Premier League Draft Match 1: Liam O v SirDelboy18

Blatter

This match will decide a place in the QFs and will last for 48 hours, in which time the participants will need to outline their team, basic strategy, and strategy against their opponent.

Also, the voting will take place during this 48 hour period. There will be a poll but only votes with answers developed in a post will be taken into consideration. This development doesn't have to be paragraphs long, even a single sentance is fine. But don't vote until the competitors have had a chance to outline their teams.

Liam O

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Ok so haven't seen how Delboy will line up so I'll just talk about the strengths of my team here and then when he gets his up I'll see how I'll take him on.

I think my team's main strength is their experience. These are all players who have played at the top level and know how to win games. 4 Champions League winners in there along with players who have played in multiple world cup and champions league knockout stages. A winning mentality is huge for a team and I'm confident that is something my team will have. A criticism may be that a few of them such as Gerrard and Evra are not what they once were but Gerrard showed in the Summer he can still put in huge performances in big games as he was a standout in the Euros and Evra's defensive frailties will be covered for with Koscielny there who is great at covering for roaming full backs frees Evra to make his great attacking runs.

Another strength of my team is their ball playing ability. I'd be thinking that every player with the exception of maybe Diarra would be very comfortable with the ball at their feet and showing for the ball and able to out pass most teams and play their way out of difficult situations.

In goals I have one of the best goalkeepers of all time. When Schmeichel played at his peak he would be responsible for many points saved for United including a fantastic penalty save in a high pressure situation against Arsenal in the FA cup semi final in 99 that given the occasion would have to rank up with the biggest moments provided by a goalkeeper.

In defense I have 2 full backs who will provide the team with width that looking at Delboy's players he may be vulnerable to. The centre backs are both internationals with a lot of experience in big tournaments. Both are very capable with the ball at their feet with Mbia playing throughout defence and midfield in his career and Koscielny probably being Arsenal's most consistent performer in the last couple of years bar Van Persie.

My midfield 3 compliment each other greatly. Diarra will marshal the area in front of the centre backs plugging any gaps left by Maicon and Evra. He has great physicality and though he has been injured recently was impressive in the 2nd half of last season. Sahin is a role that suits him which is different to how it is at Liverpool. In this role he can find pockets of space in the middle and use his great passing ability to make things happen. De Guzman provides a lot of energy and attacking nous and will make the 4th member of the attack when going forward interlinking with Dempsey and Gerrard.

Dempsey and Gerrard either side of Van Persie provides an attack laden with quality and a huge goal threat. Gerrard and Dempsey have provided plenty of goals from midfield in recent years and Gerrard especially I would expect to thrive with someone like Van Persie. I'll be looking for Van Persie to drop back into the space allowing Dempsey and Gerrard to run off him and either lay them on or open up space for him to make things happen like he does so well

SirDelboy18

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Righteo.

First I'll talk about why I picked my players - then I'll discuss where I'll hurt Liam and hopefully triumph.

Begovic was picked because he has the highest number of clean sheets in the PL, and has made numerous vital saves which saved Stoke from conceding certain goals. He always wins his aerial battles and isn't afraid to show some authority.

My full backs are an integral part of my team. Gibbs before his injury which he has now recovered from was the form left back in the league (along with Baines) and Johnson has been Liverpool's best player bar Suarez this year. The two of them are defensively reliable while providing pace when they go on their surging runs. Vertonghen is a great ball playing centre back - but he has it all really. Extremely accomplished player who has been playing on the left but has recently been moved into the centre, which is his preferred position. Has been overplayed this season - but was extremely good at Old Trafford and will benefit from having the rock Jonas Olsson beside him. Olsson is a leader - and has been immense for West Brom this season. He wins headers and makes blocks by the second and what may also go unnoticed is his ability with the ball at his feet. He is the one who passes the ball out of defense at WBA, and I am very happy with my back 4.

