under-rated players

ditpoker

This is mainly a rant at the uneducated united fans who cant spot talent unless the Sun tells them so. Alex Ferguson spent €18m on Michael Carrick, because Alex Ferguson realised this was a bargain.

Any spurs fan will tell you that Carrick was the driving force behind spurs the season we just missed the champions league spot, and any spurs fan will tell you that Michael Carrick was a huge reason United won the league last year.

He doesnt lose the ball, he does things very simple alot of the time and he maintains possession better than any player i've seen. His passes can destroy defenses, for example just look at Nani's goal against Arsenal at the weekend, or Saha's miss too. €18m was a steal!!

Dunphy seems to have it in for Carrick (see Dunphy thread) but I think that says more about Dunphy that Carrick. He's quite the unsung hero and a player who should walk into the England team.

Michael Arteta is another at Everton, Everton fans appreciate him but he doesnt get much attention elsewhere. One of my mates rates Scott Parker as one of the best but I'm not convinced. I also think Ricardo Carvalho is the best defender in the premiership, but john terry steals all his thunder cos he's english.

Who do think is underrated? and why?

Mr Alan

Michael Carrick?! i presume you are fishing?

chopperbyrne

I'd rate Parker ahead of Carrick personally.

scruff321

ditpoker wrote: »

This is mainly a rant at the uneducated united fans who cant spot talent unless the Sun tells them so. Alex Ferguson spent €18m on Michael Carrick, because Alex Ferguson realised this was a bargain.

Any spurs fan will tell you that Carrick was the driving force behind spurs the season we just missed the champions league spot, and any spurs fan will tell you that Michael Carrick was a huge reason United won the league last year.

He doesnt lose the ball, he does things very simple alot of the time and he maintains possession better than any player i've seen. His passes can destroy defenses, for example just look at Nani's goal against Arsenal at the weekend, or Saha's miss too. €18m was a steal!!

Dunphy seems to have it in for Carrick (see Dunphy thread) but I think that says more about Dunphy that Carrick. He's quite the unsung hero and a player who should walk into the England team.

Michael Arteta is another at Everton, Everton fans appreciate him but he doesnt get much attention elsewhere. One of my mates rates Scott Parker as one of the best but I'm not convinced. I also think Ricardo Carvalho is the best defender in the premiership, but john terry steals all his thunder cos he's english.

Who do think is underrated? and why?

i think michael carrick is underrated myself,his passing is excellent and he does the simple stuff however to be fair he can be very hit and miss..when the team is playing well carrick plays well however i feel that when the sh/t hits the fan and things go against manu he just disappears,not sure if he was worth 18m.
i think hleb is a great player who is over shadowed by fabregas, agree carvalho is a brillant player underrated completely,steve finnan is mr consistant, also think dunne has turned into an amazing player yet richards is the one lapping up most of the praise,having said that richards is a great player.cant forget robbie keane either as been underrated

Pighead

ditpoker wrote: »

This is mainly a rant at the uneducated united fans who cant spot talent unless the Sun tells them so. Alex Ferguson spent €18m on Michael Carrick, because Alex Ferguson realised this was a bargain.

Any spurs fan will tell you that Carrick was the driving force behind spurs the season we just missed the champions league spot, and any spurs fan will tell you that Michael Carrick was a huge reason United won the league last year.

He doesnt lose the ball, he does things very simple alot of the time and he maintains possession better than any player i've seen. His passes can destroy defenses, for example just look at Nani's goal against Arsenal at the weekend, or Saha's miss too. €18m was a steal!!

Dunphy seems to have it in for Carrick (see Dunphy thread) but I think that says more about Dunphy that Carrick. He's quite the unsung hero and a player who should walk into the England team.

Michael Arteta is another at Everton, Everton fans appreciate him but he doesnt get much attention elsewhere. One of my mates rates Scott Parker as one of the best but I'm not convinced. I also think Ricardo Carvalho is the best defender in the premiership, but john terry steals all his thunder cos he's english.

Who do think is underrated? and why?

He CAN do all of the above but unfortunately for large parts of this season he hasn't. He's been pretty damn poor this season after having a good debut season.

I have a feeling last Saturdays game against Arsenal where he was brilliant, has washed away the previous few months worth of poor games.

Anyway for me Robbie Savage(not so much this season) probably hasn't got enough credit. Probably due to his "personality" and ability to wind players up. But for me he's a n excellent midfielder.

Mitch Connor

ditpoker wrote: »

This is mainly a rant at the uneducated united fans who cant spot talent unless the Sun tells them so. Alex Ferguson spent €18m on Michael Carrick, because Alex Ferguson realised this was a bargain.

