Feb 03
FA Double Standards Come to the fore… again
This harks back to the Evra-Bethell scuffle at Stamford Bridge. The video evidence provided were scarcely convincing. Evra gets a four match ban slapped on him, more because there was contradiction in witness statements than actual incontrovertible evidence. And an FA official might have as well put his arms around Sam Bethell and gone for a pint or two telling him to stay away from such ‘minor’ scuffles in future.
Now the FA have rescinded Lampard’s red card — rightly so — but have not found video evidence of Jose Bosingwa planting his studs on Benayoun’s back convincing enough to warrant a red card or suspension. If a post game scuffle with a non-playing staff member, with dodgy proof can cost a player 4 games, then surely there’s got to be some price to be paid for an on-game offence involving an act that couldn’t be described unintentional even in hell? Especially when said offender admitted what he did was wrong (despite the nonsensical “my intention was not to hurt him” claim)
“I apologise for what I did and it was never my intention to hurt him”
And especially after even his manager admitted, whilst arguing Lampard’s case, that Bosingwa, perhaps, may have deserved a card for it.
“What Bosingwa did was not correct, he made a mistake. But if he is punished when the FA look at the video, maybe they will change the decision over Lampard.”
This nonsense that if the referee had seen the incident it prevents the FA from taking action is another instance of rules which expose gaping holes in the system. So, I suppose, when a person kills someone under the watchful eyes of a policeman and he takes no action, then the hands of the justice system is tied. Oh, the world would be a much better place to live in then eh?
Plus: You can also follow us now on twitter now where I’ll post byte sized updates/rants through the day. For those wondering what twitter is, here’s an explanation.
Related items from Red Rants:
- United blow chance to close gap
- United Will Rebound And Reload After Barcelona Defeat
- Heinze and Huntelaar – A Look at the Two H’s
- Derby Day Preview
- A Few Words…
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Stephen (454)
Craig Mc (344)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Thanks to David Moyes and Everton for making my day. Hey RAFA….Fuck you man!
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@Grognard: I was thinking Bosingwa’s Unibrow was the most destructive force in English football.
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You know that Liverpool plays Tottenham on the last fixture of the season? It’s almost enough to want Liverpool to hang around, because if Keane could score the goal that ended their ambitions it would be a truly surreal moment.
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@Grognard: you can say that but Rafas done well for us, our man in the Kop
Liverpool out of the cup – FACT
Gerrard out for three weeks – FACT
Rafa is a muppet – FACT
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@Patrick: That’s until I saw Fallaini’s hair. Entire countries have been swallowed by that black mass. There’s enough oil in there to fuel America for 75 years. Man I thought I was blasted back to 1972 and I was watching a Superfly movie or Shaft.
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@phoenix red: So what you are saying in fact is Rafa is Fergie’s spy in Scouserland? That cunning old fox Fergie. He’s pulled one off on all of us again. And Rafa is playing the role well by actually twisting off and going all Kevin Keegan on the the Boss. Brilliant!
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@Gabriel: they obviously smoked that “little ounce of credence they had before, now is totally gone.”
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@Grognard: Thats it exactly! Except Rafa nearly fucked it up at “HIS” news conference, he kept having to refer to his lines
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@Grognard: By the way, have you seen this?
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@phoenix red: There are 6 keepers they have in the 11 to 20 list I would place in my top ten of all time. Maier at 14 is a travesty. Especially when you consider his achievements over the ones below him. Subjective lists like these just drive you crazy because more than half of the keepers mentioned haven’t been seen by the voters. They are just guessing based on reputation or favoritism. For what it’s worth here are my top ten.
1. Maier
2. Schmeichel
3. Zoff
4. Yashin
5. Kahn
6. Zamora
7. Victor
8. Dasaev
9. Schumacher
10 van Breukelen
And an absolute joke of a keeper I wouldn’t even place in the top 50 is David Seaman. Ridiculous!
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@phoenix red: No, ees e fact. You have to write it with an accent.
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@Grognard: No Buffon?
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The 10 most overated footballers in the World today:
Raul- No pace poor in the air, the right foot of Heather Mills, bar last season his previous three seasons goal hauls were as follows, 12, 7 and 13.
Guti- If he can play for Real, so could I.
Lampard- Take away his goals he is Jermaine Jenas, with the turning circle of the Titanic
Petr Cech- The best goalkeeper in the World ™ just ask the Turks
Fernando Torres- A superb goal haul last season, the best striker in the World ™ previous tallies were, 16 and 13, plus he is a boy in a girls body.
