₦airaland Forum

Ibime: Wetin you remember no concern us. We Chelsea fans remember them and the statisticians have counted them. Frank has the highest output of any central midfielder in history!!!

Lampard played in the midfield along Ballack for Chelsea, I guess when Ballack was the German captain.

Between the two who was better? I guess Lampard. Now has anyone ever accused Ballack of being overhyped?

Lampard is accused of being overhyped just because he's English.

coogar: to be honest, the seasoned english fans don't rate english players. the media don't speak for everyone. there's hardly any article in the english media that does not get shouted at by english fans. majority of the english fans are realistic about the chances of the english team & they are the biggest critics of the 3 lions.



england are the biggest underachievers in world football. with the calibre of players & the state of the art facilities in the country, england should have won at least 3 world cups since 66 and perhaps another 2 trophies in the european championship.

the golden generation - hargreaves, neville, cashley, rio, carragher, brown, terry, campbell, beckham, scholes, gerrard, lampard, rooney, etc won nothing for the country & nearly all of them won champions league for their respective clubs.

If almost all of them won champions league then it meant they are actually gifted individually and technically. They are not over hyped in my opinion. Liverpool was the most feared team in Europe during Bernitez. They played two finals and were winning home and away.

England have only not done well collectively but individually the players can hold their own any where. English clubs were always in the UCL last four between 2005- 2009. So the players deserve their ratings. I see no over hype there.

Katsumoto: This debate isn't about players, its about countries. Spain were tagged as underachievers until they won because they have always had technically gifted players. We can't really say that about England. No one is saying England are underachievers because no one outside England believes England can win the WC or Euro cup. There is a difference between being an underachiever and being overhyped. If this current German squad doesn't win any trophy, then they would be underachievers. Because many believe they have the players to win. England on the otherhand is overhyped and have been since 1966.

England cannot be termed 'under achievers' because they have won a world cup trophy in the past. Get it straight.

But Spain were still zero despite being a home for foreign players influx and a bouyant economy at the time for over several years.

Katsumoto: Really? See below

Chelsea's Frank Lampard Is The Greatest Midfielder Of His Generation

Topping the charts is Frank Lampard. Just six goals shy of 200 for Chelsea and with 130 assists for the Blues, statistically Frank Lampard is the most proficient, creative and effective midfielder of his generation.

http://www.football.co.uk/chelsea/chelsea_s_frank_lampard_is_the_greatest_midfielder_of_his_generation__rss3665837.shtml


For the life of me, I can't even remember Lampard having that many assists. He must be counting passing to the player who provided the assist as assists as well.

What is the status of this blog/site/media among the UK media. I was expecting an article from BBC.

The Spanish too have such bear parlour articles for Thiago.

Katsumoto: Dude,

I provided figures for Raul and Morientes because YOU stated that they were overhyped and overvalued. Keep your eye on the ball. You made an erroneous statement, all I did was correct you.

How can Torres be the most overhyped player in the world when has won the WC, Two Euro cups, the champions league, UEFA Cup? Torres only suffered a loss of form when he moved to Chelsea; when he was at Liverpool, he was one of the strikers in the world. For two seasons, Vidic was his wife.

Any team can be beaten. Argentina lost to Cameroun but still made it to the final in 1990; Spain lost to Switzerland but still won the WC in 2010.

Let us even agree that Raul, Morientes, etc were overhyped, at least Spain has won the WC and three Euro cups, what has England won? When will England finally win a tournament? Every tournament, the English press believe they have the best players in the world.

What has England won? They have a world cup trophy. Maradona also dubiously sent them home.

My point remains, before 2008, Spain were the under achievers of European football yet no one called them overhyped despite Raul, Morientes high rating and pay in world football.

[quote author=A-40]Don't compare England to Spain! The hype levels were never the same. English players and England as a whole are/is massively overhyped and overrated in every sport not just football!

A lot of British fans would argue

Bobby Moore > Franz Beckanbauer
Gordon Banks > Sepp Maier and Lev Yashin
Bobby Charlton > Gerd Muller
Paul Gascoigne > Roberto Baggio
Scholes > Zidane
Lampard,Gerrard > Xavi,Pirlo

Even
Hamilton > Vettel

The hype is excessive and nauseating hence the collective glee at every big tournament failure![/quote]I have never read any article where such argument that Lampard is better than Xavi, etc. There is a limit you can hype a player. All are guilty. Even Neyman and Brazilian players were accused of being over hyped. But see Neyman today.

