Calling Real Madrid a circus.
The greatest sacrificial players of all-time?
- Thread starter Fortitude
- Start date
Would have been a better move for him. He was better with players around him in and around the penalty area than the long balls we punted his way with only Owen in support, unsurprisingly.
Maybe his best game for us was against capellos Roma. We pressed them deep into their own half and they just couldn't live with how much space he could create with his physique in such compressed area.
That and the 4-0 against arsenal. Never-ending forget how he just brushed Keown aside like a twig for Owen's goal. Don't think he lost a single duel that game.
Ole is a great shout in fairness. Teddy Sheringham also, look at his united career, also made a career for Tony Cascarino and greatly assisted Shearer for England.
Nicklas Bendtner, purposely played like shite so his teammates would look better, a real players player
Oh.. didn't know you were a Madrid supporter. Anyway circus is a mild term for your club. SAF aptly called Madrid "a mob".
That really doesn't fit the thread. He was the focal point of the team up front.
Essien. Ended up playing fullback a handful of times.
Not a madrid supporter, but they are the most succesfull club of all time. Look at us since fergie left.
Emile Heskey was basically a security guard for Michael Owen for club and country for a while. He was there to get beaten up by the defenders so Mike will nip in and get the glory.
Richard Slaughter for the Blyth Spartans.
Makelele during the Chelsea glory years.
Giroud at the World Cup.
Giroud at the World Cup.
Gabriel Jesus?
Not sure how we’re defining this but that was his role so I don’t think he was sacrificing himself in terms of limiting his wider array of talents.
Okazaki at Leicester
Suarez - I think he could've scored more goals but assisted to Messi or Neymar instead of taking the chance himself
Suarez - I think he could've scored more goals but assisted to Messi or Neymar instead of taking the chance himself
"Super sub" Ole.
Why was he almost always a substitute? He never complained ever during his tenure. He did say much, much later that he didnt feel like a sub and felt he could easily start, but it only motivated him to "prove the boss wrong [by scoring] when he would be let in on the pitch".
Neymar is an arsehat like RC9
Now that you mention it, maybe that is what Phil Jones is doing, as well?
Why was he almost always a substitute? He never complained ever during his tenure. He did say much, much later that he didnt feel like a sub and felt he could easily start, but it only motivated him to "prove the boss wrong [by scoring] when he would be let in on the pitch".
To be fair, Messi reciprocated and was never a selfish prick like RC9. On more than one occasion he even visibly let Suarez score when he had a clear chance himself, and that time in 2018 when he let Suarez take the penalty instead of completing a hat trick himself.
Neymar is an arsehat like RC9
Now that you mention it, maybe that is what Phil Jones is doing, as well?
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Lacazette currently?
Our succes or the lack of it since SAF has not made us a "circus". We were not Blatter's favoured club, we have not tapped up stars from other teams unethically, we do not borrow money from Banks to purchase the flavor of the year players and then lose interest in them the second another arrives on the scene, we were not the ones who need referees to red card our opponent players in UCL knockout matches (Nani says Hi), we have never gone for a full team of galacticos and ignored home grown talent altogether, we don't gift Audi's to our already rich players for Christmas because that's not a statement worth making. Finally, and this is really what makes us "not a circus" is that we still have not changed managers seven times in the last 9 years like a certain circus club despite their supposedly being more successful than us...heck they didn't even spare a guy who was giving them the UCL every year!
Obi Mikel was an exciting #10 for Nigeria and became a boring workhorse for his Chelsea career. Anderson similarly but the leg break was a big factor
Yaya Toure at Barcelona. Even played CB in a Champions League final against us. Did pretty brilliant too.
Watching El Classico this week I was shocked by the lack of quality. Mendy and Messi withstanding... That 2009 Barcelona side would destroy the current one.
Watching El Classico this week I was shocked by the lack of quality. Mendy and Messi withstanding... That 2009 Barcelona side would destroy the current one.
We are an absolute circus mate. Where have you been the last 6 years. We're a mess of a club.
This sounds pretty bitter at points, and Man Utd have absolutely been a circus the past six years, just a much more boring circus than Madrid.
You don’t need “supposedly” by the way, Madrid are more successful than Man Utd.
On a Man Utd forum a Man Utd supporter calling Real Madrid a circus and multiple Man Utd supporters on same Man Utd forum springing to the defence of Real Madrid.
Only on Red Cafe.
Right here supporting my club. Not salivating at the success of other clubs and not objecting when other clubs are bashed around a bit. Our lack of success does not make us a circus. And I hate Real with a gusto. Hope that is clear.
No our lack of leadership, unprofessional players, clear hunger for sponsorship deals rather than football, Our players being clearly unfit for a whole season, Our revolving door of managers, Our CEO constantly twisting and turning the media etc. We look like the worst run big club in europe. Maybe only Arsenal look worse.
Ji-Sung Park. His game was never about the goals and assists but still managed to get enough in big games.
Cruelly ‘sacrificed’ in 2007-08 when he wasn’t even on the bench for the CL final.
Cruelly ‘sacrificed’ in 2007-08 when he wasn’t even on the bench for the CL final.
Some great shouts in here so far.
