Where the hell were you when Anto was reinventing Nordahl as a glorified Emile Heskey?
The All-time Auction Draft
- Thread starter Annahnomoss
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Oh yeah, NOW people love Toninho.
feckers.
feckers.
------------------Nordahl
-----------------Ibrahimovic
Skoglund--Liedholm--Gren-------Hamrin
Nilsson--Hysén--P.Andersson--Bergmark
----------------Hellström
We've just had one team that was arguably the best in the world for an extended period, which was the 48-58 team and they deserve a lot of spots in the eleven for it. The 92-94 side was very good too but the quality was more spread out, and they played fantastic as a team. Brolin was the only world class player in the team more or less, but we were lucky to have an eleven of hard workers with great spirit.
The defense is really difficult, we've not had many all star quality players so Nilsson and Bergmark gets the shout for having achieved that even if it was for a short period. In the central defense Nordqvist should probably have one of the spots but I had to give some to the modern players and I like the two that were picked.
Bo Larsson could have a shout too for the midfield spots if it wasn't for this setup being completely gung-ho to fit in Zlatan.
What about the modern strikers?
Drogba, Eto'o, Ibra, etc? Not sure I saw their names.
Drogba, Eto'o, Ibra, etc? Not sure I saw their names.
With the criteria being a 3 year peak, our Falcao was certainly on the back of my mind
Add in Torres and Del Piero.
No picked them. Though one thing all time drafts never lack are strikers.
For me, the greatest miss was Kaka
Yes, I mulled and mulled over him after losing Zizinho, but no place for him in the team, sadly.
Eh? Baffling with Raees wanting a 442 diamond. Matthaus and Andrade would protect him well enough you'd think.
Guess he wasn't interested in a DLP which makes sense with Didi Kopa and Matthaus there.
Probably wouldn't have escalated had he not called him Vieri on steroids, knowing very well how much you adore Bobo.
In fairness, it was a stats battle and I stand by Erico being the better player.
But that was a draft game manipulating masterclass from you. I was lucky to be wearing shorts on the sidelines.
No that is the thing because of my misintepretation of what Andrade is as a player I ended up rejecting alot of players. Of course I would have picked Pirlo or Mascherano etc etc if I knew that he was more of a right sided midfielder.
.Seriously though, that is hardly an outlandish claim is it? Even when considering antohan's inclination towards Vieri.
Probably isn't, but anto was having none of it.
Thanks, mate - quickly delivered!------------------Nordahl
-----------------Ibrahimovic
Skoglund--Liedholm--Gren-------Hamrin
Nilsson--Hysén--P.Andersson--Bergmark
----------------Hellström
We've just had one team that was arguably the best in the world for an extended period, which was the 48-58 team and they deserve a lot of spots in the eleven for it. The 92-94 side was very good too but the quality was more spread out, and they played fantastic as a team. Brolin was the only world class player in the team more or less, but we were lucky to have an eleven of hard workers with great spirit.
The defense is really difficult, we've not had many all star quality players so Nilsson and Bergmark gets the shout for having achieved that even if it was for a short period. In the central defense Nordqvist should probably have one of the spots but I had to give some to the modern players and I like the two that were picked.
Bo Larsson could have a shout too for the midfield spots if it wasn't for this setup being completely gung-ho to fit in Zlatan.
What about Mellberg at CB – next to Hysén, say? At his absolute best, Mellberg was actually pretty feckin' good. People just think “nah, Villa, mediocre” but I remember thinking at one point that he was about to become an absolute beast. That never happened, of course – but still, not too far off either of the CBs you selected. Or am I talking bollocks?
Now – for this afternoon's second challenge: Anyone can throw in their tuppence (or kroners, as the case may be): All-time Scandinavian XI.
Or, in other words – which positions in the all-time Sweden XI can be improved upon by fielding Danes and Norwegians?
The latter don't have much, in fairness – but they do have some more than decent defenders. Best of the lot is probably Bratseth, captain (IIRC) of Olsen's '94 crew, who couldn't attack to save their lives – but who defended like their lives depended on it. Bratseth was also a big hit in the Bundesliga in the early 90s – still considered a grand player in Bremen, so they tell me.
Then we have our own lads – Berg and Johnsen, both of whom, in their pomp, were on par with the selected Swedes. Johnsen, the Chelsea man, was another decent defender – and there was one more bloke too, who played in England...can't remember. In the same era when Berg and Johnsen played in England.