Any spurs fan will tell you that Carrick was the driving force behind spurs the season we just missed the champions league spot, and any spurs fan will tell you that Michael Carrick was a huge reason United won the league last year.

He doesnt lose the ball, he does things very simple alot of the time and he maintains possession better than any player i've seen. His passes can destroy defenses, for example just look at Nani's goal against Arsenal at the weekend, or Saha's miss too. €18m was a steal!!

Dunphy seems to have it in for Carrick (see Dunphy thread) but I think that says more about Dunphy that Carrick. He's quite the unsung hero and a player who should walk into the England team.

Michael Arteta is another at Everton, Everton fans appreciate him but he doesnt get much attention elsewhere. One of my mates rates Scott Parker as one of the best but I'm not convinced. I also think Ricardo Carvalho is the best defender in the premiership, but john terry steals all his thunder cos he's english.

Who do think is underrated? and why?

With regards to Carrick, I do not think he is really all that under-rated. He is a good player, but he is nothing really special. He does have the ability to pick out a wonderful pass, but he is not consistently wonderful at doing it. He doesn't score many goals and he is not an all action tough tackling midfielder either. He is a very good CM but he isn't exactly world class. Also, this season he has been woeful for the most part. He has turned it round over the last month and has put in some very good performances, but up til then he was terrible.

Another thing about Carrick is the person he plays beside. When he plays beside Scholes he is poor because I think he defers to him, taking the easy option of just giving it to scholes and thus doesn't get himself properly into the game. When he plays beside Anderson, he seems to take on a 'senior' edge and takes more responsibility and imposes himself more - which results in good performances.

Players I have thought were under-rated recently are:

Adebayor, though he is getting the goals and recognition now.
Evra, best left back in the league for me.
Ashton, his injuries have held him back, but on his day I think he is one of the best English strikers around, and should be starting up top with Rooney for the national side.
Barry, perhaps not under-rated by 'in-the-know' fans but his lack of caps for England is very surprising given he is a very composed and consistent player.
Flamini, it has all been about Fabregas this season but Flamini is just as big a reason for Arsenal's performances this season.
Arteta, as you say, he is a great player and doing very well this season.

Can't be bothered writing any more right now....

ditpoker

Pighead wrote: »

Anyway for me Robbie Savage(not so much this season) probably hasn't got enough credit. Probably due to his "personality" and ability to wind players up. But for me he's a n excellent midfielder.

Great pick... robbie savage is a bit of a hero. Cant believe he's only been sent off once, and he shouldnt have been either! When he was at Leicester in the Worthington Cup final against spurs he was amazing. He's a touch of class... if a bit prone to getting bored at clubs and wondering off...

Xavi6

Ryan Nelsen - He's been injured as of late but he's a quality defender.....for a New Zealander.

Christopher Samba - Like Nelsen he's rock solid and has been a key in Blackburn's push for Europe.

Leon Osman - Never really gets any headlines but he's a very good player and chips in with important goals, especially in Europe.

Vedran Corluka - The performances of Dunne and Richards have somewhat overshadowed the fantastic season Corluka has had. He's played right full, centre half and in midfield and has looked comfortable every time. He also played brilliant in Croatia's wins over England. Only just turned 22.

lordgoat

I love Carrick, not many players can pass off both feet the way he does. Since he's gotten a run in the team from christmas i think he's been one of the best players.

I hate saying this too, but Corluka looks like a great player.

Also have a soft spot for Jason Koumas.

AnCapaillMor

scruff321 wrote: »

i think hleb is a great player who is over shadowed by fabregas

Agreed but up until this season hleb put in some pretty brutal performances.

As for carrick, the guy who does the ugly job always get little recognition, especially in a team like united, where ronney, Ronaldo etc get all the limelight. Always regretted Wenger not followng up his interest in Carrick.

RE*AC*TOR

Carrick is ok. Underrated vs overrated I don't know. Seems to me that Hargreaves does the defensive stuff a lot better and Scholes/Anderson do the creative stuff a lot better. Maybe he just a bit unnecessay at ManYoo.

mike65

Didi Hamman - been around since dawn of time and still showing others how to tidy up.

Mike.

BaZmO*

ditpoker wrote: »

€18m was a steal!!

Can you actually cost that much and be considered under-rated? Seems like an oxymoron to me.

ditpoker wrote: »

Alex Ferguson spent €18m on Michael Carrick, because Alex Ferguson realised this was a bargain.

AF spent €18m on him because he was English.

