Flip

Villa A Chelsea h Spurs H Oh god.

Missed big parts of the first half, were we better htan in the 2nd ? or were Norwich just dire once again?

How the hell was that a red card?

Back to his self there

That goal for Nigeria must've made him good or something.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Mike Williamsinho the winger.

Muriel as well although not to young either. They have a very good team this Colombian side, wonder if it'll be another 1994 World Cup or if they actually make it far.

Too mistake prone to be considered one of the absolute best, on his day he is possibly better than Thiago Silva (who is the only central defender on the shortlist). I see Luiz as a brilliant footballer, but he's way too mental to ever be a top, top defender. I hope for the sake of the national team that he doesn't have one of those days in the World Cup. I do think he plays better for Brazil than Chelsea though, TSilva is such a calming influence. IMO Luiz is a big game player. There's a lot of truth in what you say, I think he might play well against better teams when he knows he can't drop his focus, against worse teams he'll switch off when there's not much happening.

Such a moody player though Never seen him play, any good? He's not particularly young either tbf. Will be interesting to see how Shaqiri does when he has to carry the team on his back as the star. Also, is Jetro Willems getting any playing time for Holland lately?

Bernard - Brazil Balanta - Colombia Rodriguez - Switzerland Are three players that I've been extremely impressed with the little I've seen from them (Bernard excl.). Rodriguez was excellent against Brazil and caught a game for Wolfsburg where he scored a nice free-kick. Trying to think of others right now but none springs to mind.

Too mistake prone to be considered one of the absolute best, on his day he is possibly better than Thiago Silva (who is the only central defender on the shortlist). I see Luiz as a brilliant footballer, but he's way too mental to ever be a top, top defender. I hope for the sake of the national team that he doesn't have one of those days in the World Cup. I do think he plays better for Brazil than Chelsea though, TSilva is such a calming influence.

In the squad or world? He's definitely their best player, ask the germans who is the best player in their league, I don't see why they'd say a foreign player if they didn't think it was him. As for being the most talented in the world he's clearly not, Messi and Ronaldo, I'd say Suarez as well are infront of him. The thing is that the prize depends all on the criteria, if it's based on who has been the best player for the team that has won the most it's clearly Ribery, but I would have Ronaldo and Messi above him just because they're better footballers and it's an individual award after all. Listen man. I don't have to ask other people to validate my opinion of a player who I have seen for 10 years. Fair enough, in the end it's all subjective, I'm not necessarily saying your wrong, I just find the fact that you find five players in the Bayern squad more talented than Ribery a bit new and unheard of. But everyone is entitled to their opinion Talent wise: Neuer, Lahm, Martinez, Robben, Mueller off the top of my head. Fair enough, don't you find Neuer a bit to mistake prone though? Seen him make quite a few mistakes, don't end up costing him much because he plays in such a superior team. As for Lahm I completely agree, one of the worlds most consistent players. Why does Martinez make that list and not Schweinsteiger? (serious question) I like Martinez, very underrated, but if I had to pick one player in Bayern except Ribery to build a team around it be Lahm or Schweinsteiger. Schweinsteiger also got Bundeliga player of the year last year if I'm not completely wrong and seeing him live is different to TV, he moves around the pitch with such fludity you actually don't realize how much space he covers.

Too mistake prone to be considered one of the absolute best, on his day he is possibly better than Thiago Silva (who is the only central defender on the shortlist).

In the squad or world? He's definitely their best player, ask the germans who is the best player in their league, I don't see why they'd say a foreign player if they didn't think it was him. As for being the most talented in the world he's clearly not, Messi and Ronaldo, I'd say Suarez as well are infront of him. The thing is that the prize depends all on the criteria, if it's based on who has been the best player for the team that has won the most it's clearly Ribery, but I would have Ronaldo and Messi above him just because they're better footballers and it's an individual award after all. Listen man. I don't have to ask other people to validate my opinion of a player who I have seen for 10 years. Fair enough, in the end it's all subjective, I'm not necessarily saying your wrong, I just find the fact that you find five players in the Bayern squad more talented than Ribery a bit new and unheard of. But everyone is entitled to their opinion

In the squad or world? He's definitely their best player, ask the germans who is the best player in their league, I don't see why they'd say a foreign player if they didn't think it was him. As for being the most talented in the world he's clearly not, Messi and Ronaldo, I'd say Suarez as well are infront of him. The thing is that the prize depends all on the criteria, if it's based on who has been the best player for the team that has won the most it's clearly Ribery, but I would have Ronaldo and Messi above him just because they're better footballers and it's an individual award after all.

I was thinking that. If an individual's credentials are assessed predominantly upon what they have inspired their team to achieve, it limits the pool of choice to Bayern players really, doesn't it? And if I was poaching from Bayern Munich, Ribery would not be in my top three picks I don't think. I prefer Schweinsteiger over the others then, except Ribery obviously, because for me he's really the best player in that team.

