...::[The Footy Desk]::... (Part 2)

[Flesh-n-Bone]

As for that WC qualification, if he had been really decisive, he wouldn't have brought Portugal in that win or die situation.

Once again, may I remind you that a team consists of 11 players?

 

He's not superman, for all the great work he can do on the offense, the defense might cancel all that out by being poor. I just can't see it from your point of view where you hold him single-handedly accountable for the team's overall success based on your wording.

[MyName'sJeff]

You can put it like that I guess even though a lot of my subjective reasons are also somehow objective.

 

Anyway I don't deny his skill, I just deny his talent and I see no genius of football in him.

As for that WC qualification, if he had been really decisive, he wouldn't have brought Portugal in that win or die situation.

And he did that but then failed as usual in the actual WC.

He's decisive at times but never in the big occasions.

Even against Chelsea he failed a penalty...

It's not opinion if some of the greatest football legends have even claimed themselves Ronaldo is a great. You're simply a Ronaldo hater, nothing less. One man cannot drag his whole national team to success, he isn't a superhuman. Unlike Messi, Ronaldo's main strengths are his pace, strength, finishing (which can be poor at times), athletisism and attitute. He built himself to be what he is, unlike Messi who's simply a natural born talent. So naturally, he isn't as good as Messi when it comes to dribbling and sh*t, he never was known for that even when he was younger. The way I see it, Barcelona already have a class attacking force even without Messi, and they perform excellent and still manage to score. So talking about overrated, even Messi is a part of that crowd in some instances, although I wouldn't generally call him an overrated player in general.

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by MyName'sJeff

[SouthLand]

Atletico De Madrid won last season you clown.

I am talking about this fool

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by SouthLand

[Doc Rikowski]

I'm sorry but having watched playing so many legends since 1982 I just can't put CR in the same lot. He just ain't got that magic thing champions have. He's indeed good but way below the image he has of himself and the one media built around him. History will prove me right. It already did this year when 5 months ago I said RM wasn't going to win anything this year. And I started thinking this as soon as I heard CR's speech when he won the golden ball.

And I don't hate him. I couldn't give a fck about hating a football player. They don't really occupy much of my thinking on an average day. Love and hate in sports are for idiots.

 

Flesh: obviously he's not superman and he can't do everything. I'm just saying that one of his main characteristics is kinda disappearing when he's the most needed. It's common to other regular players too but not so much and so often in above average players. I've seen Maradona, Platini, Zidane, Zico, Ronaldinho, Baggio, Del Piero literally carrying a team to win when their talent was most needed. I've also watched them fail of course cause that is how football is but somehow CR seems to fail more than his supposed "best player in the world" status should allow him. Add to that his cocky attitude on and off the field and you get someone who's more worried about his role in a team win than the team win itself. That's why he throws a fit when a team player steals him a tap in. That's why I always have the feeling that when his team has a good chance to lose he sort of takes off the foot from the pedal to see if he's not going to be blamed for the loss like his teammates are.

 

To put all of this in simple words: he may have the skill of a champ but he ain't got the talent and he certainly hasn't got the attitude. And I personally respect attitude in sports above everything else. Great player, not a champion.

 

And let me add one last thing. Mourinho, his fellow countryman, a coach highly praised and respected by the players that "served" under him, had a lot of issues with CR and finally left RM also cause of him. There must be something that he saw in Ronaldo that made him understand he had not the right attitude, the right humbleness and the right teamwork spirit that makes you a champ.

I trust his judgement on Ronaldo.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Doc Rikowski

[RedIndianRobin]

I don't know whatever the f*ck did CR7 did to doc that he hates him too much. Too much arrogance in one post.

Edited May 18, 2015 by RedIndianRobin

[Ducard]

Lol, I remember when Real boasted about winning all the titles before the start of the season.

 

Feels good to have a title under our belt now.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Ducard

[Doc Rikowski]

RedIndianRobin, what's the point of such an idiotic and immature comment?

If you are not able to reply to well worded criticism in a civilised manner then you should refrain from posting like a kid would do and look like an absolute brainless individual in the process.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Doc Rikowski

[Scott.]

Big BIG win by Norwich... WE'RE GOING TO WEMBLEY! QUE SERA

[RedIndianRobin]

RedIndianRobin, what's the point of such an idiotic and immature comment?

If you are not able to reply to well worded criticism in a civilised manner then you should refrain from posting like a kid would do and look like an absolute brainless individual in the process.

Ok I edited that sentence and giving this another shot.

 

Respected Doc Rokowski,

 

From your posts, it seems that you hate CR7 too much. May I know the reason?

 

Regards,

RedIndianRobin

 

Is this OK?

