Players you like

Pigman II

In this era of agents, publicists and player greed I thought it'd be interesting to compile a list of players who have managed to stay on the straight and narrow and do all their talking on the pitch without becoming assholes off it.

This is the thread where you can list the players you think are genuinely decent people (so I guess/hope no one will be mentioning Gazza, Best, Collymore, Rooney etc here)

1. Peter Crouch - seems to be grateful to be where he is and loves being a footballer.
2. Ryan Giggs - has always seemed like a hardworking genuine player. He seems to live a pretty unassuming life too. He's been at the top for such a long time now that its pretty phenomenal acheivement.
3. Denis Irwin - Mr. Consistency etc

Rikand

Stuart Pearce
Gennaro Gattuso

Both hard men on the field, but you dont hear of them giving too much stick off it

PiE

That guy who plays (played?) for Roma for the average Italian working wage... Tomassi?

dor83

Javier Zanetti, he has stuck with Inter for ten years when he could have gone to other clubs and won a lot more than 1 Uefa Cup and a couple of Coppa Italia.
Also Maldini, he has been with Milan for his whole career.
And Solskjaer, a great servant to the club.

Pepe LeFrits

Cristiano Ronaldo

evilhomer

Nolberto Solano,
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,
Shay Given.

AngelofFire

Micheal Carrick
Francesco Totti
Ronaldinho
Samuel Eto'o
Joe Cole
Frank Lampard
Steven Gerrard
Stillian Petrov
Nigel Reo-Coker
Damien Duff
William Gallas

gustavo

Henrik Larsson
Stephen O Brien
Paolo Maldini
Alex Del Piero
Gennaro Gatusso
Ole Solskjaer
Thierry Henry
Ulises De La Cruz
GianFranco Zola
Luis Figo
Thomas Gravesen
Jonathan Woodgate
Lionel Messi

George O'Callaghan(just joking:))

fade2black

Ray Wallace.

Drag00n79

Players I like in no particular order. I have left out Liverpool players... for the sake of space!

L.Figo
G.Heinze
P.Scholes
O.Mellberg
A.Shevchenko
S.Given
T.Henry
R.van Persie
M.G.Pedersen
J.Bullard
P.Maldini
J.Stam
H.Salihamidzic
O.Hargreaves
A.Recoba
J.Pernambucano
G.Gattuso
J.Woodgate
Ronaldo (the fat one)
R.Baraja

I'm sure there's loads more, but they're hard to think of.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Xabi Alonso, Kolo Toure

Huggles

Peter Crouch
Joe Cole
Frank Lampard
Steven Gerrard
Jamie Carragher
Thierry Henry
Ryan Giggs
Ronaldinho
Roberto Carlos

Ruu_Old

I always liked Rubén Sosa (Lazio, Inter Milan and Uruguay I think), very determined and a level headed player.

A Dub in Glasgo

Henrik Larsson - The perfect professional footballer

Zapp Brannigan

Steven Gerrard: The man will play anywhere for his club and country
Ronaldinho: He just loves to play football.
Henrik Larsson: Just an excellent role model and as someone said the perfect professional footballer.
Ivan Gattuso: Tremendous presence on the pitch. Off the pitch, seems to be a great guy.

kinaldo

Steven Taylor. If u cut the guy with a knife he'd bleed black and white! Guarantee he'll finish up as a one club man.

johnos

John Paul Kelly, aka Joxer.
Even though he had a 'mare last night.

Rollo Tamasi

MG Pedersen
Roy Keane
Thuram
Van Basten

Töpher

Tomassi, did he not play for the minimum wage allowed by the players unions in Italy? Something else alright!

gustavo

Pigman II wrote:

list of players who have managed to stay on the straight and narrow and do all their talking on the pitch without becoming assholes off it.

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

Roy Keane

kensutz

Adam Drury
Robert Earnshaw
Youssef Safri

herbieflowers

Schmeichel

el rabitos

Einst&#252 wrote: »

Tomassi, did he not play for the minimum wage allowed by the players unions in Italy? Something else alright!

yeh, as PiE said, he took the smallest weekly wage he could possibly take in (afaik) an effort to prove his fitness after being pretty dogged with injury for a couple of years before hand. loyal to a penny

he was a great player in his day aswell, lost a bit since maybe 2002 or so, but for a few years there tomassi was probably the best defencive midfielder in italy. he joined levante there in the summer i think. good move for him.

kezman
Savićević
boban
r.baggio
maldini
Leonardo

...to name a few

BKtje

Paul Scholes
Denny Irwin. Model professional.

kinaldo

also Fernando Redondo -I believe he refused to accept his wages after he signed for AC Milan and was ruled out almost straight away for 2 years. Incredible player at Real Madrid, genuine world class.

cxcully

Jimmy Bullard seems to enjoy himself on the pitch......there was a scrap on the pitch last year.....Jimmy runs in and does a belly flop over the two guys fighting and jumps up laughing....

