Players you rate more highly than others did...

[Rozay]

Feels like we should have a parallel conversation for the overlooked!

I’ll start with a few:

Alvaro Recoba. Special left foot, pretty much erased from footy history.

Ivan Cordoba. Quite short, but a top class centre half in his time. Also rarely discussed.

Eidur Gudjohnson. Just pure class with everything he did.

Paul Pogba. Think people are often so consumed with what they think he could or should be doing that they are not paying enough attention to what he is doing. A few United league titles would have transformed the entire perception of his spell here.

Marcio Amoroso. Was a world class striker for a while, had everything, and also pretty much deleted from football history.

Harry Kewell. I thought that he was, at Leeds, the best forward player in the league, and better than Ryan Giggs in that particular period. Devastating player, rapid, strong, skilful and a goalscorer.

Fred. He’s had a poor spell this season, admittedly. Ultimately though, I think he was a relative unknown when he came to England, and he and United had a poor season in his first. From then, it became a constant case of ‘he’s actually had a good game’, but I feel that if you find yourself saying that every week, maybe he’s just a really good player.

Chris Smalling. Think he was a brilliant defender for us. I remember his first season, him forcing his way into our first XI that had both Rio and Vidic. Put in a brilliant performance away at Marseille, and started getting picked in a few games ahead of either Rio and Vidic - meaningful games too. He was consistently good for a few years, amazing in the Allianz when Evra scored that stunner and pocketed many top strikers. I always felt that his performance thread was a constant loop of ‘played well, but can’t help feeling he has a mistake in him’. And that would be repeated every week for months, until he did make a mistake, then everyone would say ‘there, see!’.

Robert Pires - aside from Ronaldo, put up probably the best season I’ve seen from wide in the PL, at least before the 433 era, and had a spell of about two years where he reached an incredible level.

 

[sun_tzu]

Careca

injured for the 82 world cup - had fallen out of the squad by the 94 world cup and at Napoli was overshadowed by Maradonna

Totally understandable given those things how he gets over looked but he was a hell of a player at a time when centre forwards got a lot less protection

 

[duffer]

Fred. He’s had a poor spell this season, admittedly. Ultimately though, I think he was a relative unknown when he came to England, and he and United had a poor season in his first. From then, it became a constant case of ‘he’s actually had a good game’, but I feel that if you find yourself saying that every week, maybe he’s just a really good player.

Are people saying that?

If you look most of the matchday threads that he's featured in for you guys, you would swear his full name was actually "FFS Fred".

 

[Grylte]

Myself.

 

[Rozay]

Are people saying that?

If you look most of the matchday threads that he's featured in for you guys, you would swear his full name was actually "FFS Fred".

Recently, yes. Not really for last season and earlier parts of this one I don’t think.

 

[Siorac]

Are people saying that?

If you look most of the matchday threads that he's featured in for you guys, you would swear his full name was actually "FFS Fred".

He's a very frustrating player. He's generally very good and a very important part of the midfield - but he's prone to the most infuriating cock-ups (losing the ball under pressure in dangerous situations, misplacing simple passes) out of the blue. McTominay, who is an inferior footballer in most aspects, is probably rated higher because he's a much 'safer' option.

 

[Siorac]

Recoba was pretty good but his recognition suffers because he never did anything really noteworthy on the international stage (including European competitions). Inter fans surely remember him as an icon though.

Not sure Pires belongs here; is there anyone who didn't rate Pires highly? I mean, he was a massive twat like almost everyone in that Arsenal team but his abilities were never really questioned.

 

[The Original]

Steven Gerrard - Too many remember him only as the all-action hardman but he was an intelligent and technically proficient passer too

Chris Smalling - What Rozay said.

 

[sullydnl]

Azpilicueta. One of the best defenders in Europe for years imo, whether at RB, LB or CB.

 

[Adisa]

Olivier Giroud.

 

[Rozay]

He's a very frustrating player. He's generally very good and a very important part of the midfield - but he's prone to the most infuriating cock-ups (losing the ball under pressure in dangerous situations, misplacing simple passes) out of the blue. McTominay, who is an inferior footballer in most aspects, is probably rated higher because he's a much 'safer' option.

And didn’t cost money, is an academy player and generally a classic underdog tale.

