Players you feel made extraordinary leaps in development far beyond what you thought possible for them?

[Verminator]

I’d say Cantona, we all knew he was good when he was at Leeds, though quite erratic as well. I don’t think anyone could guess how well he and Utd would suit each other and the impact he would have, it was incredible to watch at the time and I can’t think of anyone who’s matched it since.

I was on the stretty in August and was asked by one of the other regulars, "Who would you sign to get us over the line?"
I said, "That Cantona fella from Leeds, but they'd never sell him."
Then we got him, I think in November.


Drogba was a shock for me. Could hit a barn door when he started for Chelsea.
He was so bad it was funny. He stopped me laughing in the end.
Raheem Sterling would be another.

 

[Ish]

Lingard developed into a level of a shitness I never thought possible.

 

[T00lsh3d]

Andy Robertson. I liked him at Hull, but I didn't see him progressing to one of the worlds best left backs.

Came here to say Robertson. Watched him every week at Hull and when we went down I thought, yeah, he’s a PL player, could see him holding down a place in an upper-mid table team. You could tell he was pretty good, but his transformation to bonafide world class has been spectacular to watch

 

[Haddock]

It has to be

1. Thomas Muller. Watched him flail about in the 2010 Champions league final and a few games and I thought Van Gaal was doing his usual thing of alienating a star and pushing a young player except this one probably wasn't all that. More fool me. I still maintain that Gomez would have won them the final though.

2. Yaya Toure. When he signed for City, Merson called him an average player who offered no goal threat or end product. In Merse's defence he'd scored 13 goals in 225 games before joining City and he was often a CB or a more defensive player at Barca. I mean he was good at Barca but Pep preferred Busquets to him and he's not really a Barca type player. His City record is a ridiculous 79 goals in 316 games and with a dozen memorable ones.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Wijnaldum, Van Dijk and Dirk Kuyt.

 

[Rasendori]

Jerome Boateng:
Didn't think the player that was seemingly always on the end of hidings when I tuned in to games of Hertha BSC would emerge as one of the most technically gifted defenders of his generation.

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[Fortitude]

Some great shouts in here.

I liken it to if you were told by someone who had travelled back in time to the here and now that a middling player was going to become world class and one of the stars of his generation, you'd think they were pulling your leg and were clearly bonkers and not a time-traveler who for some reason had filled you in the footy from their time.

An example, perhaps the very best ever on redcafe, would be the Luka Modric thread where the poster, Scholesy, was ridiculed for at least two years straight for saying Modric would go on to be an absolutely stellar midfielder. If you read through that thread, detractors, replete with green smilies, were ten a penny, but Scholesy was steadfast... and then Modric went from strength to strength to strength and became one of the midfielders of his generation.

Anyway, just a memory I have that suits this thread to a tee as I don't think I've ever seen someone so thoroughly vindicated whilst making a-then out there statement as Scholesy with Modric.

 

[MrEleson]

C.Ronaldo. Basically became the best player in the world almost over night.

 

[squiggle]

With Giroud apparently moving to Inter, it still surprises me that ten years ago he was playing in Ligue 2 while several of his contemporaries were already big stars at major clubs and had won the U17 World Cup.

Now he's France's third highest ever scorer with the World Cup, Ligue 1, Europa League and four FA Cups to look back on. Okay, he's not mentioned in the same breath as Ronaldo and Messi but that's quite a decade.

 

[Gio]

2. Yaya Toure. When he signed for City, Merson called him an average player who offered no goal threat or end product. In Merse's defence he'd scored 13 goals in 225 games before joining City and he was often a CB or a more defensive player at Barca. I mean he was good at Barca but Pep preferred Busquets to him and he's not really a Barca type player. His City record is a ridiculous 79 goals in 316 games and with a dozen memorable ones.

Before Barcelona he played more advanced roles. Even in Spain he occasionally showed glimpses of his attacking armoury, like this surging run against Bilbao, or this solo effort, but 99% of the time he had to play with the handbrake on to stay behind the ball in Pep's system.

 

[VeevaVee]

David De Gea, those first couple of seasons are now long forgotten but some of the mistakes he made were farcical.

Nah it was clear he was quality. Anyone who thinks this is easily led by the media

 

[André Dominguez]

With Giroud apparently moving to Inter, it still surprises me that ten years ago he was playing in Ligue 2 while several of his contemporaries were already big stars at major clubs and had won the U17 World Cup.

Now he's France's third highest ever scorer with the World Cup, Ligue 1, Europa League and four FA Cups to look back on. Okay, he's not mentioned in the same breath as Ronaldo and Messi but that's quite a decade.

I actually like Giroud: reliable striker that gives you a good B plan with his physical power and very good first touch. 99% of world's football players would give an arm and a leg to achieve what he did in his career.

 

[Verminator]

Nah it was clear he was quality. Anyone who thinks this is easily led by the media

Well said.
He was getting shit for great saves, but not pushing them clear of the danger zone.
One poster even got banned for his over-zealous criticism.

 

[André Dominguez]

Pepe is a good shout. He was released by Sporting during a pre-season, at Marítimo he had no defined position: some managers would play him as holding midfielder, other at CB, his first season at Porto didn't went well that he was almost loaned out, but Co Adriaanse hold him and the rest is history.

 

[Karel Podolsky]

Very good shouts overall.
I'll say Francesco Totti.