Leon Britton has been extremely talked about over the past year - and this is because of his passing ability. He extremely rarely gives the ball away and marshalls the area in front of the back four extremely well. I can be confident in his ability to keep things moving, acting as a facilitator for other players while initiating attacking moves. Mulumbu has been in great form this year, aided by Yacob. MotM vs Southampton, his main attributes are his drive, energy and strength. More than capable of helping out defensively, but he has shown his ability to link play and create this year, helping WBA to 3rd.

Shaun Maloney is Wigan's main attacking outlet. A goal and four assists this year, he has been along with Al Habsi one of Wigans best players this year, continuing on his form from last year. He has suffered recently from being targeted by the opposition and double marked - but opposition's won't have that luxury here because of my other attackers. Such as Kevin Mirallas - along with Fellaini, Everton's standout player this year. Severely missed when injured, he gives pace and trickery on the wing and has delivered several noteworthy performances. His goalscoring record at previous clubs has shown that he can find the net too. Juan Mata doesn't really need much explanation. A wizard on the ball, dangerous from free-kicks, scores goals, assists. But his work-rate is first class and that is something that drew me to him also. He will run and hassle the opposition, and when he gets the ball he will deliver the passes which have made him a household name.

Leading the line is legendary Jurgen Klinsmann, one of the greatest strikers of the past 25 years. Scored goals wherever he went and although in England he played with a strike partner, in his career he proved more than capable of playing the lone role - his tenacious play making him a nightmare for defenses. Won plaudits across Britain in his first stint - 21 PL goals, a further 9 in the domestic cups and the Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year.

SirDelboy18

As for my game-plan:

Attacking

I intend for the fullbacks to get forward whenever possible and create an over-lap to exploit Liam's defensively suspect full-backs. Maicon is a shadow of his former self, and although Evra has perked up slightly recently, he has too been alarmingly poor over the past 2.5 years. The lack of wide cover that Liam has - Gerrard and Dempsey will tend to drift inside - will cause the full-backs to have little cover and they will struggle to get forward. Maloney and Mirallas will run at the full backs, taking them on whenever possible because of their frailties. They will both look to cut inside too, especially Mirallas, who will be encouraged to shoot when he feels an opening presents itself. We will play the ball out from the back, with Britton keeping possession and exchanging passes with the back four and Mulumbu until an opening is created. Mulumbu will use his drive and strength to link the area between Britton and Mata - distributing the ball out wide or giving it to Mata. Likewise Britton can play it to Mata and we can work it from there. There is a clear lack of pace in Liam's team - Gerrard, Sahin, Dempsey, Diarra they will struggle to support his defense when my full-backs push forward. With Klinsmann making darting runs and great finishing ability (targeting M'Bia's space especially), I would be confident of scoring, and scoring lots.

Defending

When defending Klinsmann and Mata will hassle Liam's back four and midfield (especially the limited Diarra) while Mulumbu and Britton will press Sahin and De Guzman without losing the shape of the midfield. I expect Mirallas and Maloney to track the runs of Evra and Maicon, of which there shouldn't be many because I expect to keep his full-backs conservative. If he doesn't instruct them to, then once they experience the doubling up then they will. I expect Gerrard (who Liam mentioned was good in the Euros, except that was in a deep midfield role not playing attacking right) and Dempsey(both of whom haven't been great this year, especially Dempsey who has been dire and was an awful R2 pick) to drift inside quite a bit - leaving a lack of width. In those situations we can congest the midfield by pulling Klinsmann and Mata back - in the knowledge that Diarra will rarely if ever join the attack. Mulumbu has by far the physical edge over Sahin and De Guzman and Britton are similarly matched physically. On current form I think Sahin was an awful pick too - I can't see how he influences this game to a great degree and his last bit of form was in 2010-2011. Has been poor this season and hasn't adjusted to the PL. We will press the midfield trio into stupid mistakes - as two of them especially are suspect (Sahin due to being very very off his 2010-2011 form, Diarra due to being very poor on the ball). RVP is admittedly a worry, and all he needs is one chance. I just can't see though where the openings will come from. Olsson has been beyond solid and both defenders are physically strong and not lacking in pace - especially Vertonghen.

