*Official* English Football Season 2012-13

[Furball]

He's not even the best Welsh talent since Best. Giggs in his early 20s was amazing.

 

[grecian]

Apparently a mentalist interview from Benitez after tonights match, repeated on Radio5 now.

Meh, nothing too mental.....

 

[Cabinet96]

BBC Sport - Rafael Benitez: Chelsea interim manager confirms exit

LOL. It's cute because he thought he would've got a second season if they gave him a long term contract.

 

[Furball]

Henry Winter reckons it's in the top 5 press conferences he's been to.

Slates the fans and the board - reckon he's just sick of the **** he has to put up with and decided to throw in a couple of grenades and watch the fall out.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah don't really blame him, Chelsea fans are beyond pathetic.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Don't think Gazza is a very apt comparison for him, personally.

Why?

If Bale is being hyped up as the best British player since Best I just gave an example of a better player in Gazza. After all Bale isn't even the best Spurs player in the last 30 years nevermind British. As GF says, Giggs was better as well.

 

[Uppercut]

I didn't see Gazza so I don't really know but that just sounds like nostalgia talking. Bale's scored as many goals this season (31 games) as Gazza did in his entire Spurs career (92 games).

 

[Uppercut]

Four Men Had a Dream eBook: Jamie Bryson: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

[Scaly piscine]

He's not even the best Welsh talent since Best. Giggs in his early 20s was amazing.

Best?

Oh and naturally it's quite funny that the goateed buffoon went off it again.

 

[sledger]

Rafa

 

[Burgey]

Look, I don't follow soccer as closely as some others do on here, but to say Bale is the best talent to come out of the entire British Isles since the late 1960s is way over the top.

 

[Uppercut]

People only use the word 'talent' because it's meaningless enough that you can defend any position. Even if he plays like ****e from now until he's 40, they can just say 'oh he had so much talent, but he wasted it'.

Framing the question a bit better, has anyone else British been this good at 23? I can't really say but it seems unlikely to me that Gazza or Giggs were. Any other candidates?

 

[Pothas]

Dalglish perhaps? No idea really, just trying to think of the best British players since Best.

Bale would have to be the best at this age that I have seen, Rooney the outstanding teenager though, without a doubt.

 

[Ikki]

Framing the question a bit better, has anyone else British been this good at 23? I can't really say but it seems unlikely to me that Gazza or Giggs were. Any other candidates?

Owen, Gerrard, Rooney and Rio spring to mind right away.

 

[GIMH]

Owen a good shout actually, was incredible when he was on his early 20s. Won The Messi Trophy didn't he?

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Framing the question a bit better, has anyone else British been this good at 23? I can't really say but it seems unlikely to me that Gazza or Giggs were. Any other candidates?

Well Gazza was 23 in Italia 90 and was one of the stars of the tournament. Just rewrite history to suit your own argument.

It isn't like I am trying to say Bale is crap or Rooney is better as both those statements are false but Gazza was that good and he tragically wasted his talent afterwards.

 

[The Sean]

Robbie Fowler worth a mention here too IMO - was ludicrously good in his early 20s.

 

[Uppercut]

I'm hardly rewriting history. Everyone knows Gazza was brilliant at 23.

As sledger said it's not a very good comparison but it seems unlikely to me that he was better than Bale, who's a million times faster and scores far more often.

 

[wpdavid]

I'm hardly rewriting history. Everyone knows Gazza was brilliant at 23.

As sledger said it's not a very good comparison but it seems unlikely to me that he was better than Bale, who's a million times faster and scores far more often.

Different sorts of players tbf. And I'm not sure that it's reasonable to compare Gazza's overall scoring rate with Bale at the peak of his powers. Gascoigne was also extraordinary at his peak, circa 1990-91. Perhaps he stood out more because there weren't as many world class players before the overseas brigade turned up in numbers, but he did manage one terrific world cup, which not many Brits have managed.

And obviously I'm sitting on the fence wrt who's the better of the two.

 

[Furball]

Gascoigne definitely was. Owen won the Ballon D'Or at the age of 21.

Bale's yet to really prove himself at the very top level.