Capaldi:
Family member about Dele Alli's claims: “Dele was never adopted by anyone. At age seven, Dele attended one of the best schools in Lagos, Nigeria. He was never sent to Africa for discipline. That’s a blatant lie. He had a driver that picked him daily from school."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.allfootballapp.com/amp/news/Headline/Family-member-Dele-was-never-sent-to-Africa-for-discipline-he-lied/3131681


Knew it was bullshit.

This doesn't mean anything. What Alli meant by 'discipline' was that he was sent here, so he could be monitored properly and get a proper Yoruba home training, which frowns at indiscipline and promotes good behavior. Nobody said he was maltreated.

andrewbaba44:


I will go and read this dele alli case from starting to end before I conclude

But Something just tells me that this boy is trying to play the victim to get pity because of how is career is currently going

But we will see sha

Dele did have a tough upbringing, i don't doubt that. That boy na street through and through. You can even see the edge to his game when he plays, hence those moments of madness from him. Anyone who knows his beginnings will tell you he's not lying. There was this story of him dodging his mum when she came on one of those stadium tours just to see him. Some time ago, someone on here, I think it was raumdeuter said they knew someone who knew his dad, who by some accounts was well-to-do. But he left Dele with his mum, who had drinking problems and didn't take care of him. He was moving in bad company, doing crazy stuff. Football was his escape from that terrible life. Maybe, by now dem for don use am count scores for one of those their gang wars.

That boy is really broken. A few months ago, i saw pictures of him doing balloons at a party. I don't know if that is something to be worried about but he does need help. He's tried repressing all of that trauma with his success, fame and money but e no dey work again. It's good he's opened up so he can get all the support and help he needs. German football fans will remember the case of Robert Enke. Nobody wants anything like that to happen again.

Capaldi:

Mr "form is temporary, class is permanent" why is Bayern Munich throwing away your world class Mane after one season.

https://www.besoccer.com/new/bayern-set-sadio-mane-s-price-tag-1267072

This man ehn How i wan take explain this thing to you again? Mane's struggles at Bayern takes nothing away from his achievements in the game. He has earned the right to be called WC, and whatever happens now will not change that.

oliverano:


He'll make the list, same way Van Nisterooy, Crespo, Torres will also make the list.

Like I said and I reiterate. Zlatan was world class not mediocre as opined by Dayo but I won't bracket him with Eto'o, Suarez, Lewy, R9 etc. I think we're basically saying same thing or aren't we?

Check your last line in your previous post. You claimed Zlatan is not among the greatest strikers in history which I disputed. So where do we draw the line?

oliverano:


I'm in no way hating on him because of ego or what have you....I've actually been defending him. He's a good player and was absolutely world-class in his prime.

However, let's not forget that in the biggest games he's played, he went missing but that's not even the point.

Of course he may be better than the aforementioned players but I won't be able to bracket him with Suarez, Lewy, R9, Eto'o and the rest.

My initial point remains that he's not a mediocre player but he's not among the greatest hit men in football history!

I wasn't referring to you per se. Just pointing out why Zlatan isn't everyone's cup of tea.

While Zlatan isn't a big-game player, I don't think he is a flop like he's been made out to be. This is someone who has scored in some of the biggest fixtures in world football. Inter v Juve, Inter v AC, El Clasico, Manchester derby etc. His four-goal haul vs England and his individual battle with CR7 in 2014 WC playoffs are just some of his highlights on the big stage.

How do you define the greatest strikers in history? Top 50? Top 100? Zlatan is definitely making that list. Someone with over 500 career goals is not among the greatest strikers of all time? If na joke, abeg stop am.

andrewbaba44:


Ibrahimovic better pass everybody here aside aguero who they might be on same level or ibra is even better

Me I don’t hate ibra and I will never see him as a Barca flop ,45 games 21 goals and 13 assists will never be bad in any situation

Kane comes very close if we are only looking at individual performances. Ibra and Aguero is a very tough one to call. Na like picking between six and half a dozen. Benzema only just caught up thanks to his post-Ronaldo Madrid performances rather than by being consistent.