I am personally confident of a comfortable victory - taking player selection, pick value player form and tactics into account - and hope that the general consensus is similar.

Liam O

As I'm suffering from serious insomnia I can deal with this now

Pretty much everything that you are beating my team with you are suffering from yourself and in a greater way imo. You are talking about defensively suspect full backs. I would take Evra and Maicon in a heartbeat defensively over Gibbs and Johnson. Gibbs is inexperienced and I would expect to get a lot of joy with Maicon teaming up with Gerrard on that side. Gerrard found himself on the wings plenty of times for England during the Summer and is well capable of creating from that position. He in no way will lack work rate either. Johnson I would rate a bit higher than Maicon going forward but defensively Maicon is quite solid and a lot more physical. You say my team lacks pace and mention Dempsey, he's no Walcott but is by no means slow. Top midfield scorer in the league last season and doing well enough at Spurs with a lot of rotation he's above Sigurdsson and Adebayor in the pecking order so must be doing something right.

I don't see how Mirallas and Maloney are going to be in anyway effective in your system if you want them constantly helping out the full backs. I have Diarra who is quite fast and powerful shielding the back 4 and any gaps that may appear, his job on the team is clear and your guys wont have time to press him because his job is win the ball and get it to Sahin who will have dropped into the space beside him. Sahin's problems this season have been playing in the wrong position. Here in my system he isn't under pressure to be the one driving forward or rushing back, he can camp in and around the middle and play passes, something he is pretty damn good at. De Guzman on the other hand provides a lot of energy and offensive nous that I'm not sure Britton is going to be able to handle with Dempsey and Gerrard cutting in and you sending Mulumbu forward.

Ultimately if you are going to be sending your players running around after my guys for large periods my guys are going to play keep ball which they are more than capable of doing. This will make Mata drop deep where he will become less effective and Maloney and Mirrallas definitely don't have the defensive discipline you seem to think they do.

Ultimately where I feel I win this game is that I have players who are proven to score in the premier league in my front 3 and leaders all over the pitch who aren't going to be on the back foot for long in a game.

SirDelboy18

Liam O wrote: »

I would take Evra and Maicon in a heartbeat defensively over Gibbs and Johnson.

I just don't know how you could possibly make that claim, especially with the form of your two picks compared to mine. Those who watch them regularly will testify to that I'm sure. Genuinely baffled by that.

Gerrard found himself on the wings plenty of times for England during the Summer and is well capable of creating from that position.

Very rarely if ever - lets be honest. Hodgson played a very conservative formation with Gerrard and Parker in the centre. Gerrard wasn't abandoning his duties and going for a walkabout on the right.

RE Dempsey - doing well enough at Spurs

This is rubbish - his only good game really has been the West Ham one just gone. Virtually all other times he has been very poor. Sigurdsson has been even worse - and he made it into the team ahead of Adebayor because AVB doesn't like a typical 4-4-2.

I don't see how Mirallas and Maloney are going to be in anyway effective in your system if you want them constantly helping out the full backs.

I don't intend them to be constantly helping out the full-backs because I'd expect you to be on the backfoot for the game.

I have Diarra who is quite fast

He lost the vast majority of his pace after his injuries with Real. He is a completely different player to the Diarra of 6 years ago. Definitely not quite fast.

Ultimately if you are going to be sending your players running around after my guys for large periods my guys are going to play keep ball which they are more than capable of doing.

I won't be - I'd expect to have far more of the ball. Pressuring high up the pitch will be done to retrieve it quicker when lost.

I won't be requoting or adding anything else - obviously otherwise we will both end up nitpicking each other until it's over - but those are my two cents.

Morzadec

I'm going to go with Delboy. It's a difficult choice but I think he has a better overall balance and much more pace in his team. I liked the way Liam O's team was coming together while following the draft but I'm not sure about the lineup looking at it now.

