Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I'm hyped for Sunday. Yes, I know what we're getting from United, but derby day, City are in such good form so we're going to have to show something.
The TT Football Club
- Thread starter Ross K
- Start date
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
The latest being if he had 11 Lukaku’s he might make the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League?
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
The latest being if he had 11 Lukaku’s he might make the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League?
Very good, Sir.
D
Deleted member 743561
Guest
Agreed. Something very, very wrong with that. Hmm... athletic governing body propping an inferior talent for the sake of generating/sustaining fan interest? Sounds familiar.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
It has been going on since the beginning of time, no? This year, I see it as bribes from EA sports to justify Ronaldo being on their latest game cover.
D
Deleted member 743561
Guest
I have no clue. Here's my thing, as someone who doesn't watch the games (or the news on it) day in-day out. The stats I do check pretty regularly. I didn't think this was close. So, I stopped thinking about it. 5 apiece? Madness.
I knew about all of the FIFA corruption and stuff... so, I figured some of the nonsense might diminish. Guess there are more unresolved politics.
TheAssassin
Legend
Superior talent doesn't and shouldn't automatically win you all the awards.
D
Deleted member 743561
Guest
It's crooked, and you know it. It's like someone is pushing a Hollywood script... except it's totally real. Not a team player. Better at headers. The end. Not even statistically Messi's equal.
TheMaestro1990
Hall of Fame
There is a clear difference in playmaking skills between them two I agree but I think it's wrong to consider Ronaldo's almost non-existent, even today with his more fox in the box like approach.
You bring up Messi’s # of goals and one of his hat tricks against a big team as an argument in his favor but don't rate that highly when Cristiano does something almost identical. I don't think that's fair.
Well this started with the questioning of Ronaldo's win this year which is actually valid IMO so that's why I brought up 2010. Not being decisive enough can be said about Messi this year too since he missed out on both La Liga and CL. That way of reasoning wouldn't be fair to either one of these two guys since 90% of the time, even when their teams weren't winning trophies, they have produced stunning performances. They both managed to win a Ballon d'Or when the club missed out on a huge trophy which was fair IMO.
To be honest individual awards were regularly pointed out when Messi had significantly more of them, level of play wasn't a major subject at all.
I brought up Messi's goals in 2010 to emphazise that he has above anyone that year, not only judging the level of play, but in numbers as well. He was the top scorer in the Champions League. Barcelona also won La Liga that year where Messi was instrumental (won the Golden Boot). Ronaldo didn't win La Liga or the Champions League in 2013. Again, scoring three goals against Sweden in a play-off where Portugal shouldn't even have been in to begin with, shouldn't have earned him a Ballon d'Or. At least Messi WAS the best individual player in 2010 and won a big title. Also, scoring four goals against Arsenal trumps scoring three against Sweden by a country mile.
Those are the reasons I find it weird to question Messi's Ballon d'Or in 2010 and not Ronaldo's in 2013.
Btw, I found this article. The quotes are hilarious: http://www.goal.com/en/news/ballon-...est-player-history/1rbi0zbr02su11owmyuj1zz66i
TheAssassin
Legend
And better at set pieces, long range bombs, better fox in the box, better weaker foot. Grand performer at the biggest stages, maybe in a league of his own there. GOAT of the biggest competition in the world that is the Champions League. GOAT of the biggest club in the world that is Real Madrid. All time great of another world giant Manchester United. GOAT of his national team, winning a major trophy with them. 600+ career goals and 200+ career assists. Not a team player my @SS.
Rating Messi higher is the right thing to do but it's also time to face reality and accept Cristiano as a Tier 1 football great too.
But Ronaldo had around 60 goals in 2013 for the club alone. That seems like a standout performer to me, especially since Messi went through a slump and injury problems that year. In fact he might have been more standout back then than either player was this year where both played well, Messi won nothing big and Ronaldo swept it all (about damn time!). And we could decide to ignore several of Messi's and Ronaldo's big match performances just because Barca/Real shouldn't have gone so far to begin with (2009/2017) but that would make this even more complicated.
Yeah the guy is kinda full of himself. Not the best way to behave for sure though it also probably helped him become so great.
TheMaestro1990
Hall of Fame
And better at set pieces, long range bombs, better fox in the box, better weaker foot. Grand performer at the biggest stages, maybe in a league of his own there. GOAT of the biggest competition in the world that is the Champions League. GOAT of the biggest club in the world that is Real Madrid. All time great of another world giant Manchester United. GOAT of his national team, winning a major trophy with them. 600+ career goals and 200+ career assists. Not a team player my @SS.
Rating Messi higher is the right thing to do but it's also time to face reality and accept Cristiano as a Tier 1 football great too.
