EWB Top 25 Footballers

[The Quasi Juice]

@NewEra

Yeah the likes of Cruyff, Van Basten etc. were World Class and deserve a spot in here somewhere, but did they ever win World Cups? No Maradona was a focal point in why Argentina did so well. Oh WOW, he took drugs! BooHoo! Most likely in a time where 90% of footballers will have been on drugs! N if you talkin bout the Hand Of God, fuck it I would have done the same. Fair play to him!

Please, people always bring up Cruyff and Van Basten not winning a World Cup. By the way, Holland won the Euro Cup in 1988 with Van Basten, but okay. Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina once, and he had a great tournament. But one player doesn't make a team, you have to have players around you that do the dirty work and he had that. But if you want to judge someone by World Cups, what about judging someone by how they have done at clubs? Has Maradona ever won the Champions League? Has he like Van Basten did with AC Milan dominated Europe? No. I think in the end people will remember Maradona for his solo goal against England and probably the hand of god, which wasn't a piece of skill or anything. Cruyff however, will be remembered for being the main man in the Holland team that brought "total football" to the world in 1974, won Champions Leagues with Ajax and Barcelona, and he was also a great coach. Van Basten will be remembered for the buttload of goals he scored for Ajax, being the best striker of Europe for years, scoring the most crucial goal for Holland ever (winning the euro cup), and dominating with AC Milan alongside Rijkaard and Gullit. So no, I don't consider Maradona the best ever, he should've accomplished more with his talents, but he didn't, 'cause he was an idiot that took drugs. Also, 90% of all footballers have done drugs? Ha.

[new_era]

@NewEra

Yeah the likes of Cruyff, Van Basten etc. were World Class and deserve a spot in here somewhere, but did they ever win World Cups? No Maradona was a focal point in why Argentina did so well. Oh WOW, he took drugs! BooHoo! Most likely in a time where 90% of footballers will have been on drugs! N if you talkin bout the Hand Of God, fuck it I would have done the same. Fair play to him!

Please, people always bring up Cruyff and Van Basten not winning a World Cup. By the way, Holland won the Euro Cup in 1988 with Van Basten, but okay. Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina once, and he had a great tournament. But one player doesn't make a team, you have to have players around you that do the dirty work and he had that. But if you want to judge someone by World Cups, what about judging someone by how they have done at clubs? Has Maradona ever won the Champions League? Has he like Van Basten did with AC Milan dominated Europe? No. I think in the end people will remember Maradona for his solo goal against England and probably the hand of god, which wasn't a piece of skill or anything. Cruyff however, will be remembered for being the main man in the Holland team that brought "total football" to the world in 1974, won Champions Leagues with Ajax and Barcelona, and he was also a great coach. Van Basten will be remembered for the buttload of goals he scored for Ajax, being the best striker of Europe for years, scoring the most crucial goal for Holland ever (winning the euro cup), and dominating with AC Milan alongside Rijkaard and Gullit. So no, I don't consider Maradona the best ever, he should've accomplished more with his talents, but he didn't, 'cause he was an idiot that took drugs. Also, 90% of all footballers have done drugs? Ha.

I don't think i could say much more, well i wouldn't have got my point across like that but totally agree with you 100%.

Don't forget the Cruyff Turn also.

[Pesci]

@Metalman

Of course they were an average team, a world class/excellent/very good team dont just win FA Cups & League Cups! Good teams win the league like Chelsea of 2004-2006, Arsenal from 01-02 & 03-04, then of course Man U for the soon to be 10 times winning the Premiership. Just because they had players like Vialli & Di Matteo etc. doesn't mean they weren't average.

In a 20 team division, you can't have 19 average teams every season. If you had to describe a team as average, surely it'd be one that finishes mid-table every season. Chelsea were far from that and as Stok said, they even finished 3rd in 1999. By that standard, would you say Arsenal have had an average season? Liverpool? And "very good" isn't the next step up from average. You can be a good, solid team and not win the Premier League.

@NewEra

Yeah the likes of Cruyff, Van Basten etc. were World Class and deserve a spot in here somewhere, but did they ever win World Cups? No Maradona was a focal point in why Argentina did so well. Oh WOW, he took drugs! BooHoo! Most likely in a time where 90% of footballers will have been on drugs! N if you talkin bout the Hand Of God, fuck it I would have done the same. Fair play to him!