[Tchuck]

Ronaldo donated millions to help the people of Nepal after the earthquake. Word about his work ethic is that the dude is the first one into practice and last one out. Always pushing himself to do his best. He wasn't born technically gifted like other greats, he had to learn and work hard and persevere. When you look at his family life, the way he grew up and all, you understand the kind of person he is. He's highly competitive because he's always doing his best. It must be immensely frustrating for him when his team or a player underperforms, because he knows how much they all get paid and how hard he himself works for it. Dismissing his accomplishments is a very stupid thing to do. Dude is one of the best, and that's that.

[Ducard]

Ronaldo donated millions to help the people of Nepal after the earthquake. Word about his work ethic is that the dude is the first one into practice and last one out. Always pushing himself to do his best. He wasn't born technically gifted like other greats, he had to learn and work hard and persevere. When you look at his family life, the way he grew up and all, you understand the kind of person he is. He's highly competitive because he's always doing his best. It must be immensely frustrating for him when his team or a player underperforms, because he knows how much they all get paid and how hard he himself works for it. Dismissing his accomplishments is a very stupid thing to do. Dude is one of the best, and that's that.

I agree. Even though I'm a Barcelona fan, nobody can doubt Ronaldo's ability. I wish he stayed at Man United though.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Ducard

[Banks.]

lol I have no idea why Doc hates Ronaldo so much but personally I find it quite stupid. Being a United supporter, I watched Ronaldo when he was just a skinny Portuguese lad with a f*ck load of tricks and talent but wasn't built to play in the Premiership.A lot of people had doubts that he would make it in England but everyone who doubted him were proven wrong. He progressed into a beast and one of the best players to ever put on the Manchester United shirt. He tormented defenses in the Premiership and always turned up for the big games. Doc said that he only scored against weak teams at United and that is not true. Ronaldo had a great record against the big teams here. He's by far the best player I've ever seen live.

 

Instead of always blaming Ronaldo when Madrid don't do well. Blame the other players who have under-performed. Ronaldo has bagged 60 goals and 19 assists this season. What more do people want from him? The fact is he does this every season. Same with Messi. You can argue who's better but at the end of the day, Ronaldo and Messi will both go down as the greatest players to play the game alongside Pele, Maradona etc.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Tommy.

[Doc Rikowski]

To everyone unable to read and analyze criticism and take it for what it is, criticism (to which you can agree or disagree with but not disregard as hate), I'll quote myself again:

 

And I don't hate him. I couldn't give a fck about hating a football player. They don't really occupy much of my thinking on an average day. Love and hate in sports are for idiots.

And just to finish this question, I simply don't see CR the way you guys see him,

I have a different formed opinion on him

(also because I speak Portuguese/Spanish and live in Portugal so I might grasp a few more things than you when he talks)

and I never denied his skill just his football talent and moral attitude on field and towards his teammates.

I've been actively following football since 1982 so I've seen thousands of players.

Unfortunately he never positively amazed me or surprised me.

It's nothing personal, just my opinion.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Doc Rikowski

[Damned_Hitman]

The original Ronaldo > Cristiano Ronaldo.

[Doc Rikowski]

^ Exactly.

[Damned_Hitman]

Cristiano Ronaldo is a pussy compared to the original Ronaldo.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8bZhNBQktQ

 

Some of the challenges he shrugs off, and keeps moving forward are unreal, Cristiano would be in tears.

 

I get impression a lot of the fanboys here are young and only know Cristiano so they got nothing to compare him too, other than Messi, who is miles ahead as a player.

[Doc Rikowski]

Ronaldo was from a different planet.

Best number 9 I've ever seen playing together with Van Basten.

[Damned_Hitman]

Glad you agree, he was phenomenal, many forget.

Plus he always seemed happy to play, he wouldn't sulk or act petulantly, he celebrated his team goals.

Bobby Robson, called him a God, second only to Maradona,

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/bobby-robson-one-one

Van Basten was before my time, but from some of the goals I've seen and anecdotes from other players he must have been a very special player.

[Banks.]

 

 

He single handily destroyed United that night. Probably the best performance from an opposition player seen at Old Trafford. So good that he got a standing ovation from the United support.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Tommy.

[Tchuck]

I like how defending Cristiano Ronaldo means you are an instant fanboy. It's almost as if it's impossible to make an unbiased evaluation of a player's skils and characteristics, and saying anything good about certain players instantly means fanboyism. Sigh.

 

Yeah, Ronaldo was from another planet. I saw him play live once, near the end of his career though. Didn't stop him from sprinting past my team's defense and scoring an excellent goal, despite being overweight and with bad knees. That doesn't exclude or stop Cristiano Ronaldo from being an amazing player as well.

