EPL Team Of The Decade - Left back

Mitch Connor

CHD wrote: »

There is no way Evra has been better every year since he joined. Cole was better in Evra's first season and last year.

Evra was one of our star performers for the majority of last season. He had a bad patch March (like the rest of our team) but for most of the season he was fantastic.

Cole had his bad patch last year too, along with the rest of the chelsea side which ended up getting Scolari sacked.

CHD

Iago wrote: »

This I'll give you.



not a chance

Sorry its 2010 now. IMO he was better in 2008.

Mr. Guappa

Ashley Cole for me. Nothing between him and Evra over the last 4 years IMO but Coles sustained high standard over the first 6 years of the decade make this a no-brainer really.

Mr.Nice Guy

gavredking wrote:

Considering this is the Left Back poll I dont think it has anything to do with Ronaldo, unless he has lined out for Utd at left back. I will argue my Ronaldo point when it comes to picking a winger.

Your point was anyone who picked Evra was wrong as it was a poll of the decade (presumably your point is Cole should win as he has greater longevity). My point in response was when the poll for wingers comes along, would choosing Ronaldo be wrong since he doesn't have longevity on his side?

CHD wrote:

Since when is 2009 a decade? Funny how you are the only one saying he should be picked. At least the others had the sense to vote for him because he is a United player and then leave it a that.

2009 is part of the decade last time I checked and it's a part where both were in the Premier League at the same time.

What does it matter what others on the forum are saying? Besides you only voted for Cole as he's a Chelsea player didn't you? I certainly haven't seen any evidence of an argument because according to you one isn't necessary.

Slickric wrote:

um, no.

Ronaldo may have done enough in his few years to outdo all other RW. that will be arguable when that comes up.

in many people's opinion Evra has not done enough in the last 3 years to outstrip Cole's 10 years of consistency and often brilliance.

i voted for Evra in the other poll, but he has not done near enough to be classed as better than Cole over the last decade.

Ronaldo hasn't done enough? His goals tally suggests otherwise. The man was a goalscoring phenomenon.

Evra has been regarded by his peers in the game as better than Cole when the two have been playing at the same time. I don't think that point can be disputed when one looks at his individual and team accolades.

I would think when choosing the team of the decade you go for the best players in each position from that decade.

eagle eye wrote:

Dumb comparison.

Ronaldo wouldn't have anybody remotely close to him in terms of talent for the spot in right midfield.

Evra has been compared for the couple of years he has been in the league with Cole and its very close between them over Evra's time in the league, but Cole has been one of the top performers year after year this decade.

Well others seem to think Ronaldo does have players close to him in terms of talent so I see the comparison as valid.

Regarding the criteria for selection I think I dealt with that already.

Mitch Connor wrote:

no - that is not the point.

If there was a winger that was consistently regarded as one of the best in the world playing in the premiership for 6 years longer than Ronaldo had been, then yeah, they should probably be considered above Ronaldo.

IMO, there hasn't been though.

It isn't a case of Cole being an average full back who has been playing prem football for 10 years, it is a case of Cole being arguably the best LB for 6 years, and then (at worst, for arguments sake) 2nd best for 4.

I would say Evra has been better than Cole over the last 4 years, but not so substantially that it outweighs the previous 6 years completely.

Cole has been more often than not fantastic for 10 years. Evra for 3 and a half. In voting for a player of the decade, their contribution over the 10 years in comparison to his oppostion in the vote has to be taken into account.

What about Giggs? OK he didn't spend all his time on the wing but a perfectly valid debate could arise over taking Giggs based on his ten years of service or taking Ronaldo instead on the basis of his emphatic contribution over a shorter spell.

Some are dismissing Evra's chances on the grounds he wasn't there for the entire ten years. My view is that shouldn't count against him and that we should judge both players on their merits.

Johner

Iago wrote: »

not a chance

I thought Evra had a pretty poor second half to last season by his standards or was it the year before?

Anyway L.B of the decade is Ashley Cole for me.