George Weah? World class footballer. Did he win the World Cup? That's rhetorical, because of course he didn't, he played for fucking Liberia. Since when has country of birth been a requirement for being a great player?

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

@Metalman

Of course they were an average team, a world class/excellent/very good team dont just win FA Cups & League Cups! Good teams win the league like Chelsea of 2004-2006, Arsenal from 01-02 & 03-04, then of course Man U for the soon to be 10 times winning the Premiership. Just because they had players like Vialli & Di Matteo etc. doesn't mean they weren't average.

@NewEra

Yeah the likes of Cruyff, Van Basten etc. were World Class and deserve a spot in here somewhere, but did they ever win World Cups? No Maradona was a focal point in why Argentina did so well. Oh WOW, he took drugs! BooHoo! Most likely in a time where 90% of footballers will have been on drugs! N if you talkin bout the Hand Of God, fuck it I would have done the same. Fair play to him!

Maradonna was amazing, but bullshit did he ever do what the likes of Pele and Best did. And go and watch George Best play, because as far as I'm concerned, he's better than Maradonna. Watching him tell defenders to come at him and then just strolling passed them was pure magic. Maradonna was superb at times, but I still don't understand why so many claim he's the best, because I feel like he wasn't on the level of the likes of Pele and Best.

And about the Keane stuff, whether Haaland was barely known or not, Keane still fucked him up hard and there's no excuse for it. I think Keane was a fantastic player, but trying to get round it and claim Haaland would never of been anything makes you sound like a right idiot. You wouldn't be the same if you was an average player and had that happen to you. The guy had a career in football and lost it, simple as that, no need to shit on him because he wasn't a name like Ronaldo or Pele.

Somebody mentioned Romario, totally forgot about him. I almost rate him above Ronaldo actually, smaller, quicker and just lethal in front of goal.

[timbawolf]

LMAo Me against the world here. Anyway I cant be arsed quoting you lot so here goes.

Roy Keane - Haaland: Keane may be a cunt in youre eyes, but this is top 25 footballers list and a player should never be disregarded because of one incident. You think he was wrong, I'd have gone the route of Keano personally. Different opinions it is.

Next - Chelsea: Compared to the Manchester United and Arsenal of the time, Chelsea were a distinctly average team, I dont care what anyone says! It's like the SPL. say the league finished like this

1st - Celtic

2nd - Rangers

3rd - Aberdeen

Just because Aberdeen finished 3rd doesn't make them good because to Rangers & Celtic they aren't. Fair enough by Aberdeens standards theyd have played fucking amazing to finish 3rd, but to the likes of top clubs they aren't shit!

Just like Chelsea weren't shit compare to United & the Gunners.

Lastly - Maradona: At the end of the day, did Cruyff or Van Basten go to another average (god i love that word now) team

and ultimately win their respective league with them. No, Van Basten won titles in Italy with Milan, Diego won titles with Napoli. I know who my pat on the back would go to! No one player doesn't make a team but if you're the strongest link in the chain you're the name that pops up. It's like if United win the title and Champo League, people are gonna be all over Ronaldo (albeit they already are) but noones gonna say 'Ah well one player dont make a team'. Theyre gonna say Cristiano Ronaldo was fuckin immense that year! And no matter what nation you come from you can be a good player. But to be a ALL TIME GREAT player, starring in a World Cup winning side helps a lot. Take Shevchenko and THE Ronaldo for instance. Everytime Id pick Shevchenko over Ronaldo because in my eyes there haven't been many strikers with as good as/or better finishing ability than Sheva, but Ronaldos won World Cups etc etc and thats what counts!

PS I never once stated that 90% of footballers were on drugs, I said AT THAT TIME most players would have been on them! Yet again MY OPINION, but it seems to me that you're all basing opinions off the next man.

Edited May 1, 2008 by timbawolf

[Hajjhowe]

Shevcehnko's plays for the Ukraine. The fact he could even lead his team to the World Cup (And the final 8) is a testament to his skill. He also helped carry Dinamo Kiev to the Semi-Finals of the champions league, which is even more impressive fo rback than since Kiev weren't exactly billionaires...

I just hope this list features some of those incredible Hungarian players from like 50 years ago.

