Who is the most overrated player in PL history?

A cult has developed around the previously underrated Scholes since his retirement, as evidenced by the player quotes about him that have become a well mocked meme at this point.

Given that, I'm not at all surprised that Scholes is now seen as overrated. I would certainly expect that to be the case on neutral forums, where posters have spent years hearing Manchester United fans shower praise on him.

Given we're no less biased than other fans, there are bound to be players Manchester United fans as a group overrate. Of course the people who overrate those players aren't going to accept that they're overrating them because, well, that's how overrating works. I think Scholes is as fair a call as any to fit into that category. All you really have to do is see what neutral fans actually have to say on the issue.
 
shamans said:
So let's see, Based on this thread so far, here's one possible attack for "team overrated"

-------------Owen Drogba-------
-----J.Cole Scholes Gerrard Beckham
------------------ Viera

:lol:
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Can replace the front two with Rooney and Shearer?
 
sullydnl said:
A cult has developed around the previously underrated Scholes since his retirement, as evidenced by the player quotes about him that have become a well mocked meme at this point.

Given that, I'm not at all surprised that Scholes is now seen as overrated. I would certainly expect that to be the case on neutral forums, where posters have spent years hearing Manchester United fans shower praise on him.

Given we're no less biased than other fans, there are bound to be players Manchester United fans as a group overrate. Of course the people who overrate those players aren't going to accept that they're overrating them because, well, that's how overrating works. I think Scholes is as fair a call as any to fit into that category. All you really have to do is see what neutral fans actually have to say on the issue.
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If the general consensus among neutral fans is that Scholes wasn't quite as good we United fans think he was, then he wouldn't be overrated at all, rather he would be underrated or simply fairly rated (is fairly rated even a thing?).

The entire metric for the measuring of players, past or present, needs to clearly defined before you can enter into a debate if we're being honest.
 
I can't really think of someone very overrated, but I do remember the one season wonders.

Roque Santa Cruz, Amr Zaki and Mido comes to mind. Fascinating how you can go from shit hot to just shit.
 
SwansonsTache said:
I can't really think of someone very overrated, but I do remember the one season wonders.

Roque Santa Cruz, Amr Zaki and Mido comes to mind. Fascinating how you can go from shit hot to just shit.
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Some of those are a blast from the past.
I remember watching a football program about rising stars. It must have been before either a world cup or euros back in the day and they were banging on about Santa Cruz. Pretty sure he was playing for a German team at the time. Bayern maybe?
 
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Rooney is the top goal scorer of United and that’s despite him not playing as a striker except for 2seasons. Somehow he is overrated? I’ve never been a fan of the guys style of play but you can’t deny that he was brilliant.
 
This award belongs to none other than the great Scott Parker. Followed closely by Valencia, Park, Fabregas
 
JK-27 said:
Beckham for me. What is he really famous for in a footballing sense? Crossing and free kicks. That's it. Could only use his right foot, can't dribble, can't tackle, can't head the ball, wasn't particularly fast, was never as good as Giggs, we upgraded on him when we got Ronaldo to replace him yet for some reason he's mentioned in the same breath as real legends.
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shamans said:
This thread really has shown the worst in some of you posters. Beckham overrated? If anything he was unfairly underrated due to his fame!
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Verminator said:
Fully agree.
A player like Beckham today would cost more than Pogba.
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Beckham? My God this thread is the plague in one thread. In fact Beckhams's best attribute is being Neville's best mate and marrying a spice girl.
Obi-Red-Kenobi said:
The problem here is so many people are blinded by their club, and not by the quality of the player. Not just UTD fans, but all fans, in one way or another.

An example would be ‘we hate Messi, because we love Ronaldo’ ( the same Ronaldo who left UTD to go to a bigger club, to win more trophies, having wanted to go the year before, and shot on sight every 5 minutes in the European Cup final, during his anti Barca/Look at what you’re getting Madrid mindset).

The ‘we hate Mourinho mindset’ changed from when he was at Chelsea, where he was disliked, because ‘we now hate Pep’ , because he manages Messi and wins trophies’ and he is stopping Ronaldo from winning trophies. This changed to ‘we love Mourinho’ because he’s now our Manager, but after the dust settled, this turned in to ‘we mostly hate Mourinho’ because he was being....well Mourinho.

