*Official* English Football Season 2011-12

[duffer]

Butt over Giggs on the left wing?

Nah man.

 

[The Sean]

Nah man.

Haha, much better.

 

[Uppercut]

On paper it's hard to call but I think in practice the Chelsea side was the best, at least domestically. Guys like Cech, Tiago, Duff and Ferreira might not go down as world-class players but for that particular season in that system they were incredible.

That Arsenal side looks a fair bit less impressive on paper than it did in practice.

 

[Pothas]

Really? Henry, Pires, Bergkamp and Viera were all utterly brilliant and there is no real weak link in the rest of thee side (although I never really rated Jens) is easy to forget how impressive Toure was back then.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Manure's side because of what they achieved. Simple as that really.

 

[Ikki]

Arsenal for me although do wonder how ridiculous that United side would have been with Shearer instead of Cole.

Cole and Yorke were a perfect pairing. They complimented each other like few pair of strikers could. I'd say Forlan + Suarez are similar in that respect.

Really? Henry, Pires, Bergkamp and Viera were all utterly brilliant and there is no real weak link in the rest of thee side (although I never really rated Jens) is easy to forget how impressive Toure was back then.

Agree, reckon it looks the best on paper.

 

[Uppercut]

Really? Henry, Pires, Bergkamp and Viera were all utterly brilliant and there is no real weak link in the rest of thee side (although I never really rated Jens) is easy to forget how impressive Toure was back then.

Depends how high you set the bar for "weak link". I never much rated Jens either but even to his biggest fan he looks a complete joke of a keeper compared to the other two. Gilberto's reputation seems to have soared since he left because at the time no one rated him in the slightest. Arsenal had a much better record with Edu in the side instead.

What would you say are the weak links in the other sides?

 

[Magrat Garlick]

What would you say are the weak links in the other sides?

The back line in the 98-99 team, at least - I think it's fair to say that Ronny Johnsen is the weakest footballer by some distance of the 33 mentioned in duffer's post. It's dangerous to argue with stats in football but 56 conceded goals over the season as compared to 42 for Arsenal and 30 for Chelsea seem to bear that out too.

 

[cpr]

Ronny was awesome before Owen crocked him, never really recovered.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Ronny was awesome before Owen crocked him, never really recovered.

Yeah well, this was after Owen crocked him, so that doesn't help.

 

[cpr]

TBH that 98/99 season he was pretty regular, and playing well. Kept Henning Berg out of the team a lot, I admit Ronny wasnt a glamorous name, but loved at OT for his performances.

 

[duffer]

Depends how high you set the bar for "weak link". I never much rated Jens either but even to his biggest fan he looks a complete joke of a keeper compared to the other two. Gilberto's reputation seems to have soared since he left because at the time no one rated him in the slightest. Arsenal had a much better record with Edu in the side instead.

What would you say are the weak links in the other sides?

We had the best defence in the league that season, Jens was an integral part of it, as well as being the star of our Champions League run and FA Cup win in the coming seasons. Severely underrated, and look at Cech now, he's Almunia with a hat on (different discussion though).

It's all relative with Bert as well, when youc onsider the quality around him he was always goign to look inferior but we saw in the seasons once Vieira left how good he was. Arguably carried the squad when he was given the interim armband and when he got a run of games after Flamini (unfairly) displaced him he looked a different class. Another example of why the over 30's policy we employed has come back to bite us.

 

[Uppercut]

It's too long ago for me to really assess but I doubt there's anyone in Manchester with a bad word to say about Johnsen's performances that season. IIRC our defensive problems that season were more to do with Stam having a dodgy adjustment period early on. We were definitely much more solid in the new year.

I guess it's a similar mix to Arsenal then- players everyone knew were quality, and players that were only fully appreciated by their own fans. But I still can't see either side challenging Mourinho's Chelsea in the league. United won the most and Arsenal played the best football but I still think Chelsea were the best team.

 

[cpr]

Yeah Stam really didn't hit the ground running, and I remember plenty of times in that European run he was caught out in the first few minutes of a game, putting us behind

 

[duffer]

I guess it's a similar mix to Arsenal then- players everyone knew were quality, and players that were only fully appreciated by their own fans. But I still can't see either side challenging Mourinho's Chelsea in the league. United won the most and Arsenal played the best football but I still think Chelsea were the best team.

Systemically it worked so well for us. Lauren and Freddie worked well together, our left-hand side attack with Cole-Pires-Henry was devastating and made other teams crap themselves, Bergkamp roamed into spaces here and there and picked passes out like no other, Vieira destroyed midfields and Gilberto worked incredibly well with the backline. Campbell and Kolo were perfect compliemnts for each other as well.

That said Mourinho's team was built for grinding teams to death. Their record points tally shows just how ruthlessly aggresive they were. Robben when fit was incredible, their midfield worked efficiently as possible, Drogba was a battering ram up front and Carvalho was brilliant at sweeping up Captain Falldown's hero mistakes. Cech also got them points on his own when the team didn't click.

 

[keeper]

Ronny Johnsen was excellent in the treble season. A mobile and intelligent footballing centre-back who was a good enough footballer to hold his own in central midfield, he was an excellent foil for Stam.

A class act - and a crying shame his career was cut short by injury.

 

[cpr]

Wouldn't say it was cut short, he was still appearing for Norway at 37!

But certainly took alot of his best years away from him.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Wouldn't say it was cut short, he was still appearing for Norway at 37!

But certainly took alot of his best years away from him.

Yeah a 1999 Johnsen would probably be Norway's best player now.

Which just illustrates the lack of players emerging after him.

 

[Nate]

Suarez scores 4/4 for Uruguay. Further proof that the man is a matchwinner, and that Liverpool are balls.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Suarez scores 4/4 for Uruguay. Further proof that the man is a matchwinner, and that Liverpool are balls.

It isn't proof of anything. Although Liverpool are balls.