English Football. (long)

[Jay Riall]

lol @ Gerrard and Rooney not being team players. Gerrard especially seems to me to be one of the most team-orientated stars there is.

[KDawg]

[ QUOTE ]
The way arsenal played tonight is the way the game was intended. fluent attacking football, every player comfortable on the ball, a team full of english players could simply not play such football. some are good, even world class players in two cases, (gerrard and rooney), but they can not produce anything close to the standard arsenal did tonight.

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this is an idiotic post. Just look at how ManU has played for the past 14 years. fergie has us always have a backbone of british players. The team that won the treble was almost all british players and with a few nordic players and Jaap Stam thrown in.

I also don't understand why on earth you would claim that Rooney couldn't produce what aresenal did today. He is a game changing player and is one of the ten best in the world

[Bedreviter]

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they have other qualities which arsenal players do not. they throw fits, they complain, they can kick people, they can play long ball football, they dive, when going is tough they can get results through sheer determination, they play with english passion, otherwise known as ball chasing and hard tackling.

obviously some arsenal players have these attributes also. but i dont think gerrard and rooney could play for arsenal because arsenal play as a team, where as gerrard and rooney are the stars, the team would have be built around them, which they are at man utd and liverpool.

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The remarks about Gerrard and Rooney (throw fits, kick people, complain and dive) is so ridiculously biased that I guess its no point discussing this topic with you. Of course technical players from South America and Southern Europe are not known for complaining, diving, unsportmanlike conduct or cheating at all.... lol.

And of course this is not a problem among the Arsenal players, after all they have Arsene "I did not zee ze incident" Wenger in charge, so Arsenal are the angels of EPL.

And top players like Gerrard and Rooney would most certainly make it in any club, the reason why Liverpool has been so heavily built around Gerrard has been because he has been on a completely different level than the rest of the team. Im pretty sure neither Kaka, Ronaldinho, C. Ronaldo or anyone else could have taken Liverpool to the Champions League trophy the way Gerrard did in 2005. If he had class players around him he would have less pressure on himself and would have even more opportunities to make those brilliant 30 yard passes that few players do after him.

And Rooney on top would be an asset to any team, and a striker like him can fit in on any team. Hes basically without weaknesses, and the better his teammates are the more balls he would get to work with. Rooney in the shape he was during the 2004 European Cup is a player who can change the game on his own, and do not need a team "built around him" to perform. How do you build a team around a striker anyways? (Except for a superb header that a weaker team can use as its targetman every time they have possesion of the ball)

[KDawg]

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but i dont think gerrard and rooney could play for arsenal because arsenal play as a team, where as gerrard and rooney are the stars, the team would have be built around them, which they are at man utd and liverpool.

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well, this basically confirms that you sir are an idiot. There's really not much more to say other then that. If you truely believe this, please go directly to the local mental institute and check yourself in. Some stuff you have said is correct, but you have made yourself look the fool with comments like this



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(Except for a superb header that a weaker team can use as its targetman every time they have possesion of the ball)

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there's no need to disparage alan shearer like this

[Bedreviter]

Trust me I would never disparage Shearer, he was a superb striker who I would have loved to see play in all-red back in the days. His play in Euro 96 was phenomonal, and he kept it up right until he called it quits.

Guess he couldnt have been as great as I remember him though, after all he was English and all that...

[Tanky]

I think its fair to say Rooney and Gerrard are 100% team players, more so than most players in the premier league.

Although Arsenal dont want or need them, as we have better in Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas.

[rock-steady]

Errr, the English prem has plenty of technically gifted players, paul scholes being numero uno, it was the king of technical ability being zinidine zidane who said he thought he was the best player in the world, and if you have any comprehension of football you would see he gives a total footballing masterclass in midfield week in week out, he is also rated just as highly outside of europe. Theres not one player on the planet as technically gifted playing today as paul scholes, the only one close is barcelonas xavi.

Also players like wayne rooney, Joe cole, Rio, Ashley cole are all very technically gifted, and to be frank your an idiot if you think otherwise

[tarheeljks]

[ QUOTE ]
Errr, the English prem has plenty of technically gifted players, paul scholes being numero uno, it was the king of technical ability being zinidine zidane who said he thought he was the best player in the world, and if you have any comprehension of football you would see he gives a total footballing masterclass in midfield week in week out, he is also rated just as highly outside of europe. Theres not one player on the planet as technically gifted playing today as paul scholes, the only one close is barcelonas xavi.

Also players like wayne rooney, Joe cole, Rio, Ashley cole are all very technically gifted, and to be frank your an idiot if you think otherwise

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i've never been arguing that england lacked technically skilled players, though some have. i'm just saying their style of play does not play to the strengths of these players.

[The_Dealor]

well the fact people have jumped to say i am an idiot because i might have different beliefs confirms my thoughts on the attitude of english fans in general.

i did not mean that a team of gerrard rooney etc could not beat slavia prague 7-0. they could perhaps score more.

what i meant was the performance and the style of football. they are not capable of playing that football in my opinion. they could no doubt get the result, and they are capable of individual brilliance, but i just dont think they would fit into the arsenal style of play, and if, and i hope it does not happen, they transferred to arsenal, i think the style of play would be changed to accomodate them.

also, paul scholes is technically gifted no doubt, but i think to add to xavi, pirlo totti fabregas messi kaka. but i agree scholes is top draw.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I read a very interesting passage from Fever Pitch last night. Hornby was talking about Liam Brady, saying he was one of the last PASSERS England produced, or something to that effect. Hornby basically said that in the late 70's and early 80's English teams basically operated with a wall of muscle deflecting the ball forward to the goal.

I paraphrased of course. I'll find the exact quote when I get home.