Liam O has the RVP factor, which is a big factor, but Klinsmann's not too shabby either.

My problem With Liam O's team is the lack of pace and trickery on the wings to supply RVP. It's been a while since Gerrard played wide, and here he's part of a front 3 which he's never really done before. I know a lot of Liverpool fans who think he should be played here but I have my doubts. Gerrard does have the quality to put in a good cross or a through ball for RVP, but I'm not sure if he has the pace to get in behind and score, or to beat a very fast Gibbs. Unfortunately Gerrard does not carry the same goal threat he once did, both from long range or from runs behind the defence.

Dempsey is not a natural winger either, and beating a man and putting in a cross is not his game. Ultimately Liam O is relying heavily on Maicon and Evra for width - they are both still good players but Gibbs and Johnson beat both of them for pace.

Delboy's defence is very solid. Liam O's isn't bad, but isn't as good.

I feel that going forward maybe Delboy has more options, with the pace of Mirreles out wide or the creativity of Maloney and Mata (who could conceivably interchange position).

It's a difficult decision, but I think the balance overall is better in Delboy's team, and I also think he has the players to deal effectively with Liam O's attack.

I expect many will disagree with me and I can see why, it's tough to call and Liam O has some stand-out players. The real question here is to what extent have some of these players lost their ability?

bullvine

SirDelboy18

This one is very close to call, I think the purchase of Gerrard for Liam O is a very good choice. Himself and RVP would build up a very good understanding on the pitch. Both midfields are weak, Sahin especially, I have been very disappointed in him.

The inclusion of Schmeichel would make a massive difference so I'd expect his team to just shade it with a strings of saves from Big Peter.

eagle eye

There is a big problem for me with Liam O's team. He has Maicon who has hardly played in the EPL, he has Diarra who looks to have went backwards this season and is no longer a starter and he has M'Bia who hasn't looked good in his few starts in the Premier League. This defense is far too weak and the defensive midfielder is way below the standard required to help them out.

I think this means that Mata, Maloney and Klinsmann run riot in this one. I can only see a win for Sir Dellboy.

SlickRic

SirDelBoy for me.

LiamO is just too weak through the centre IMO.

IncognitoMan

I dont like gerrard on the wing. He is at his best where Liam O has de guzman. You sacrificed the balance of your team in my view to get in ge guzman. While he is a very good player I cant help but feel you should have looked at a natural wide man. There are not too many other areas to pick on. Maybe sahin's form which I have to say I'm shocked by. dempsey is a bit out of sorts but both are still good draft picks.

Ye two are unlucky to have meet so early on. There are a good few teams ye both would have made it past.

SirDelboy's team looks to have the greater balance to it on paper. I'll go with Sir on this one

Bounty Hunter

SirDelboy18

4-3 win for Liam O

should probably write more but in a hurry and wanted to make my vote eligable so...

essentially RVP getting goals & Schmeichel saving goals will give LaimO the edge for me, especially the great Dane who imo could be the difference in a high scoring game, that sees both teams full backs bombing forward leaving the defenses under major threat from quality attackers like RVP, Mata, Klinsmann & Gerrard/Dempsey.

Rekop dog

Sir Delboy easily here, well balanced side two, like the CM partnership especially from a current form pov. No major weaknessess in the side. Begovic going about his business quietly without much praise but he's been very solid and up there with the best in his pos this season.

Can't be having Gerrard and Dempsey in the same side imo, neither influence a game strongly enough and can see major fluidity issues from midfield to the forward line with the pair of them in those positions. You'd have thought the player lucky enough to get Van P would have an advantage but not the case here.

Pj!

SirDelboy18

Liam O.

Both have positives and negatives but for me Schmeichel could make all the difference.

GavRedKing

SirDelboy for me.

His attacking options look like to me that they'ed control this game and the ball. Gibbs and Johnson are a fine pair of attacking FB's and would provide an extra dimension that I'm not sure Miacon & Evra could cope with.