The Danes could take spots at the back too. Olsen is an obvious candidate: Bratseth and Olsen at CB? That ain't too shabby.
Schmeichel goes without saying.
Side backs?
But the big question is which Danes come in and replace Swedes in midfield and attack?
Ebbe sand decent goalscorer, the laudrups, gronkjaer, tomasson?? Lord bendtner lol rommedhal lovenkrands too??
Other norweigen defender lundekvarm??
Lerby ahead of Gren - Obvious bias involved
but Lerby will complement Liedholm (who did have good workrate) better than Gren imo.Elkjaer (comes close but not ahead of Nordahl though)
Laudrup - Ahead of Ibra
M.Olsen could come into the defense as well.
Alan Simonsen surely....
Big Pete
Bergmark - Olsen -Hyypia - ??
Hamrin - Lerby - Liedholm - Simonsen
Laudrup
Elkjaer
Bergmark - Olsen -Hyypia - ??
Hamrin - Lerby - Liedholm - Simonsen
Laudrup
Elkjaer
The Golden Head (Sándor Kocsis)
From time to time in the football world, great football players are forgotten and their achievements diminished in the shadow of more popular teammates. It happened to Garrincha when the loveable Pele emerged as a star in the 1960s Brazil team, and it also plagued Karl-Heinz Rummenigge when the spotlight shifted to Lothar Matthäus in the German sides of the 1980s. This curse is one shared by Sándor Kocsis: to be overlooked and underrated because he shared the stage with one of the most famous players of his generation. However, while Kocsis’ career wasn’t filled with player-of-the-century awards like Puskás’ was, it was arguably just as spectacular.
Zoltan Czibor sauntered into the dressing room, wholly satisfied by his first-half exhibition. Hungary led Sweden 3-0 in their Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Helsinki 1952 semi-final. He had put the first-minute opener on a plate for Ferenc Puskas, witnessed the same player cannon a shot against the crossbar from his teasing centre, and then another of his crosses, which was en route to the infallible left boot of ‘The Galloping Major’, diverted into his own goal by Gosta Lindh.
Congratulation was expected. Condemnation arrived. Directing it was a team-mate. “He told me to stop crossing low for Puskas, that if I’d put more crosses in the air we’d have scored even more.” explained Czibor. “Puskas was the greatest player in the world. I don’t think anybody else would have dared take issue.”
The protester nevertheless had a voice that commanded attention. Czibor took heed and began to alternate between low and high crosses. The critic duly vindicated his half-time outburst by scoring twice en route to a 6-0 victory. They contributed to him retiring having netted a preposterous 75 goals in 68 internationals and almost a hundred more headers than Dario, the Brazilian who sits second on the list of football’s all-time aerial kings. Those stupefying statistics pay testament to why Sandor Kocsis could challenge even the immortal Puskas.
Goals/game average rankings for players past 43 caps FIFA in class-A competition:
Rank 1: Sándor Kocsis with 1.103
Rank 2: Gerd Müller with 1.097
Rank 3: Ferenc Puskás with 0.99
Other Achievements:
- Top goal scorer in any European league in both 1952 and 1954.
- Scored 75 goals in 68 games for Hungary – a 1.10 goal/game average.
- Top goal scorer in the 1954 World Cup with 11 goals.
- First player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup.
- His record 2.2 goal/game average in a single World Cup finals competition is still unbeaten as of 2014 and only Just Fontaine has scored more goals in a single World Cup
With such a stellar record, it is not quite clear why Kocsis fades from memory when great players are mentioned. Puskas was definitely a better overall player with excellent abilities and the ball, but when it comes to scoring goals, Kocsis was arguably better. His national records lies forgotten behind Puskas, his importance to the Barcelona team was seconded to shadows again by Puskas/Di Stefano in Real Madrid and so one of the greatest football players was lost in the shadows of history.
From time to time in the football world, great football players are forgotten and their achievements diminished in the shadow of more popular teammates. It happened to Garrincha when the loveable Pele emerged as a star in the 1960s Brazil team, and it also plagued Karl-Heinz Rummenigge when the spotlight shifted to Lothar Matthäus in the German sides of the 1980s. This curse is one shared by Sándor Kocsis: to be overlooked and underrated because he shared the stage with one of the most famous players of his generation. However, while Kocsis’ career wasn’t filled with player-of-the-century awards like Puskás’ was, it was arguably just as spectacular.
