Football 2011-2012

[thetime]

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2011/05/20/2495489/pep-guardiola-manchester-uniteds-paul-scholes-is-the-best-of-his-

If pep guardiola rates him the best of his generation im sure he could scrape a place neil.

People forget he was a brilliant little striker aswel.

Edited April 10, 2012 by thetime

[kaosmark2]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/17666840 Has this ever happened before? I thought Referees were untouchable?

[strummer77]

Absolutely crazy. How can they look at that and say "Nah, correct. That was a red card".

???

Predictions for tonight? Liverpool can't lose another one? Can they?!

Ill go for 2 nil Liverpool on that basis. And because Blackburn are shit(er).

[The Nal]

I dunno. The team we've got out is very much with Saturday in mind. No Gerrard, Suarez, Agger...

[strummer77]

Ah bollocks. OK scrap my prediction so. Blackburn all the way.

Edited April 10, 2012 by strummer77

[thetime]

Doni; Flanagan, Skrtel, Coates, Johnson; Henderson, Shelvey, Spearing, Maxi; Bellamy, Carroll

League Cup 3rd round team team basically. The priorities have clearly been decided...

[strummer77]

hmmm what to watch blackburn v liverpool reserves or barcelona with messi, iniesta, fabregas and co.

[kaosmark2]

If I was neutral I don't think any PL game would definitely get the nod above any game involving Messi, Xavi and Iniesta

[The Nal]

Get warmed up son. You're playing on Saturday.

[Kowalski]

I reckon the ref has just bottled it in the Liverpool game, he should have sent their second keeper off for a professional foul.

[stylishkids]

I'm perplexed by your comments on Paul Scholes Neil.

Do you honestly believe that in the 17-18 years that Paul Scholes has been playing for Manchester United that nobody has tried the tactic of trying to limit the amount of space he has on the ball? That all the managers throughout that time only had to get someone to close him down more often and you had the tactical mind all along that the others didn't? The fact is The Nal is right. You get close and he still makes those passes and can cut out people in the oppositions midfield. People don't get tight on him because they believe the best option is to give him the space and try to stop the killer passes he makes by cutting out his options. Closely mark the wingers, strikers and other attacking mid fielders. Cut out his available options.

But the fact is Scholes and the other players are just technically better than their opponents most of the time and still create chances by finding that extra space that they can work with. The only time they will get fairly close to him is around 25 yards from goal when they can't offer him an chance of a shot on goal (minus QPR on Sunday).

And to say he can't pass a tight ball or under pressure is laughable. There's a reason why Xavi thinks he's the best midfielder of the past 20 years. Why Guardiola thinks the same. Why Zidane rates him highly. Why Henry thinks he's the best player of the Premier League. Why Fabio Capello wanted him out of retirement for the World Cup at 35. Do you honestly believe that they would say what they say about him if he couldn't? Is your arrogance that high that you believe that your opinion on Paul Scholes is the correct one? Because with constant 'PMSL's' in your posts and how you've constantly tried to shoot everyone's opinion down, I get the impression you do. Now that is laughable. Especially considering when your an armchair football viewer. Who doesn't have Sky and said a few weeks ago that you don't go in pubs with it on . So I'm amazed that someone who watches so little of him has such a large understanding of his game. Such a large understanding that it's better than the greats in the game.

Edited April 10, 2012 by stylishkids

[stylishkids]

EDIT: Double post

Edited April 10, 2012 by stylishkids

[pink_triangle]

Interesting article here:

http://www.guardian....pool?CMP=twt_gu

[pink_triangle]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/17666840 Has this ever happened before? I thought Referees were untouchable?

[pink_triangle]

And to say he can't pass a tight ball or under pressure is laughable. There's a reason why Xavi thinks he's the best midfielder of the past 20 years. Why Guardiola thinks the same. Why Zidane rates him highly. Why Henry thinks he's the best player of the Premier League. Why Fabio Capello wanted him out of retirement for the World Cup at 35.