Liam O

Morzadec wrote: »

Gerrard does have the quality to put in a good cross or a through ball for RVP, but I'm not sure if he has the pace to get in behind and score, or to beat a very fast Gibbs. Unfortunately Gerrard does not carry the same goal threat he once did, both from long range or from runs behind the defence.

Dempsey is not a natural winger either, and beating a man and putting in a cross is not his game. Ultimately Liam O is relying heavily on Maicon and Evra for width - they are both still good players but Gibbs and Johnson beat both of them for pace.

Just on these 2 points as I believe this is where my team is being severely underrated. Dempsey, bar the 2nd half of last season played for years as a left midfielder for Fulham and was their standout player scoring 7 or 8 goals a season and very hard working. Here he will work hard but will have freedom to get forward too.

Evra and Maicon will provide width on attack. Maloney is a sub standard defender and wont be helping Gibbs. My plan is for Sahin to be picking up the ball in the centre of midfield, one of RVP, De Guzman, Dempsey or Gerrard will find space and the other 3 will make runs off them and I can't see that not resulting in goals, goals goals tbh.

Gerrard on the right is something that can be allowed due to Maicon's stamina. He has great technical ability and if it's not working can swap with De Guzman so it's not just his team that can interchange.

Comic Book Guy

Delboy to edge it for me but ye have been lucly to draw eachother.

Better defence going on current form and i like the 2 wide men.

SirDelboy18

Liam O wrote: »

Just on these 2 points as I believe this is where my team is being severely underrated. Dempsey, bar the 2nd half of last season played for years as a left midfielder for Fulham and was their standout player scoring 7 or 8 goals a season and very hard working. Here he will work hard but will have freedom to get forward too.

Evra and Maicon will provide width on attack. Maloney is a sub standard defender and wont be helping Gibbs. My plan is for Sahin to be picking up the ball in the centre of midfield, one of RVP, De Guzman, Dempsey or Gerrard will find space and the other 3 will make runs off them and I can't see that not resulting in goals, goals goals tbh.

Gerrard on the right is something that can be allowed due to Maicon's stamina. He has great technical ability and if it's not working can swap with De Guzman so it's not just his team that can interchange.

There is still no ignoring the lack of pace and Dempsey's current form, which simply isn't good enough.

Gerrard and Dempsey are both lacking in pace. Gerrard playing in the wide attacking right role is certainly something that doesn't suit the modern day Gerrard - especially as he has slowed down. I think Maloney does a reasonable job with Wigan defensively, he isn't Ji-Sung Park but he does his bit as a Roberto Martinez managed player would be expected to.

I genuinely don't know where you are getting these ideas about your full-backs. Maicon has looked off the pace a few times this season, lacking in stamina if anything. The only game in which he was notably okay was the Tottenham game, when he got joy because Vertonghen was extremely fatigued, Bale wasn't helping as much as he could have been, and he clearly needed to be taken off which was understandable considering he has played more games than just about every single PL player this season.

Furthermore your entire gameplan seems to revolve around Sahin distributing the ball, who's most recent form is as far back as 2010-2011. I don't possibly know how on current ability he can be expected to dictate the game given his poor performances this year and his lack of gametime last season. I think going back 2 years for some form is a bit much.

Big Knox

SirDelboy18

There is no doubting there are alot of questions surrounding Liam's team but if it clicked the attacking potential would be overwhelming. Going to give the benefit of the doubt and vote for Liam as I really like the team dynamic regardless of some form issues which all bar Evra and to a lesser extent Gerrard I would warrant are temporary!

Chucky the tree

delboy for me. I don't think defensively Liam O's team will be able to cope. It will be close but I think it has better balance and more attacking options. RVP is only major thread on Liam's team, Dempsey is solid but not a genuine threat like Mata. Delboy also has a great goalscorer in Klinsman.

Jax Teller

Delboy for me, Don't like Gerrard on wings and think overall I think his team is more balanced .

