Ronaldinho
Kaka
Owen
Zidane
This thread is wild.
Kaka
Owen
Zidane
This thread is wild.
Which player had the biggest purple patch followed by the steepest decline?
- Thread starter horsechoker
- Start date
Pato. He was supposed to be the next big thing in football and then just disappeared.
Because Rio carried the back four and once he was out and Wes stepped in we witnessed Silvestre's failings at CB. I think you're massively overrating Silvestre's performances that half season and I do not recall a single Caf member mentioning Silvestre in the top handful of players in the league at time. His best performances for the club always came from the LB position with his dangerous crossing abilities and pace to get down the flank.
Don't forget Alan Brazil!
The England Euro 2020 team is looking like a good shout
Poborsky? Set the world alight at the 96 Euros to the extent that he earned a transfer to United. Pretty mediocre career before that playing in Czechia, pretty mediocre for United, and pretty mediocre career after his stint here, but he was magical for one month for his national team.
Micky Quinn at Coventry 10 goals in his first 6 league games then only 15 in his next 58
Jack Rodwell is up there. Was a good player at Everton.
No idea why we signed him as he was already rubbish.
Modric
Ronaldo
Messi
Ronaldo
Messi
He's underrated imo, his club career doesn't quite do him justice as a player. United was really the only team he did badly at, as he went on to play very well for Benfica and Lazio. He was excellent that first half season after signing for lazio in january playing alongside Nedved, Veron, Simeone, but unlucky with the timing of the move, as those players then left, or got injured, and lazio started a decline. Mendieta came in and flopped, the team didn't play well overall and he went back to Sparta Prague at the end of the season, despite not doing badly individually.
It was with the national team i watched him most though, and he wasn't just good at Euro 96. He was consistently excellent from 95 to 04 and often outshone Nedved, especially creatively.
Deserved the england call up as well. Was decent too, but within 2-3 seasons he ended up in Scottish league and eventually lower division.
Agree with everything you've written.
One of the biggest differences between football back then and now is how much attention is given to stats today. 06/07 was Ronaldinho's highest scoring la liga season and second highest in all competitions during his time at Barcelona and yet he received alot criticism for the drop in quality of his allround play. If he had output like that today, it'd be called a great season.
It's so long ago that I could be mis-remembering it, but that's how I've always recalled it. He really was fantastic for that period, but obviously in hindsight he was relying on Rio next to him to provide the stability and leadership.
I agree that after that Silvestre was always better at leftback.
How did he do more than just decent at Benfica and Lazio? He scored 10 goals total in 4,5 seasons in all comps for those two clubs playing in an offensive role on the right. In that 01/02 season at Lazio he actually scored half his goals (2) that season in his last game for the club, denying Inter their Scudetto. Before that he scored 3 goals in 52 games for them, earning his return home to Prague. His offensive outlet was always underwhelming though, even for the national team, except for in the EUROs. He somehow managed to make 10 goal contributions in 14 matches over 3 EURO tournaments, while he contributed to just 14 goals in his 104 other matches for the Czech Republic. Before the EURO 2000 he had played 54 matches for the NT: 0 goals and 2 assists in the 48 games outside the EURO 1996 and 1 goal and 3 assists in 6 games in the EURO 1996….quite extraordinary.
The reason he’s mentioned here is that he looked amazing in the EURO 1996 and then went on to be just a decent right midfielder/wing for the rest of his career.
David Hirst. Injuries put paid to him, but Ferguson wanted him so badly.
He did have a drop that season, but I think it's magnified by them not winning anything. They were a hair away from a third consecutive league title, had they won it people would probably look at the season more fondly.
The next season he became a real problem, though.
Adriano, mutu, barkley, there are so many
Drinkwater
Flanagan?
I still have nightmares of Silvestre playing at CB with Brown or Blanc and Barthez or Carrol in goal.
Most unbalanced United teams in the SAF era, brilliant front 6, dogshit defence and goalie that cost us another CL, feck that.
Today when someone scores goals (even if he was shit individually) it is said that "individually he had a great season but the team were poor." Goal Scoring has become synonymous with having a great season regardless of how shit the player has otherwise been.
There was a Bolton striker who had a good start to the 01/02 season when they got promoted. Ricketts I think? He even got a couple of England caps then dropped off.
