John Barnes is a) stupid, and b) a very unsuccessful coach. The two are probably not unconnected.
Unpopular Football Opinions
- Thread starter Cheesy
- Start date
It might be unfair but no-one takes what John Barnes says seriously is all i'm sayin.
It's not clever and not kind but it's true. You see people talking on the TV and you think 'You're a fecking idiot' - Stewart Pearce is another one. Chris Waddle, the list goes on.
Garth Crooks, Paul Merson, Ian Wright, Steve Claridge. Footballers are thick
John Terry is a great defender.
And good coaches are invariably very clever - Wenger, Ferguson, Mourinho, Ancellotti et al. Smart articles.
Have always thought this as well. Neither Giggs nor Scholes could've ever done what they've done had they been rock stars (although Giggs seems to have had a little secretive rock star business going on behind closed doors, ha ha).
On his day (probably peak around 04-07) he was a class defender. Bit past it now but.
Given his attributes, I meant. Sorry.
It's not silly though, is it? Currently, there's a clear difference, but if you look at what Nani actually has to his game, then it's not unfair to say that the level of ability may well similar. As I said before, there are many facets to his game that are clearly better than Ronaldo's.
I mean, just think about it...he's a world class dribbler, has one of the best touches in world football, he's in that minute percentage of players who can pull off an absolute moment of genius several times a season, he's a phenomenal athlete and is very creative. He's clearly nowhere near his peak, yet he's already a world class player. Why is it silly? It's not like we're comparing Messi and Park.
Though there's no guarantee, I think we'll see the best of Nani when a team plays him centrally and builds the formation around him. He may not ever have the consistency of Ronaldo, but there is clearly an absolutely ridiculous level of talent and ability with Nani. To say it is silly to say they are of a similar level of talent, in my opinion, is to fail to properly acknowledge Nani's attributes.
I must admit, Wenger is fascinating man to listen to when he's on form.
And another thing is that, for me, stubbornness can often be what makes a great manager. It can come back to haunt them later in their careers when they're no longer as good at making those odd decisions, see Wenger, but often a manager has to be stubborn and think outside of the box, otherwise he'd be no better at his job than the average knowledgeable football fan.
You get like that when you're very good at your job and have lots of experience. You think 'I've been here before', I'm usually right, I'll back myself over the naysayers, who don't really know what they're on about.
You share that view with football managers and footballers, just not internet gimps who think that they know better than the professionals.
Rather its because he is clearly out of his depth when it comes to tactics ....
That these threads are useless since any debate quickly ends with the person whos mostly wrong hiding behind the thread title......"but thats why its unpopular"
Nah, there's actually been some good debate in here with some people firmly arguing their opinions, which is good to see.
What makes you say that. I mean, I'm always hopeful about our players getting better every year, but he's 26 in November - I'd hope to see a smarter, more consistent player but I'm not expecting to see a different one now. Nani's not going to suddenly become a big goalscorer, which makes comparisons with Ronaldo sound bizarre.
So why not compare him to an Iniesta or an Ozil say, because your talk of bringing him into the centre suggests you see that kind of player in him?
Claiming "Messi needs to win at international level to be considered one of the best of all time" whilst also claiming "Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world" is extremely hypocritical. The rise of each coincided with working day in, day out with the same players, the same coaches and the same members of staff as one another. Consequently, one cannot exalt Guardiola whilst denigrating Messi.
For my money, while it'd be very interesting to see each of them perform with a lower calibre of compatriots, what each of them have accomplished at the top level cannot simply be written off as "having good players/staff around them". History teaches us that limited players and managers get found out at the highest level, rather than having their shortcomings hidden.
For my money, while it'd be very interesting to see each of them perform with a lower calibre of compatriots, what each of them have accomplished at the top level cannot simply be written off as "having good players/staff around them". History teaches us that limited players and managers get found out at the highest level, rather than having their shortcomings hidden.
Aye, if you could be shit yet still succeed at the top level, then there'd be no "top level"!
Yeah but he also can be a massive liability quite often for a top class centre-half and he's also had no competition at club or international level - Luiz, Cahill, Alex etc aren't good enough to nail down a consistent first team slot and Ferdinand is often injured and similarly Lescott, Cahill etc are inexperienced in international competition.
Because at the moment he's not at the consistency and level he was during 10/11 (injuries), and there was room for improvement there, too. That's why I say he's nowhere near his peak, not just in regards to age. Nani's peak for me would consist of him putting in 30 or so cracking overall performances in a season, but that's not happened yet for a variety of reasons.
In regards to your bit about him not likely to end up being a goalscorer, we just don't know. I don't see the problem in comparing him with Ronaldo though, to be honest. Just because he's not a goalscorer doesn't mean you can't compare levels of ability - you can still take into account different skillsets. It's all a bit difficult to quantify anyway, but the general point is that a player of Nani's attributes could be an absolutely great player if he puts it altogether, which he has showed signs of doing. If Nani does become smarter and more consistent, it's likely he'll make better use of his phenomenal technical attributes. When or if this happens, the sky's the limit.
Honda is a better player than Kagawa... 
Seeing the tiki-taka thread and some opinions on it made me think of this. I remember when it used to almost be seen as a crime for someone to put the style of play down, yet now it almost seems as if it's becoming the popular opinion for many people.
Eboue is "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment".
Messi isn't the goody two-shoes everyone thinks he is.
Messi isn't the goody two-shoes everyone thinks he is.
Opinion that get's spouted about on here:
"Rooney was a better player when he first burst on the scene"
When really in those days he did run more at players but lost the ball, missed sitters all the time, was a red card waiting to happen and would go 10+ games without scoring.
Now Rooney scores more and more each year, in the biggest of games too.
"Rooney was a better player when he first burst on the scene"
When really in those days he did run more at players but lost the ball, missed sitters all the time, was a red card waiting to happen and would go 10+ games without scoring.
Now Rooney scores more and more each year, in the biggest of games too.
I think that's because they are saying Barca are boring all the time, which isn't true. Sure they have times like every team where they are boring but most of the time Barcelona is brilliant to watch. Spain is incredibly boring and set out extremely negatively.
On topic though, Silva is overrated for me. Really classy player but not the best in the league, faded after half the season.
Nani on form is best winger in the world, Ribery up there as well.
Robben is incredibly overrated.
Nani is one of the best players in the world with the ball at his feet (dribbling wise) Can't think of much more better than him apart from Messi and Iniesta
At his best Ronaldinho was easily better than Zidane.
I'd agree that Rooney is a much better player now. I also preferred the end of season 2010/2011 Rooney to the 2009/2010 one, which may be seen as unpopular by some people.
Not knowing everything about every single player we're linked with doesn't make you less of a football fan.
Spain are a shower of cheating bastards
I think only muppets would disagree with you on that one to be honest.
Hardly an unpopular opinion, more a universal one
I opened this thread to basically post the above and then noticed I already had a couple of months ago. I'm not sure if it's more popular than it was at the time.
At his best Ronaldinho is the most impressive footballer I've ever seen.Such a shame it didn't last long
Had he maintained his top level for a lot longer than he did, I think that by the end of his career he'd have been thought of on the same level as Zidane eventually.
I think you should move Ribery from the Nani sentence and place him in Robben's.
Tend to agree with that. It's a real shame that he played at his best only for 3-4 seasons.
Didier Drogba has had too many off-seasons to be considered as one of the best strikers of recent years.