Rich1691

By the looks of it Delboy will take it by a few goals, seems like he's set up extremely well to exploit Liam's weaknesses!

Fuzzy_Dunlop

I'll go with Delboy too. Not mad about Gerrard and Dempsey in the same team and having Maicon and Evra providing the width would leave the defense more open, despite having someone who I rate highly in Kos and the best keeper possible. There may be similar enough problems in Delboy's team but I think it would cope better overall.

One thing is for certain in that I'd say there would be a fair few goals!

ScummyMan

SirDelboy18

Liam O, just. RVP is the deciding factor for me.

redzerdrog

I think both teams are evenly matched up front and in midfield but I think delboys defence is much stronger than liamos whos I think is quite weak.

Delboy to shade this for me

GLaDOS

SirDelboy18

Liam O for me, fairly Equal in the middle and back for me, RVP and Schmeichel to play out of their skin and win it.

eugeneious

SirDelboy for me. Not much in it but I really like the look of his midfield.

hots

SirDelboy18

Both teams have definite weaknesses here so I think the smallest difference counts here, I think Liam O has it tactically here and Schmeichel makes a big difference... If Delboy had better outright wingers he would probably have won it (even a 442 with Mata on the right maybe?) with Liam O's fairly suspect full backs... close call.

Eathrin

SirDelboy18

Giving it to Liam O. I think there are clear frailties in the centre but I'd back Schmeichel to keep out enough shots to see Liam score his way to victory. 3-2

Professional Griefer

LiamO for me, just about. Think hes too good going forward.

Morzadec

Quite the epic encounter this one!

alchemist33

SirDelboy18

I vote for Liam. Although his team has defensive weaknesses, I believe his attack is sufficiently ahead of Delboy's to carry the day.

lavine7

SirDelboy18

RvP and co will make shreds of the soft underbelly that is DellBoy's defense.

LiamO to outscore Dellboy to victory.

SirDelboy18

lavine7 wrote: »

RvP and co will make shreds of the soft underbelly that is DellBoy's defense.

LiamO to outscore Dellboy to victory.

What?

There is no way that my defense is soft.

Let alone a "soft underbelly".

Local_Chap

SirDelboy18

Liamo just shades it for me,both teams are fairly equal but the RVP factor does it for Liamo

Knex*

SirDellboy wins this one for me, and just about.

His defence is one of the best in the draft for me. Johnson is second only to Luis Suarez as Liverpool's player of the year for me so far this season and his presence in each game he's played in has been massive. Gibbs on the other side is a vital assist for Arsenal and one of the better fullbacks in the league when fit. Vertonghen was a great pick and Olsson, while not spectacular, is a solid international and a good pick. Begovic is having another great season at Stoke, and while certainly not Schmeicel's standard, he is a lot better protected by the defence in front of him.

LiamO's defence based on current ability is very shaky IMO, with Evra, Maicon and M'Bia looking shaky for a while now. Koscielny needs a solid partner beside him and I don't think he has that. Ultimately, theres only so much Schemeichel can do, especially when faced with Mata, Mirallas and Klinsmann.

The RvP factor could sway it for some, but I think a waning Gerrard and an out of form Dempsey and Sahin will mean he is feeding off scraps against Dellboy's defence.

Thecon21

SirDelboy18

LiamO team just about getting it from me. Very close one. I think the RVP and Gerrard link would prove to be vital and having Peter in goal would help him edge the game.

Turtyturd

Liam O for me, a lot of people have it coming down to his pick of RVP but even if he doesn't perform both Dempsey and Gerrard are capable of chipping in with goals against a defence of Delboy's quality.

Rekop dog

Baffled at how so many are voting Liam O here, if I was king people would have to earn an opinion.

Blatter

SirDelboy18 but it's a close one. Liam O does have the better players overall but his core has too many weak links for me. Koscielny is good but imo not good enough to cover the cracks of m'Bia, Diarra and Sahin. I wouldn't want to rely on any of those defensively.