Edited May 1, 2008 by Hajjhowe

[timbawolf]

Shevcehnko's plays for the Ukraine. The fact he could even lead his team to the World Cup (And the final 8) is a testament to his skill. He also helped carry Dinamo Kiev to the Semi-Finals of the champions league, which is even more impressive fo rback than since Kiev weren't exactly billionaires...

I just hope this list features some of those incredible Hungarian players from like 50 years ago.

Thank you buddy, you've backed one of my claims up there. Shevchenko LEAD Dinamo to the Semi-Finals. He doesn't make the team but he was damn sure the finest player they had.

[stokeriño]

Next - Chelsea: Compared to the Manchester United and Arsenal of the time, Chelsea were a distinctly average team, I dont care what anyone says! It's like the SPL. say the league finished like this

1st - Celtic

2nd - Rangers

3rd - Aberdeen

Just because Aberdeen finished 3rd doesn't make them good because to Rangers & Celtic they aren't. Fair enough by Aberdeens standards theyd have played fucking amazing to finish 3rd, but to the likes of top clubs they aren't shit!

Just like Chelsea weren't shit compare to United & the Gunners.

Difference between being top for most of the season and finishing FOUR points behind United, and a straggler being the 'best of the rest' behind the Old Firm? Clearly that concept's not going to get through to you, is it?

[timbawolf]

Next - Chelsea: Compared to the Manchester United and Arsenal of the time, Chelsea were a distinctly average team, I dont care what anyone says! It's like the SPL. say the league finished like this

1st - Celtic

2nd - Rangers

3rd - Aberdeen

Just because Aberdeen finished 3rd doesn't make them good because to Rangers & Celtic they aren't. Fair enough by Aberdeens standards theyd have played fucking amazing to finish 3rd, but to the likes of top clubs they aren't shit!

Just like Chelsea weren't shit compare to United & the Gunners.

Difference between being top for most of the season and finishing FOUR points behind United, and a straggler being the 'best of the rest' behind the Old Firm? Clearly that concept's not going to get through to you, is it?

Fuck off cunt! Fact remains Chelsea didn't win shit before Abramovich came around! They won an FA Cup once or twice. Average teams don't win leagues! Good teams win leagues now & again and great teams dominate leagues for years! Did they win a league in the 90's? Nope so, so far they're average. Did they win a league now & again?Did they fuck so they weren't good. And they haven't dominated the league for years so they're not great are they now. Understanding much Yet?

Edited May 1, 2008 by timbawolf

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I don't like Chelsea, but for the love of god what are you going on about? First the Maradonna shit, now you're claiming you have to win leagues and titles to have a great team? It's you who's talking bollocks. People are trying to say they had a set of bloody good players, which they actually did. They weren't a world dominating side, but that doesn't mean they weren't a really good team. Newcastle were a great team when they came close to challenging United for the title, yet they didn't win shit, doesn't mean they were 'average'. You're failing to see the point that people are making.

[timbawolf]

What a daft cunt you are, it's people leading me on to making comments. I had my own valid views on set things, you know my own OPINION. How can you say I'm wrong in saying Chelsea were an average team or Maradona being the best, if that's what I beleive, that's what I beleive!. Set of narrow minded bastards! It's like noones opinion matters except yours. In my idea, Newcastle weren't a great team either. But you know if you put up a challenge but fizzle out you're still a good team according to EWB. Pfffft

Edited May 2, 2008 by timbawolf

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

No, you're just being a complete tit. I wasn't insulting you, yet you call me a cunt and then go on the usual 'OMGZ NOBODY IS ALLOWED AN OPINION' rant, something so many people keep bringing up, it's bollocks. You're allowed an opinion, point is that I stated my opinion and I didn't insult you, I just told you that you was talking bollocks by claiming Chelsea were average at best, because it is bollocks. I'm not claiming they were great, but they had a really good side at the time. I don't think you actually know what average is. The majority of teams in the Premiership are all above average, otherwise they wouldn't fucking be there. If Chelsea are average, what the fuck would a division 3 team be? A pile of shit that just fell out of a dogs ass? Having the players they had is enough to show they were an above average side and if you watched them you'd know they were.

[supergrass]

While we're at it:

"PS I never once stated that 90% of footballers were on drugs, I said AT THAT TIME most players would have been on them! Yet again MY OPINION, but it seems to me that you're all basing opinions off the next man."