[kaosmark2]

I think its interesting mainly because it offers a different opinion to the almost 100% gerrard loving from the rest of the English media. The truth about his talent probably lies somewhere in the middle. Im always wary about using statistics as theres normally more than 1 factor involved. I dont need a statistic to see that Gerrard can be a key player for liverpool, I can see it with my own eyes but the influence has clearly waned over time. I agree with the criticism for the holywood passes and tactical indiscipline, I think he gets an amazingly easy ride about these flaws to his game, however no liverpool player can put ina performance like he did against everton. I think in the past liverpool would have been signifcantly weaker without him, but I disagree with Barry about this season. To be honest I think if he had missed the last 2 seasons injured, liverpool wouldnt have done significantly worse in the league.

[The Nal]

Andy Carroll repaid a huge chunk of that £35m tonight with the goal that surely keeps Liverpool up.

[strummer77]

I think priority for the saturday should automatically go to the side in the champions league club and liverpoo/everton should be the ones looking for another date. If Chelsea were willing to swap to accomodate this then thats no problem but they should have been told that their game couldnt be moved before the final decision was made. Im not sure if this happened or not.

[modey]

On the subject of Paul scholes, these people know what they are talking about

Thierry Henry: 'Every time we used to play against Manchester United, we always used to be scared of Paul Scholes. His vision, the way he sees the game, his goals ratio... he has indestructible mental strength and he is a genuine

Competitor'

David Beckham: 'He's always one of those people others talk about. At Real Madrid, the players always said to me 'what's he like?' They respect him.'

Alan Shearer: 'If you ask footballers to pick out the player they most admire, so many will pick Paul Scholes. He can tackle and his passing and shooting is of the highest level. He's the most consistent and naturally gifted player we've had for a long time.'

Socrates: 'I love to watch Scholes, to see him pass, the boy with the red hair and the red shirt. Good enough for Brazil.'

Patrick Vieira: 'The player in the Premiership I admire most? Easy - Scholes.'

Zinedine Zidane: 'Undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation. He's almost untouchable in what he does. He makes the game look easy because he has so much natural ability.'

Sir Bobby Charlton: Many great players have worn the shirt of Manchester United. Players I worshipped, then lost with my youth in Munich. Players like Denis Law and George Best who I enjoyed so much as team-mates and now, finally, players I have watched closely in the Alex Ferguson era. And in so many ways Scholes is my favourite.

Xavi Hernandez: Paul Scholes is a role model. For me – and I really mean this – he's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 15, 20 years. I've spoken to Xabi Alonso about him. He's spectacular, he has it all: the last pass, goals, he's strong, he doesn't lose the ball, vision. If he'd been Spanish he might have been rated more highly. Players love him.

Marcello Lippi: Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team – that goes to show how highly I have always rated him. An all-round midfielder who possesses quality and character in abundance.

Roy Keane: No celebrity bulls**t, no self-promotion – an amazingly gifted player who remained an unaffected human being.

Sir Alex Ferguson: One of the greatest football brains Manchester United has ever had.

Edgar Davids: Everyone of us should emulate him. We can all learn from Paul Scholes.

Ryan Giggs: I’d go for Scholesy as the club’s greatest ever player. I’ve seen him do things that no other player can do. The way he can control the tempo of games, and his range of passing, are both incredible. We’ve seen over the years that players just haven’t been able to get near him. And you can’t forget his goals either.

Cesc Fabregas: For any football player in the Premiership, Scholes is a player you want to emulate. One player does not make a team but there is no doubt that the presence of some players add extra motivation and confidence. Scholes is a player with character and is capable of transmitting that mental strength to his team-mates.

Edited April 10, 2012 by modey

[kaosmark2]

Alan Shearer: 'If you ask footballers to pick out the player they most admire, so many will pick Paul Scholes. He can tackle

[modey]

Yep, not his strong point but I think this one says it all about scholes.

Zinedine Zidane: 'Undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation. He's almost untouchable in what he does. He makes the game look easy because he has so much natural ability

[strummer77]

Yep, not his strong point but I think this one says it all about scholes.

[kaosmark2]

He's not as bad as he looks at tackling. He just kicks people sometimes. But the idea he 'can't' tackle always allowed commentators to laugh it off. "HAHAHA Scholesy almost broke someones leg! Can't tackle can he? Bless".

Class player mind.

[strummer77]

I'm just amused that the first thing Shearer says about Scholes, with all the skills he does have, is 'he can tackle'.

[kaosmark2]

The bolded word should make it less surprising