Katsumoto: Really? you are comparing a player sold in 2009 with players from 1966 and you have the nerve to ask someone else to compare properly.

Compare by era only. Most players sold in d last decade are worth more than the squads from the 60s. Even Andy Caroll who is shiite.

It doesn't matter. England has won 1 while Spain won 1.

Torres is the most overhypped player in the world. In the summer, all world media- Spanish and English- wrote like Thiago Lacacera fell from the sky. The Spanish papers are worse than English papers are praising players. They do it from all angles- print news, tweet from tabloids and players agents, etc. Spanish na worse pass.

***** I told you to compare well because you were quoting prices of players whose careers were already dead. Just like quoting the price of Giggs or Anelka today.

Raul and Morientes at their prime were highly paid more than many world players, yet they were under achievers in the national team. Lest I forget, Nigeria beat Spain in the world cup.

Katsumoto: 1. How do you KNOW which papers I read?

2. Morientes was transferred to Liverpool from Madrid for less than 10 million euros (apprx 8 million pounds) in 2005 and for 3 million to Valencia in 2006. Raul went to Schalke on a free transfer. In the summer of 2005, Shaun Wright-Phillips went to Chelsea for 22 million pounds

3. The most expensive Spanish signings - Villa (35m), Torres (50m), Alonso (34m), Silva (30m) have all won the WC and Euro cup. What have the most expensive English signings won? - Caroll (35m), Rio (30m), Rooney (30m)

4. The Spanish players of the past era Raul, Morientes, Hierro, who won nothing did not command high transfer fees. I have not even included overvalued duds such as Downing, Henderson, ETC.

* Morientes and Raul went on pension, not transfer.

* Only Torres is more expensive than the entire England national squad and coaching crew which won the world cup.

Learn to compare properly.

Germany 1-5 England

Michael Owen blasted a stunning hat-trick as England came from behind to thrash Germany in Munic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1515667.stm

That was the one I was trying to recall.

dayokanu: This generation of Spain is the best ever.

Can you say that about any Generation of English players?

France can point to 1998-200 set
Germany can point to 1972-1976 also the 1980 and 1990 even this new generation
Italy can point to 2006 as their generation that achieved

WHat has England National Team ever done in European football?

0 Euro cup no single final sef
1 controversially won world cup which the ball didnt cross the line over 45yrs ago and no single final since then

Any team that has won a world cup can always point to the trophy or the year they won it. Plus, the champion of 1986 robbed them with a Maradona's hand ball.

dayokanu: The truth is English players are ridiculously overhyped, No single talent in them compared to their contemporary in the continent

You wonder why they havent won anything since 1966?

This generation of Spain is probably the best National side of all time

Ozil got to EPL and within a few weeks every paper is already calling him God

If he had been playing in England since Maybe he would have been knighted

Wait a while before you rate Ozil in the EPL. Ronaldo shone in 2007/8, by 2008/9 he was no longer the best player in the EPL. He wasn't even among the best four. But he has never fallen below best two in Laliga.
Ozil will soon be find out.

When last did Germany win the world cup? Does it mean they are shyte in the last 20 years? I guess England were able to beat Germany 4-1 in a certain qualifying game. Trying to recall my memory. I think it was an away fixture. If it doesn't click now, it can click for them tomorrow just as Spain was.

Katsumoto: But Spain's WC is recent and they have also won the Euro Cup twice in row plus the earlier win in 1964. (equal number with Germany)

Spain is well ahead of England.

England has never won the Euro cup. English players are overhyped and unnecessarily more expensive than players from countries with better pedigree.

Before this generation of Spanish players which won 1 world cup and 2 Eufa, did you at any time hear anyone saying Spanish players were overhyped despite having virtually noting to show? Were the likes of Raul, Erique, Morientes, and many who came before them not among the most rated/expensive players? The reason you think English media over hype players is because your language is English. Is it not same media promoting Janujaz, Oscar, Chicharito , etc? They promoted Torres, RVP, Fellaini, etc. Try and study Spanish, Italian, German, French and Japanese before you complain.

Make una repent o.