As for now I'd pick Cole as well but Evra is damn close. The two best in the world by a long shot anyway, I just think Cole is better defensively and has been showing how good he is going forward this season.

PHB

Gotta be Ashley Cole. While Evra imo has been better than Cole since Cole joined Chelsea, Cole at Arsenal was better than Evra is now.

Was always going to happen in this poll though, favouring of people who have played longer.

GLaDOS

Cole, easily

starbelgrade

How did Phil Neville make that list??!

Muff_Daddy

Ashley Cole.

If the poll was left back of the 2nd half of the decade, I'd probably say Evra, but I think Cole's performances over the decade as a whole should be taken into account here.

SlickRic

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Some are dismissing Evra's chances on the grounds he wasn't there for the entire ten years. My view is that shouldn't count against him and that we should judge both players on their merits.

it's like you're not listening to what everyone is saying.

Evra in 3 years has not done enough to outstrip what Cole has done in 10.

there's not that much between them now, if anything.

so Cole's longevity in the league is a huge factor in this decision.

Ronaldo is a phenomenon and will probably win the RW slot, and rightfully so. there is also nobody worthy of challenging him, since nobody has been close to good enough for long enough, and there was nobody anywhere near his class in that position.

Evra is not a phenomenon, Cole is at his level, plus he's around 10 years in the league.

if Evra's shirt was blue and Cole's red, i suspect you'd be voting quite differently.

Bubs101

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

It's funny when Evra won the other poll beating Cole you dismissed the results as being down to United fans, yet you regard this poll as fine and dandy because Cole happens to be winning it.

.

Oh come on MNG, the results were dismissable because everyone bar the 10 of us in the Chelsea thread hate Ashley. In a popularity contest Cole isn't going to win very often so when he'd destroying someone it's evident he deserves it

Mr.Nice Guy

SlickRic wrote: »

it's like you're not listening to what everyone is saying.

Evra in 3 years has not done enough to outstrip what Cole has done in 10.

there's not that much between them now, if anything.

so Cole's longevity in the league is a huge factor in this decision.

Ronaldo is a phenomenon and will probably win the RW slot, and rightfully so. there is also nobody worthy of challenging him, since nobody has been close to good enough for long enough, and there was nobody anywhere near his class in that position.

Evra is not a phenomenon, Cole is at his level, plus he's around 10 years in the league.

if Evra's shirt was blue and Cole's red, i suspect you'd be voting quite differently.

I am listening to what you're saying. You're not listening to what I'm saying. I based my decision on who I regarded as the best left-back I've seen over the past ten years. In my view that was Patrice Evra. I offered my reasons for why that is and did so without making jibes about other fans being blinkered. Some don't like my position because they feel the place should be awarded to someone based on longevity. I see that as unfair and a poor way of determining it.

If Ronaldo's longevity shouldn't come into it than neither should Evra's longevity. You can't base a left-back decision on longevity and then say 'Oh but this doesn't count for the winger spot because Ronaldo's a phenomenon'

Sure the whole thing is subjective.

Bubs101 wrote:

Oh come on MNG, the results were dismissable because everyone bar the 10 of us in the Chelsea thread hate Ashley. In a popularity contest Cole isn't going to win very often so when he'd destroying someone it's evident he deserves it

You can't have it both ways. You say he lost the other thread's poll because everyone hates him yet you say in this poll he's destroying someone so how unpopular is he really?

Evra was dismissed as a candidate for the 2009 poll by certain contributors to this thread when the world's pros were heaping praise on Evra.

Some just like kicking up a stink when a United player looks to be the right choice. See the O'Shea right-back poll, Giggs winning PFA Player of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year etc.

