The English Football Thread

[Trollheart]

Some choices here will be seen as controversial, maybe stupid, but I don't have the footballing memory you guys do and have probably forgotten many important players. Still, I think this could be a good team...

Henry
Shearer

Gerrard
Lampard
Fabregas
Juninho


McGrath
Keane
Adams
Carragher

Seaman

[Unknown Soldier]

Interesting stuff about Suarez and indeed it is a cultural thing for him. I've spent a fair amount of time in Latin America including Uruguay and by European standards these are racist cultures and everybody knows there place in society there. They usually get along fine, but that's because everybody more or less knows their place in society. What Suarez said wouldn't have got much attention back in his homeland, but the dickhead has spent enough time in both Holland and England to know this type of attitude is not acceptable here and he sure as well knew what he was doing when he insulted Evra. Also as Right Track said and I mentioned this some time ago, the situation was dealt with terribly by Kenny Dalglish at the time.

I see everybody's putting up teams, so I'll do one a bit later.

[Goofle]

Originally Posted by Fluffy Kittens

Some Arsenal favouring inclusions there.

Not at all. Every Arsenal player mentioned is the best ever in the PL in their position.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Some choices here will be seen as controversial, maybe stupid, but I don't have the footballing memory you guys do and have probably forgotten many important players. Still, I think this could be a good team...

Henry
Shearer

Gerrard
Lampard
Fabregas
Juninho


McGrath
Keane
Adams
Carragher

Seaman

For an all-time PL team your defence and GK is rotten. The midfield is also nowhere near good enough but can't really argue with the strikers.

[Face]

SUAREZ! (Also, should've kept sterling and persie in fantasy...oh well).

Can't help but have a dirty smirk over chelsea losing to qpr too. Takes a bit of the swag outta benitez's gait, not to mention there being only 8 points between 3rd and 8th....

[Cuthbert]

Goofle there is no way Pires is or was better than Giggs. Same with Bergkamp, it is similar with the Cantona point I made, good but there have been better.

United have won 12 Premier Leagues so you would expect them to dominate in terms of the best 11.

Shearer, RVN, Rooney - Better than Bergkamp imo. I just don't get how Pires was better than Giggs, you're not the first gooner I have heard say this either. Giggs in the early 90's was unstoppable.

I don't get Sagna over Neville either, he has had about two good seasons.

[Goofle]

Pires was a MUCH better winger than Giggs, there's absolutely no doubt. Bergkamp was MUCH better than Cantona. Maybe you have two proper strikers like Shearer or RVN, and that's fair, but nobody compares to him as a second striker. Vieria speaks for himself, absolute beats. Sagna is a much better player than Neville ever was.

Titles and longevity aren't my concerns, it's who was the better footballer in general.

[14232949]

In what way was Pires better than Giggs?
Giggs had him beat in terms of passing, vision, shooting, fitness, leadership, dribbling, crossing and footballing ability.
Perhaps if we were talking about who had the better goatee, Pires would win, but in no way was he better than Giggs as a footballer.
I'd hasten to say Giggs is the best left sided midfielder of our time if not all time. He's still going strong today. It takes a really special player to have played competitively at the highest level for as long as Ryan Giggs has.
In his prime he'd have walked into any starting line up of any country or any club on this world, can't say the same for Robert Pires.

My all time premier league team would look like;

Henry
Shearer

Giggs
Scholes
Gerrard
Ronaldo

A.Cole
Carragher
Terry
G.Neville

Schmeichel

[Goofle]

Pires has Giggs beat on every footballing level aside from maybe a prime Giggs was a little faster. Seriously, anyone who truly understands football or has watched Pires in his prime would know that. There really isn't any debate.

Gerrard over Vieira? Okay then. Carragher over Campbell, Adams, Vidic, Ferdinand etc? Okay, that makes sense.

[14232949]

Take off the Arsenal filter glasses Goofs, they're blurring your perception.
If you must 'truly understand' football to be under the opinion that Pires is better than Giggs, than you must be the only person in the world that truly understands football, congratulations. A job on match of the day surely awaits you.

I've got Scholes to play the visionary passer in midfield, why would I need Vieira?
Gerrard's one of those players that can turn a game by himself, he carried Liverpool himself for many a season. When was the last time you saw Paddy Vieria burst through three players and rifle one in from 30 yards?
Carragher's more consistent and a better tackler than the other players you have mentioned.
Adams: Didn't have much to his game outwith heading and tackling, similar to John Terry in that he lacked skill on the ball.
Ferdinand: Too injury-prone and unreliable.
Vidic: Too prone to moments of madness and poor discipline.

[Goofle]

Gerrard vs Vieira is no question. Vieira is the best midfielder in English Football history. Absolute GOAT of a man. Probably the best all-round midfielder ever actually.

I can't even debate with a guy who honestly thinks Carragher is better than those mentioned, it truly baffles me. Seriously, do you really think that? Yeah, Carragher is okay, pretty great in his time but nothing in comparison to those World Class defenders.

As for Pires...



The guy only played half of the season and look how our players payed tribute. Miles better than Giggs in every way.

And no, I am not the only one who thinks these things.