Zoltan Czibor sauntered into the dressing room, wholly satisfied by his first-half exhibition. Hungary led Sweden 3-0 in their Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Helsinki 1952 semi-final. He had put the first-minute opener on a plate for Ferenc Puskas, witnessed the same player cannon a shot against the crossbar from his teasing centre, and then another of his crosses, which was en route to the infallible left boot of ‘The Galloping Major’, diverted into his own goal by Gosta Lindh.
Congratulation was expected. Condemnation arrived. Directing it was a team-mate. “He told me to stop crossing low for Puskas, that if I’d put more crosses in the air we’d have scored even more.” explained Czibor. “Puskas was the greatest player in the world. I don’t think anybody else would have dared take issue.”
The protester nevertheless had a voice that commanded attention. Czibor took heed and began to alternate between low and high crosses. The critic duly vindicated his half-time outburst by scoring twice en route to a 6-0 victory. They contributed to him retiring having netted a preposterous 75 goals in 68 internationals and almost a hundred more headers than Dario, the Brazilian who sits second on the list of football’s all-time aerial kings. Those stupefying statistics pay testament to why Sandor Kocsis could challenge even the immortal Puskas.
Lazslo Budai said:
A big man, Kocsis was a powerful forward and a superb header of the ball. His talents in the air led him to the catchy and affectionate nickname “The Man with the Golden Head“. He finished as top goal scorer in the Hungarian league on three occasions; in 1951, 1952 and 1954, scoring 30, 36 and 33 goals respectively. During the 1952 and 1954 seasons, he was the most productive goal scorer on the planet in first division football, a feat the great Puskás only accomplished once. Puskás began his international career in 1945, while Kocsis only earned his first cap in 1948. This gave Puskás an extra three years of play, amounting to 17 games more than Kocsis would ever manage. It is for this reason, and not talent, that Puskás is Hungary’s all-time leading goal scorer. Kocsis, believe it or not, was actually the more clinical striker of the two. He scored an amazing 75 goals in just 68 games for Hungary. His statistics speak for themselves:Gusztav Sebes said:
Goals/game average rankings for players past 43 caps FIFA in class-A competition:
Rank 1: Sándor Kocsis with 1.103
Rank 2: Gerd Müller with 1.097
Rank 3: Ferenc Puskás with 0.99
Other Achievements:
- Top goal scorer in any European league in both 1952 and 1954.
- Scored 75 goals in 68 games for Hungary – a 1.10 goal/game average.
- Top goal scorer in the 1954 World Cup with 11 goals.
- First player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup.
- His record 2.2 goal/game average in a single World Cup finals competition is still unbeaten as of 2014 and only Just Fontaine has scored more goals in a single World Cup
With such a stellar record, it is not quite clear why Kocsis fades from memory when great players are mentioned. Puskas was definitely a better overall player with excellent abilities and the ball, but when it comes to scoring goals, Kocsis was arguably better. His national records lies forgotten behind Puskas, his importance to the Barcelona team was seconded to shadows again by Puskas/Di Stefano in Real Madrid and so one of the greatest football players was lost in the shadows of history.
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Beat me to itLerby ahead of Gren - Obvious bias involved
Elkjaer (comes close but not ahead of Nordahl though)
Laudrup - Ahead of Ibra
M.Olsen could come into the defense as well.
Also, for the slow: '94 Olsen and Olsen the CB obviously ain't the same man. 1) Norwegian manager famous for negative tactics and for wearing wellies on match days – and 2) Danish defender who played for Cologne and the vintage Danish teams of the mid 80s, and went on to manage Denmark (still does, AFAIK).
Can't have Hyypia - Scandinavia only.
But I suppose we could equally well do a Nordic XI, in which Hyypia (that old bastard) would be a very decent shout.
Apologies to my Scandinavian friends here. Mix up. 
Bjornebye as the left back??? Or riise..
Matthäus in a diamond with Pirlo and Kopa? Really? Can't think of a worse way of using Matthäus.
Bjornebye! That's who I was thinking of before. He had a very decent foot on him, IIRC. I'd take him over Roland Nilsson.
Sjor wanted him but I thought Laudrup was a better fit + better peak. I don't remember Kaka as an amazing 3 years tbh more 2.Add in Torres and Del Piero.
No picked them. Though one thing all time drafts never lack are strikers.