Xavi6

Xavi - best player in his position in the world.

Joey Barton - an absolute hero on the pitch as emphasised by todays performance against Arsenal so I don't care what he does off it. Brilliant.

MrJoeSoap

Le Tissier, Scott Parker, Jimmy Bullard, Moritz Volz and Solskjaer.

And Ian Holloway and Strachan for the managerial positions.

eirebhoy

kinaldo wrote:

also Fernando Redondo -I believe he refused to accept his wages after he signed for AC Milan and was ruled out almost straight away for 2 years. Incredible player at Real Madrid, genuine world class.

He was the first player to spring to my mind too. Obviously Tomassi too but that was more down his love for Roma.

KdjaCL

Tomassi was not getting a contract unless he did that, ryan giggs plays well when its contract time.

i could pick holes in all those players but lets be honest there is no honesty in football, bullard left for more money.


kdjac

gustavo

Xavi6 wrote:

Xavi - best player in his position in the world.

Joey Barton - an absolute hero on the pitch as emphasised by todays performance against Arsenal so I don't care what he does off it. Brilliant.

I thought the point of the thread was about players that you thought seemed like decent people

Xavi6

gustavo wrote:

I thought the point of the thread was about players that you thought seemed like decent people

Maybe but then it's a pretty pointless thread. Who cares what a player is like off the pitch. He's a footballer. If he's good at that then nothing else really matters. How many footballing geniuses have had off the field problems? Gazza, Best, Maradona anyone?

'Decent people' don't make great footballers.

kinaldo

Isn't Michael Owen meant to be a Saint? Oh wait, he likes to gamble...

DapperGent

If you think the idea of the thread is pointless then why respond to it as though the question you'd like to have been asked had been asked? Why not just say nothing?

KdjaCL

Xavi6 wrote:

Maybe but then it's a pretty pointless thread. Who cares what a player is like off the pitch. He's a footballer. If he's good at that then nothing else really matters. How many footballing geniuses have had off the field problems? Gazza, Best, Maradona anyone?

'Decent people' don't make great footballers.

Regardless of topic barton would the guy you dont go out with cos hes mental, he also held Man City to ransom for a wage so a tag of "decent player" does not go with him at all.


kdjac

Xavi6

DapperGent wrote:

If you think the idea of the thread is pointless then why respond to it as though the question you'd like to have been asked had been asked? Why not just say nothing?

The title of the thread asks for players you 'like'. not players you think 'are nice guys off the pitch'. I like Barton for what he does on it. That answers the title.

Unfortunatlely no player is a complete saint on or off the pitch, they all have their own personal agenda. Maybe it's because football is a short career and they need stability later on.

KdjaCL

Xavi6 wrote:

Unfortunatlely no player is a complete saint on or off the pitch, they all have their own personal agenda. Maybe it's because football is a short career and they need stability later on.

Or they believe they are better than the team they play for and demand transfers....but not one offer comes in go begging for more wages. barton demanded a transfer man City said ok (he had just scared a youth team player for life) none came in and window closes......then summer comes he demands another ....no offers come he signs a new deal.

Yes everyone can like a player like that


kdjac

Xavi6

KdjaCL wrote:

Or they believe they are better than the team they play for and demand transfers....but not one offer comes in go begging for more wages. barton demanded a transfer man City said ok (he had just scared a youth team player for life) none came in and window closes......then summer comes he demands another ....no offers come he signs a new deal.

Yes everyone can like a player like that


kdjac

Everything you mentioned there happened off the pitch. My point is that who cares about all that when he sticks home the winning goal against Arsenal for the first win of the season?

No matter what a player does off the field he will be loved by fans for the good he does on it. Sylvain Distin was the same today. Wanted to leave for Boro, it didnt happen and now he's playin great for us. I'm glad to have him on board.