The Pardew one that you frequent is so much better

Let's just get some statistics going also for this Ronaldo having a great season and Messi a not so good one: Cristiano v Lionel La Liga: 30matches 36goals 13assists La Liga: 24m 28goals 12assists Copa del Rey: 6matches 6goals 2 assists Copa del Rey: 4matches 2goals 1 assist CL: 10matches 14goals 2 assists CL: 8matches 11goals National team non-friendlies: 6m 7goals (4 against Sweden and 3 against Northern Ireland) National team non-friendlies: 5m 3 goals (off the bench in two games) National team friendlies: 3matches 3goals (only 45minutes to score against Croatia, and another against Ecuador) National team friendlies: 2matches 3goals 2 assists (hattrick and assist against Guatemala, and assists against Sweden) In total: 55matches 66goals 17assists (total minutes: 4630minutes) 43matches 46goals 15 assists(total minutes: 3477minutes) Goals per minute: 70min Goals per minute: 75min Assist per minute: 272minutes Assist per minute: 231minutes As we can see, no surprises here as Ronaldo has a higher minutes per goals than Messi. What we can see here is that the numbers are extremely close and probably closer than ever. So in what way exactly is there no argument for Messi to win it when you add to the fact that he's won a league this year and is sitting top of the league and came as far as Ronaldo's team in the Champions League as well as took his national side easy into the 2014 World Cup. Like said before this is probably the closest year between both so no one should complain if either wins, but if that isn't proof of that Messi is as good as Ronaldo this year then I don't know what is.

Please enlighten us, I don't think anyone on here has clled CRonaldo anything less than the 2nd best footballer in the world, so please tell me how people are criminally underrating him? What annoys me is the fact that people like you, the CRonaldo fan boys, are starting to say he MUST win it after he scored 4 goals in 2 games against Sweden and are putting him in the top echelon with the likes of Pele (who as a 21 year old scored 5 against Benfica over two legs in the intercontinental cup which was considered the biggest club game in the world). 4 GOALS AGAINST MIKAEL ANTONSSON AND PER NILSSON, I'm pretty sure Sweden would've gone through if it wasn't for those two also tbf. You've already apologised for the fanboys comment (even though I'm obviously a huge admirer of Ronaldo) so fair enough, but even still, many of us were saying that Ronaldo should win long before his goals against Sweden. Neil in particular had money on him months ago if I'm not mistaken. Even still, taking the feat of scoring 4 goals in a two legged World Cup qualifier away from someone, regardless of the opposition, is stupid. I guess the thing that annoyed me the most is the argument that he's not that much better than Ribery. That's just mental in my opinion. Ribery has obviously had a fantastic year, but he's not anywhere near Ronaldo in terms of footballing ability. And yes, I've seen plenty of Ribery to have that opinion. I understand where you're coming from, but like I said both fulfil completely different roles. If you tell me a player like Lahm isn't even close to Ronaldo's ability I'll still say it's a matter of different roles they fulfil. A goalscorer will always be considered better then the one who doesn't so in this case Ronaldo will always be considered better, I just find it hard to believe that someone who has been the best player for the most dominant club in the world this season is that far off someone who hasn't won anything and whose team isn't that much worse on paper. Wasn't Mourinho the best manager according to plenty in here? Having been to Allianz Arena I've seen the work Ribery does off ball while a player like Robben hugs the line and doesn't track back. Another small thing that annoyed me was people saying Ronaldo is far more selfish than Messi, and I really don't think that's the case. Maybe five years ago. Barcelona move the ball about a lot in front of defences and Messi is involved in that, but when the time comes to assault the goal, more often that not Messi picks the ball up and goes for it. Of course he doesn't shoot from range as much as Ronaldo does, and that's because he's nowhere near as good at doing so. I agree, it has nothing to do with selfishness since Messi has been extremely selfish the last couple of seasons, you'll find I've criticized this part of his game plenty on here. That still doesn't take away the fact that he creates far more for his team than Ronaldo does. There was also a post from someone in here that he doesn't do it in the big games? Really? Still? That's so ridiculous. Off the top of my head this year he's scored twice against Barcelona, scored against Dortmund (I don't think the result can be held against him. The German sides were incredible last season), he basically knocked us out with two goals against us in the CL as well. He's dominating the CL this year too. TBF to Mole, I get his point because in big games you almost always know what you are going to get from Messi, but with Ronaldo you never know. Ronaldo has obviously done it multiple times in big games, I think he's scored three against Juve in the CL this season, it's just his inconsistency at those games. I almost wish Ronaldo didn't bulk up so much because he's got this athletic tag now as if he's just a direct beast with no technical ability anymore. Have people forgotten how good he was on the wing with us for a start or how many goals he actually created? Do people think if the goals dry up he's just going to be a muscley, useless forward? He'll still be a massive influence to any team he plays for. I don't think anyone would really see him has a muscley, useless forward, but it's quite obvious that athleticism is a big part of the why he is the player he is, at the same time he obviously has a world class ability otherwise he'd be just another Jozy Altidore. Again I'm not debating the excellency of Ronaldo, I'm just doubting whether he should be a sure-thing as the best player in the world. I've also said that it wouldn't surprise me if he won it as it has been as close as ever. Why even respond to him man? Never posts anything that isn't childish or biased nonsense. Quoting TCD. Nope, have no problem with Ronaldo, matter of fact is I've understood and agreed with that sentiment of yours that if Ronaldo should win it, it should probably be this time around since it's closer than it's ever been before. I've also not said that Ribery should win it, I've said it all depends on the criteria. I think Ronaldo is a better footballer than everyone in the world except Messi, but that doesn't take away the fact that some are trying to compare Ronaldo and Ribery as green sour apple and red sweet apple. In the end it's an individual award, so for me Ronaldo is ahead of Ribery 10x out of 10. He's still not THAT much better than Ribery, maybe at what he does, but I do wonder who would fare better if they changed roles.