But Ronaldo had around 60 goals in 2013 for the club alone. That seems like a standout performer to me, especially since Messi went through a slump and injury problems that year. In fact he might have been more standout back then than either player was this year where both played well, Messi won nothing big and Ronaldo swept it all (about damn time!). And we could decide to ignore several of Messi's and Ronaldo's big match performances just because Barca/Real shouldn't have gone so far to begin with (2009/2017) but that would make this even more complicated.
Yeah the guy is kinda full of himself. Not the best way to behave for sure though it also probably helped him become so great.
60 goals is indeed an insane number... maybe I should reavaluate his 2013 a bit. However, I maintain that Messi's Ballon d'Or in 2010 is more well deserved than Ronaldo's was in 2013. Barca was robbed of the SF against Inter and should have been in the final. Also won La Liga, so Messi had a big title.
Ronaldo's ego has definitely helped him get where he is.
TheMuzziah
Hall of Fame
who cares about ballon d'or anyway, bit like itf player of the year it's meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Messi v Ronaldo, blah blah blah they're both great players, messi the greater talent obviously and I'd take him over Ronaldo but to suggest Ronaldo is not up there or whatever is "a bit" pushing it .
like the look of UEFAs team of century though, can't really argue with that.
from Simeone, Ancelotti & Marco Silva to...Big Sam. Everton that hate the fat ***** ,will fit in well in there with the rest.
3 wins on the bounce ****ing ell THEY ARE BACK.
hope we batter them on Sunday with that said I'd take a spawny 1-0 win, mane last minute winner from an offside position oh the fume would be delicious.
weve already had snow here this afternoon ,weekends supposed to get even worse by Sunday in particular,bring it on I say. last time we played at a snowy Anfield was Arsenal in January 2016, Allen injury time equaliser and the atmosphere was proper good despite the night being absolutely baltic. confident kop will be bouncing nice & early on Sunday!
like the look of UEFAs team of century though, can't really argue with that.
from Simeone, Ancelotti & Marco Silva to...Big Sam. Everton that
hate the fat ***** ,will fit in well in there with the rest.3 wins on the bounce ****ing ell THEY ARE BACK.
hope we batter them on Sunday with that said I'd take a spawny 1-0 win, mane last minute winner from an offside position oh the fume would be delicious.
weve already had snow here this afternoon ,weekends supposed to get even worse by Sunday in particular,bring it on I say. last time we played at a snowy Anfield was Arsenal in January 2016, Allen injury time equaliser and the atmosphere was proper good despite the night being absolutely baltic. confident kop will be bouncing nice & early on Sunday!
TheMaestro1990
Hall of Fame
who cares about ballon d'or anyway, bit like itf player of the year it's meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Messi v Ronaldo, blah blah blah they're both great players, messi the greater talent obviously and I'd take him over Ronaldo but to suggest Ronaldo is not up there or whatever is "a bit" pushing it .
like the look of UEFAs team of century though, can't really argue with that.
from Simeone, Ancelotti & Marco Silva to...Big Sam. Everton that
3 wins on the bounce ****ing ell THEY ARE BACK.
hope we batter them on Sunday with that said I'd take a spawny 1-0 win, mane last minute winner from an offside position oh the fume would be delicious.
weve already had snow here this afternoon ,weekends supposed to get even worse by Sunday in particular,bring it on I say. last time we played at a snowy Anfield was Arsenal in January 2016, Allen injury time equaliser and the atmosphere was proper good despite the night being absolutely baltic. confident kop will be bouncing nice & early on Sunday!
To me Ronaldinho is certainly missing on there. I'd take out Henry. Wouldn't have Pique on either, and I say that as a Barcelona supporter. Rather have Ramos next to Puyol and another fullback, maybe Alves.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
who cares about ballon d'or anyway, bit like itf player of the year it's meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Messi v Ronaldo, blah blah blah they're both great players, messi the greater talent obviously and I'd take him over Ronaldo but to suggest Ronaldo is not up there or whatever is "a bit" pushing it .
like the look of UEFAs team of century though, can't really argue with that.
from Simeone, Ancelotti & Marco Silva to...Big Sam. Everton that
3 wins on the bounce ****ing ell THEY ARE BACK.
hope we batter them on Sunday with that said I'd take a spawny 1-0 win, mane last minute winner from an offside position oh the fume would be delicious.
weve already had snow here this afternoon ,weekends supposed to get even worse by Sunday in particular,bring it on I say. last time we played at a snowy Anfield was Arsenal in January 2016, Allen injury time equaliser and the atmosphere was proper good despite the night being absolutely baltic. confident kop will be bouncing nice & early on Sunday!
Stevie G finest hour.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
TheMuzziah
Hall of Fame
just noticed - Gerrard is in the team over Scholes & Lampard. guess that settles it then.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Chelsea felt the Moyes.