That's got to be the worst retraction of a point I've ever seen, you've just reiterated the nonsense you were spouting. We're aware it was your opinion, we were pointing out your opinion was completely unfounded. Believe me, nobody was in any danger of mistaking your point for a fact.

Regarding the Chelsea team debate, there is no way you can call that team average. They had some of the league's best players coming through the club at that point. Manchester United and Arsenal at that point were fantastic teams, average teams couldn't get anywhere near them at that point. Ultimately Chelsea couldn't challenge them down to the wire, but they were close and were often tipped by pundits to win the league (maybe it was the pressure that got to super Chris Sutton).

"But you know if you put up a challenge but fizzle out you're still a good team according to EWB."

I think that's spot on. An average team can't mount a challenge. A good team can, but can't always keep it up. A great team maintains the challenge over the season and wins it (or comes a close 2nd/3rd).

[TheArsenal]

What a daft cunt you are, it's people leading me on to making comments. I had my own valid views on set things, you know my own OPINION. How can you say I'm wrong in saying Chelsea were an average team or Maradona being the best, if that's what I beleive, that's what I beleive!. Set of narrow minded bastards! It's like noones opinion matters except yours. In my idea, Newcastle weren't a great team either. But you know if you put up a challenge but fizzle out you're still a good team according to EWB. Pfffft

So... Liverppol have never won the Premiership. According to you they must be average?

[timbawolf]

No use in replying I just get warnings because I use worlds like Fuck, Cunt & Shit yet some nobend used bollox & tits in the same thread. Where's their warning? And EWB I can say some of your posters are the most braindead, inbred fuckin shitheads who dont have a clue about football! To Man United & Arsenal, Chelsea were shit that is what I stated. Next thing 'whooziboozi chelsea r gr8 ftw n00b, 3herd plaice meanzz u r gudd ffs'! Stokerino = No Balls

Edited May 2, 2008 by timbawolf

[stokeriño]

You realise that going in completely the opposite direction when responding to a mod's warning only a) sets you up for another, and b) utterly disintigrates any righteousness you may claim to have?

And you have read The Board Rules, have you?

[Liam]

All this coming from someone who tried to justify Keane's tackle on Haaland.

....just gotta love it.

[IAceI]

To be fair - Eyal Berkovic was probably better than Aljosa Asanovic simply because he could make teams beat Man Utd...

Wait are we not discussing this now?

[new_era]

Why not, i'll throw something in to this;

Roberto Di Matteo, Marcel Desailly, Gustavo Poyet, Gianluca Vialli, Gianfranco Zola, Frank Leboeuf, Brian Laudrup and i suppose you could really add Dennis Wise, Tore Andre Flo and Graeme Le Saux in there, that's a far from average bunch of players to make a team out of and there's more then likely one or two more i'm forgetting. Between 1997 and 2000, they won an F.A Cup, a League Cup and a Charity Shield, more then most at the time i imagine.

I don't disagree with you that Maradonna was a good player, but MY opinion is he'll be remembered through the hand of god, therefore making him a cheat, BEFORE people mention the solo goal, which yes, again, was a world class goal and he'll be remembered because of his drug taking whilst playing and after his playing career.

Marco Van Basten scored 128 goals in 133 appearances for Ajax and he would of gone on to be maybe the best player ever if it wasn't for an injury pledged career, that's MY opinion. Cruyff has a piece a skill named after him, which players still use today and was just as smart, just as skillful, probably even more so then Maradonna.

As for your last comment, you gave your opinion, others gave theres, you're the one who isn't listening or taking in other opinions in, your shoving your opinion down everyones throat, not listening to anything anyone has to say and let's face the facts, i believe most people don't agree with anything you've said, i believe i've seen one person agree with you on ONE thing since this whole thing began, so really, with that fact in mind if

" who is the braindead, inbred fuckin shithead who dont have a clue about football? "

It is rather amuzing this came from Roy Keane, his anger and rage must be contagious? There's no need to react to your warning like you did either, you have more thnen likely just made it in to something bigger through your reaction.

Edited May 2, 2008 by new_era

[stokeriño]

Frankly, if #19 and #18 could turn up right about now, that'd be awesome.

And guys, stop beating a dead horse and move on.

Edited May 2, 2008 by Gul Stokeriño