 50% (Willian, Hulk, Luiz, Fernandinho) and to be perfectly honest I have not seen enough from Douglas that suggests he can be any different

It is worrying that after 5 seasons in Europe and seeing him quite a few times even before last season I've never got off a match feeling Bayern needs to sign this guy. Maybe he's a late bloomer but at least guys like Missitariyan and Willian showed potential before bombing so badly. That Donetsk team is just loaded with Brazilians who are average to mediocre (Bernard, Taison, Alex Teixeira) and none of those who have left have gone on to make any noise in Europe . I'm also curious as to where he plays since we like to invert our wingers at Bayern, he is pretty much contending with Robben and Mueller in the right but I'd advise we shift him to the left since Ribery's return is unknown (I think he needs to start contemplating retirement)

The good thing about Costa is he is quick, very good ball control and while he doesn't have a high top speed he can at least accelerate and beat his marker at the initial stage, its his finishing, crosses and decision making that may not let him be great. He is physical too like we found out last season but could track back a bit more intelligently

I do feel we overpaid for him but let's just hope he delivers why we work on one more major signing on the wings. We absolutely have to go with the mindset that we won't have Robbery at the crucial stages of the season


Looks like the Shaq is heading to Stoke City

Thanks to the Derrick Rose rule Anthony Davis is going to be the highest paid player in the league after signing the biggest contract in league with $145m for 5 years

Kevin Love 5 year $110m

Paul Pierce heading to the Clippers 3 years $10.7m (which is curious cause he will be 38 soon)

Tyson Chandler moves to the Suns 4 years $52m

Tristan Thompson 5 years $80m

Iman Shumpert 4 years $40m

Danny Green 4 years $45m

Draymond Green 5 years $82m

Paul Milsap 3 years $59m

Demare Carroll 4 years $60m

Chimoo if I born pikin and he talk say he no wan play sport lasan

Roland17:
For the sake of argument i might concede Uni-brow is a better defender than Boogie but certainly not on offense, i am very specific about the Center position that is why i stated earlier that Davies is a better NBA prospect because he is better adapted to the needs of today's league, he has a very decent wing span which he uses effectively and offensively can play different positions but if we are to argue which is the better Center without the extra needs of the Modern NBA i would definitely pick Boogie, i have watched Boogie carefully even before draft night and this kid has got moves under the rim and is aggressive too, he only needs to channel his emotions and yes he has been playing with losers which includes him in some nights.

Boys are not smiling oooo, getting paid left and right..

Welcome to Amir Johnson #Celtics

Haha how is Davis not better on offense? He is an excellent free throw shooter, possesses a dizzying array of moves and is insanely efficient not forgetting his soft touch and playmaking skills. If I had to choose who I want to build my franchise around then choosing Anthony Davis is a no-brainer over Cousins not just of their personalities but based on actual basketball skills

Davis is too skinny to play Center if not for the death of the post game. He is like 215-225 at most while Cousins would be at least 265! The disparity is too much and I don't think any coach in their right minds would play Davis at Center for a significant amount of time. I see him as a Power Forward who occasionally plays Center

Leonard extends for 5 years and 90m

Jimmy Butler extends with the Bulls for 5 years and 90m

Tiago Splitter moves to the Hawks

All in a very live first day of free agency

Roland17:
Rudy Gay is sort of a selfish player, fights for himself and his shots alone, despite his experience in the league he does not make his team mates better, no team can succeed with that sort of player granted he is a legit shooter, they also lack a genuine PG.
Ben Mac is not a true point guard, again a show man interested in his own game, a lot of inexperience with team play and jacks up too many shots that hit misses than the bucket.
Derrick Williams is not exactly the most talented player either, he has got good body size and reach but has somehow found a way to remain deficient during plays, he has not improved any aspect of his game, someone needs to remind him he is not getting any younger.
Darren Collison: I love Darren, he is fearless and can be a good defender on the night, but lacks the help from team mates to control the pace of the game from his position, he is not a leader on the court despite his experience thus boogie has nothing to learn from him.
Nick Stauskas just got integrated into the team last season after being drafter from Michigan two or three seasons ago, a terrific jump shooter especially from downtown, I wondered why it took so long to get him into the first team considering their deficiencies, he is still pretty young, he also needs help from an experienced head, he is not going to get at from Rudy Gay as Rudy could care less.
The rest are Andre Miller, Reggie Evans etal, so no wonders as to why they are horrible to me

Of course there is some talent deficit but people are really not giving enough effort going by their record. They are losing 55+ games every year which is too bad. The truth is a lot of guys are quitting on the team on a nightly basis and even Cousins is guilty of that too
.
They kind of remind me of Don Nelson's Warriors back in the day

Roland17:
Boogie is more talent than Anthony Davies in the Center position if you ask me, but Davies has better prospects as he NBA ready and can play multiple positions, even with Kobe, Boogie might not learn much, Boogie needs a Garnett, a Shaquille and shake the dream; players who understand what size means and how to dominate with size inside the paint, Boogie does not lack the moves or heart, he is fearless but he just needs that consistent person that can help channel his emotions and energy on the court every night.
I would bleed with disappointment if Boogie is allowed to phase out of reckon because no one took him under arms, everyone is watching and knows exactly what this kid is lacking but no one is stepping up, he needs mentorship desperately, I love his game when his head is on the court, he is unstoppable.