Re. Heskey. I did mention him in jest, but still, he was far, far more talented than given credit for after Houllier essentially got him eternally labelled and utilised as a donkey in service of others.
Sky had his PL career goals on the other day, and at Leicester and early Liverpool he was a player thoroughly deserving of his move to a top club.
Problem with Heskey was he was a serious confidence player who wanted to please managers and it didn't take long for him to lose faith in himself and start thinking in a way he really shouldn't have been. That's when his decline began, for me; he no longer did anything daring or expansive and practically became reliant on his raw strength and athleticism and not the footballing ability that saw him rise so rapidly in the first place.
If Houllier never crossed paths with Heskey, his career would have looked wholly different to what it was. Unlike Benzema or Rooney, he wasn't even sacrificing himself for trophies and success - just better goal tallies for others, which is terrible when you think about it.
Re. Heskey. I did mention him in jest, but still, he was far, far more talented than given credit for after Houllier essentially got him eternally labelled and utilised as a donkey in service of others.
Sky had his PL career goals on the other day, and at Leicester and early Liverpool he was a player thoroughly deserving of his move to a top club.
Problem with Heskey was he was a serious confidence player who wanted to please managers and it didn't take long for him to lose faith in himself and start thinking in a way he really shouldn't have been. That's when his decline began, for me; he no longer did anything daring or expansive and practically became reliant on his raw strength and athleticism and not the footballing ability that saw him rise so rapidly in the first place.
If Houllier never crossed paths with Heskey, his career would have looked wholly different to what it was. Unlike Benzema or Rooney, he wasn't even sacrificing himself for trophies and success - just better goal tallies for others, which is terrible when you think about it.
Surely Jesus.
Terrible on crosses and disappears over the Easter fixtures.
A godsend during the Christmas fixtures though.
spare the guy who was giving them the UCL every year? They didn't fire Zidane, he quit.
For me, chopping and changing managers all so often is not what makes a club a circus. Being a circus on the pitch and having dreadfull squad despite spending 900 million is a circurs. Hiring Moyes to replace Saf is a circurs and we have been ever since he left and it started when we sold Ronaldo and Tevez and replaced them with Valencia and Michael Owen. Varane was about to join us, but opted for Madrid because we signed Phil Jones instead. Hazard joined Chelsea because they were willing to pay his agent fee's, so we got players like Ashley Young instead.
John O Shea
Rooney was the ultimate. He was finished at elite level at around 27 years of age for giving so much of himself, for so many years for the greater good of the team, and probably was well cheesed off with Fergie for slaughtering him, when his body could probably no longer do all the donkey work as well as the attacking anymore. But RVN, Ole, Saha, RVP, CR7 all owe a debt to Rooney.
Beckham was brilliant also. He was everywhere on the pitch in his prime. Jumping into tackles and doing the dirty work. Giggs also. Both of their attacking brilliance was halted in certain games where they'd be asked to do the dirty work, as the likes of Ruud or Cole would stay focused on attack.
Beckham was brilliant also. He was everywhere on the pitch in his prime. Jumping into tackles and doing the dirty work. Giggs also. Both of their attacking brilliance was halted in certain games where they'd be asked to do the dirty work, as the likes of Ruud or Cole would stay focused on attack.
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It wasn't the tactical requirements that finished Rooney. He never took proper care of himself to have a longer career.
Giroud.
I think it was a bit of both. A lot of Premier league legends are past it before 30 years old from wear and tear. Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Andy Cole, Van Nistelrooy etc
Rooney had been playing continuously for club and country from 16/17 years old, without much of a break at any point.
Some (many?) would argue that it was the Galacticos in the squad (esp. RC9) and series of highly suspicious referring that gave them 3 consecutive CL titles, but I guess Zidane can also take SOME credit…
Ronaldo left in 2009. Next season, 2010/11 we won EPL and played UCL final against Barcelona. Doesn't feel like a start of a circus, results-wise, but ok
You cannot possibly blame anybody at United for Ronaldo moving to RM. That prick had a fetish for RM from early childhood and was adamant on going. Started complaining about "slavery" when United refused to let him go and threw so much tantrum that we had to let him go.
As for Tevez - good riddance, seriously. That guy was out of control as witnessed by the drama he staged at City, including the running home and playing golf for months, in the middle of the PL season, only because he got angry at his coach. Super unprofessional
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How is Heskey considered great? Not even Liverpool supporters think he was any good, he's a reminder of a failed system. And an average player, but then again, apart from having in form Owen and later Gerrard Liverpool were quite average for the longest time.
Some of those guys suffered bad injuries or didn't take great care of themselves (like Rooney). Take your point that Rooney was an early developer whose biological age was always greater than his chronological age.
There was nothing "sacrificial" about Rooney. That was just the way he played. Even when he was the starting centre forward he'd chase the ball all over the pitch.
He was an instinctive "street footballer" who was very competitive. It was just how he played. It was what made him the player he was but his "sacrifice" could also be seen as tactical indiscipline and was often to the detriment of the team.
It's why Fergie played him wide in big European games. It's a simple role to play defensively and requires effort more than tactical nuance.
Whos RC9?