Can't wait for the draw now, excitement is over the top. Bring on June.

Well, not really better, it's still a load of horse cack what you're saying. Take someone’s goals away from them and they'll have less impact, hardly rocket science that. However say they did both stop scoring, they both would still be highly effective in their teams and still outstanding players because their attributes aren't just tailor made to just score goals, they have many other aspects to their game. I think it's a fair comment to say that he does far less than Messi does. Messi scores more (except beginning of this season but I've already posted that they're actually not even far off) and Messi contributes more to general play in terms of creating chances, holding on to the ball. Just for the sake of it, what does Ronaldo do that he's great at except the obvious ones? Does he press high up the pitch constantly? Does he provide cover to Marcelo/Coentrao? Does he win ball back? Does he create a lot of chances out of nothing for his teammates? I'm asking because so many seem to watch him week in week out. Well do i pretty much watch the Sky games over La Liga the majority of weeks and Ronaldo simply doesn't just score. Pressing depends on teams style of play, so yes and no. Yes he doesn't track back and defend but neither does Messi, they both use their energy very well and play in bursts. Both are very capable of losing the ball but then winning it back again. Both create chances out of nowhere. I'm not here to argue who is better of the two, imo Messi on top form is a clear winner and for me the greatest but i'm not accepting take Ronaldo's goals away and suddenly his impact on games diminishes, he's more than capable of creating things out of nowhere for team mates. Difference is Ronaldo is a lot more selfish than Messi when it comes to his team mates imo. Both of their respective clubs play a different style of football which enhances Messi’s credentials of a team player because Barca are based on so much possession play. You rarely see Messi pick it up, beat a man then strike from 25 yards, that’s not how Barca work. So a 10 pass move ending with a neat one-two resulting in messi through on goal and scoring looks a lot better than Ronaldo skipping past a man to get his half a yard then firing into the top corner from 25 yards. They both have their freedom of the team but use it in different ways. To think with Ronaldo’s attributes and skill set that if he couldn’t score, his impact would decrease dramatically, is still baffling however. Fair enough, although I've seen Messi take on, two or three and then hit it from 25 yards so yes it does happen. I think it would be good for everyone involved that Ronaldo wins this, I just don't buy this crap that he's underrated if it he doesn't or that FIFA is bought or that it's a popularity contest. I enjoy seeing Ronaldo for the fact that he is such a direct player, you always know where he is going when he has the ball, which sometimes is a big problem when it comes to bigger games against better teams.

Well a lot of people outside of this forum were having their doubts now it's a sure thing that Ronaldo should win it, or it's criminal. I maybe used the word fanboys childlishly and I apologize. My point still stands. To call that generally poor is also quite a twisted view, they're inconsistent, not generally poor. If you watch enough of Portugal you would see that their problem is up top, with Ronaldo - Striker - Nani, cohesion is terrible and Ronaldo's a third of that.

I didn't mean that people have said that he must win it BECAUSE he scored 4 in 2 against Sweden, but world media has really started to bring fire into it after he did it. Just a week ago the bookies all had Ribery as a favourite to win it, now all of the sudden Ronaldo is favourite. People think that after those four goals he should be a sure thing to it, while Messi gets no recognition at all for helping Argentina past a qualifiers much easier than Ronaldo did in a much harder games. I seriously wouldn't be pissed if Ronaldo won it, because it's closer than it's been for years, but to say people criminally underrate someone who no one considers less than 2nd best in the world and to say that Ronaldo has been so much better in 2013 is astonishing. If anything Messi won the league in 2013, is sitting top in 2013, won the golden boot in 2013 in La Liga scoring 12 goals more than Cristiano (add two assists more and two penalties less in less playing time), who also in the CL scored only 4 less despite playing 400 minutes less as well. He also won his SA WC qualifier group which is much harder to do with than to beat teams like Russia (who finished above them).

They scored something like 16 goals in 12 games. Still a lot more adventurous