Soldato
Ronaldo, then Henry.
Best player you seen play in the Premier League?
- Thread starter Leeroy Jenkins
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Giggs - from quality, longevity and versatility point of view.
Ronaldo was an astounding player (especially for 2 - 3 seasons) but imo he doesnt come close to Giggsy because of all his rolling around and "acting" and that he wasnt here for very long (admittedly he showed promise for a few years prior, but so do a lot of others without amounting to much at all)
Henry might be the better player but I always prefered Bergkamp myself - really wish I had watched more of his arsenal appearances from a neutral point of view.
edit - and last but not least (admttedly only on the pitch it seems) Giggs has always been an honest and truthful opponant
Ronaldo was an astounding player (especially for 2 - 3 seasons) but imo he doesnt come close to Giggsy because of all his rolling around and "acting" and that he wasnt here for very long (admittedly he showed promise for a few years prior, but so do a lot of others without amounting to much at all)
Henry might be the better player but I always prefered Bergkamp myself - really wish I had watched more of his arsenal appearances from a neutral point of view.
edit - and last but not least (admttedly only on the pitch it seems) Giggs has always been an honest and truthful opponant
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Soldato
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Id have to agree with Henry and Ronaldo looking back.
At the time though the effect Cantona had on Man Utd made him almost super-human and also because of the air of aloofness coupled with the fact that he was a ticking time bomb made him something else.
Not the best but there was an excitment about the PL when Klinsmann scored and did the dive vs Sheff Wed that was pretty special too.
At the time though the effect Cantona had on Man Utd made him almost super-human and also because of the air of aloofness coupled with the fact that he was a ticking time bomb made him something else.
Not the best but there was an excitment about the PL when Klinsmann scored and did the dive vs Sheff Wed that was pretty special too.
Soldato
Shearer on his day was immense, not the skillful Messi esque stuff but for a striker who knew what it was all about there was no one better.
Henery was special and Cantona was great to watch.
Henery was special and Cantona was great to watch.
Not really, when I was trying to think of a name I tried to come up with players that weren't forwards:
Vieira - absolute monster, great ball winner who could also contribute a lot going forwards
Ashley Cole - best left back I've seen
Schmeichel - quality keeper
Lampard - highly consistent over a number of years
Scholes - held in extremely high esteem by his peers
The trouble with forwards is they have too much competition which makes picking just one awkward:
Shearer - phenomenal goalscorer
Henry - terrific allround game, very entertaining to watch
Bergkamp - IMO in 1997 he was the best player in the world, brilliant technique and vision, probably didn't score enough goals though
Ronaldo - devastating towards the end of his career at MU, maybe didn't play enough seasons for my liking though
Matt Le Tissier is a frustrating case, in terms of raw ability I can't think of many who could touch him, if he had got a big move to say Blackburn I really wonder whether he might be talked about in the same breath as some of these other players. Graeme Souness said a couple of years back he was the most skilled player he'd ever worked with, and this is coming from a guy who'd been at a club with Dalglish, Rush, Fowler, Shearer etc etc. Scorer of truly brilliant goals, deadly from the penalty spot, I believe he was probably the equal of Gascoigne but never really got the stage in which to prove it.
Soldato
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I honestly think Giggs gets a lot of credit for time served rather than performances at times.
A good/great player at the top for so long but also heavily critisised by the fans at various points in his career.
A good/great player at the top for so long but also heavily critisised by the fans at various points in his career.
Caporegime
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everyone is picking attacking players. for the number of times ronaldo did something great will be an far greater number of times where he has lost possession or not did much.
how about Makelele, Van Der Sar, etc.
it's hard to compare them to Ronaldo, as they may not have been as entertaining, but certainly Makelele will be regarded as the best defensive midfielder ever.