McTominay is the opposite to Fred in that if you go his performance thread game by game, you will see many questions raised about his performances, but then when you come out of his performance thread - he is appraised as a consistent and reliable performer.

 

[Rozay]

Steven Gerrard - Too many remember him only as the all-action hardman but he was an intelligent and technically proficient passer too

Chris Smalling - What Rozay said.

To be fair, the Redcafe appraisal of Steven Gerrard doesn’t exist anywhere else as soon as you step off the caf. He’s considered top class without the number of if or but stipulations that get added to that on here.

Similar to John Terry, who the caf makes out was some average joe.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Greenwood on the right wing

 

[mancsarered]

Juan Mata

 

[bsCallout]

Valencia seemed so underrated to me.

Other than that is say Nicky Butt.

 

[GhastlyHun]

Thomas Müller

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

Phil Jones
I know few rates him at the moment and he is injured all the time so there is little hope he will ever come good again.
Although I think he used to be a quality defender and could still be if he gets away from his injuries.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Lingard. Pure confidence player, even in his younger days, he was known for having purple patches in his form. Under someone like Fergie or pre 2021 Klopp he would be class.

 

[Andre Kagawa]

Shinji Kagawa.

 

[thepolice123]

Forlan - I think if we kept him he would have been an upgrade over Tevez. Best WC performance I have ever seen.

Mamadou Diarra - We were heavily linked with him in 2004 (?) and I was desperate for him to sign. Great defensive midfielder with good ball skills. Went to Real and did well over there.

Falcao - Love his style. Signed him too late. If you ask me I think he is the best pure striker in the world at Atletico.

 

[Ace Krampus]

Olivier Giroud.

Great call, my #1 pick as well. I know we don't respect Ligue 1 but what he did with Montpellier was awesome in and of itself and then he's gone on to have a rock solid PL career all while having great hair.

Shinji Kagawa.

Name checks out, I suppose.

 

[sincher]

Fredi Kanoute was really impressive in a few games I watched live.

One of those players who could have been a much bigger deal with better luck and timing of moves.

Ronny Johnsen - pure class.

 

[Chipper]

Fillipo Inzaghi. Whenever he's mentioned online people seem more likely to talk about him being offside or saying all he does is score/highlight incompleteness while not really giving that much praise. The guy was absolutely electric in the Champions League in particular where he really came alive and was just so dangerous.Did his job consistently for his team(s).

 

[Oranges038]

Alessandro Del Piero.

Personally, I think he's one of the best players ever and this is one of the best goals ever scored.


He was also better at free kicks than Ronaldo, Messi, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona combined.

 

[sincher]

Fillipo Inzaghi. Whenever he's mentioned online people seem more likely to talk about him being offside or saying all he does is score/highlight incompleteness while not really giving much praise. The guy was absolutely electric in the Champions League in particular where he really came alive and was just so dangerous. Stuck the ball in the back of the net often and that's more than good enough

Yes, players like that rarely get the credit they deserve. Inzaghi was really, really annoying... but that is mostly because he nearly always scored. Lineker kinda similar... very high class poacher.

 

[sincher]

Alessandro Del Piero.

Personally, I think he's one of the best players ever and this is one of the best goals ever scored.


He was also better at free kicks than Ronaldo, Messi, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona combined.

Good shout. Impressive career achievements too. Elevated his teams consistently over a long period.

 

[lex talionis]

It seems to me Gerrard is highly regarded here and everywhere else, properly so.

Forlan and Butt are great calls.

 

[Lay]

Riquelme. World class player who was the most important player for Argentina for a brief period. I rate him higher than his actual ability but it’s because I loved watching him play.

Quaresma - never fulfilled his talent etc etc but what a joy to watch. Give me a YouTube video of Quaresma over 99% of other players

 

[P-Nut]

Ledley King - Think he'd have been rated alongside Terry and Ferdinand if it wasn't for his injuries.

 

[Blackwidow]

Thomas Müller

Same. He made me interested much more into football tactics and movement off the ball. And from that perspective...
The normal viewer who only watches the ball actions probably does not capture that.

Deutsche Welle with help of Stats Bomb published a good video about him today

 

[duffer]

Ledley King - Think he'd have been rated alongside Terry and Ferdinand if it wasn't for his injuries.