TheAssassin
Legend
Manchester United winning the derby could save the Premier League season. Would be awful if what is considered the most competitive league turns out to be the most one sided. La Liga had final day drama in 3 of the last 4 seasons, can't say anything similar for the English or any other big league.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Man Utd to save football. Book it.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Martial and Rashford starting. Mon
TheAssassin
Legend
Well that's that. Congratulations on the title City, and may you and Oliver rot in hell.
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
Indeed. 14 straight wins? Record within a single season I believe.
The quality in this team and the available resources has allowed Pep to create a monster. Dominating the ball, playing with space, and squashing counter attacks. Would have to think they can challenge for the Champions League as well.
Checkmate
Legend
City vs Bayern would be a great R16 draw.
Checkmate
Legend
Lacked end product today. Aguero should have been subbed in the 2nd half or even started I think.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Definitely. I have to consider them favourites.
It's still untroden terriority for Man C although Pep himself has been all the way a couple of times. By the looks of it they should do better than previously also Real Madrid appear to have lost a bit of appetite after their successes in the last couple of seasons.
TheMuzziah
Hall of Fame
robbed by that scruffy **** Pawson & the FA, that is all.
once a blue always a manc.
haha that's funny considering Oliver is the only half decent ref among a bunch of bent, uncompetent *******. he doesn't worship Man Utd though so he's a **** alright!
once a blue always a manc.
haha that's funny considering Oliver is the only half decent ref among a bunch of bent, uncompetent *******. he doesn't worship Man Utd though so he's a **** alright!
TheAssassin
Legend
Stunning Wazza as usual.
That Salah goal though... I never thought he'd do so well in England. Already a career best season goal-wise and it's only freaking December. The comment was in the heat of the moment and I think he made some bad decisions, but none of them affected the outcome. In general I rate Oliver highly too.
TheMuzziah
Hall of Fame
Stunning Wazza as usual.
The comment was in the heat of the moment and I think he made some bad decisions, but none of them affected the outcome. In general I rate Oliver highly too.
stunning because he scored a ****ing peno? some standards there. and Everton fans going on about him like he's some sort of legend or sth, he ****ed off to Salford and only came back once he knew he was well finished give your head a wobble he's not a blue he's not even a manc he's just a greedy fat granny shagger.
never a penalty and you know it, Lovren barely touched him. absolute disgrace of a decision.
agreed about Oliver.
Merseyside is red, Manchester is blue. all is well.
TheAssassin
Legend
He is scoring as usual. 8 now, best goalscorer outside the top 5 clubs in the league right now. Not bad for a guy people called finished several years ago. Shearer isn't going to sleep in peace just yet.stunning because he scored a ****ing peno? some standards there. and Everton fans going on about him like he's some sort of legend or sth, he ****ed off to Salford and only came back once he knew he was well finished give your head a wobble he's not a blue he's not even a manc he's just a greedy fat granny shagger.
never a penalty and you know it, Lovren barely touched him. absolute disgrace of a decision.
agreed about Oliver.
Merseyside is red, Manchester is blue. all is well.
Everton can brag about Rooney being their academy boy but he is only a Red Devil legend. It was the usual little pushing that almost never gets punished and shouldn't be. Bad luck for Lovren and Liverpool. Much more disgraceful decisions have happened at bigger stages though.
City will remain our little noisy neighbors until they buy themselves about a dozen domestic league titles and at least a ticket to some European final.
Ditto for Everton, though that's never really debated as the difference is even more extreme.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
lol I am disappointed because Lukaku is not ready for prime time. But I can't just blame him. Lousy performance again in a big game. Shocker. Getting spanked so badly at home. :/
Nice century there for Ronnie though.
Nice century there for Ronnie though.
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
Barça finally cracks Villareal. Looked solid but not great for most of the match. Raba then got sent off after going cleats first into Busquets. Barça proceeded to tighten their grip on the match and scored one of their typical linking goals with Suárez passing the keeper. Messi then worked some of his magic for 2–0, calmly gliding between two defenders. His elusiveness is … elusive.
Keeps their wrap around La Liga. 8 points on Real, 5 ahead of Valencia in second.
As many are pointing out, getting Dembélé back will surely do them good.
Keeps their wrap around La Liga. 8 points on Real, 5 ahead of Valencia in second.
As many are pointing out, getting Dembélé back will surely do them good.
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Tiki-Taka
Guest
Good win on a tough trip to de la Ceramica. The next one is going to be huge. Travelling to Santiago Bernabeu in 13 days, colossal game as always. Right now I would be happy with a draw there but considering our recent history in Madrid in the league that wouldn't be a massive success.
City weren't even that great but Mourinho totally deserved to lose and should be embarrassed. Even in the days when Manchester United were midtable or even in the second division, I bet they never ended a half with 25% ball possession. At Old Trafford! No shots at City's goal at all until Silva scored. So defensive that his main striker was the one that made mistakes in the penalty box for both goals. The sooner he or Manchester United realize this idiotic approach won't get them anywhere, the better for both.