[quote author=A-40]Music to Elampiro's ears

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1823196-wayne-rooney-just-how-much-better-is-he-under-david-moyes-at-united

But really had Rooney scored that goal yesterday British journos woulda gone apeshyt[/quote]Thanks. I love this part: (He also boasts a superb pass accuracy of 88.1 percent—way better than Lionel Messi (80.3 percent) and Cristiano Ronaldo (85.4 percent). Pretty impressive for an attacking midfielder).
......

I never knew he had such a high pass accuracy. I knew he was perfect against Leverkusen. But I didn't pay so much attention to his passing last night even though I saw the game twice (repeated it on another channel). I was more interested in trying to figure out certain things about our game.

***Kagawa easily our best player last night? I don't think so. To use the word easy is criminal. Samuel Kufour who has been campaigning for Kagawa to be given a run of games picked Rooney ahead of Kagawa. So many other guys. So remove the word easy. Can we have any credible or official players rating? Not stat.

*** This bashing of English players and England is ridiculous to me. The belief that England players are overhyped is just a myth. Before 2010 what had Spain (the under achievers of European football then) ever done in world football?

*** I guess England has a world cup just as Spain. England has reached Q and S finals of the world cup and Eufa cup in a number of time. It had to be a Maradonna's handball in 1986 and a Ronaldinho's fluke of 2002 that that took them out on a very promising journey.

I guess this is why our summer transfer overall plan was a failure. A big pipeline deal failed.
................


Former Manchester United assistant Mike Phelan has revealed a top star would have arrived at Old Trafford this summer had Sir Alex Ferguson still be in charged.

Phelan refused to reveal who it would have been but it's understood that Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were on United's wishlist.

"If Sir Alex and David Gill had still been the bosses, I won’t name the player, but there would have been a star signing - one of the absolute best players in the world," said Phelan.

“It was something the boss talked about, and the owners and David Gill were also quite clear on doing it."

Phelan added: "There’s very few of such players out there. I think it’s clear to everybody who I’m talking about.

"We didn’t see the need for a big clear-out of the squad, that’s why Sir Alex and I had one big signing in sight. One such star signing gives everybody a lift, we saw that with Robin van Persie." (Source: Daily Star, Skysports)

*It looks like Antonio Valencia offers far better team work than Nani. He clearly offers better defensive protection to the right side of midfield while at same time relieving the right back player of so much work load.

Should Valencia continue the form he offered against Uruguay in the international break and what we saw yesterday, he will always be considered ahead of Nani in team selection.

* Ashley Young returned with some promises. More selection headache for Moyes. Welbeck and Chicharito might eventually been frustrated out of Man United. Both guys are working so hard, it is just unfortunate that the bigger boys are in the house. And there are still Janujaz and Lingaard who will frog jump into the team ahead Welbeck and Chicha. My opinion.

Zaha will have to be very very patient.

* Kudos to Phil Jones and Evans. I respect their athleticism.

* We could have easily taken 3 points out of the Southampton match had the first sub been Kagawa for Janujaz. The coach is getting to know his team now. He is getting to know the abilities of each and everyone of his players to harness them properly. I hope we have a streak of wins now to boost everyone's confidence.

* One more thing. Had Giggs not played yesterday, would we have been so fluent? There is need for Fellaini to step up and add speed. Fellaini and Cleverly are not exactly the midfielder we need considering what Giggs offered from the midfield. However, Giggs won't be able to do that against the likes of City, Chelsea, Bayern, Barca, etc. Carrick and Giggs were able to use positioning against Socieded and it helped in many instances to intercept their passes. But will such work against the big teams? There is still need for some energy and direct tackles with combination to flair.

23/10/2013 22:47, Report by Nick Coppack

Moyes hails star man Shinji

.

David Moyes believes Shinji Kagawa produced his best performance this season in United's 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on Wednesday night.

The Reds beat the Basque side courtesy of a second-minute own goal and forged numerous chances afterwards to put the game to bed. 

Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa was at the heart of many of United's best moves and missed a golden chance himself to add to the scoreline. Fans on ManUtd.com and the club's Twitter account voted him Man of the Match after the final whistle.

Making just his fourth start this season, Kagawa certainly made a strong case for retaining his spot in the side for Saturday's Barclays Premier League encounter against Stoke.

"I thought it was Shinji's best game in my time here," Moyes said.

