Vinny Green Balls

Krul makes mistakes that every young keeper makes. Some people are expecting Schmeichel straight out of the box.

Despite any complaints, I think Routledge indeed needs to be given more time. I agree that he could become a decent player at this level. Tiote sometimes is left with a third of the pitch to defend. He's a fantastic talent, but he isn't 3 players. An I honestly think having Captain Hindsight behind him today didn't do him any favors.

My complaint with Routledge's crossing today was that he was floating them in a bit too much. Such crosses mostly favor the defender. The fact that a few were in the right area is a vast improvement over Jonas on the other side. However, they were still somewhat ineffective due to their predictability. Back in the day, people used to bitch incessantly about Milner doing the same on those rare occasions he somehow kept the ball in play. He almost could have been carded for delay of game with his lofted crosses. Say people are getting on his back all you want, but it is a more than valid complaint. Football, like anything else, can be broken down into probabilistic analysis. The probability of anything coming from floated crosses in that area is somewhat low, as defenders have ample time to adjust. Of course this is why assholes who whip in an accurate cross are worth their weight in gold. That said, at least Routledge tries to do something with the ball other than run into dead ends.

Every time I see Taylor play, it's suddenly like watching 4 individual defenders who have never met each other. Tiote seemed to be out of synch with everybody else for much of the game. Routledge's crosses were abysmally without any pace. They would just float in in slow-motion. Jonas will do something great, and then completely ruin it in the same breath. And Barton has looked much better on the wing than he did in the middle. And Jesus, Krul. Wtf with that pass? All that said, our endeavor was fantastic. Ranger added a bit of unpredictability, and had some fantastic knock downs. He needs to play more. Carroll is an absolute beast. And we gave a good go to a team that has infinitely more individual talent. Nothing to be ashamed about with this loss here, considering that we gifted them a 2 goal lead within five minutes.

A little late, but...Happy Festivus!

make it two broken legs, a lacerated scrotum, and the bottom three teams get docked 20 points just for being assholes.

would like to see Seaman and Butt play in the same team once more, just for the sheer comedic genius of it, particularly when Butt receives a pass from him.

Boban just for kicking a Serbian police officer, not mention his incredible vision.

Clearly not as talented as SBR, but the best thing to happen to the club since SBR left. It was nice not having a total tit manage us.

The criteria is simple: players who were your favorites who aren't Messi, Zidane, Ronaldo, Platini, Cruyff, Pele, Maradona, Ronaldinho, etc... Scifo is a good example. How many would mention him when talking about the best players? But it doesn't detract from just how brilliant he was. Redondo is another good example to me. You mention him, and everybody goes, "Oh yeah. That guy was class."

Good call on Redondo. Atypical DM, to say the least. Also, ridiculously intelligent and articulate compared to the average footballer. I always had time for Donadoni as a player. An Italian whose first thought was to attack. As rare as a snow leopard sighting.

They may well be considered a part of the aristocracy of football, but talk to a regular fan, and who will they usually spout out as their favorite players of all time?

only off the beaten track because of the cast of characters he played with: Rivelino. Learning his famous move enabled me to humiliate opposing players 90% of the time. And his precision freekicks into the wall. Loved how th eBrazilian player would just duck or jump up, and he would put it in the hole created.

How about Oleg Salenko for being such a horribly shit player who scored five goals against Cameroon, when the team basically went on strike during the game? Rub it in to your own FA by letting Salenko score five. Have a soft spot for him just because of that. I could have scored a hattrick in that game.

Litmanen was absolutely incredible for a few years.

Just curious, who everyone's favorite player of all time is besides the usual suspects. Without doubt, mine would be Ghoerghe Hagi. I was lucky enough to see him play against Sweden in that heartbreaking quarterfinals of the '94 World Cup. A true magician with the ball at his feet...unbelievable vision...brilliant freekicks...a deceptive burst of acceleration. The man was unplayable when he felt up to it. Honorbale Mention: Michael Laudrup ---> that pass to Ebbe Sand against Nigeria in '98...a pure stroke of genius.

He's still the footballing equivalent of a Karzai, or Mubarrak. A puppet who sucked the golden cock.

Barton's not gay...it's more of an alpha male thing with him.

Barton an average player with a little extra bit of quality? Jesus Christ. Sure he was shit for us most of his time here, but we all knew the talent that he possesses. If he was an average player, just think how much better the game would be. Of course it would be an 11 on 11 MMA match, but at least there would be a lot of skill on display. And I am so confident that he is staying in January, that if he leaves, I will drink a glass of Messi's piss, provided that he sends it to California.

This. But I would say that he is worth more than 15m to us. This is why it would be madness to sell him.

Donovan seems a great fit for Everton. You guys could certainly use his pace and his passing ability once again. Btw, Niel, your avatar was a genius.

if he had him here in 1985- we would have sacked him inside 2 years- while Man utd are looking forward to near 50 trophies- seems this is a hard leason for us to learn. legend imo. This is true. He never would have survived his torrid couple of years up here. True vision by the top brass not to press the red button in 89-90 when they could have a button sucessive regimes here have been unable to keep thier hands away from, like some sort of eject button twitch it's like the history eraser button in ren and stimpy. so shiny. so tempting. so...pressable.

if he had him here in 1985- we would have sacked him inside 2 years- while Man utd are looking forward to near 50 trophies- seems this is a hard leason for us to learn. legend imo. This is true. He never would have survived his torrid couple of years up here. True vision by the top brass not to press the red button in 89-90 when they could have

Of course he is an utter bastard. But imagine if we had him. He's not such a bastard that I would protest his appointment. As far as I know, he didn't gas the Kurds...or at least he did a fantastic job in pinning it on Saddam. With the Mancs since 1986! How many managers in any sport last half that long? Bobby Bowden was with the Seminoles for around 33 years. A dour figure, but a true legend, and worthy of everyone's respect, no matter how grudging.

I think I know what his problem is. He spent 94% of the time practicing footballing cliches, 5% of the time averting blame, and 1% of the time actually working on positioning and technique. Scouts saw him and said,"This kid points and claps with the best of 'em. A legend in the making." Somebody should make a Youtube video of his best moments of pointing and clapping to the tune of 'You're the Best Around'.