Doesn't everyone think that?

 

[Deery]

Dirk Kuyt, people say he’s dogshite and make fun of him, but he busted his balls constantly and scored a fair few goals for a nothing player.

Andres Iniesta, everyone says Xavi was the better player but Iniesta always stood out for me and scored important goals

Kaka, there’s a weird notion on this forum that Kaka was not that good but if you watched him at his best he was truly world class.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

Feels like we should have a parallel conversation for the overlooked!

I’ll start with a few:

Alvaro Recoba. Special left foot, pretty much erased from footy history.

Ivan Cordoba. Quite short, but a top class centre half in his time. Also rarely discussed.

Eidur Gudjohnson. Just pure class with everything he did.

Paul Pogba. Think people are often so consumed with what they think he could or should be doing that they are not paying enough attention to what he is doing. A few United league titles would have transformed the entire perception of his spell here.

Marcio Amoroso. Was a world class striker for a while, had everything, and also pretty much deleted from football history.

Harry Kewell. I thought that he was, at Leeds, the best forward player in the league, and better than Ryan Giggs in that particular period. Devastating player, rapid, strong, skilful and a goalscorer.

Fred. He’s had a poor spell this season, admittedly. Ultimately though, I think he was a relative unknown when he came to England, and he and United had a poor season in his first. From then, it became a constant case of ‘he’s actually had a good game’, but I feel that if you find yourself saying that every week, maybe he’s just a really good player.

Chris Smalling. Think he was a brilliant defender for us. I remember his first season, him forcing his way into our first XI that had both Rio and Vidic. Put in a brilliant performance away at Marseille, and started getting picked in a few games ahead of either Rio and Vidic - meaningful games too. He was consistently good for a few years, amazing in the Allianz when Evra scored that stunner and pocketed many top strikers. I always felt that his performance thread was a constant loop of ‘played well, but can’t help feeling he has a mistake in him’. And that would be repeated every week for months, until he did make a mistake, then everyone would say ‘there, see!’.

Robert Pires - aside from Ronaldo, put up probably the best season I’ve seen from wide in the PL, at least before the 433 era, and had a spell of about two years where he reached an incredible level.

Sorry but Kewell was never better than Giggs at any time, ridiculous statement and a classic case of Giggs being under rated.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

Dirk Kuyt, people say he’s dogshite and make fun of him, but he busted his balls constantly and scored a fair few goals for a nothing player.

Andres Iniesta, everyone says Xavi was the better player but Iniesta always stood out for me and scored important goals

Kaka, there’s a weird notion on this forum that Kaka was not that good but if you watched him at his best he was truly world class.

Xavi played deeper than Iniesta for the most part but still has more goals and assists for Barcelona.

 

[Eternitiy]

David Silva. One of the best players I have ever seen. I was absolutely devastated that City signed him, and he became a legend for them. We were heavily linked with him around 2008 I believe.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Recoba was pretty good but his recognition suffers because he never did anything really noteworthy on the international stage (including European competitions). Inter fans surely remember him as an icon though.

Not sure Pires belongs here; is there anyone who didn't rate Pires highly? I mean, he was a massive twat like almost everyone in that Arsenal team but his abilities were never really questioned.

Inter fans remember Recoba has a lovable, lazy rogue who was usually injured or watching the game from the bench while on one of, if not the, biggest contract in European football.
He's a cult player.
He was a great player of PES though, by all accounts. Would usually beat his Inter teammates quite regularly, to their annoyance.

 

[Acrobat7]

Jerome Boateng.
People reduce him to being spun around by Messi (Messi!!) and fail to recognize that he was an undisputed starter for fantastic teams and very good to world class CB for a decade.

 

[SATA]

Mark Viduka. Quality number 9

Christian Vieri too. Nobody could really get near him at his peak

 

[mu4c_20le]

Jack Wilshere, the original Foden, before injuries ruined him.

He has been described by Arsène Wenger as having "Spanish technique, but an English heart."

 

[pablo__p]

Alessandro Del Piero.

Personally, I think he's one of the best players ever and this is one of the best goals ever scored.


He was also better at free kicks than Ronaldo, Messi, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona combined.

If I scored a goal Iike this on fifa, I'd be questioning game's mechanics...

My shout out goes to Łukasz Piszczek.