So, who has it been? Feel free to give a running order as far down as you like and for any sport either; football, rugby, whatever.
Celtic:
Lee Naylor: Where have you been all our lives? Immense in both halves of the pitch.
Shunsuke Nakamura: 7 goals from midfield and a barrel load of assists. Stop disappearing away from home on occasion though Naka san.
Aiden McGeady: Far and away Celtics best player until he got injured on Ireland duty 6 weeks ago. Has struggled a little since then but announced himself back on the scene yesterday.
Stephen McManus: Solid and reliable for the most part. Needs to cut out the odd rash tackle but very commanding at the back overall.
Neil Lennon: The bigger the game, the better he plays. Will only really be appreciated properly when he goes.
Is Rooney really having that good a season? Iāve only really seen him in both matches against Celtic and he was poor both times. Ronaldo has been excellent from what Iāve seen/
Only intermittingly looking at tfk today due to lack of internet and my temptation to reply has been quelled somewhat by my inability to log in (i.e. having to log into my email, find the last password etc). However anyone who advocates Ronaldo as having a good season should be shot.
I always had my doubts about him. He is the type of player that I would not have around a club. Then ended up losing Van Nistlerooy because of him and his performance against Chelsea and Celtic was nothing short of disgraceful. Not once in eitehr match did he deliver the final ball and whats worse made no attempt to track back. He is a disgrace of a footballer n man
Anyhow to talk about a team thatās having a good season - Liverpool (!)
The only player that springs to mind is Kuyt. I definitely could not come up with an order. Sissoko did well enough when he was fit too
Is there a problem with your login or can you just not remember your password?
I see your Ronaldo point but he was their best player against Celtic. People will talk about a vintage Scholes performance but he chickened out of playing high up the park once Balde nailed him first half. Everything else he did was in the centre circle. Giggs was poor, Rooney was shocking, Saha was poor, only Ronaldo looked dangerous IMO, though I do agree on his final ball.
Why is Ronaldo a disgrace of a man?
I donāt understand āanyone to talk about a team thatās having a good season.ā Did you type this in a hurry or am I thick? Havenāt seen enough of Kuyt to disagree but itās probably a reflection on Liverpool that heās your best player even though he has been quiet enough. I assume thatās what youāre saying so Iāll concur.
Modified the post to change āanyoneā to āanyhowā. It still doesnāt read well and chances are neither will this one.
The reason Ronaldo is a disgrace of a man is that. He is full of stepovers and cant deliver the final ball. When he loses it he usually blames the referee or one of his fellow players. For me he is the definition of a spoofer - he has all the shapes, he never delivers and whats more he doesnt even hold his hand up when he does bad (which is all the time). He is not a team player - in fact he is such m finer its untrue. Disgrace. You could put it down to youthful petulence but he seems to be getting worse as the years go by.
Been impressed with Kuyt, Crouch, Sissoko and Agger. Finnan, Carragher and Riise have been there usual solid but unspectacular selves.
For Ireland Iāve been most impressed with Duffer particularly in the Cyprus match. Need him to produce at home to Germany and away to the Czechs now in particular.
Riise - terrible player
Carragher - One of the main reasons why we have been poor this season is that he has been off form e.g. Everton match
Crouch - He is not good enough, its as simple as that. When Garcia broke free against City at the weekend and was one on one with the keeper at a difficult angle, Crouch seemed happy to let him shoot, instead of srceaming at him to square it like a natural striker would
Agree:
Duff - excellent against Germany, good against Cyprus, excellent against Czechs. A mate was telling me today that he saw him in UCD over the summer. He drove into the grounds in a Bentley and promply got out and went over to have a piss in the ditch
Agger - forgot him in my initial list. He has been hugely impressive
Farmer you said originally that Ronaldo was a disgrace as a footballer and as a man - thought you were going to speak about something else in addition to his soccer playing, so was curious as to what it was.
I do agree that he doesnāt deliver end-product enough and he does blame everyone but himself. That said he has bags of natural ability and in my opinion he has looked very dangerous for United every time Iāve seen them.
Also agreed on Duff. Surprised at how heās turned things around at international level just as everyone realised he wasnāt as good as the media would have us believe. Heās been excellent for Ireland, just hope we play McGeady with his soon so we get creativity on both flanks and give opposing full backs a huge worry.