A fair few Southampton players from the 13/14 season. Lovren, Lallana and Lambert were all signed by Liverpool and struggled. Schneiderlin got a move to United and never got going again. They had a CB as well Fonte who was decent but had a drop off as well.
Im getting this kind of vibe from Nunez tbh.
A fair few Southampton players from the 13/14 season. Lovren, Lallana and Lambert were all signed by Liverpool and struggled. Schneiderlin got a move to United and never got going again. They had a CB as well Fonte who was decent but had a drop off as well.
Im getting this kind of vibe from Nunez tbh.
Gary Breen for Ireland - may have been playing for Coventry. Anyway after the 2002 World Cup he was heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan. He failed the medical and ended up at West Ham and was swiftly released after relegation in his first season.
He was a side-midfielder, not a wide-forward and the vast majority of those in that era didn't score consistently. Basing too much on goalscoring to assess one is misguided.
As for assists? Where are you getting your info from? transfermarkt? That's the one that has him down for 10 goals for Lazio and Benfica (other sources have him at 16 for league goals incidentally and transfermarkt outright doesn't even have complete info on his time at Benfica for quite a few games it seems) and also matches exactly what you're saying about his internationals.
Info for assists is often only very partially complete on most sites for players of his era and older, especially outside big games and one or two leagues of focus. I can name you loads of playes i know for a fact that their info is incomplete on there and others. Want to know how many assists they have Nedved down for over his entire NT career incidentally? Five. He must have been terrible for them, right?
Now, i'm not trying to argue he was actually an all-time great or something, but i watched him plenty (outside of his early career and Benfica0 and he was usually very good other than his spell at United. Was it purely goals and assists that made me come to that opinion, as it seems to be for you? No, it wasn't. I knew he wasn't a consistent goal threat, though his numbers there aren't really notably outside the average for an international level side-midfielder of the time that wasn't taking penalties, or a free kick specialist.
It was his often really high workrate and good skills that made me see him as a usually being a very good player (flop at United aside) his movement and general link-up play was very good. i've seen almost every Czech game from his time in full back then, other than the ones against the minnows where i only bothered getting highlights, he was consistently excellent for them, one of the key players in providing a high standard of possession and attacking threat, and often the go to wide player along with Berger at really unlocking a team with a moment of class over Nedved (who imo didn't really become a leader of the team until the 2002 qualifiers) even if not providing the final ball, but glancing at some widely incomplete assists stats won't tell you that. I didn't see him much for Benfica, just a few European/league games and some highlights, but i've read/heard Benfica fans say he did well for them after some initial injuries, so i'm happy to be corrected there if he was actually poor. however i saw him quite a lot at Lazio and he was excellent in that first half-season, then good in the next in difficult circumstances. More than enough that i don't remember him being moved on because he was crap, he just wanted to play out his last years before becoming washed up back in his home league.
He was imo a very good player that played badly at one club, not an average one that had a purple patch then a rapid decline.
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Andy Carroll was just a very basic striker, he was never stand out.
Greenwood
Januzaj has to be here. Posters still think he should have come good when he legit was terrible his entire career after that initial 6 month spell under Moyes
I thought he had a season near the top of the EPL in goals... I must be thinking of someone else?
Edit:good for 6th in goals 2010/11 but I thought it was more
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The way the media hyped him up I'm not surprised.
When Papiss Cissé arrived from Freiburg in 2011 he was a footballing Midas, with everything he touched turning into goal(d) for newcastle. Half a season of so incredible finishes. Then he turned crap and remains a half a season wonder.
1:13min, probably one of the best PL strikes ever.
1:13min, probably one of the best PL strikes ever.
Danny Simpson.
Ross Barkley? Thought he was gonna be the next Rooney.
He doesn’t fit really
He hasn't declined in skill (I think), only in morality.
Probably Maguire’s fault
If we are talking decline as in his football ability declining I guess we'll never know. However to go from being one of the hottest young prospects in world football to despised by your own fans let alone the rest of the country, is quite tragic.
Well the thread is about a purple patch. So a temporary run of good form etc.
Like it or not Greenwood was class and obviously was having more than a purple patch.
Is Nani on this list? Looked like he could be the best player in the world and then couldn’t hit a cow’s ass with a banjo.
guess they forgot toFair enough
Chelsea really lost their heads that summer, spending nearly £90m on Bakayoko and Drinkwater.
um
you know
drink water
im sorry