Ibra would have done a lot better at Barca if not for his falling out with Pep. Just imagine Haaland had Zlatan's technical ability to go with his finishing prowess, he go so hit Messi-CR7 levels.

oliverano:


In no particular order....the list is not exhaustible.

Cavani
F.Tores
Nisterooy
Crespo
Kane
Milito
Mario Gomez
Van Persie

If I call Ibra great, you'll ask me what I'll call Suarez, Lewy, R9 and the rest....My point is that he wasn't a mediocre player.

I think in his prime, he was absolutely World class...no be only UCL be competition oooo!

Ibra better pass at least 80% of the guys you listed. You even get mind add Cavani. Lmao. It's easy to hate on Ibra because of his ego and arrogance but you can't deny his quality. He's scored goals and won trophies everywhere he's been. Even during his much-maligned spell at Barca, he had a good goal per game ratio. Man came to the PL at retirement age and still shone before his season was cut short by injury.

I totally agree with Ebukacute that said Zlatan was the on same level as Benzema and Aguero, just slightly behind Suarez, Lewy.

WhoDeyHause:
Just watch. Andrewbaba44 will soon join.this conversation as he's viewing.
Nairaland kante.

BlueAngel444:
Chelsea usually dey buy players with resale value na no be now the thing start

Investing in players with resale value is not a bad thing but it must also be matched with ambition to win in the short to medium term. Chelsea don't look like they are in for that. I won't be surprised if you guys miss out on CL football again next season.

Chelsea don dey turn 'Young shall grow" FC small small. This one wey una just dey pack kids upandan. No short-term or medium plan in place. E be like say una no know say Top 6 don turn Top 7. You guys are on your way to becoming the new Arsenal while Arsenal are on their way to becoming the Chelsea of old

Na over-farsightedness dey worry Boehly and na resale value go be the end of Chelsea

raumdeuter:


Those PL guys can work in a PL team they obviously dont work in Bayern

We saw how Mane and Cancelo flopped hard after making EPL team of the season

Lmao. But Cancelo was good nau. Na that Mane own dey vex me.

@raumdeuter
Today's Walker is not the same as the marauding speedster version of his early years and hasn't had to be for some time now. His role has evolved into something different. He doesn't have to get up and down the pitch like before but even at 33, his conditioning is crazy. Did you see how he kept up with Vinicius in their battles over the last two seasons? His 1v1 game is still one of the best around and his recovery pace is mad. Not to mention his possession play is levels above Pavard's.

Rico Lewis is an exciting prospect and a transition makes plenty of sense now. That one no mean say Walker don finish.

I personally think we should forget this search for a natural 6 and look for solutions elsewhere. There are not many destroyer 6's around and the quality ones are even fewer. They don't make them like they used to. What we have these days are mostly 8's masquerading as 6's. Rice would have been perfect but he's gone to Arsenal. Unless we wan settle for the likes of Palhinha, Onana and E. Alvarez. Or abi make we try Upa for DM ni?

The overabundance of 8's on our team roster says a lot about our recruitment. The Laimer case makes it funnier when you consider the fact that all those involved in his signing are no longer at the club. Now Tuchel has to find some use for him in an already choked midfield.

Man City are not selling Alvarez to us. I don make my peace with that. Ehen, why can't we even scout for talents in South America? Make we sef poach our own starboy from that side. Or are we still haunted by that Breno deal?

A40:
I don't really rate Lucas like that, never did.

His price tag did not help but he played nothing close to that level. He wasn't even an undisputed starter.