Liam O

Rekop dog wrote: »

Baffled at how so many are voting Liam O here, if I was king people would have to earn an opinion.

Why? Because people believe a team with far more players with vast experience at the highest level can beat a team that mostly hasn't played above premier league standard?

Orizio

Voted for Delboy - (a) he has one of the greatest strikers ever leading his attack, (b) I dislike the balance of LiamO's attack, Dempsey/Gerrard are very similar and their lack of creativity doesn't particularly compliment Van Persie and (c) I prefer Delboy's back four, his wing backs are more dangerous going forward and both center halves are extremely consistent.

peabutler

Delboy for me, Liam O's defence would be torn apart and without the ensemble of players Judas has had at Arsenal and has at United he wouldnt get the goals to rescue Liamo. Delboys teams has a very nice balance and alot of good consistent players I feel.

Blatter

Orizio wrote: »

Voted for Delboy - (a) he has one of the greatest strikers ever leading his attack, (b) I dislike the balance of LiamO's attack, Dempsey/Gerrard are very similar and their lack of creativity doesn't particularly compliment Van Persie and (c) I prefer Delboy's back four, his wing backs are more dangerous going forward and both center halves are extremely consistent.

Come on, Klinsmann in the PL was very good, but to say he's one of the greatest strikers ever is WAY over the top.

SirDelboy18

Blatter wrote: »

Come on, Klinsmann in the PL was very good, but to say he's one of the greatest strikers ever is WAY over the top.

He was at any rate one of the best of the past 30 years. His record in major international tournaments is fantastic, he is the 3rd most capped German player ever, his record with Bayern was extremely good when he lead them to the UEFA Cup and Bundesliga. The only real blot was part of his time with Inter, when they played ultra defensive and the team was surrounded in controversy and arguments.

Perhaps not one of the best ever, but certainly amongst the best of the past 30 years in my view.

Blatter

SirDelboy18 wrote: »

He was at any rate one of the best of the past 30 years. His record in major international tournaments is fantastic, he is the 3rd most capped German player ever, his record with Bayern was extremely good when he lead them to the UEFA Cup and Bundesliga. The only real blot was part of his time with Inter, when they played ultra defensive and the team was surrounded in controversy and arguments.

Perhaps not one of the best ever, but certainly amongst the best of the past 30 years in my view.

A lot of those achievements you listed are irrelevant because he's to be judged on his EPL peak, not anything else. Do you think his peak performances in the EPL were as good as the peak performances of Ronaldo, Raul, Henry, van Nistelrooy, Shearer, van Basten, Shevchenko, Eto'o, Batistuta etc.?

SirDelboy18

Blatter wrote: »

A lot of those achievements you listed are irrelevant because he's to be judged on his EPL peak, not anything else. Do you think his peak performances in the EPL were as good as the peak performances of Ronaldo, Raul, Henry, van Nistelrooy, Shearer, van Basten, Shevchenko, Eto'o, Batistuta etc.?

I think his peak performance that year was as good as any striker especially bearing in mind the fact that he didn't have the teams behind him that Shearer, RVN did in their peak years.

And seeing as it is as you have said on PL peak, I don't see why the others are relevant so.

Blatter

SirDelboy18 wrote: »

I think his peak performance that year was as good as any striker especially bearing in mind the fact that he didn't have the teams behind him that Shearer, RVN did in their peak years.

And seeing as it is as you have said on PL peak, I don't see why the others are relevant so.

Because they're the players his PL form will have to be compared with if your statement about him ''being one of the best strikers of the last 30 years'' is going to be relevant.

SirDelboy18

Blatter wrote: »

Because they're the players his PL form will have to be compared with if your statement about him ''being one of the best strikers of the last 30 years'' is going to be relevant.

Just bringing it up because some people tend to look past the lack of Pl form and judge on previous form.

Blatter

Congrats SirDelboy you win by a couple of votes.

Unlucky Liam O, you ran him close.

Liam O

I'll take being the people's champion well done and you better win now Delboy.