If Adam Johnson meant that…fuck me.
Rooney’s obviously a brilliant player but it’s worth bearing in mind he’s faced some poor defences lately. Milan were a disgrace and Fulham were equally so for his two goals today, the first in particular.
Spot on Rocko-all the papers here would be bigging up Rooney of course. He has a fair bit to go to get past Messi.
is it widely accepted that spanish league defending is better than that in the epl?
Fair enough comment bar the silly metaphor at the end. I’m not being critical of the player or his agent. Just dont think we should be and will be holding the back pages for him either. In the bits Ive seen he seems a tidy player but lacking in any semblance of presence or bite as a central midfielder. Cant really see him as an option centrally in a 442. Dont think he is an option out wide really either. I think Trapp made some comment after the Brazil game that he would be an option if we changed formation.
He has good technique and can score a bit but has only recently started making one of the worst sides in the EPL. Granted Wigan are still a step up from the SPL but I think its stretching it a bit to consider him for international football at the moment. I think Keith Fahey is a superior player as is Andy Reid. Of course McCarthy can improve but I would be seriously surprised even at this juncture if he ever dominates they professional football landscape as you put it.
Widely accepted by the mongs on here that like Dunphy ‘watch’ the Spanish games on a Sunday.
An EPL follower could point to Gerard Pique being Barca’s best defender when he was an also ran at United. Or the performance of the Real Madrid defence against Liverpool last year in the Champions League to say that the defending aint all that in Spain either.
Of course most people would realise that Pique was a teenager when he was at Manchester United and few would really question his credentials now unless they had a giant chip on their shoulder. Indeed those mongs who watch La Liga closely would already have seen him impressing at Zaragoza for a season - again as a teenager.
Spanish football takes place on a Sunday, by and large. That’s why it’s watched on a Sunday.
Phil Brown sacked, I see. Strange time of the season for it, no?
If they can get a good man in that can motivate a squad it will be masterstroke. Wolves are shit, Burnley are shit and Pompey are fucked. One of those shite 4 sides are going to stay up, Hull have acted decisively, depending on who they get in though.
So it not ok to criticise Pique because he was a teenager at Man Utd as he impressed as a teenager at Zaragoza?
Chips on shoulders…eh pot kettle black, turkish. Mass still takes place on a Sunday too by and large, anything else random take place on a Sunday, by and large?
If you genuinely think Pique isn’t a good player then come out and say that.
If you think he’s a good player then concede that.
If you just want to talk yourself into a corner then persist with your current argument.
Thats funny, 'cos John Aldridge thinks he is comparable to Roy Keane. What was it that made Roy successful, and what system did Roy play in for most of his career?
Burnley and Portsmouth are definitely going to drop down.
Christ there is some amount of shite teams in the EPL when you think of it. Outside of the top 4, it is distinctly ordinary and that has more or less become a top 3 now with Liverpool capitulating this season.
People rightly speak about the dominance of the English top 4 in Europe in the last few seasons but the non performance of teams in the UEFA Cup gets completely overlooked.
Seville played Middlesboro in the final of that a few years back and absolutely destroyed them.
Fulham knocked out the holders though a few weeks ago! Bolton were going pretty nicely in it a couple of years ago but opted to field a second string team against Sporting Lisbon. Everton had a good run this year but were undone by injuries, I think. They don’t seem to take it too seriously from what I can see. Also, they’ve gotten some tough draws, Fulham facing Juve and last year (?) Portsmouth facing AC Milan.
Weren’t Everton thumped 5-0 by Benfica this season? Injuries or no injuries that is pretty shocking.
Overall, in the past 10 or maybe 15 years how many English teams have reached the latter stages of it? Liverpool won it in 2001, Middlesboro reached the final a few years back.
I think it’s a bit of simplistic argument to say that they don’t take it seriously - it’s too long of a time frame for such a factor to be true. I think that overall it shows up the EPL to distinctly ordinary outside the top teams - which is further evidenced by the lack of ability of any other team to break into the top 4, until Liverpool’s collapse this season of course.
Ya but Seville were the 2nd best team in Spain at the time and on an upward curve, Middlesboro went down within a year or two.
What people forget alot is that its generally between 2 and 4 teams that dominate in any country, and this will always be the way the way football is structured, the rich get richer…
France - Lyon win 7 out of last 8
Italy - Inter win 3-in-a-row, them Milan and Juve are generally in top 3, with the odd title going to Roma, Lazio or Sampdoria over the past 25 years.
Germany - Bayern have won 7 out of last 11.
Spain - In 10 years its been Valencia, Barca or Real.
England - Man Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal.
Greece - Its been 22 years since either Olympicos, AEK or Panthinaikos has failed to win the league.
Scotland, Portugal, Belguim, Holland - All very similar.
Its just the way it is.
they don’t farmer, i’ve heard Martin O’ Neill, Moyes, Hughes, Hodgson all say at one time or another that EPL is far more important. They probably will put out full teams if it suits, but they’ll never take risks.
Yeah - fair point. I suppose my overall point is that there is some amount of dirge in the EPL.
Ya, but i think the overall standard is better this year, certainly before christmas, i enjoyed a good few more games than i remember in the past. Later in the season i think the lesser teams get cagey, and defense is what its all about. The couple at the bottom are cat, no doubt, but i’ve seen good football from Fulham, West Ham, Birmingham, Everton, Villa, Spurs & Man City this year. In fact most have been better to watch than Chelsea or Liverpool, but thats more of a style than actual overall ability.
Wolves should stay up i think, they are getting decent results in vital games.
I can’t really argue with that, though I do think sides like Birmingham, Fulham and Bolton could become really decent teams if they can keep their best players, have a bit of stability and try to push on a bit with some investment. Villa, Everton, Spurs and City are probably another level up but they’re all ridiculously inconsistent. Add to that the big 3 and Liverpool and it’s a strong league.
I agree with Kev on Wolves staying up. They’re not very good but have a huge advantage in that the players will give everything for big Mick.