The Football ATG General Arguing/Discussing Thread

[Uppercut]

Did you watch the documentary about him from last year? It’s great.

 

[vcs]

Will give it a watch.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Even though he was an odious little twerp with a messiah complex I still consider Maradona to be the best player I’ve seen. It’s always difficult to compare across eras, but these days where tackling is not permitted the greatest players like Messi and Ronaldo possibly have an advantage.

 

[harsh.ag]

Slightly weird formation, but I love the combinations here. Strong defensively (arguably a libero too many), very creative, and a killer finisher to give the attack an added edge.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

2010 men's XI

Neuer; Lahm, Piqué, Godín, Alba; De Bruyne, Fernandinho (Luiz Rosa), Iniesta; Messi, Agüero, Mbappé

I'm sure you could build a comedy villain team around CR7 to beat them but this is my XI

 

[andruid]

Been watching a lot of Maradona videos lately, what a player. Absolute ****ing genius.

And despite him being an utter bogan and a drug cheat, there's something incredibly magnetic and powerful about his personality on the pitch. Just haven't seen that kind of influence from any footballer since then.

If Castro had time in his busy schedule to send you to rehab...

 

[Pothas]

2010 men's XI

Neuer; Lahm, Piqué, Godín, Alba; De Bruyne, Fernandinho (Luiz Rosa), Iniesta; Messi, Agüero, Mbappé

I'm sure you could build a comedy villain team around CR7 to beat them but this is my XI

Started to do this and soon realised it was quicker to just say Real Madrid plus Suarez.

 

[Furball]

Started to do this and soon realised it was quicker to just say Real Madrid plus Suarez.

Neymar would have to be in it as well.

 

[GIMH]

This thread seems as good a place as any to ask this question.

My brother and I were debating the best English players of our lifetime last night.

He's quite a bit older than me, alas I'm not sure that makes too much of a difference. But to balance things let's say since 1980.

Rooney, Owen Lineker, Gascoigne were the ones we started with. Then things moved on so I brought it here.

Got to be Gazza hasn't it?

 

[Jarquis]

Debate on Twitter the other day about whether Bale was the greatest British player of the ’modern era’

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Debate on Twitter the other day about whether Bale was the greatest British player of the ’modern era’

tbf modern era is post-Gascoigne

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Gazza was never the all time great he would have been had he not crippled himself. Rooney never became quite as great as we hoped he would when he was a kid. We hoped he might be a Plantini, Maradona, Zidane level. Stevie G is a candidate even though I can’t bring myself to type his name.

 

[GIMH]

Debate on Twitter the other day about whether Bale was the greatest British player of the ’modern era’

I think a young Michael Owen would take it hands down but injuries obviously slowly diluted his talent to the extent that by 25 his best days were well behind him.

So it's either Rooney or Bale if we agree with Mags that modern era post dates Gascoigne. Rooney gets talked down because he plodded on at the end of his career and his international exploits peaked at 18. But he won ****ing everything at club level and then some.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Shearer's probably worthy of consideration too.

In a parallel universe where the United he signed for was based in Manchester and not Tyneside he'd have won at least half a dozen Premierships and played for England a lot longer than he did.

 

[GIMH]

Stevie G is a candidate even though I can’t bring myself to type his name.

Certainly don't want to reopen an old debate but you bring him in then some will call for Scholes. And then Lampard.

 

[GIMH]

Shearer's probably worthy of consideration too.

In a parallel universe where the United he signed for was based in Manchester and not Tyneside he'd have won at least half a dozen Premierships and played for England a lot longer than he did.

What makes you think he'd have stuck out England for longer?

Bugs me that we didn't have him in 02 and 04. He was possibly injured circa 02 anyway but imagine it was him not Vassell coming on for Rooney in 04. He'd been bang in form too.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Shearer was barely among the ten best goalscorers of the 90s, and that was his only skill. Not in the same league as Rooney, Bale, even Owen.

 

[BoyBrumby]

What makes you think he'd have stuck out England for longer?

Bugs me that we didn't have him in 02 and 04. He was possibly injured circa 02 anyway but imagine it was him not Vassell coming on for Rooney in 04. He'd been bang in form too.

My theory is he'd have been used slightly more sparingly by Ferguson and, as he wasn't playing for the Geordie nation, he'd have had more incentive to play for his actual one.

When he was playing for Newcastle I don't think there's any doubt club was way ahead of country, but it would've been at least less marked if he'd followed his head rather than his heart.

He went on for Toon, what, six or seven years after he gave internationals away? Was he even 30 when he pulled the plug?

 

[Furball]

My theory is he'd have been used slightly more sparingly by Ferguson and, as he wasn't playing for the Geordie nation, he'd have had more incentive to play for his actual one.

When he was playing for Newcastle I don't think there's any doubt club was way ahead of country, but it would've been at least less marked if he'd followed his head rather than his heart.

He went on for Toon, what, six or seven years after he gave internationals away? Was he even 30 when he pulled the plug?

He was born in 1970 so he was either 30 or just about to turn 30.

 

[Furball]

Got to be Gazza hasn't it?

Massive underachiever on the European club stage.

Washed up at 30.

A fabulous natural talent but I don't think I'd have him over Lampard, Gerrard or Scholes in his own position.