best 11
- Thread starter normanthefarmer
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what kind of stupid question is that?
who says he cant.. its a case of he HASNT been played defensively.. to my knowledge no posters here are either sven or mclaren so that will go unanswered...
and why bother when you have hargreaves... jeez
who says he cant.. its a case of he HASNT been played defensively.. to my knowledge no posters here are either sven or mclaren so that will go unanswered...
and why bother when you have hargreaves... jeez
I cant really see all the hype with Sissoko. Granted hes strong and athletic and a bit of a bruiser in midfield. Other than that what does he bring to the party above the other players mentioned. There are a lot of players on the continent who have all the attributes of Sissoko and more as well.
I always wonder when really big teams like Madrid, Juve, Bayern etc are in need of buying good midfielders they never go for players like Sissoko who are heralded as potentially the next best defensive midfielder or on par with such and such.
I always wonder when really big teams like Madrid, Juve, Bayern etc are in need of buying good midfielders they never go for players like Sissoko who are heralded as potentially the next best defensive midfielder or on par with such and such.
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Marvt74 said:
because you have lampard who cant play dm for his life. so thats why u would play him there
Noble-Kebab said:
But what everyone is saying to you is Gerrard is too good going forward to waste in a defensive role!
When Scholes played for England Gerrard often found himself on the left or as a DM. Here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1520629.stm
An excellent example of Gerrard playing awesomely in a DM role. He is no doubt great as playing a DM, but what made that performance so special was Gerrard being able to get forward. This is why we play Hargreaves there instead to allow Gerrard to get up the pitch where he's even more influential.
At the moment, you need to remember that Sissoko is just 21 and is still learning. But imo he has the potential to go on and be as good as Makelele (who i think is the only person better than him), he is so quick, strong and has that knack (like Vieira had) to win tackles that look unwinable and keep the ball when he has 2 players hassling him. He needs to improve his positioning and learn how to win freekicks (like Makelele and Hamann do) and foul the opposition without giving away freekicks (like Makelele does). Oh and Cut the bookings out, which he was starting to do towards the end of last season.JohnnyG said:I think Sissoko is a strange choice too. Makelele is the best I've seen in that role by far.
Hopefully all of that will come with experience.
My team would consist mainly of PL players as I have little interest in foreign football except for the CL, Euros & WCs so it wouldn't be anywhere near what a real 'worlds best' would have in it.Tony Soprano said:Where's your team?
I'd have Neville at RB for instance as he's the best I see regularly. Is he the best in the world? Probably not
JohnnyG said:My team would consist mainly of PL players as I have little interest in foreign football except for the CL, Euros & WCs so it wouldn't be anywhere near what a real 'worlds best' would have in it.
I'd have Neville at RB for instance as he's the best I see regularly. Is he the best in the world? Probably not
I'm in the same boat really, the only player I've not really seen enough of is Torres, but he did enough in the WC for me to warrant being in my best 11 alongside Rooney.
Give it a go anyway, you may surprise yourself. 
It's funny how few top class wingers there seem to be about at the moment isn't it? I mean, most of the teams here have either narrow formations, or Gerrard and Ronaldinho on the sides, purely because they're quality players who happen to be able to play there, rather than players who have excelled in that position*. The only other names mentioned for the wings have been Ribery and (not fat) Ronaldo, who, while good, aren't a patch on the likes of Pires/Giggs or the likes (names escape me at this point) in their primes, just a few years ago. That, and I guess there's a real over-abundance of quality central midfielders at the moment too, with Gerrard/Lampard/Makalele/Gattuso/Fabregas/Mascherano/Hargreaves/Ballack/Kaka and the rest.
Also, to add to the Gerrard debate, I honestly think Hargreaves is a better DM than him. Gerrard is definitely the better all-round footballer, but Hargreaves is a better tackler, and having played the holding role for most of his career, is more used to it, and can read the game better because of it. Gerrard, like Lampard, has spent too long playing alongside a straight holding midfielder these days, and have become slightly "lazy" as a result. They know they can bomb forward a bit, or ignore the oppositions movement, because Maka/Essien/Hamann/Sissoko will take care of the legwork for them. That's not to say Gerrard isn't a decent DM, he's just not as good at it as someone who specialises in it.
Same with Vieira really. He started out more as a holding mid, but he's definitely not these days. That's why he had Gilberto alongside him at Arsenal, and Emerson with him at Juve.
*Not that they wouldn't neccesarily be good there mind, just making a point.
Also, to add to the Gerrard debate, I honestly think Hargreaves is a better DM than him. Gerrard is definitely the better all-round footballer, but Hargreaves is a better tackler, and having played the holding role for most of his career, is more used to it, and can read the game better because of it. Gerrard, like Lampard, has spent too long playing alongside a straight holding midfielder these days, and have become slightly "lazy" as a result. They know they can bomb forward a bit, or ignore the oppositions movement, because Maka/Essien/Hamann/Sissoko will take care of the legwork for them. That's not to say Gerrard isn't a decent DM, he's just not as good at it as someone who specialises in it.
Same with Vieira really. He started out more as a holding mid, but he's definitely not these days. That's why he had Gilberto alongside him at Arsenal, and Emerson with him at Juve.
*Not that they wouldn't neccesarily be good there mind, just making a point.
