Most divisive footballers

[Raul Madrid]

Sergio Ramos, Benzema, Pepe, Bale, Carrick, Marcelo, Pique and Ibrahimovich are some names that come to mind.

 

[Blackwidow]

I don't think anyone doubts Zlatan or Muller's qualities. Ozil is a good shout though.

Zlatan and Müller have the numbers. With Müller it is just that a lot people do not appreciate the rest he does even if he does not score or assist.

Özil - at him some just have to accept what he is. He is not a gamechanger but an gameenhancer. If it runs it will run better with somebody like him. If it does not he is a burden.

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

I think a lot of engine players and squad players fall into that category like Milner, Park, O'Shea.

Except what they do isn't very average at all…which is why the greatest managers in the world have picked these sorts of players week in and week out for as long as anyone can remember.

Maybe our appreciation is average?

 

[villain]

On here: Rooney.

You'd think we had Titus Bramble playing up front.

 

[ivaldo]

Except what they do isn't very average at all…which is why the greatest managers in the world have picked these sorts of players week in and week out for as long as anyone can remember.

Maybe our appreciation is average?

What is it they do that isn't very average then?

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

What is it they do that isn't very average then?

What is it they do that isn't very average then?

Different players do different things…communication, organisation, reading of the game, leadership on pitch, covering for others, running off the ball, making space, tactical discipline, retaining possession…I wouldn't call being good at any of these things 'average'.

 

[Boycott]

Marouane Fellaini

 

[Lynty]

Kagawa

I (and countless others) consider him to be an underrated genius. Others think he was an overrated Asian super star who just sells millions of shirts.

 

[ivaldo]

Different players do different things…communication, organisation, reading of the game, leadership on pitch, covering for others, running off the ball, making space, tactical discipline, retaining possession…I wouldn't call being good at any of these things 'average'.

When you call a player quality because they are a good communicator you're scraping the barrel a bit there. Those tend to be qualities the majority of players possess anyway and if they don't it's because they excel in technical areas of the game.

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

When you call a player quality because they are a good communicator you're scraping the barrel a bit there. Those tend to be qualities the majority of players possess anyway and if they don't it's because they excel in technical areas of the game.

I didn't say quality. We were discussing average. Personally I disagree that that the majority of players possess all those things. That's why the greatest managers in the game balance their sides with individual brilliance, technical excellence/creativity and then team qualities.

 

[ivaldo]

I didn't say quality. We were discussing average. Personally I disagree that that the majority of players possess all those things. That's why the greatest managers in the game balance their sides with individual brilliance, technical excellence/creativity and then team qualities.

Except if you look at the top 3 teams in the world right now they don't really have a Milner in their side do they? Why is that?

 

[Bole Top]

Higuain.

 

[Cheesy]

Kagawa

I (and countless others) consider him to be an underrated genius. Others think he was an overrated Asian super star who just sells millions of shirts.

He's a good footballer who just didn't fit into our side, but I don't think he's particularly a "genius" as such.

 

[Bwuk]

Angel Di Maria. A world class player who some people on here seem to think is shit because our manager couldn't find a way to accommodate him into this side.

 

[Eriku]

Diego Costa...

Some of my friends think that he's an evil feck...

Others think he's a sadistic arsehole.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Darren Fletcher has been the biggest one of my life time.

There were a couple of years where he was top 3 midfielders in the league, winning games on his own. He wasn't strong and got so much weaker after illness, and I think that has shifted perception so much. He was also never a great passer, so old age didn't suit him at this club - he was all about energy and winning the ball, getting box to box 500 times a game

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

^ On that same route.

Carrick did until SAF's final season, his class shined through the haters.

 

[hbgreg]

Smalling

 

[Tarrou]

Blind, sort of. Some still seem reluctant to give him any credit.

& Kane seems to be quite divisive too

 

[hbgreg]

Smalling Blind Young

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

Except if you look at the top 3 teams in the world right now they don't really have a Milner in their side do they? Why is that?

I agree…but then every side except the Top 3 (whoever you think is in there)…are hardly average teams?

Like I said, all the great managers have a blend of players to make a great team. Different players bring different things.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Gerrard was an above average player.. Too many people claim he was world class based on one night..

Kaka.. I consider him world class... Absolutely love him.. But I dont think many others do the same..

 

[Wittmann45]

Hargreaves was very divisive on here from what I remember. People felt he cost too much and that he slowed the pace of play considerably.

Saha was also very divisive. Although he was brilliant on his day, he did miss a number of chances. He helped create great chances but he wasn't a great finisher, and that did upset people on here. To me, I loved both Hargreaves (negating the signing for City and the rubbish he spoke about United's medical team) and Saha and what they brought to the club.

This was even before the injuries that destroyed both their careers. Injuries have shrouded overall perceptions of both players, or maybe, to put it crudely, people's perceptions of how these players were perceived by the fans. Both players were extremely divisive, on the Cafe at least.

I would also say Herrera now to an extent, with many believing him to be the answers to all the team's issues and others seeing him much differently

Yossi Benayoun also seemed to divide opinion considerably. Also, Pique, Lavezzi, Pepe, Pastore (everyone bar Veratti from PSG it seems), Rio divided opinion up to 2007 or so, Casillas, Cleverly (after his first and second year in the United first team), Bale to an extent

As for managers, Roberto Martinez is one of the best examples

 

[kouroux]

Gerrard was an above average player.. Too many people claim he was world class based on one night..

Kaka.. I consider him world class... Absolutely love him.. But I dont think many others do the same..

He certainly was world class at some point but that was ages ago.

 

[Sunny Jim]

The threads concerning average players got me thinking what an average player is and that people have different conceptions of what one is. So who was the player who 50% of the people thought was world class and the other 50% say he is shit.

Berbatov springs into mind....
actually, i think most fans recognized his class the actual debate was about him being the right fit for that United side

 

[Red_Beans]

Juan Mata, just go to his performance thread.

This

Half our team really

Blind
Mata
Young
Fellaini
Rooney

All have their supporters and their critics