However, we ‘still hate Messi’ because he’s still competing with Ronaldo, even though he left us, and knocked us out of the European Cup. ‘We still hate Pep’, because he keeps winning, and is a fraud, but Mourinho who has spent more than any other Manager in the history of the game, is not a Fraud.

On to Scholes, who was a great player, but has never been UTD’s best player, in any year, at any time in his UTD career. He has been in the EPL team of the year twice (Gerrard 8 times). A great player, absolutely, overrated, maybe. He has never made in to UEFA’s team of the year, never been nominated for UEFA player of the year, and never in the top 3 of the Balon Do’r, nor been Player of the year, or Writers play of the year.

A great player, but nowhere near UTD’s top 5, and just in the top 10. I am happy to name some...

But I’d never say he is the most overrated.

Gerrard, who has been called a ‘bottler’ on here, is classed as ‘the most overrated’ even though he has won footballer of the year twice, as recognised in the outside of Liverpool world. This might be because he scored in the UEFA Cup final, topping off 3 trophies in a year, or it might be because he scored the first goal in the greatest European Cup final comeback ever (without even mentioning the last gasp goal from 25 yards against Olympiacos), or it might be, because he scored first in the League Cup final, beating UTD.

He also scored in the final minute of the FA Cup final, having gone down with cramp, from 35 yards out, having bought his team level earlier in the game after being 2 down.

He also scored many, many goals against UTD, and other big teams at home and abroad, in the biggest games, which bottlers don’t do. And has over 100 caps for England.

He didn’t win the league, but remains the only player to score in all of the major cup finals. But he came close, a couple of times, losing to UTD’s greatest ever team (in my opinion) in 2008/2009, having won 4-1 against said team at Old Trafford.

And despite the rhetoric, the Liverpool team that ‘bottled it’ in 2013/2014 won 12 of its last 14 games, drawing 1 and losing one. That’s 37 points in 14 games, and title winning form some would say.

People who don’t support Man UTD, think he is an excellent player, as do they with Scholes.

If you took Gerrard and put him in the UTD Team, he would have strengthened them, and certainly would not have weakened them, and if you took out Gerrard and put in Scholes, then Istanbul, Wembley, and the others would not have happened.

Ferguson tried to sign him twice, and Mourinho 3 times, but as the narrative goes, he’s overrated. Of course he is.
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Gotta accept it mate. He's overrated. Just had a good long shot from time to time but positionally awful, passing decision making was league 2 levels hence all the missed Hollywood balls. Selfish, tactically enept. In fact, but for his athleticism and hard shot, he may not have made it pro. Yet another player relying on physical attributes.
 
meamth said:
Beckham did deliver the cross to Sheringham, and then Ole found that 2nd ball and the rest is history.

Beckham did that famous free kick against Greece when England's hope of qualifying seems lost.

He had his moments, he was for me the true modern superstar who made United famous around the world.
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I think a few people had heard of us before Beckham. :nervous: ffs
 
Stacks said:
Beckham? My God this thread is the plague in one thread. In fact Beckhams's best attribute is being Neville's best mate and marrying a spice girl.

Gotta accept it mate. He's overrated. Just had a good long shot from time to time but positionally awful, passing decision making was league 2 levels hence all the missed Hollywood balls. Selfish, tactically enept. In fact, but for his athleticism and hard shot, he may not have made it pro. Yet another player relying on physical attributes.
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Amazing how he was overrated at every club he played for. Why would any club give him a job? To sell shirts?
Wow! This place!
 
Roy Keane
Frank Lampard
Alexis Sanchez
Wayne Rooney
Kevin De Bruyne
Dele Alli
Van Dijk
 
Stacks said:
Beckham? My God this thread is the plague in one thread. In fact Beckhams's best attribute is being Neville's best mate and marrying a spice girl.

Gotta accept it mate. He's overrated. Just had a good long shot from time to time but positionally awful, passing decision making was league 2 levels hence all the missed Hollywood balls. Selfish, tactically enept. In fact, but for his athleticism and hard shot, he may not have made it pro. Yet another player relying on physical attributes.
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What the hell is this
 
2cents said:
Scholes scored against Newcastle in the 1999 FA Cup final.
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Yeah you are right.
I thought i remembered him scoring in a final but for some reason my mind went a bit blank.
Thanks.
 