We have wasted a lot of money on that defense. I don't know who does the scouting but they have done a terrible job

Only one defense. Pavard and Upamenonsense. God help us all

Lucas was very good whenever he played for us. He wasn't an undisputed starter, i agree. He had a serious injury in his first season and missed the second half of the season. Under Flick, in his second season specifically, he didn't get enough game time because there was the issue of playing 2 left-footed CBs and Flick wouldn't drop Alaba even when he was playing rubbish. But I think after Flick left, he was a regular bar his injuries which were frequent. I still remember his performance vs away to PSG in 2021. Top level defending. Lucas is one of very few players who make defending a joy to watch. I fit pay good money just to watch this guy tackle.

I can still live with Pavard at CB but you see that RB ehn na no-no. He is beyond mid.

raumdeuter:

Pavard probably depends on how succesful Tuchel is with Kyle Walker, I dont understand Tuchel b0ner on those useless EPL players that usually flop
With guys like Pavard and their overt tantrums don reduce his transfer fee

Na those kain players Juventus will come with 5M bid to be paid over 10yrs as we have very little leverage

Our RB is Mazroui We need a backup

LOL. Your distaste for EPL players is legendary. Walker is actually one of my fave players in world football so I don't mind. He is a fierce competitor with plenty of experience and is still in top shape. His interpretation of that deep-and-narrow RB role is also better than Pavard's. I think he can be useful for a year or two.

Na Stanisic e just dey pain me for. That boy deserves more chances than he gets. Very dependable lad. His versatility also reminds me of a certain someone. We should give our youngsters more opportunities this coming season. Musiala has shown us the possibilities. Tel should be next in line.

A001:

Lols

Why be say na this thread dem dey always find their way come? The one with testicular issues never calm down, this one don dey display.

Wahala. Another Portable on the loose

A40:
Welcome Kim Min Jae. Likely replacement for Lucas Hernandez (who I was never a fan of to begin with) the injury history and price tag never made sense to me

Let's hope he and De Ligt can form a partnership and send Upamenonsense to the bench

I have my doubts about Kim but I will definitely be supporting him all the way. I'm sad Lucas is leaving though. Dude was a monster when fit. Na this injury curse gan gan be the wahala. A partnership of him and De Ligt would have defined an era at Bayern. Too bad, it won't be happening. Wish him the best at PSG.

BTW, shey Pavard no wan go again ni? I'm not ready to watch that guy play RB for us again next season.

Android22:
You rate a player based on what his role was and how he executed it. It is futile using your own basis for the assessment as it will not make sense.

Similar to the way Keepers and Defenders are not rated based on their number of assists or goals scored as important as those are. They are rated on the specific role meted to them by the manager. If Ederson has a 95% save rate but did not help with the build up of play, you can bet your bottom dollar that Pep will seek a replacement because Pep expects those of his keepers sometimes maybe even more than making saves.

To that end, Grealish was actually more important to City's success last season than both Gundogan and Bernardo Silva put together. I'll even say Pep trusted him much more than KDB but that is talk for another day. His role was not to rack up assists and goals - City scored a ton of them the season prior. He was to provide vent and control for a team that was transitioning into a different playing style than previous seasons. One in which, City could not afford to be overly chaotic in attack like Pep had dictated in the past. He also helped alot in tracking back and making life difficult for opposing wingers and fullbacks alike, something Mahrez could never do regardless of his goal or assists tally.

How did Grealish fair compared to his RnRs? He scored a solid A and would have been A+ if he had chipped in more goals or assists. That is about it. Unlike some other players who overdribble because they have no where to go or due to the fact that they never see the whole field at play, Grealish needed to dribble in and out of channels as a pressure relief system for City. You either fouled him or he went past you and that was instrumental to how City played.

Some people may need to rewatch Bayern Munich and Real Madrid against City to understand the impact Jack made. In the 2nd leg of the Bayern tie in particular, Pep specifically asked him to dribble City out of Bayern's press and he never missed a beat. As soon as the ball was given to him we knew Bayern would either foul or Grealish would have his way. Trust me, you may never appreciate his role until you are supporting the team he is doing it for.

I hate to quote the man but Mourinho put it best when he said football has been ruined by people who judge every single player on stats. Some aspects of the game are intangible. End of.