For me, the greatest miss was Kaka
Balu what is your take on the
Andrade Matthaus
Didi
Midfield.. would it be too cheeky to go 4-2-2-2Didi
Andrade Matthaus
Kopa Didi
Puskas Meazza
Kopa Didi
Puskas Meazza
I hate 4222. Useless tactic in general. The only reason to play it is to shoehorn as many midfielders into the team as possible and it only works if some of them can fill very specific roles.
Things you can do on the inter...net.
Too much time on your hands lolThings you can do on the inter...net.
It's actually taken 5 or so minutes, people have all the tools and shit ready these days.
Scandinavian XI.
Now, several questions may be asked about this – undoubtedly.
Simonsen isn't ideal, I think, on the left – but he might be said to play a more free roaming AM role. Hamrin operates as a winger – Simonsen in a free role.
Not too sure how the Liedholm- Laudrup dynamics would actually work either – but both has to play, that's beyond debate. Gren has to go – he's too offensive, so Lerby comes in there.
The defence is, well – I don't know. The CB pairing isn't ideal – as neither player is a stopper or anything of that sort. Both would look better paired with a proper clean-up merchant – but there you go.
I went with Bjornebye for lack of alternatives, really. But he was a good player and has more to offer than, say, Roland Nilsson. Riise could have been considered, but for my money he was frequently horrible as a pure LB for Liverpool, actually better as a wide midfielder of sorts. A player like Sivebaek, say, would have been a shoe-in, but I think we have to consider him a clear-cut right sided player, so he doesn't solve the LB conundrum.
I think believing in the motto "anyone but Riise" is a safe strategy going forward for any team.
What about flinging Lerby in at LB as a means of shoe-horning in another reputable midfielder while squeezing out a defensive no-mark?
Scandinavian XI.
Now, several questions may be asked about this – undoubtedly.
Simonsen isn't ideal, I think, on the left – but he might be said to play a more free roaming AM role. Hamrin operates as a winger – Simonsen in a free role.
Not too sure how the Liedholm- Laudrup dynamics would actually work either – but both has to play, that's beyond debate. Gren has to go – he's too offensive, so Lerby comes in there.
The defence is, well – I don't know. The CB pairing isn't ideal – as neither player is a stopper or anything of that sort. Both would look better paired with a proper clean-up merchant – but there you go.
I went with Bjornebye for lack of alternatives, really. But he was a good player and has more to offer than, say, Roland Nilsson. Riise could have been considered, but for my money he was frequently horrible as a pure LB for Liverpool, actually better as a wide midfielder of sorts. A player like Sivebaek, say, would have been a shoe-in, but I think we have to consider him a clear-cut right sided player, so he doesn't solve the LB conundrum.
That ain't a bad idea, actually.
Lerby would do a job there – he was wont to play as a defensively solid left midfielder, after all, might even have done a stint at LB from time to time.
Question is who comes in. Gren, I maintain, is too offensive – Liedholm can't hold much, realistically.
But the insanely slow, but clever, Jan Molby could. He's reputable enough too.
Mellberg was great, always a rock for Sweden and for a long time he carried us. Unfortunately he never got the chance to shine on club level to the extent that he would need to be compared to the greatest.
Aage Praest----Nordahl-----Hamrin
-------Liedholm---Laudrup---Gren---
Nilsson--Bratseth--Olsen--Bergmark
-------------Schmeichel---------------
As a team it is pretty horrible, both Bratseth/Olsen(and Andersson/Larsson) were sweeper/libero types and those two full backs are nothing extra-ordinary.
The front trio looks pretty much perfect in every way, two brilliant dribbling wingers with Skoglund up front. The midfield is completely unbalanced but it isn't about creating a team so feck it. Those three deserves to be in there over the rest, yes even Lerby.
If the idea is to create the best team ever it turns a lot more interesting, but nearly impossible to do so without falling down a well in terms of the quality. Probably the four best defenders were sweepers/liberos, the full backs are crap but you can't replace them with a LM and a RM unless you play Lerby/Ljungberg and Brolin in those roles which is ugly.
Fecking Scandinavia.
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I'll let you know that I've picked one of them in an all time draft on this forum.
Don't think Simonsen should be in the team. Think he's the third best left winger after Praest and Skoglund. He wouldn't get in ahead of the number 10's either.
There are different definitions of Scandinavia so you aren't incorrect at all. Geographically Finland and Denmark aren't in the Scandinavian peninsula which is one definition, in general terms we consider Scandinavia to be Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland to be in it.Apologies to my Scandinavian friends here. Mix up.