[RedIndianRobin]

^^^ Pretty much this. We have never said CR7>R9. Of course R9 is a legend. He's better than all young talents of now, even Messi. But you can't deny CR7 also has some great skills. Back in United, he single handed destroyed the team he faced. In Real too, he played some great quality football. But I won't deny that his skills/abilities dropped recently. Even though, he's still on top of almost all leading scorers. Simply saying CR7 is a pussy/penaldo/divenaldo/gaynaldo makes you look like an immature and uncivilized prick.

 

And yes of course Pele/Maradona>>>>Ronaldinho/R9>>>>CR7/Messi. No one denied that.

[Doc Rikowski]

Van Basten was before my time, but from some of the goals I've seen and anecdotes from other players he must have been a very special player.

 

Considered one of the best goals ever scored in a major final.

And Dasaev was one of the best goalkeepers of the time.

I watched it live.

 

Edited May 19, 2015 by Doc Rikowski

[MyName'sJeff]

Doesn't matter if you watched it live or not, the fact that you think Ronaldo isn't even talented speaks for itself. You really don't know anything about football or it's legends. There's been mouth watering goals in the world cup last year compared to the famous Van Basten goal which at that time would have been amazing.

Edited May 19, 2015 by MyName'sJeff

[Flesh-n-Bone]

Doc, with all due respect, you may not "hate" CR in a "I want him to die" kind of way, your "hate" is the kind where you don't like to see him succeed with a constantly pessimistic view on him. The glass is always half empty with him for you. You always downplay anything good he does and grasp at straws just to justify why in your opinion, he's nothing special. I don't care how long you've been watching, no amount of "knowledge" can overcome a strong bias which you clearly have towards him.

- If he single-handedly makes the difference for his team, "they shouldn't have even been in here to begin with".

- If his team wins a big final match where he's not the star player (despite having scored the most to get them there), you focus on that one match while brushing off his work leading up to it as "scoring against weak teams".

- Just about every football legend says he's a great player, then you ignore that and bring up that he didn't get along with Mourinho as your sole "professional opinion" to go off of.

 

I have not seen a reasonable piece of criticism towards him from you yet and most of it is opinionated or irrelevant to his skills/talent (btw, they are interchangeable in this context) such as being arrogant. No matter what he does, you always ignore it and are only around to pick on him when he's down.

 

 

He single handily destroyed United that night. Probably the best performance from an opposition player seen at Old Trafford. So good that he got a standing ovation from the United support.

Remember that like it was yesterday. I had a strong resentment towards him after the WC final in 2002 because Germany was my favorite team then he went to Real and it's like it was all gone away. Truly a phenomenon. Crazy to think he's never won Champions League.

 

I get impression a lot of the fanboys here are young and only know Cristiano so they got nothing to compare him too, other than Messi, who is miles ahead as a player.

I've been following football since late 90s-early 00s so there's plenty of greats I've witnessed in their primes, including R9.

[RedIndianRobin]

Doc, with all due respect, you may not "hate" CR in a "I want him to die" kind of way, your "hate" is the kind where you don't like to see him succeed with a constantly pessimistic view on him. The glass is always half empty with him for you. You always downplay anything good he does and grasp at straws just to justify why in your opinion, he's nothing special. I don't care how long you've been watching, no amount of "knowledge" can overcome a strong bias which you clearly have towards him.

- If he single-handedly makes the difference for his team, "they shouldn't have even been in here to begin with".

- If his team wins a big final match where he's not the star player (despite having scored the most to get them there), you focus on that one match while brushing off his work leading up to it as "scoring against weak teams".

- Just about every football legend says he's a great player, then you ignore that and bring up that he didn't get along with Mourinho as your sole "professional opinion" to go off of.

 

I have not seen a reasonable piece of criticism towards him from you yet and most of it is opinionated or irrelevant to his skills/talent (btw, they are interchangeable in this context) such as being arrogant. No matter what he does, you always ignore it and are only around to pick on him when he's down.

Watch out. He might come back and "bu-bu-but I'm watching Football since 1988." LOL!

[Doc Rikowski]

Flesh, I appreciate your reasonable reply and I respect it but as I said now countless of times I never denied his skill and very often I defined him as a great and effective forward.

I just don't agree with the mainstream opinion on other aspects of his game and character. As simple as that. And I always affirmed clearly that mine is a personal opinion hence a highly subjective one.

If it suits you better saying it is a biased one, no problem for me, all opinions are substantially biased in a way or another, especially the mainstream ones.

 

---

 

Jeff, not sure if you understand the difference between talent and genius in football, I guess not.

