Messi

Originally Posted by violater

do you honestly put rossi in the same bracket as ronaldo ,robben, messi, rooney & co.

you honestly put robben in the same category as ronaldo, rooney and messi?


messi is overrated. any @#%&! could have scored that goal last night after such a sweet lay-off by tevez.

um... although I only tuned in for veron. what a £#%&!ing player.

Originally Posted by MJ Ramone

I think Messi is the best player in the World & I have been saying so for a couple of years.
However, my favourite player..the player that I believe on his day is the most explosive talent in the World pulls on a United shirt every week - Wayne Rooney.

I know it's not popular to regard him that highly - especially with him being English & everything - but I wouldn't swap him for anybody in the World.


That's my opinion by the way before someone starts telling me Rooney's our 5th best player behind Anderson, Nani, Ronaldo & co.

Quite right, if the roonster was called Roonio and played for Madrid etc we would be worshipping his talent.

Originally Posted by NYSalfordRed

Quite right, if the roonster was called Roonio and played for Madrid etc we would be worshipping his talent.

you're right. we'll miss him when that happens.

Originally Posted by Grimson

The two best players in the world are Gianluigi Buffon and Petr Cech. In terms of influencing every game they play in and getting results for their teams, nobody is better than these two.

But as far as bent-legged running-about types, I do like those five listed above.

beat me to it.

best 5 for me

1. kaka
2. cech
3. ronnie
4. messi
5. rio


i know some are going to laugh at one of those but i really do consider ronnie an outstanding player.

he is.



I have no idea whether he's better or worse than Messi, Kaka, etc. At that rarefied level it really doesn't matter.



(I know what you really meant, too. And am inclined to agree.)

Originally Posted by jem

messi is overrated. any @#%&! could have scored that goal last night after such a sweet lay-off by tevez.

That's classic Jem.

Any @#%&! might have put the ball in the net, but to lob the keeper with his second touch from that angle and that distance is nothing short of £#%&!ing superb. I really think only a handful of players (how many players can you fit in your hand?) in the world would have attempted it and that's because those players have full confidence in their fantastic ability.

Still, any @#%&!...

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Around 2000 we had a great generation of attacking players in Europe, all at or around their peak, Zidane, Figo, Bergkamp, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Raul, Batistuta, Shearer, Utd trio of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Shevchenko. That was a great time in the world game.

Hopefully this new group can make a similar impact, and as you say we are fortunate to have another group of our own.

Only got as far as this post; I am absolutely stunned that anyone would include Shearer in a list like that, totally gobsmacked.

Then again. I do see rossi as a major talent who has failed to seize his moment so far, so maybe I'm wrong?

Nah, Shearer isn't fit to lace any of those players' boots as a footballer

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

Only got as far as this post; I am absolutely stunned that anyone would include Shearer in a list like that, totally gobsmacked.

Then again. I do see rossi as a major talent who has failed to seize his moment so far, so maybe I'm wrong?

Nah, Shearer isn't fit to lace any of those players' boots as a footballer

I am not his biggest fan either, but as a goalscorer he was one of the best around, would Ruud be included as one of the best from this era? Probably, despite the fact that his all round game is nothing special, Shearer was the same, one of the better center forwards of his time though.

Always preferred Andy Cole though.

Agree about Rossi, if he is flogged before he has received a chance it will be rather unfair, especially with Richardson and Fletcher getting 200+ games between them. They may cover more positions but they have less talent between them than Rossi has

Originally Posted by Tiberian

[Ruud's] all round game is nothing special

before his injury.

Originally Posted by Tropical

before his injury.

Which one? If you mean the injury he suffered before he moved to Utd, then yes he was a different player at PSV. Used to stay up and watch the games on Channel 5 and he was far more mobile, and dynamic when in possession, could run with the ball, but that was in a lower standard league. At Utd he became more of a box player, still showed flashes of his earlier style but in general was more of an orthodox number 9.

Shearer 21-25 was similar, quick, mobile, could drop deep and help in the build up, a few injuries and he changed as well.

If you meant the injury in his third season, then yes it did effect him, but things like quick lay offs, linking with his midfield, winning headers were never his strengths, and Utd were already starting to become predictable in servicing him at all times which also contributed to his down turn in form, despite the goals.

that I meant his injury at United.


I can't comment on his play at PSV, but your description sounds something like the player I remember from his early days at United - quick, with a lovely touch, and genuinely creative. I recall him making chances for others almost as often as he took them himself. Perhaps this is all a bit fondly rose-tinted. But until that injury at United, he always struck me as that rarity, a predator whose play you could watch all day.

Originally Posted by TreeFiddy

That's classic Jem.

Any @#%&! might have put the ball in the net, but to lob the keeper with his second touch from that angle and that distance is nothing short of £#%&!ing superb. I really think only a handful of players (how many players can you fit in your hand?) in the world would have attempted it and that's because those players have full confidence in their fantastic ability.

Still, any @#%&!...

to be honest, it looked like a bit of a miskick. I think he was going for the curler.

watching veron in training, see?



p.s. ruud played in a four-man attack at psv. he is not a £#%&!ing drogba-style player, whatever fergie may have thought. he's £#%&!ing dutch.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was a much better footballer in the English game than Shearer

And as a finisher he was on a different level altogether - skill, subtelty, a distinctly greater class and assuredness and so on


Shearer still prospered though, which is a quandary - how good a player do you need to be as a striker, as long as you've got that striker's instinct?

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

how good a player do you need to be as a striker, as long as you've got that striker's instinct?

Mick Quinn, obviously.

pretend shearer was just ordinary?

ok, so he used his elbows far too much (and he's nearly as dull as dalglish), but it would be a bit harsh to say he was just a plodder without the elbows and the penalties. he hit some cracking volleys from outside the area and generally was a superb centre forward. not to mention he could cross better than anyone in our team and link play as well as stick the ball in the net with either foot or his head.

we would have £#%&!ing loved him at united and, what's more, he would have been perfect for us.

which is why we were repeatedly banned from buying him.

he prospered, throb, because he was an extremely talented player.

shearer was a @#%&! but you have to be daft not to recognise how good he was

and if you want to talk about injuries then he was unplayable for a time before the bad problem he had at blackburn

he scored every type of goal you could score

@#%&!, but talented @#%&!

as for messi, prodigous talent but not up there yet, he got a couple of graet goals this season but was essentially injured for the majority of it. potential tobecome the best but not yet, same with ronnie and rooney. all 4-5 years from reaching their zenith

thank £#%&! someone mentioned a defender and some keepers