Zidane, who remarked the following after Makélelé was sold and Beckham was bought
“ Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine? ”
In his autobiography, published in 2006, McManaman described Makélelé as the most important and yet least appreciated midfielder at Real. Retired former Real Madrid player and captain Fernando Hierro also criticised Pérez for both Makélélé's departure and the manner of his departure, saying:
“ I think Claude has this kind of gift – he's been the best player in the team for years but people just don't notice him, don't notice what he does. But you ask anyone at Real Madrid during the years we were talking about and they will tell you he was the best player at Real. We all knew, the players all knew he was the most important. The loss of Makélelé was the beginning of the end for Los Galacticos… You can see that it was also the beginning of a new dawn for Chelsea. He was the base, the key and I think he is the same to Chelsea now."
I think you really need to choose a player for each position as it is a team game, without the defensive players, attacking players would be nothing. As they would never get the ball.
Ronaldo has been accused of being selfish and only playing for himself, I would take Henry over him.
how about Makelele, Van Der Sar, etc.
it's hard to compare them to Ronaldo, as they may not have been as entertaining, but certainly Makelele will be regarded as the best defensive midfielder ever.
Zidane, who remarked the following after Makélelé was sold and Beckham was bought
“ Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine? ”
In his autobiography, published in 2006, McManaman described Makélelé as the most important and yet least appreciated midfielder at Real. Retired former Real Madrid player and captain Fernando Hierro also criticised Pérez for both Makélélé's departure and the manner of his departure, saying:
“ I think Claude has this kind of gift – he's been the best player in the team for years but people just don't notice him, don't notice what he does. But you ask anyone at Real Madrid during the years we were talking about and they will tell you he was the best player at Real. We all knew, the players all knew he was the most important. The loss of Makélelé was the beginning of the end for Los Galacticos… You can see that it was also the beginning of a new dawn for Chelsea. He was the base, the key and I think he is the same to Chelsea now."
I think you really need to choose a player for each position as it is a team game, without the defensive players, attacking players would be nothing. As they would never get the ball.
Ronaldo has been accused of being selfish and only playing for himself, I would take Henry over him.
Seen some real genius bury us over the years at St Andrews all of whom were mentioned already and more who haven't been but the best by far I have ever seen is Paul Scholes. Strange how he is still not so widely accepted for what a great player he was when Zidane, Henry, Viera and Xavi all openly rated him as such 
+ He seems such a decent bloke compared to some of the muppets around.
+ He seems such a decent bloke compared to some of the muppets around.
Soldato
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I would agree about the "player for each position" thing.
Ronaldo didnt play for himself though, its an easy stick to beat him with but its just not true. He was an incredible player for Man Utd. If he looked like he was playing for himself it was in the games where he carried the team. Having said that he was selfish up to a point (as great players have to be i guess) , especially at set pieces, but that a different thing.
Schmeichel is the main man for me if we are talking about anything other than attacking players.
This, Ronaldo has a couple of good season then pimped himself out to Real and has won nothing, I would say that watching Essien is a joy, tough, tackler and skillful, shame he has gotten injured so much.
Soldato
RvN/Ronaldo
Caporegime
Hey Cheets.
Funny you should mention Essien, not knocking your opinion, but do you enjoy seeing players with skill or that graft over someone who just scores goals?
Just sayin' because picking Essien, well he's not known for his passing (ala someone like Xavi, his attacking play like Messi or his goals like Ronaldo / Messi / Villa)
Soldato
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Ah yes, lets gloss over the sham that was Ronaldo at United. The brief flirtation with every single trophy he could possibly have won on these shores, and a CL, coupled with his ability to top the goalscoring charts and win the player of the year awards too.
The charlatan that he is.
Im glad he has been found out as a bit part player by signing for Real Madrid and having an almost goal a game ratio in 100 games for them.
If only there was something he could do to prove himself?????
Soldato
Mark Hughes
I like all round players, someone who can score, defend and attack!
It took him 3 years to get going in the EPL, he is great but I dont think he is the grestest, he went missing a lot of games until "that season"
Soldato
Grant Holt!
henry a close second!
henry a close second!