₦airaland Forum

sure it does

what things.

@hannibal

have u done ass-nal that favour already .

foolish thing

this guys ain't chelseans okay , they were the gamblers who bet on manutd to win or break chelseas record at the bridge , simple as that.

The diving debate is finally over.

We have a clear winner.

Mr Ronaldo is back to full diving fitness.

He was an absolute shame he had to resort to diving again today.

If I was a Utd fan I would be embarrassed and ashamed that my best player is so blatant at diving.He doesn't need to do it but seems to enjoy it.

Apart from that it was a good game.

For the record, here are a list of 20 midfield/attacking players I consider to be better than Ronaldo (I could name more):
Rooney, Tevez, Scholes, Fabregas, Ballack, Deco, Gerrard, Torres, Kaka, Pirlo, Xavi, Messi, Henry, Sneijder, Ribery, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Riquelme, Van der Vaart, Aguero.

Of course, I am expecting many to disagree with me, and this is fine, I don’t want to force my opinion on you. I am more than willing to hear you out if you disagree.

In light of all these accusations that United are a “one man team”, the issue of Ronaldo’s greatness needs to be discussed. In calling him one man team, they are basically claiming that he is a superhuman talent, capable of singlehandedly winning back to back league titles and a European Cup.

I strongly disagree. In fact I don’t think he is the best player at United, let alone the Premiership or the world. He’s a good player but nowhere near as good as some people make him out to be.

First of all, I would like to analyse his game. From watching him I’ve concluded that technically he is a good player, but there are many players out there with a far greater mastery of basic footballing skills than he has. His dribbling is good, but not as great as some would have you believe. He relies heavily on pace to beat his man and less so on close ball control, which is what dribbling is really about (think Giggs’ goal vs Arsenal in 99, Maradona’s goal vs England in 86). His passing is decent, but he doesn’t really have great vision or the ability to play a killer pass like the Scholes’, Pirlos and Fabregas’ of this world. His first touch is pretty good. His kicking technique (i.e. how he strikes the ball) is poor at times, too much toe punting and not enough precision control which you would expect from a great player (Zidane, Cantona, Bergkamp etc). His shots are pretty accurate judging from the statistics. His setpieces are good, not the most accurate though. His heading is exceptional, helped partly by the fact he is over 6ft and partly because he gets great height on his jumps. His crossing is also good. His footballing brain leaves a lot to be desired, rarely have I seen him outthink a defender who is marking him closely in the same way that the genius of Zidane, Zola or co could.

So I’ve quickly been through most of his basic technical abilities and while I think he’s good, there are certainly many better out there. Kaka and Messi for example are better in nearly all the categories I listed, bar heading and maybe crossing. All of this is of course my opinion, I have made it based on what I have seen of the player over the past 5 years, you may disagree and that is understandable as abilities cannot be quantified and everyone judges it according to their own criteria.

Basically, this leaves me wondering how a player who is clearly not the most talented, can be called the best in the world. And this is where the 42 goals scored last season come in. This is usually the main argument used by those who propose that Ronaldo is the best player in the world. “42 goals from a midfielder” to be specific. The teamsheet at the start of the Sky broadcast may list him as a winger, but this isn’t something I’ve bought into having watched him play. He is given a free license to attack all over the final third – left, right and centre.

Last season he took 181 shots in the league. To put this into perspective this is 80 more than Emmanuel Adebayor who took the 2nd most number of shots last season. That’s 80%. In fact it’s the 2nd highest number of shots taken by a player since the start of recording of such statistics. The highest ever was 200, by the very same player the season before.

Clearly this is no normal midfielder if he is getting forward so often that he can fire in the most number of shots EVER by a Premier League player. Even by Ronaldo’s selfish standards, this is astonishing.

Of those 181 shots, 60% were on target, meaning 3.5 on target / goal. Compare this to:

Adebayor - 101 shots, 59% on target, 59% of shots on target, 2.5 on target/goal
Torres – 93 shots, 61% of shots on target, 2.3 on target/goal
Santa Cruz - 73 shots, 60% on target, 2.3 on target/goal

Also take Carlos Tevez who had pretty similar accuracy - 92 shots, 61% on target, 4 on target/goal. The strikerate is slightly lower but then again Tevez didn’t take penalties which boost the stats significantly.

These players all had better accuracy so it wasn’t even a case of Ronaldo being the best finisher, it was simply the volume of shots he took!

Now you’re going to say “if scoring so many goals was as easy as taking the most shots, then why doesn’t everyone do it? Why doesn’t everyone bag 40+ goals a season?”

It’s because nearly every other team has some sort of balance. No team allows one player to dominate the attacking play. But at United that’s been the case. One player has forced himself to be the centre of attention of his team’s play, in a desire to fulfil his unquenchable thirst for glory and praise. In turn, this has also forced his teammates, particularly the strikers, to play a subdued role, almost as midfielders, to cover for his absence. Rooney chalked up 13 assists, the most from open play in the league last season, showing just how much of a creative burden he has had to take on in light of Ronaldo’s selfish behaviour.

The final whistle blew at 2 minutes and 51 seconds of stoppage time played. Three minutes had been added however? Why then, if as many Man Utd fans tell us on the stoppage time issue that its a minimum time, was there not time for a free kick?

Seems odd after the fiasco at Old Trafford against Newcaslte were stoppage time went a minute and a half over the already ridiculas amount of time allocated to allow Man Utd to take the free kick.