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Maybe not that overrated but remember Ljungberg? Part of the invincible etc etc then left for west ham and looked like a pub player
 
Gerrard had a lot of great attributes but some hideous flaws to his game. I think he is a level below Scholes, Keane and Viera.

Cantona is one of my favourite players of all time but due to him leading us to 5 titles, his charisma and playing in a relatively weak league at the time he is viewed by some as being a better player than he actually was.
 
Jay-Jay Okocha

There are some poor sods growing up today playing FIFA Ultimate team over the last few years, who will grow up believing that he was some sort of footballing legend and one of the best players to have ever played football. Bollocks he was, good player but as far as I know was never even close to that level.
 
Skills said:
Jay-Jay Okocha

There are some poor sods growing up today playing FIFA Ultimate team over the last few years, who will grow up believing that he was some sort of footballing legend and one of the best players to have ever played football. Bollocks he was, good player but as far as I know was never even close to that level.
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Weird one, as hardly anyone thinks he’s a top tier legend, at the same time ability wise he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to kick a ball, how can you think not? He could make any pass in the book, shoot with either feet, score 40 yard free kicks and was as skilful as anyone not named Ronaldinho, if not for dubious career moves he would have been even more well regarded, if you saw Okocha at 98 World Cup you would know he was uniquely talented and in retrospect underachieved for one reason or the other.
 
shamans said:
They were mentioned too? :wenger:
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Can't believe people are actually daring to suggest Alan Shearer was overrated....Alan fecking Shearer man...he was better than probably anyone playing football today outside of Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo.
 
Escape Goat said:
Lampard.
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Lampard overrated? How?
Outscored great strikers from the midfield. The ultimate big game player. And was at the heart of Chelsea's challenge of United's dominance in the premier league. I dare say he is even often underrated.
 
GM K said:
Lampard overrated? How?
Outscored great strikers from the midfield. The ultimate big game player. And was at the heart of Chelsea's challenge of United's dominance in the premier league. I dare say he is even often underrated.
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I remember when Chelsea bought Lampard from West Ham for £12m and I thought he was overrated at the time. I am happy to admit I was proved majorly wrong. The guy was utterly heroic for a decade or so. So many goals from him just timing that run into the box right...
 
VorZakone said:
Hazard.
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Hazard overrated? Wow. He will walk into any team in Europe today, easily. The same can be said about any team in Europe in the last 5 seasons or so including the all conquering Barcelona and Madrid teams.
 
GM K said:
Hazard overrated? Wow. He will walk into any team in Europe today, easily. The same can be said about any team in Europe in the last 5 seasons or so including the all conquering Barcelona and Madrid teams.
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Hazard is a great PL player, but outside of the PL, he has really shown far too little. Did nothing of note for Chelsea in the CL and he hasn't truely shone for Belgium other than reaching 1 WC semi-final.

At a time he was compared to Neymar, but Neymar is on another level compared to Hazard IMO.
 
Harry Kewell. Always talked about like some kind of genius, in the end he never did anything.
 
Random Task said:
Do I disagree with your biased opinion that Scholes is/was overrated? Yes, I do.

I have already said as much in this thread.
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Might be, might be....there’s a difference, and I still said he was a great player.
 
GM K said:
Hazard overrated? Wow. He will walk into any team in Europe today, easily. The same can be said about any team in Europe in the last 5 seasons or so including the all conquering Barcelona and Madrid teams.
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Great player on his day, but overrated when added to the ‘best player in the world’ debate. Never has been, and never will be. He’s stringy in his level of performances.
 
Obi-Red-Kenobi said:
Great player on his day, but overrated when added to the ‘best player in the world’ debate. Never has been, and never will be. He’s stringy in his level of performances.
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Everyone besides Messi/Ronaldo that is thrust into that debate is overrated.
 
Not saying he's overrated, but Ruud van Nistelrooy is rated far, higher in Manchestera than he is in Holland.

Here he was mostly seen as a great target man with poor technique. Honestly think most Dutch people rate Kluivert higher.
 
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