*Official* English Football Season 2022/23

[Molehill]

Is it possible for a goal to age well? I feel like this one looks better and better every time I see it again. Techniques are light years ahead of where they were 25 years ago and the touch is still jaw-dropping.

Wasn't like it was a fluke either, the third here is remarkably similar (one of the great hatricks too).

Bergkamp's incredible hat-trick against Leicester | Here's more of Bergkamp at his best. What a hat-trick, what a player. Swoon. | By Arsenal | Facebook

 

[BoyBrumby]

Is it possible for a goal to age well? I feel like this one looks better and better every time I see it again. Techniques are light years ahead of where they were 25 years ago and the touch is still jaw-dropping.

He was a bit good, wasn't he?

I'm glad the majority of the great man's career is recorded for posterity because, looking at his good but not earth shattering stats, I can see future footballing iconoclasts trying to claim he wasn't that special. Luckily we can point to clips like the 98 QF & the Leicester hat-trick and say "He bloody was, you know."

 

[Uppercut]

He was a bit good, wasn't he?

I'm glad the majority of the great man's career is recorded for posterity because, looking at his good but not earth shattering stats, I can see future footballing iconoclasts trying to claim he wasn't that special. Luckily we can point to clips like the 98 QF & the Leicester hat-trick and say "He bloody was, you know."

Special is exactly the right word.

I don’t know if he’s quite one of the absolute best PL players. As a United fan in that era you massively respected him, but didn’t fear him in the way you feared Henry or Van Persie. He wasn’t someone who consistently hurt you in the the big games.

I remember Ashley Cole picking an XI of players he’d played with on MNF and Carragher having a meltdown because he had Drogba rather than Bergkamp. It’s such footballing phillistinism. But you can see where he’s coming from too. When you played Chelsea it felt absolutely inevitable that Drogba would score.

 

[sledger]

Drogba a more prolific and dangerous player when comparing them directly, but Bergkamp made the players around him more prolific and dangerous. Henry and Ian Wright say he's the best player they've ever played with for a reason. Pires and Ljungerg would also never have scored as many goals as they did without him. Overmars, Wiltord, Anelka, and plenty of others as well.

 

[sledger]

And he's absolutely one of the best Prem players ever imo. And the best Arsenal player ever.

I think I've posted this vid before, but like UC says, his technique was pretty much of a modern day standard in an era where most matches were just people kicking eachother:

 

[Uppercut]

Drogba a more prolific and dangerous player when comparing them directly, but Bergkamp made the players around him more prolific and dangerous. Henry and Ian Wright say he's the best player they've ever played with for a reason. Pires and Ljungerg would also never have scored as many goals as they did without him. Overmars, Wiltord, Anelka, and plenty of others as well.

Fair to say that Bergkamp is the one you’d most love to play with, but Drogba is the one you’d most hate to play against?

 

[sledger]

Fair to say that Bergkamp is the one you’d most love to play with, but Drogba is the one you’d most hate to play against?

Yeah definitely.

Edit: That said, I wouldn't particularly enjoy facing Bergkamp either tbh. For all his finesse his record of red cards received for violet conduct isn't exactly short haha.

 

[duffer]

Drogba a more prolific and dangerous player when comparing them directly, but Bergkamp made the players around him more prolific and dangerous. Henry and Ian Wright say he's the best player they've ever played with for a reason. Pires and Ljungerg would also never have scored as many goals as they did without him. Overmars, Wiltord, Anelka, and plenty of others as well.

Bergkamp in the early Wenger era years was literally the perfect foil for any type of striker whether it be Henry, Wiltord, Kanu or whoever.

Pure genius

 

[Molehill]

Yeah definitely.

Edit: That said, I wouldn't particularly enjoy facing Bergkamp either tbh. For all his finesse his record of red cards received for violet conduct isn't exactly short haha.

Love that about the Dutch. They always seem such a meek, laid back and kind bunch, and then there was the 2010 World Cup Final!!

 

[sledger]

Yeah, the whole "scorer of great goals, but not a great scorer of goals" thing is trite, but it applies to him completely. One of the reasons he didn't score more goals is because he basically didn't play as a striker for most of his Arsenal career. It's a total miscast. Bloke spent most of his time in the space between the opposition penalty area and the halfway line.

 

[sledger]

Love that about the Dutch. They always seem such a meek, laid back and kind bunch, and then there was the 2010 World Cup Final!!

Haha that was a disgrace though. Bergkamp was at least an artist in between him thumping people. That WC final was pure anti-football.

 

[duffer]

Holding his own physically is not a bad thing though. Especially in that era of the PL

 

[GIMH]

Special is exactly the right word.

I don’t know if he’s quite one of the absolute best PL players. As a United fan in that era you massively respected him, but didn’t fear him in the way you feared Henry or Van Persie. He wasn’t someone who consistently hurt you in the the big games.

I remember Ashley Cole picking an XI of players he’d played with on MNF and Carragher having a meltdown because he had Drogba rather than Bergkamp. It’s such footballing phillistinism. But you can see where he’s coming from too. When you played Chelsea it felt absolutely inevitable that Drogba would score.

Tbf Ashley played with peak Drogba whereas Bergkamp was probably past his best when he played with him?

 

[sledger]

Oh yeah totally. The problem was that him holding his own would not infrequently spill over to just punching other people in the face lol.

Though there was that great moment when Reyes, standing behind Bergkamp, reached around Bergkamp to slap a Sheff Utd player in the face, and Bergkamp being sent off for it due to a case of mistaken identity

Edit @ duffer

 

[sledger]

Tbf Ashley played with peak Drogba whereas Bergkamp was probably past his best when he played with him?

Wouldn't say so tbh. Bergkamp was awesome right up until around 2005, and Cole played 6 full seasons with him after debuting.

Fair enough if he genuinely prefers Drogba mind you. I think some people probably just suspect his choice might be motivated by sour grapes/an attempt to troll Arsenal fans.

 

[sledger]

Speaking of Cole. Here is another gun Bergkamp assist:

 

[sledger]

Anyway, the really curious (i.e. wtf) choice of Cole's in the abovementioned XI was him picking Florent Malouda over Freddie Ljungberg.

 

[GIMH]

Wouldn't say so tbh. Bergkamp was awesome right up until around 2005, and Cole played 6 full seasons with him after debuting.

Fair enough if he genuinely prefers Drogba mind you. I think some people probably just suspect his choice might be motivated by sour grapes/an attempt to troll Arsenal fans.

You’re the gooner so I’ll take your word, I just had in my mind that Bergkamp was more of a squad player by the time of the invincibles. Sounds like I had Cole debuting later in my head than he did though

 

[Furball]

You’re the gooner so I’ll take your word, I just had in my mind that Bergkamp was more of a squad player by the time of the invincibles. Sounds like I had Cole debuting later in my head than he did though

Invincibles (in my head anyway) are:

Mad Jens

Lauren
Sol
Kolo
Cole

Vieira
Gilberto Silva
Ljungberg
Pires

Bergkamp

Henry

Although you'll probably find that XI only played 7 games together or something daft like that.

 

[sledger]

Yeah Cole actually debuted for Arsenal in 1999 I think. Which is pretty crazy when you think about it.

Bergkamp was definitely first choice until his final season with Arsenal though. Though age and injuries definitely caught up with him a bit in his last two seasons.