And what the recent WC goals has anything to do with the fact I posted a Van Basten goal as a treat for Free Aim Jesus who had just said he didn't know Van Basten as well as other recent players?

[Banks.]

Flesh, I appreciate your reasonable reply and I respect it but as I said now countless of times I never denied his skill and very often I defined him as a great and effective forward.

I just don't agree with the mainstream opinion on other aspects of his game and character. As simple as that. And I always affirmed clearly that mine is a personal opinion hence a highly subjective one.

If it suits you better saying it is a biased one, no problem for me, all opinions are substantially biased in a way or another, especially the mainstream ones.

f*cking hipster

 

This has gone on for two pages. Let's move on already...

 

Hull or Newcastle to go down? We play Hull on the last day and I really don't want to see Brucie's side go down. Hull have to beat us and Newcaslte have to lose for them to stay up. I don't mind Newcastle but I f*cking hate Mike Ashley and getting relegated again might be the kick in the arse Newcastle need.

[MyName'sJeff]

Newcastle fans are like Real Madrid fans lol. They wanted Pardew to go, look what the hell happened. Like a lot of people warned them before, be careful what you wish for. Newcastle need to get relegated to learn their lesson and the players need to step up as well. But I also blame the sh*tty owner for their position because he seriously has no ambitions for the club, they should be challenging for the top 10 or higher not the bottom half. As for Hull, I want us to beat them so we have another chance of overtaking Arsenal only if they lose to sunderland which is unlikely, but Sunderland are also in danger so they'll fight for it.

Edited May 20, 2015 by MyName'sJeff

[Tchuck]

Has Facundo Ferreyra played this season? He was always a monster striker for me in the FM series.

 

Either way, they should just get Alan Shearer out of retirement!

[Orange Juice]

But we would have been in almost the exact same situation if Pardew had stayed. In fact, we were in a similar situation in the 2012-13 season - confirming safety in the penultimate match of the season, and also not forgetting the run of 6 defeats we racked up under Pardew at the tail end of last season. Pardew played dull, uninspiring football, played people out of position, and relied heavily on one or two key players to get him out of any tight spots. Everyone was thrilled when he left, but only because we - quite reasonably, I'd think - expected him to be replaced by an actual manager. Instead, what we got was John f*cking Carver, a man whose only previous managerial experience was getting the sack from Toronto FC after little more than a year in charge there. He can harp on about him being a local lad and talk about working with Sir Bobby Robson all he likes, but it doesn't hide the fact that he's utter bollocks and out of his depth.

 

Part of me still feels bad for him - I mean, who wouldn't turn down the opportunity to manage your boyhood club? If he had turned it down, Ashley would have no doubt looked further down the chain of command and probably ended up hiring Steve Stone or Beardsley - both unproven, though I do love Beardsley - instead. I agreed with the whole 'Sack Pardew' campaign , I suppose there may be an element of "be careful what you wish for", not in the sense of Pardew leaving - not in the slightest - but in the sense of nobody being hired as a replacement - which, again, nobody really ever thought Ashley would do. Ashley seems to be quite happy to hire a "controversial" (or just plain sh*te) manager in order to deflect any criticism towards himself onto the manager - it worked with Pardew until he walked, but fans are beginning to look past the manager to see what's really wrong with the club.

 

Right now, the fanbase seems to be in disarray as to how to actually try and force Ashley out. I'm not really sure how it could be done, but I've seen a few different ideas floated about. The main one is boycotting the matches themselves, which is easier said than done as some fans will still turn up, sit in silence, then boo the players off as if that actually achieves anything. Another is not buying any club merchandise, which is pretty easy since it's all f*cking naff SportsDirect sh*te in any case. I saw a pretty good idea, borrowed from Rangers fans in their own anti-Ashley protests - of manufacturing a fan-funded and fan-made shirt, rather than the cheap, plastic-looking Wonga ones, which could be interesting.

 

And I f*cking wish we were like Real Madrid fans, it'd imply we'd actually won something in the last 45+ years.

 

@Tchuck: Nope, Ferreyra has had a few reserve appearances - not helped by injuries - bagged one goal, and done little else. I'm not sure if it's been a case of him simply not being good enough, or the first team managers not wanting to take the gamble. Probably a bit of both, and I can't imagine it's been easy for him, with the trouble in Ukraine leaving his future in doubt and probably finding it difficult to settle over here. There was rumours of his loan deal being cancelled and him being re-loaned to Genoa in January, but that came to nothing. Here's a bit more on him: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/evidence-facundo-ferreyra-exist-sadly-9057325

 

As for Shearer coming back, well... that didn't go so well last time we brought him back as manager!

Edited May 20, 2015 by Orange Juice