Lmao. Grealish stunk up the joint so bad in his first season, Pep had to create some vague role to at least squeeze some value out of a 100m signing. Same way Newcastle converted a record signing in Joelinton from a striker to something of a B2B/ wide midfielder or when ten Hag turn Almighty Weghorst to pressing iron

Grealish did OK last season, but it stops at that. Any attempt to overblow his performances will be met with strong rebuttals He was good in spells, same as Mahrez, Gundogan and Bernardo. The only consistent players on that City team last season were Haaland, Rodri and probably Dias, when he wasn't injured.

Wetin Grealish play against Bayern in the second leg, person wey dey jonze as Coman was running rings around Ake. You must be referring to the 2nd leg vs Real where he was taking the mickey out of Carvajal, doing nothing of note and winning cheap fouls. I'm not surprised at your fervent defence of Grealish, you once claimed he was worth full value for 100m, even when everyone saw he was a flop.

In the some of the crucial games at the tail end of last season, when Haaland and KdB were off, Rodri, Bernardo and Gundogan all stepped at various times to save the day. Left to Jack Swagger, na so so shakushaku e go dey do till City fall.

patrickmuf:
We do not need a box-to-box midfielder, we need a midfield controller right next to Casemiro. Tonali is perfect for the Erikson role.

You are right about Tonali being a better fit than Mount. He is comfortable dropping deep and orchestrating play but he's more of a CM, just like Eriksen. I like to see him as a 6-8 hybrid, Mount is more of an 8-10. Those of una wey dey expect actual possession football from tenHag, make una dey dream dey go. With Mount and Bruno in midfield, na direct, transitional football, which is not bad as long as you guys create chances, score goals and win games.

Realtord43:
chelsea is still assembling.

Awon London Avengers

andrewbaba44:


Yeah , a better bottling season

Everybody in Barca is overrated to you so no be today

I have nothing to say to you dude

So rest

The truth is bitter Lewy is the only top player on your team. As for FdJ, I go dey watch am more closely next season now that Busquets is gone. 75m and on humongous wages and still being carried by geriatric Busquets and schoolboy Pedri.

andrewbaba44:


fear God against a player that went trophyless ,I guess winning Laliga is easy because Madrid is very useless ,or the same Bellingham chelsea weak midfielders made look like a player from ases mimosa ?

No wahala enjoy

You should have kuku just said FdJ won more trophies. Bellingham had a better season than your overrated Dutchman.

Trevor012:

Shekpite will always be shekpites 😂😂😂

This doesn't invalidate his statement. The number 7 is the most iconic jersey number at Man United worn by the best of the best, usually wingers and attackers. If it's true that Mount is picking up that number, then it's a big joke on you guys.

andrewbaba44:


Bellingham didn’t even have a better season than FDJ

But I will leave that for another day

This man. Fear God oh!

hensben:
Post.

Lmao. Hensben dey correct person for grammar. Wonders shall never end

andrewbaba44:


Even Carlos said Marcelo is better than him ,but agenda must agend and they will say he cannot defend which he is even decent at

Trent is even better defensively than Marcelo and look at all the sticks he gets. Marcelo no decent kan kan at defending. He is bang average.

BlueMann:


Their entire list is ludicrous. They should focus on MLS

Una still dey take this ESPN list serious in 2023? I gave up on them a long time ago. There was a particular edition they did, they got the player classification wrong and the ranking was just nonsense. lmagine calling Pavàrd a top RB. Even me wey be Bayern fan no go gree. These people just stick to their NBA, NFL, MLB thing. Football no be their calling.

Kilishihunter:
Baba pkasso I see you dey view, I know say you go just dey laugh us

Hahahaha! I was just passing by, bro. The mood here na like say person die. Real Madrid can be petty sha. They just wanted to flex on you guys.

Even Oyinbo talk say "Form is temporary, Class is permanent" In this case, World-class. If you want an adjective to rate the current top performing players, you can settle for "best, top" etc. World-class should be left for players who have reached a certain level in the game.