LuckyLloyd

Brian McBride:Good focal point for Fulham. Gives them a base from which to attack. Ferocious workrate and a tough physical presence; he inspires players around him while chipping in with his fair share of goals and assists. One of the main reasons why Fulham struggled so badly before and through the Christmas period and a key part of an argument that they may yet stay up.

Magic Pips

United have a youngster on their books... ehh... chris something, from portugal. Very underrated, i reckon he'll be picking up the gold in the olympics from the springboard!

I've gotta echo the Arteta shout, 20 odd million would be a snip for him, think liverpool should snap him up, would fit in very well - and i'm a villian!

estebancambias

Stephen Ireland is underrated by the English media. I think he is slightly overhyped by journalists here though, who make it out that he is world class.

Aiden McGeady-I stand by this, especailly on here.

Shay Given

Darren Fletcher is underrated by pundits.

Timo Hildebrand

monkey9

Steve Finnan - best right back in the Premier League

chopperbyrne

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Brian McBride:Good focal point for Fulham. Gives them a base from which to attack. Ferocious workrate and a tough physical presence; he inspires players around him while chipping in with his fair share of goals and assists. One of the main reasons why Fulham struggled so badly before and through the Christmas period and a key part of an argument that they may yet stay up.

Always thought McBride would have been a great buy for a team like Man Utd who put a lot of crosses in as he is a good header and always picks up good positions.

As for Jason Koumas, as a West Brom fan I can tell you that while he can be great at times, he's more often a lazy, moaning ****ebag and I'm glad to see the back of him.

AnCapaillMor

BaZmO* wrote: »

AF spent €18m on him because he was English.

Well said.

Juan Pablo

Michael Johnson. We've missed him in midfield since he's been out injured.

And Romario obv. Third best ever? He's at least second.

Nalz

Wes Brown
Friedel
Distin
Scharner

MrJoeSoap

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Brian McBride:Good focal point for Fulham. Gives them a base from which to attack. Ferocious workrate and a tough physical presence; he inspires players around him while chipping in with his fair share of goals and assists. One of the main reasons why Fulham struggled so badly before and through the Christmas period and a key part of an argument that they may yet stay up.

Definitely. McBride is one of the best strkers in the Premiership today. Love watching him.

I also agree that Leon Osman is hugely under-rated.

Pigman II

Paul McShane : Whilst most people think he's a useless ginger donkey playing out of his depth and beneficiary #1 from the 5-2 debacle in Cyprus, I however see greatness in him and suspect he'll be the next Franz Beckenbauer.

PHB

Carrick is a funny player. I think he was worth the 18 million just because it was the last piece of the jigsaw to win us the league, but objectively he's not. Hargreaves is though imo.

I think Carricks problem is all about who he plays with. He has to be the deeper partner in a midfield team, which is problematic, because he's not as good defensively as Hargreaves, but is much much better offensively. If he could adjust his game to be able to work with Hargreaves next to him, I think he'd be very very integral to United and even englands future.

event

i dont think anyone really under-rated arteta, most people who understand football can see he's a class act

carvalho too, does anyone really under-rate him?

me thinks you're referring to the english media, not actual football fans

Pigman II

Lee Carsley is (genuinely) underrated.

Third_Echelon

Nice to see Osman mentioned there. He is definitely one of Everton's best players for the past few seasons. You could see when he was younger that he was a good player, but just needed the experience. He got it and its definitely showing now. A very high-tempo player that can pick out a pass and has an eye for goal.

Arteta was the 1st or 2nd best midfielder i think it was in the premiership last season according to opta stats... Tried to find the stats for last season, but couldn't get a backdated version...

Arteta hasn't been as good this season. Pienaar has actually been more effective in the games that he has played, but there is no doubting the class of Arteta. He can produce those moments of magic. He is definitely one of those players that you appreciate more by seeing him at a live game. I spent most of an Everton vs West Ham game a season or two ago just watching him from the stands... He came on as a sub (just back from injury i think at the time) and he totally changed the game and bossed the play from midfield. It was like watching platini back in the day

I definitely think that Everton have a lot of players in the 'under-rated' category....

Third_Echelon

Pigman II wrote: »

Lee Carsley is (genuinely) underrated.

For sure.... Played every game for Everton last season along with Yobo. That is some stamina and fitness for an older player.

He was definitely the rock in Everton's defensive midfield position. The makelele position if you will..

His work rate for Everton is phenomenal. His is always making tackles and winning balls that seem to be lost causes...

Glad to see that he is getting awarded with another contract this week.

Melion

Agger, Arbeloa and Mascherano around here. Shocking that people cant see the quality in them, the first 2 in particular.