I wouldn't say more talented than Monobrow. Monobrow is far better on defense and maybe even more talented on offense, plus he applies himself better and is self-motivated

The worry with Boogie is he has spent maybe too much time in a losing environment and it remains to be seen how much he can sacrifice to be a better defender

will007:
Who is the better fit for lakers?...deandre or lamarcus aldrigde

I think till the Lakers get a very good PG they shouldn't go anywhere near DeAndre, he doesn't have any offensive game and relies mainly on putbacks and lob passes alley oops to score points

LaMarcus is the cooler head a skilled veteran and decent rebounder of the ball. However he is already 30 that's the only drawback. 23 pts and 10 rebounds

Anyway #LAtoLA is trending seriously

Boogie would have been a younger version of Aldridge but his maturity is a big question mark

Otherwise Boogie at Center might have been the best fit

I go give my full take on this Douglas Costa transfer later

raumdeuter:
I heard they might be getting married soon. Imagine o after nacking Sarah for almost a decade, he marries Ivanovic under a year

That's the irony of life. I'd take Ana over Sarah physically at least! Sarah was a bit too skinny for my taste

They look good together and e be like say Baba really like the babe because he's always watching her games

Emaprince:
How about you who have been littering this place with sentiment ridden posts? Are you better than him in any way?

You claim to be well knowledged in football, but your posts in here can't do no good to the rookies. You also succeeded in spoiling Akpan-40.

E be like say you don dey mad since morning. Doofus Giwa

bigkesh:
Me I never said that Bro.......

By they I mean your fellow compadres

Done Deal:

Douglas Costa signs for FC Bayern Munich till the year 2020. €30m (£21.3m)

He will wear the number 11 last worn by Xherdan Shaqiri

Let's hope he is more Elber and less Breno

hensben:
no 1: hazard was nowhere to be found in first 3 months? do you even watch chelsea game at all? lol.

Costa, Fab, Ivanovic all did better than Hazard

hensben:
2: did hazard went missing before chelsea crashed out? btw, show me ribery ucl stat(goals n assist) in that same season bayern won ucl.

What has he done in all the knockout games you have played since he joined Chelsea. Can you point out just one game where performed bar the usual penalties he scored. One of your biggest comebacks was in his absence while Arsenal almost knocked us out when Ribery got injured. The difference is clear

hensben:
3: Do you even know the meaning of team transition huh lol..football is not lawn tennis a club needs a TEAM to win major trophies like ucl.

Your fellow comrades bigkesh and jimmy can dig out my posts from 2012 but they can't dig out the ones where they argued Chelsea squad was better than ours. Back when everyone was shouting MAZACAR. Now una dey yarn transition.

What transition? Military rule or Civilian?

jimmy4x:
U can hardly find an average player in Madrid and Barca, you and I know EPL top 4 teams have a mix of few stars and plenty average players in their ranks. The few quality players that shines and win the PFA gets signed immediately for exorbitant fees by these 2 clubs.

Who are the plenty average players at Chelsea and Man City?

You guys are making too many excuses and you need to start reading between the lines. Madrid and Barca are simply robbing Peter to pay Paul

2013 - They bought Bale €90m and sold Oezil for €50m
2014 - Barca sold Fabregas like €35m Sanchez for another €35 and bought Suarez for €80m
2014 - Madrid sold Di Maria for €60m

What does that tell you? And who dey maga who?

jimmy4x:
The press, Coaches, like Zidane, most critics and analysts are those who compare Hazard's game play to Messi'nd Ronaldo's, he's NOT on the same level with them yet but to be sincere, he plays almost like these two guys, whatever it is you know Messi and Ronaldo for aside scoring high number of goals, Hazard do these things in Chelsea too, this guy isn't ONLY rated high by Chelsea fans.

The press, analysts, critics are the worst enemy of any player. Let Hazard start messing up and you will see 180 degree turn just ask Torres

Stanley Okoro also played like Messi and Ronaldo so this is moot. It is not merely about high number of goals, since Hazard has come to your league he is yet to decide an International match either for club or country at almost 25! any analyst or coach or critic who has not taken cognizance of this fact cannot be taken seriously. He still has a lot of frontiers to conquer and he would be wise not to believe the hype

jimmy4x:
If Neymar or Suarez were to be Man city players last season, just like Hazard couldn't win it with Chelsea, they probably couldn't av won it by now too.
Bottomline, winning the UCL title wud be a lot easier for any quality player in Barca, Madrid than any other teams.

If you take out Neymar and Suarez's goals and assist I wonder what you would have left. At least one of them scored or assisted at every stage from group till Finals. Messi did not score in the 2nd round neither did he score in the quarters, Neymar and Suarez were extremely key and that one is not even up for debate

Its so easy but Fabregas, Sanchez and Oezil spent a combined 8 years in Barca and Madrid but didn't win the UCL

hensben:
Because hazard was the most outstanding player reason they gave him epl best, his over all play n consistency was influential to the team that's, he scored, assisted, created chances n he was the driving force. When costa was injured n fab was off form for few games due to tiredness hazard took the responsibility like against man united which eventually secured the epl title..Hazard's performance this past season was just like ribery for bayern last last three seasons just that ribery's team was superior(ROBBEN, muller, lahm n bastian sweinsteger) reason they won ucl. Since hazard came to chelsea(3 seasons ago) the team have been on a transition period.

Over the first 3-4 months of the season Costa and Fab were your best players by far. Hazard was nowhere to be found

Ribery's performance was superior he never went missing in the Champions League unlike Hazard

Haha! Transition ko Ernest Shonekan ni. You were not on NL when ninjas claimed 8 Chelsea players would walk into the Bayern team that just won the treble

Fussballgott and Ana Ivanovic
Damn! Her legs are longer than Africa