KdjaCL

Xavi6 wrote:

Everything you mentioned there happened off the pitch. .

I love fans for this type of thing, how long does the on pitch thing last for.... still a week left in window?????



kdjac

MrJoeSoap

Pigman II wrote:

This is the thread where you can list the players you think are genuinely decent people

AngelofFire wrote:

Francesco Totti

For real?

_blank_

Joseph Ndo. Classiest player in the eL, and he plays for Shels!

Owen Heary. The only damn position on the Ireland team with two decent players able to play there, Finnan and Carr have kept Owen from an Ireland call up.

Jason Byrne. Goalscorer supreme in the eL for the past three or four seasons..

Xavi6

KdjaCL wrote:

I love fans for this type of thing, how long does the on pitch thing last for.... still a week left in window?????



kdjac

As much as I'd love our entire squad to be made up of virgin catholic schoolboys, Man City cannot afford to replace players of genuine quality over their off the field antics. The resources to replace them just aren't there.

Necronomicon

Solskjaer! There's tons of others but Ole epitomises everything a good sportsman/role model should be.

KdjaCL

No matter what player anyone posts on this thread someone will kow or say something tot he opposite. There is no player in the professional world who does it for the team or does it for the fans or does it for anything other than paycheck.

Redondo knew he was injured before he signed for AC, some skullduggery there with AC accusing Real of knowing about it too (he was my fav player ever).

Solskjaer knew he wouldnt get a gig like Utd anywhere else.

Ndo for arguments sake has agreed terms with 2 clubs since he signed for Shels, he also left Pats after they couldnt pay his wages (his agent told him it was the best thing to do OMFG Eamon Collins is his agent)


Le tissier..... well maybe theres one....asked for transfer when he was young but stuck at soton for 12 years more.

kdjac

MrJoeSoap

KdjaCL wrote:

Le tissier..... well maybe theres one....asked for transfer when he was young but stuck at soton for 12 years more.

Turned down numerous offers in the peak of his career as well. There's not a bad word to be said about the guy, absolute legend.

By Football Manager ratings his loyalty should be 21. Hero.

Necronomicon

KdjaCL wrote:

No matter what player anyone posts on this thread someone will kow or say something tot he opposite. There is no player in the professional world who does it for the team or does it for the fans or does it for anything other than paycheck.

I think that's being a tad too cynical. There are genuinely good people out there.
I refuse to believe that a paycheck will always come before loyalty and emotional ties to a club. Robbie Fowler took a pay cut to go back to his beloved 'Pool. I'm sure there's feck loads of other examples, but it's too damn late to think.

MrJoeSoap

Necromomicon wrote:

Robbie Fowler took a pay cut to go back to his beloved 'Pool. I'm sure there's feck loads of other examples, but it's too damn late to think.

The same Robbie Fowler who was being paid by two clubs at once?

The same Robbie Fowler who grew up a die-hard Evertonian?

Cynical? Nah!

KdjaCL

Necromomicon wrote:

I think that's being a tad too cynical. There are genuinely good people out there.
I refuse to believe that a paycheck will always come before loyalty and emotional ties to a club. Robbie Fowler took a pay cut to go back to his beloved 'Pool. I'm sure there's feck loads of other examples, but it's too damn late to think.

heh heh so why didnt he take a pay cut when he left his beloved Leeds? You do know they paid most of his wages whilst at City and only a transfer to Pool stopped that, even tho they were screwed he still demanded his pull pay which they paid with City playing a small amount. Fowler i a millionaire opff the pitch due to his property yet still screwed Leeds......
Gary Kelly another Leeds legend refused to take a pay cut and is their highest earner right now.

Stil going with Le Tiss as the only true legend of a club, he asked for a transfer when he was 20 due to his agent but sacked him the sewason after and stayed on 20kish wages forever.


kdjac

MrJoeSoap

KdjaCL wrote:

20kish wages

Le Tiss was on 4k a week, I shít you not.

KdjaCL

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Le Tiss was on 4k a week, I shít you not.

From 95 to the end he was on 20k according to his book Chelsea offered 40k but he turned it down :eek:


kdjac

MrJoeSoap

KdjaCL wrote:

From 95 to the end he was on 20k according to his book Chelsea offered 40k but he turned it down :eek:

I'll go rooting around for the link where I saw that tomorrow, too tired now!