"He hadn't really found his feet yet but I saw something from Shinji tonight which I hadn't seen in other games, so I was really pleased."

"His effort when we didn't have the ball was fantastic. With Shinji, everybody tells me about his ability and what he has got, but tonight is the first time I’ve really seen Shinji. 

"I thought when we put him into the no.10 role, and even after it, he was good with Wayne. His attitude and energy were excellent and I was pleased for him."

Source: Man Untied official website.

dademola: modric?? Were u not d one dt sed song is a better option because song "tackles"?

I changed my mind.

We can train Fellaini to tackle. I am looking at someone who can blend with the flair play I saw tonight. May be Carrick may be the one to give way in the future because of his shadow marking style. I am still confident Fellaini will come good soon.

*** De Gea. He is going to captain Man United in the future. I have no fear from his end any more.

elrony: Who do you have in mind??

I have no idea. A player can Modric. Someone who can dribble his way from the midfield to attack without losing possession.

Oghos1: Did anybody notice that rooney was tryna avoid passing 2 kagawa? Esp in d 1st half!!

I didn't see anything like that.

Repent o. Lol

elrony: And one moderfucker on this thread said kagawa is not an epl abi Man U material...#

Moyes don go give am weight carry na. You no know wetin dey happen. He no dey fit run this long km like this before and them dey bully am off the ball. Today he jumped higher than a taller defender.

Hope he takes the form to EPL games because successive EPL games removes any initial gragra from players games. May be he can be our Hazard.

*** If we can get a win in Spain, we will be sure of qualification.

*** Our boys can play ball, only that they haven't find form and confidence is low.

*** But I am not sure Giggs can play against those EPL guys like this. We need a young midfielder by January. A payer who has good ball control and is around 26 years old.

*** For a team that is trying to find form, I will say weldone.

*** Kagawa and Rooney had a great day, but both missed chances. Rooney missed 3 in my eyes while Kagawa missed 2. Far away, Benzema missed an empty net from 2 yards.

*** I see hope. But EPL teams are harder to crush than Sociedad. So we pray we take this to the EPL.

*** With two more successive wins, the confidence will return. If Rooney and Kagawa can start adding goals, their goal scoring confidence will boost.

*** Now Moyes will have to decide how to get a formation to accommodate Kagawa and Rooney together. Unlike RVP, these guys don't wait only to capialised on a finished pass. They play their way into scoring position. So Moyes has to come up with something for the three guys.

*** Young and Giggs showed form, but Giggs wasn't good defensively.

*** Kagawa footwork and turnings were magnificent. The English commentator said Rooney was TMOM, also Smauel Kufor and the DSTV analyst. I can't pick between the two men easily. They both did very well but I know where my heart is. Lol.

*** Kagawa surprisingly covered a very high KM.

*** Rooney sense of positioning during attack was magnificent. He gave a perfect pass to Valencia again.

*** Our defence was very okay. The intro of Smalling was timely. Rafael was a risk to his team in his yellow card and his adventure into attacking positions.

*** Valencia did very well and helped our central midfield to clean up some poo.
*** With this kind of performance, we can gradually add to our goals as RVP returns and the rest find scoring form.

We should have a penalty. Valencia was clearly fouled.

Giggs and Carrick are weak.

If only we could score a second goal, then we cool the temple of the match with slow short passes and close play. Our game is too loose.

Pls no 2nd yellow for Rafael. I am scared.

Was that not a penalty for Hernadez? We could have been 2 nil up now.

Shut up guys.

David Moyes, on Robin van Persie's absence against Real Sociedad: "He has two bad toes and has been complaining about his groin so we took the chance to rest him and get him ready for the weekend.

"We've got a big squad and players who are fresh. All you can do is win the next game and we'll try and beat Sociedad. That will give us a good points tally.

"They have not started the Spanish season as well as they would like but they had a good win against Valencia at the weekend."

De Gea; Rafael, Jones, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Kagawa; Rooney, Hernandez. Subs: Lindegaard, Buttner, Smalling, Fellaini, Nani, Young, Januzaj

I think the problem of some football fans is their reliance on statistics instead of what they saw on the pitch.

Someone like Neyman may have poor stat as compared to his team mates, due to his style of play he is likely to have a high pass accuracy. However, he can be most dangerous in one out of several attempts at his game. As far as that suit the coach, it's okay.

I believe in no poo stat.