City weren't even that great but Mourinho totally deserved to lose and should be embarrassed. Even in the days when Manchester United were midtable or even in the second division, I bet they never ended a half with 25% ball possession. At Old Trafford! No shots at City's goal at all until Silva scored. So defensive that his main striker was the one that made mistakes in the penalty box for both goals. The sooner he or Manchester United realize this idiotic approach won't get them anywhere, the better for both.
TheAssassin
Legend
Excellent CL draw if you ask me.
Juventus - Tottenham Hotspur
Basel - Manchester City
Porto - Liverpool
Sevilla - Manchester United
Real Madrid - Paris Saint Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk - Roma
Chelsea - Barcelona
Bayern Munich - Besiktas
Solid draw for most English sides that won their groups. Perfect European test for Tottenham. Struggling Chelsea will face Barcelona who will look for revenge for 2012. Real with a big hurdle in the knockouts right away, can't wait for them to meet Paris.
Juventus - Tottenham Hotspur
Basel - Manchester City
Porto - Liverpool
Sevilla - Manchester United
Real Madrid - Paris Saint Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk - Roma
Chelsea - Barcelona
Bayern Munich - Besiktas
Solid draw for most English sides that won their groups. Perfect European test for Tottenham. Struggling Chelsea will face Barcelona who will look for revenge for 2012. Real with a big hurdle in the knockouts right away, can't wait for them to meet Paris.
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Tiki-Taka
Guest
That's an understatement. I wanted a rematch ever since we lost that tie. It was a brilliant chance to become the first team to win back to back Champions League titles and crown the Pep era as the greatest ever in football. So unlucky.
jaggy
Talk Tennis Guru
He really has them trying which shouldn't be worth commenting on but given the current overpaid prima donna currently at West Ham it is pretty massive. Maybe we don't play Millwall next year after all!
jaggy
Talk Tennis Guru
I would say that the greatest passing teams were Liverpool in the 80s so I think space for one of their midfield, Souness, McDermott and maybe some others. Also Trevor Brooking would be above Scholes for me.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
The draw is taking no chances with City. jk
Real and PSG. I'm with that pundit that believes PSG will be found scared later on. Didn't realise later on would be so soon. They are going down to Real. No doubt about it.
I give Spurs the edge over Juventus.
Real and PSG. I'm with that pundit that believes PSG will be found scared later on. Didn't realise later on would be so soon. They are going down to Real. No doubt about it.
I give Spurs the edge over Juventus.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
All those look like solid albeit recent picks to me.
Some other legendary passers I've had the pleasure of witnessing: Iniesta, Zidane, Figo … and Ronaldinho if for no other reason than his sassiness.
@Poisoned Slice will have to fill me in on the wool pants era — I hear this guy Cruyff used to be able to thread a decent pass though.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
You know the deal, mate. Different pumps, lighter balls, heavier balls, the whole team showering in a single bath etc etc. Different world. I find it amusing when an all-time list has nobody pre-80s. But really, I'm just annoyed at the absence of one
I believe Xavi is the greatest in the modern era.
TheMuzziah
Hall of Fame
who did Everton get?
happy with that. Sevilla United is gonna be a good one I feel, if Sevilla actually turn up I think they'll do them.
I think Spurs will get stuffed. yeah, they beat Madrid but Juventus are a totally different animal - they've got a very well drilled, organised defence that Spurs will struggle massively to break down whereas Madrid always go gung-ho in these type of games ,which suits them down to the ground. plus they've yet to prove themselves in the big stage, how many big games have they completely bottled even at their best. not happening. (and that's not me being biased, I normally would cheer against them as I do with every other English club obviously , however seeing as we're still in with a chance I'd obviously rather have to play Spurs in the QF than Juventus and its not even close lol so am kinda neutral here. that said, forza Barca/Sevilla/Basel)
happy with that. Sevilla United is gonna be a good one I feel, if Sevilla actually turn up I think they'll do them.
I think Spurs will get stuffed. yeah, they beat Madrid but Juventus are a totally different animal - they've got a very well drilled, organised defence that Spurs will struggle massively to break down whereas Madrid always go gung-ho in these type of games ,which suits them down to the ground. plus they've yet to prove themselves in the big stage, how many big games have they completely bottled even at their best. not happening. (and that's not me being biased, I normally would cheer against them as I do with every other English club obviously , however seeing as we're still in with a chance I'd obviously rather have to play Spurs in the QF than Juventus and its not even close lol so am kinda neutral here. that said, forza Barca/Sevilla/Basel
)
T
Tiki-Taka
Guest
The midfield with Xavi, Iniesta, Scholes and Zidane would be the scariest ever. I don't think the universe could handle that much amount of class in one team. Unfortunately we will never find that out.