Capaldi:

You are making noise. Is Gnabry a name of a person, animal, place or thing. Vinicius is currently top 2 in his position and a top 5 attacker in world football. Ginger or whatever his useless name is was not even the best winger in his own team talkless of being top ten world wide. Baba if you are joking stop it.

Apart from dropping performance in Bayernliga and flopping in major tournaments for Germany what else has kimmich done that made him world class? Tell us those performances and not awards you told us jorginho won by mistake. When they told you about jorginho awards the other day you said it was mistake but you want to use ordinary best defender to hype kimmich lmao. IF sterling Performance at City was not world class then your German failure is not world class as well. Does Haaland pass your eye test yes or no? is he world class or not.

You mean Vinicius is top 2 competing with fellow Gen Zs in Leao, Kvara, Martinelli and fading stars like Mane, Sterling and Son. 'Gnabry was not Bayern best winger at that time'? You just confirmed my assertion about you only just starting to watch football. Gnabry wey score 9 goals in 10 CL games as an RM, and was Bayern's player of the season the previous year. LOL.

Kimmich scored and/or assisted in every knockout game enroute to Bayern winning the CL in 2020. That's clutchness right there. Shey na the home and away goals against Real Madrid in 2018 or the goal and an assist in the demolition of Barcelona. Or his splendid assist for Coman vs Atletico. Go and watch any of the Bayern vs PSG matches. Any one. Do yourself a favour and watch more games outside of Chelsea, maybe you won't be asking me these silly questions. Kimmich made the Team of the Tournament at his very first international competition for Germany and won the Confed Cup in 2017 so I don't understand why you think he's a failure.

No one takes Sterling seriously because he doesn't deliver when the heat is on. Some of us still remember his calamitous open-net miss vs Lyon in the CL QFs of 2020 or how he disappears when he faces Liverpool. Tell me one iconic Sterling moment or achievement that makes him WC?

Haaland is convincing, if that's what you are asking. A CF like him has only one job: putting the ball at the back of the net which he does very well.

BlueAngel444:
these people are ex-world class players they had their time under the light, but Vinicius Jr aka ebony dribbling is world class.

He wasn't three or so seasons ago, Madrid fans would have wanted him gone self, but Vini is world class

Which one be ex-World class again? Is World class now some sort of label we add and remove as we like? Going by your logic, a player can be world-class in 2020, then fall off and not be world-class in 2022, only to pick up form and be world-class again in 2023. How does that make any sense?

I don't believe the world-class level should be open-ended. If you are WC, you are WC for life. It doesn't matter what happens after. It's like unlocking a new level on a video game. You can choose to play at a lower level, but that unlocked level will always be there.

Vinicius will likely hit the world-class level in a few years, if he keeps up his good form but until then. .

Capaldi:

Nonsense, Gnabry who? If it's a joke please stop it. The only place Kimmich has been consistent is in the Bayernliga and flopping in major tournaments for Germany but yet he is proclaimed as World class lmao. What a joke.


Nor be only eye test na nose test. Does Haaland pass your so called eye test? You don't need talent or being one pseudo main man to be world class when you are dropping the numbers for your team.

You never start to dey watch ball when Gnabry was destroying Spurs and your beloved Shekpe. Go and watch his first goal against Lyon in the semis that year and let me see you chat this rubbish again. Gnabry wey score banger facing Prime VvD 1v1. Vinicius hasn't surpassed 2019-21 Gnabry but we should call him WC. Lmao.

The UEFA Best Defender award Kimmich won in 2020 and FIFProXI he made that same year were from all from his Bundesliga exploits abi? Dey play. When i say eye test, i mean convincing displays, not just padding stats. That people still cast aspersions on Sterling's status as a top top player despite his numbers should tell he is not all that. He has better numbers than Mane, for example but nobody in their right mind would rate Sterling over Mane.