SlickRic

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

If Ronaldo's longevity shouldn't come into it than neither should Evra's longevity. You can't base a left-back decision on longevity and then say 'Oh but this doesn't count for the winger spot because Ronaldo's a phenomenon'

of course you can.

for argument's sake, say Evra is the best LB we've seen in the past 10 years. i think you'll agree it would be a marginal decision. Cole has performed at the level ever so slightly below it for 10 years.

it would then be a close call.

however....this does not take into account the actual fact that Cole was phenomenal from 2002-2004, better than we have seen from Evra to be honest. he was also excellent for most of the rest of his Arsenal career, as well as the last year of his Chelsea career. added to that the fact he's been at a consistent level in the Premier League for the entire decade, i honestly don't see how it is even close.

but genuinely, you're correct, i promise i'm not being smart when i say you are entitled to your opinion.

i'll say again, i've no problem with Evra. i voted for him in the 2009 Poll.

d22ontour

Cole only for the fact he has played longer in the decade than Evra.

Mr.Nice Guy

SlickRic wrote: »

of course you can.

for argument's sake, say Evra is the best LB we've seen in the past 10 years. i think you'll agree it would be a marginal decision. Cole has performed at the level ever so slightly below it for 10 years.

it would then be a close call.

however....this does not take into account the actual fact that Cole was phenomenal from 2002-2004, better than we have seen from Evra to be honest. he was also excellent for most of the rest of his Arsenal career, as well as the last year of his Chelsea career. added to that the fact he's been at a consistent level in the Premier League for the entire decade, i honestly don't see how it is even close.

but genuinely, you're correct, i promise i'm not being smart when i say you are entitled to your opinion.

i'll say again, i've no problem with Evra. i voted for him in the 2009 Poll.

I don't think we're actually disagreeing on a lot here except the criteria we're using to judge it. I accept totally Cole has been a great full-back including back to his days at Arsenal, though I would differ with you that he was better than Evra in the years 2007-2009 (just my opinion).

Of course I am talking about margins here when I put Evra ahead of Cole. I said in the other thread too that there's little between them.

Likewise it is perfectly valid to choose Cole on the basis of his many years of service in the Premier League. I accept that. However I also think it's acceptable to choose a candidate with less years of service if one thinks that player the best player in the particular position over the decade. That has been my reasoning and I think this reasoning is also valid.

I don't say Evra is the best choice because I think in his 4 or so years he was better than Cole in his 10 years, I say it because I think Evra at his peak in his 4 years was better than Cole at his peak in his 10 years.

flahavaj

What an absolutely sh*t decade for left backs. The fact that Leighton Baines, Riise, Phil Neville and a kid like Clichy makes the poll is actually scary.:eek:

Gillington

flahavaj wrote: »

What an absolutely sh*t decade for left backs. The fact that Leighton Baines, Riise, Phil Neville and a kid like Clichy makes the poll is actually scary.:eek:

Give me Denis Irwin any day over that lot!

Went for Ashley Cole as much as I hate him.He's won every trophy in England and proven himself at two of the biggest clubs in football and at England

Tomthepost

Babayaro surely would run Cole close on this.
Denis Irwin is surely worth a mention in nominations.
Gareth Barry probably played left back more than anywhere else during the decade and would surely also be worth a nomination.

JPA

Tomthepost wrote: »

Babayaro surely would run Cole close on this.
Denis Irwin is surely worth a mention in nominations.
Gareth Barry probably played left back more than anywhere else during the decade and would surely also be worth a nomination.

No, no and no I'd say.

starbelgrade

flahavaj wrote: »

What an absolutely sh*t decade for left backs. The fact that Leighton Baines, Riise, Phil Neville and a kid like Clichy makes the poll is actually scary.:eek:

It seems like all the best players were left back in the dressing room.

I'll get my coat.

Super-Rush

Tomthepost wrote: »

Babayaro surely would run Cole close on this.
Denis Irwin is surely worth a mention in nominations.
Gareth Barry probably played left back more than anywhere else during the decade and would surely also be worth a nomination.

Good Lordy

Mr Alan

Ashley Cole with ease.

Evra was better season before last, but for the last 18 months Cole has been better & also played longer.

Easy decision.

Spiritoftheseventies

and by the way no seperate Ashley cole threads after this (pretty please!)