Thumbheed Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 16 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: Agree Shay Given was over rated. Pope is way better. Fucking hell. Given was getting peppered every 10 minutes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Prontonise Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Given was a fine shot stopper but rest of his game was poor in all honesty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggy_Keagal Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Goalkeeping is one of the positions where the game and therefore the role has changed radically in the last 10-20 years and we may well see it perhaps revert if the game becomes direct again. Given was a little bit against the grain of the time, big domineering keepers in the Schmeichel mode were what clubs tended to look for. Shay was a brilliantly agile shot stopper, most of the time playing behind some garbage to average centre halves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFEE Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Woltemade…… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilcline Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 While we're on about goalkeepers: David de Gea. Very good keeper, but not world class like he was often described as, got a lot of plaudits for basically being Man U's best/least shit player for years. But he was never as good as Neuer, Buffon, Casillas, Oblak, or Courtois for starters Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 3 hours ago, Mole said: Eden Hazard - Technically brilliant obviously, but flattered to deceive for most of his career and barely showed up in the huge games. His best ever big game performance for Chelsea was probably against a Man City team that were playing Demichelis in midfield which kinda says it all. To compare him to another Chelsea player in this thread in Didier Drogba who was a monster in big games, Hazard was basically everything he wasn’t from a mentality POV. I waited years for his impact to match his ability and reputation but it never actually happened. One of my old housemates from uni is a massive Chelsea fan and would be spitting feathers if he read this. Says because of the way they're run under Boehly he's the last player he's had genuine affection for. Got MOTM in the Europa League final against Arsenal in his final game didn't he? Plus scored in many a title race game which Chelsea went on to win. 26 minutes ago, LFEE said: Woltemade…… Far, far too early to say he's one or the other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stottie Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 2 hours ago, Jewel said: Zidane also said Scholes was the toughest opponent he ever faced. Apparently he's also the only English player who would get into Pep's great Barcelona side of the late noughties. Personally, I just don't see it. I mean, he was a very good player, but some of the hyperbole is way over the top. Its a basic midfielder skill but Scholes seriously struggled to time a tackle! Some real horrorshows in his career. His best spell was as a goalscoring box crasher, see the SJP 6-2. Maybe that's what Zidane meant. Zidane had probably retired by the time Scholes was playing further back in a two with Carrick spraying 50 yard passes about to much acclaim. From about 2006 he didn't play that many minutes even though Fergie was there until 11/12. Other players, like Ferdinard and Vidic, Rooney, CR7 were more key to their success, such as the Moscow CL win. (Carrick was probably underrated) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 If you enjoy the beauty of football, you enjoy Eden Hazard. Yeh he could've had more output. Could've been more consistent. But that wasn't down to a lack of ability. For me, Sunday afternoon - Eden Hazard would light up a 90 minutes of football so many times. The entire 90 minutes. A love playmaker man. Saying the likes of Bergkamp and Hazard are over-rated is anti-football to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 1 hour ago, Shearergol said: Nah not having that. You're saying Scholes is 100% better than our boys? Sorry, no that was a bit flippant. Not twice as good but he essentially did what Bruno has been doing over a 15/20 year career, won everything in the game multiple times and has been rightly critiqued by his peers as one the greatest of his era. I know you can be a great player and have shit opinions, but there must be some weight to Zizu saying you are the best. He wasnt as good as Zidane, in fairness but id consider Zidane in the pantheon alongside Messi and Co. Scholes was unreal. Hard to compare generations I suppose, when you see the numbers players like De Bruyne have put in but if you want to talk specifically about what makes a world class midfielder, you dont need to look further than Scholes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Carrick being underrated is a great shout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbandit Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 43 minutes ago, Kilcline said: While we're on about goalkeepers: David de Gea. Very good keeper, but not world class like he was often described as, got a lot of plaudits for basically being Man U's best/least shit player for years. But he was never as good as Neuer, Buffon, Casillas, Oblak, or Courtois for starters Probably the best I can recall for reflex save reactions that you expect a keeper to not be able to get to Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froggy Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Saying De Gea was overrated is probably even worse than saying Scholes was to be honest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 (edited) I think all English CMs are slightly over rated. It's not all their fault but even the best English midfields (remove Pep and Wenger) don't dominate on the ball on the big stages. Man U's midfield were lauded as the best in Europe in the late 90's along with Juve and Real... but if United won it was often on the counter (long time ago tbf). I'll take Xavi, Iniesta, Modric, Kroos, Pirlo, Seedorf, a prime Kante over them. Scholes is still an all-time great though. And the others too. They would come to SJP and regularly slap up whoever we had with ease 75% of the time. I remember Stevie G just schooling Jenas and Speed again and again. Bruno G was doing to Sporting what I saw Stevie G do for a decade. Edited October 31, 2025 by The College Dropout Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fak Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Scholes was incredible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 4 hours ago, Fak said: Coloccini. He was great for about 3-4 years of his time here like. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fak Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 2 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said: He was great for about 3-4 years of his time here like. Wey no. He was great the season we finished 5th. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 1 hour ago, HaydnNUFC said: Far, far too early to say he's one or the other. Not it's not, he's class. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shearergol Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 I feel I've always been in a minority on here where I didn't rate Colo as much as everyone else. He was class in 2011/12 but other than that he was just a "good" defender for us imo. Our current CBs are much better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Fak said: Wey no. He was great the season we finished 5th. Excellent 09/10 (granted a league lower), carried that into 10/11, was elite 11/12, injuries hindered 12/13 but he put in one of the best CB performances I've ever seen from an NUFC player in the away derby when we played with 10-men for most of the game and drew 1-1, was very good up until around Cabaye leaving in 13/14, then injuries and age caught up. Edited October 31, 2025 by Optimistic Nut Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fak Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 1 minute ago, Optimistic Nut said: Excellent 09/10 (granted a league lower), carried that into 10/11, was elite 11/12, injuries hindered 12/13 but he put in one of the best CB performances I've ever seen from an NUFC player in the away derby when we played with 10-men for most of the game and drew 1-1, was very good up until around Cabaye leaving in 13/14, then injuries and age caught up. He was crap the season he went down, granted everyone was that season and the club was a mess on and off the pitch. Definitely found his feet in the Championship and looked better again the first season back in the PL under Hughton & Pardew. Superb the year we finished 5th. On the decline after that but did churn out the odd quality performance here and there. (Chelsea at home when Alnwick went in goal being one) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 I don't like a central defender who doesn't win his headers. Colo would get bullied too many times. On his day he was immense though. Schar is way better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawK Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Colo doesn't get in ahead of our 4 other CDs this season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyUtd Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 (edited) 2 hours ago, The College Dropout said: Agree Shay Given was over rated. Pope is way better. Sorry TCD but you need to wash your mouth out with fuckin soapy bleach. Pope isn't half the keeper Given was like. Never will be. Edited October 31, 2025 by KennyUtd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 Both talking shite tbh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted October 31, 2025 Share Posted October 31, 2025 32 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said: Not it's not, he's class. He's only played in 11 games far for us, not all of them starts and whilst he's seamlessly fit in and made us quickly move on from the Anfield Rat, he's yet to really have a proper shot at goal despite his 6 goals if that makes sense. (I think it does ) Yet to see what he's like 1v1 with the keeper and if he's really clinical. Regardless, putting his name in this thread for one way or the other is daft. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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