Michael Johnson - Has the potential to be just as good as Gerrard in a few years.
Robbie Keane - All the talk is about Berbatov but Keane has been performing consistently for Spurs for years now. Id still prefer Berba though.

homerjay2005

john o shea. world class.

AnCapaillMor

Melion wrote: »

Agger, Arbeloa and Mascherano around here. Shocking that people cant see the quality in them, the first 2 in particular.

No offense but what people see in theirs teams players tend to differ from people who support other teams.

Melion

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

No offense but what people see in theirs teams players tend to differ from people who support other teams.

Thats because we watch them on a regular basis which is how you get to see how good certain players are. Which is why you cant criticise players that you dont watch regularly.

BaZmO*

Melion wrote: »

Thats because we watch them on a regular basis

But one could argue that it's against the sh1tter teams.

Nunu

Agree with the OPs nominations...and will add these off the top of my head.

Clichy: I know everyone recognises he's good, but I just think he's a phenomenol full back and should be lauded by one and all:D

Lescott: Absolute gem of a player, who excels anywhere along the backline...Replacement for G. Neville maybe?;)

N'Zogbia: Unreal talent, not getting the recognition he deserves because of Newcastles plight.

Diarra: very unlucky not be a starter at Chelsea and subsequently Arsenal. Bet Pompey can't believe their luck they have him in their side!

MrJoeSoap

Nunu wrote: »

Lescott: Absolute gem of a player, who excels anywhere along the backline...Replacement for G. Neville maybe?;)

Only one goal short of Rooney, could replace him.

He plays left-back and centre-back by the way.

Bubs101

Robert Huth
Brad Friedel
Riise
Emile Heskey

IrishMike

Bubs101 wrote: »

Emile Heskey

Is that some sort of sick joke? :eek::D

AnCapaillMor

Definately on lescott he's been amazing this season.

Heskeys been pretty good this season, only for his previous reputation he'd be getting alot more credit.

Third_Echelon

I think heskey has done a lot of work for Wigan this year. Just hasn't had the luck in front of goal..

Riise... I don't think so.. Not good enough overall player IMO

Nunu

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Only one goal short of Rooney, could replace him.

He plays left-back and centre-back by the way.

I know, but he has played right back on rare occasions hasn't he...and performed just as well?

Third_Echelon

Nunu wrote: »

I know, but he has played right back on rare occasions hasn't he...and performed just as well?

Don't think so... He is a Centre Back, but can play at left back... Thats the two positions he has played for at Everton anyway.

If Hibbert has been out it is usually Neville that fills in there (his best position i think anyway)

IrishMike

Third_Echelon wrote: »

I think heskey has done a lot of work for Wigan this year. Just hasn't had the luck in front of goal..

I persume you are aware that he has played 5 games this season and scored once?

IrishMike

My nomination is Mathieu Flamini.
No one would be singing Fabregas' praises without Flamini.
The man has been unreal this season and he is only 23.
The central midfield for Arsenal is about the same age as Didi Hamann - well almost

stick-dan

mike65 wrote: »

Didi Hamman - been around since dawn of time and still showing others how to tidy up.

Mike.

second that!!!!:)

Nailz

Andy Reid, Ireland's best player!

IrishMike

Nailz wrote: »

Andy Reid, Ireland's best player!

And therefore > than anything in the InterMilan squad !

Raskolnikov

Paul Scharner has been a quality player for Wigan, very solid at the back and lethal in the air. He's definitely a class above the rest of his teammates. I'm surprised a bigger club hasn't come looking for him.

Ivan Campo is another underrated player. Looks as ugly as the football that he plays, but is very effective at what he does.

redzerdrog

IrishMike wrote: »

My nomination is Mathieu Flamini.
No one would be singing Fabregas' praises without Flamini.
The man has been unreal this season and he is only 23.
The central midfield for Arsenal is about the same age as Didi Hamann - well almost

flamini is someone i never rated untill this season he has be top class and just as important as cesc

MrJoeSoap

+1 for Flamini, my man of the match tonight.

Third_Echelon

IrishMike wrote: »

I persume you are aware that he has played 5 games this season and scored once?

I presume you are aware that your facts are wrong....

According to OPTA, which is the official statistics recorder for the premier league he has played 16 games this season in the premier league and 2 in the FA cup...


Wigan's site also shows this:

http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Appearances/0,,10429~200710429,00.html

PHB

I'm gona say John O'Shea. I think he's done a lot of very impressive things in his career, scored some big goals. Hell him and Giggs were part of a central midfield partnership that went on a run of like 12 wins. He's **** for Ireland, but very important for United.