We have been hearing all week from Fergie about his team feeling injustice, if he does truly want fairness in the game should he not point this out too?

Since this kind of decision could be relevant to all the premiership teams regarding future decisions alot of teams have been selected

Hannibal:
@ Akola,

Terry without Carvalho is rubbish.
Alex came in and even gave a good account than the useless John Terry.
There wouldn't have been any significant difference if he had missed this game.

Mikel Obi played well but only in the 2nd half.
I think Scholes n Fletcher kept him quiet for long spells.
Joe Cole, Anelka, Malouda and Ballack were total TOSH.

You guys were lucky today. . . . .We didn't make those counter-attacks count. . .
When United gels, other teams would feel the wrath.
Points shared. . . . . . .not a bad result for us(not too many teams would get something @ SB).

stop spewing nonsense here

ruky ko roca ni

buff okay

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833197#msg2833197 date=1222020858]choose which one suits you better

This is a test[/quote]dont divert choose one

@sylvao2000

wetin she do u gannnnnn tell me , i'm all yours

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833182#msg2833182 date=1222020534]waka
Hot Mom?
what? when was she pregnant? [/quote]waka ko wakama ni , yi wo sohun jo!

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833154#msg2833154 date=1222019998]What do you know, I am sympathetic.
After saing I have no desire to donate any of my attentions to dyabman, I am giving him some of those attentions.
I guess I am weak to pleadings. [/quote]i dont understand, what attentions? pleading who?

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833141#msg2833141 date=1222019825]Yes, they're in the Bible, on Googles, in text books, moral to tales, etc.
My point is, it is one thing to utter those words, it is another to practice it.
No point in saying what you have no power to practice, si?[/quote]ENUF! PLS . ain't u tired ? o ga oooooooooo

hey guyz i never meant to say anything to her mom but she should be sqaushed already i mean ,

( don't judge so that he be not judge)

pls this is a common word , its in the bible , or na google create bible ni

e leave him alone now , he don see anotha person wey fine pass u well well , no bi hin fault okay. thats life

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833091#msg2833091 date=1222018675]So calling someone a psyco is not judging their mental status?
Calling someone an amebo is not judging their social status?
Is this not judging my physical strength?

Just as I thought, you just copy and paste anything from googles. shior[/quote]i can see how stupid u r , does google translate in yoruba language?

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833095#msg2833095 date=1222018736]You, if not for the amount of noise you make, I wouldn't have seen you to know you breath[/quote]not ur fault Ruby, i told that doctor to pls squash u when ur mom is deliverin u into his hands. Damn It!

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833060#msg2833060 date=1222017956]Thank you. now step aside and let me see better men[/quote]foolish thing , whos an opaque ?  or your tripping ?  

idupaul:
@daftman

ur just a stupid fool, mumu.

wats so funny miss kadry. abeg no make me vex ooo

why u con dey vex now

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833070#msg2833070 date=1222018276]Funny, this is even coming from dyabman that took his precious time to type those bolded fcukries in my post.
What is it with some of you naija men? Why can you not practice what you preach?[/quote]have i judge anyone on nairaland before or you! in particular , NO , so WTF u tryin to spew on here.

@Missy B

is that funny , ur just making that POACHER look more miserable than it already was.

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833037#msg2833037 date=1222017486]Not only acidic, try basic[/quote]_{so dry}

i feel its alot of changes for both parties but i dont have any experience

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2833003#msg2833003 date=1222017066]Stay off my post, senior.
I have no desire to donate to you a piece of my attention[/quote]truth is acidic

idupaul:
brutal

whats brutal , ode!

dont sin against God POSTER , becareful and if the temptation is just too much , Runaway but that maybe more dangerous dude. _{remember joseph}

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=172849.msg2832812#msg2832812 date=1222014266]I'm sure you've not heard it everyday of your life, it is a pity is it not?
But I don't think you don't have a brain, I just know you do not have the ability to use it. But it is never too late to learn. (that was HARSH)

Lmao! So a person with pre marital issue has the right to have sex on her mother's bed? more than a person without premarital issue? Now I know where you're leading yourself (okay psycho)
My question exactly.
What happened with living with your husband? ( i saw this question when i did jamb far back 1990)

The fact that my objecting to having sex with my partner on my mother's bed has you bawling premarital sex. Or are you potentially daft? (na u sabi amebo!)

It's a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.
Seems to me you lack both education and sense.
No hon, education is not common sense. I expected you to show common sense since you air no proof of education. But once again, you disappoint me. ( if this person catch u he go beat u even u run under ur mama skirt)

Yes na, is that not why you think it's so special to hump your tree on her mom's bed?
This coming from you is hardly a surprise. _{(no comment)}

If I'm here, posting to you, how would I be in church now?
We, as humans, are known to be hypocrite.
We say one thing one minute, and change it the next.
That's the way things are supposed to be. Theories changes, believes changes, and people definitely change.
What is it to you? You've been an hypocrite once in your life, and you're being one right now. B.S.
I believe you to be one of those "Hypocrites" that preach the word of God on the street corners, but yet, you dare to come here spitting foul vomit! Hypocrite much

or lioness , _{that wan go organise ur face for u}

mine is october 91 not 19 , idiots , go to Yaba u see peeps there that are on that same date even same time .

ur both on the same side of the atlantic

[quote author=Ruby_Pearl link=topic=134641.msg2831497#msg2831497 date=1221969841]NL men try sha[/quote]noooooooo that was the most wrong part

uche2nma

absolutely wrong dude