Im not really a fan of Ronaldo but he was good against Celtic,The team isnt as good as it was say from 2 years ago so il put Ronaldo in my top 3,I have to go back on my top 2
1.Solsjaer-Scoring goals and setting them up,What a comeback so il give him my number 1 vote instead of Rooney.
2.Rooney-I know Roy Keane cant be compared because there bacisally isnt anybody else like him but Rooney is the new āhard manā at Man U and scoring few goals at the same time
Naylor - Never heard of him before he came to Celtic but he has certainly impressed me and has done so since day one. Left back was a dodgy position for us and we were even going to give Thompson a run there but Naylor has made it his own. I love his overlapping runs and his mentality of wanting to beat players all the time, no stopping and turning everytime he encounters an opponent. He is also a magnificant crosser of the ball.
Miller - What can I say about him, love the guy to bits. Had a feeling about this guy when he signed. Fast off his mark, since scoring his first goal from play has shown the ability to be coolly finish off chances under pressure and also sets up as many goals as he scores (not afraid to go looking for the ball). He also works extremely hard at tracking back.
Lennon - I have always said that he should have gone 2 years ago but I got that one wrong. He has been great in the champions league so far.
Iām very unsure about Ronaldo. I didnāt see the ManU-Chelsea game on Sunday but MOTD2 showed Ashley Cole constantly dispossessing him. I thought Naylor did likewise for Celtic the other night too. He had one run where he scythed through the defence but overran the ball and tried to win a penalty off Boruc but other than that there was little if any substance to him. That said he scores his fair share of goals for a wide man and makes some too. If push came to shove Iād say heās nowhere near as bad as Giles and Dunphy make out and nowhere near as good as Andy Gray and Alan Hansen say he is either.
You can see how Liverpool are struggling given the lack of stand outs.
For Manchester City Iād go for:
1 Barton (properly copped on this season - mistake on Saturday though)
2 Richards (believe the hype - this guyās got it all)
3 Weaver (delighted for him after his 3 years out).
Paul Hartley (has completely reinvented himself and made himself into a crucial player)
Dishonourable mentions to:
Magic Zurawski (AWOL)
Chris Killen (yet to convince but still time)
Evander Sno (shocking stuff thus far).
Funny to see old mentions there for:
Naylor (though heās improved loads recently and while heās not on last seasonās form he hasnāt been bad)
Miller (never made it)
Sissoko (shown up now)
Miller - What can I say about him, love the guy to bits. Had a feeling about this guy when he signed. Fast off his mark, since scoring his first goal from play has shown the ability to be coolly finish off chances under pressure and also sets up as many goals as he scores (not afraid to go looking for the ball). He also works extremely hard at tracking back.
Check this out from Pagey last year. :w00t: :w00t:
Scott McDonald - 13 goals so far. 2 crucial CL goals against Spartak Moscow and then the winner versus Milan. 10 League goals already, even after being suspended for the first 2 games following his sending off for Motherwell at the end of last season, and most importantly, the winning goal at Dundee in the League Cup. Also a large number of assists to his name and an incredible appetite for work and a genuinely superb all round game. I never, ever thought heād be this good.
Aiden McGeady - Appears to have moved onto a new level in the past 6 weeks. Was threatening and tidy before then but heās been sensational in the past 5 or 6 games. Heās added another dimension to his game in terms of workrate, strength and determination while retaining his skill and trickery. Capable of scoring more goals and hopefully the one during his outstanding display against Benfica will be a run of many.
3)Paul Hartley - Was poor when he signed in January though he wasnāt helped in being regarded as part of a terrible twosome with that hateful hun, Steven Pressley. Has looked a completely different player this season since being drafted in for the away tie in Moscow where he put in an excellent shift on the left hand side and netted the critical away goal. Latterly heās moved infield to the defensive midfield role and has impressed with his ball winning, tracking, appreciation of danger and tackling and has also shown a nice range of passing when on the ball too.
Other contenders: Scott Brown (settling in nicely and improving all the time as he beds in) and Stephen McManus (been very solid overall despite one bad error in Donetsk).
Disappointments: Sno (hasnāt progressed at all since looking promising last year), Zurawski (hasnāt featured at all and seems to have accepted his fate), Riordan (the fact he didnāt go away and bulk up over the summer signalled that he wasnāt arsed about his Celtic career).