Didier Drogba- He can control the ball further than I can kick it, pace power no touch no skill, arrogant sort of sums up Chelsea.
Ibrahimovic- Big game bottler and nose to boot.
Theo Walcott- English footballers saviour, of the new Damian Duff?
Steven Gerrard- A favorite of mine, simply plays for himself, firstly he is a diver, he is not a world class player, never has been and never will be. A top class international has the ability to keep hold of the ball and create opportunities for his strikers. He should know when to play it long and when to play it short as keeping hold of the ball is of paramount importance in international football. As far as I can tell the only thing Gerrard is good at is running towards the opposition and scoring the odd goal and trying to play those Hollywood sixty yard passes to the front man
And last but not least John Terry- No overated list would be complete without Captain Bottler, Mr Chelsea, He is a player who reputation flatters to decieve, he is in every FIFA World 11, he isn’t even the best defender at his club, Carvalho is twice the player er JT is an arrogant thug who sums up what is wrong with English football.
Disclaimer, this list is not biased in anyway shape or form towards Liverpool, Real Madrid or Chelsea players and should not be considered as much!!
I expect to be torn to shreds for this but am waiting for a conference call and had nothing better to do!
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Little harsh on Walcott. Nobody deserves to be called the next Damian Duff, not even Damian Duff! I was pissed off when Le Arse pipped us to him a few summers back. He’s still about 12!
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@Grognard: Everything about him hugely annoys me. (Apart from the fact that he is hindering any possible significant improvement in his club.)
What I hate most is the controlling nature of the man. He couldn’t actually be a waiter cos he wouldn’t let the patrons choose what they wanted without continual interference. Have you noticed the Liverpool players don’t swap shirts at the end of games? – they don’t want the public to see the straitjackets they play in.
Can you imagine what he would do to a Messi? Fergie allows his players to express themselves and training ground photos always seem to have laughing faces. He hates Fergie because he recognises the high standing he has in global football and is increasingly unable to cope with his subordinate position. I predict further examples of his unwiring and if that hastens his departure from our sctreens for me it will not be soon enough.
Below I want to paste a post from today’s Guardian – it’s quality.
And lo the Lord looked upon the fate of his Chosen People and saw that they had been sore tested
And the Lord looked upon the covenant between Beelzebub and the RedSide and saw that it was bad.
And the Lord said I have tested my chosen people and they have kept the Faith therefore I wilt a grant them favour for one time.”
And lo the Lord sent the madness upon Rafael and caused with to rant, and spit and be not Keane
And the Lord did sent Cahill to torment the red hoards and sent them back to the land of the Norse with much lamenting and rending of replica shirts
And he who is large of girth and serveth at the tables did cry out for a judge to take his part but the demon Thomas was nowhere to be found and his spawn Clattenburg had been cast into outer darkness and the Lord sent instead the righteous judge Wy Lee he who is even of the hand and wieldeth the red and the yellow without fear or favour.
And at the last the Lord did sent a child – the son of the goose – to smite the kopites.
And there was much clamour and rejoicing and weeping with joy amongst the Chosen People.
The streets of Gwladys and the road of Bullens rang with songs of praise to the Moyesiah and the son of the goose and even to he from the lowlands who drinketh much and is rarely seen upon the field of combat.
And lo it was good to be alive on that day
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@Traverse: I meant it in the way he has no tricks and runs in straight lines!
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@Grognard: Simply for the pony tail!
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I know that I will run into some dissenting opinions about this, but I am pissed that Gerrard is out. I don’t want Liverpool to have any reasonable rationalization for why they have messed this up. I want them to have to own this. Gerrard’s absence will be just the excuse they are looking for to explain why the wheels came off the wagon. I know our side has certainly dealt with it’s fair share of injuries, so we should expect them to have to deal with the same. But they aren’t a rational outfit, so I don’t expect them to see it that way. I expect that they will point to this as the reason behind their failed ambitions. “We were only two points behind until Gerrard went out, then we slipped up.” I’d much rather he was in the lineup, so that all of Liverpool can know that they aren’t as good as us on their best day.
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@Patrick: If they go down that road they they admit that they are a one man team, so they loose either way in any debate.
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@Stephen: most entertaining Bro,
@Grognard: eeeeegshackkkkkkkkleeeeeeeeee (mix of spanish and scouse!)@the three Rs: very funny, and as Keane departed “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Anfield brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
And he overthrew those citedels, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants, and that which grew upon the ground.
But Keane knew better than to look back from behind him, lest he became a pillar of salt.”
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@Karl: Not in the top ten mate. I have always thought he was a good keeper but benefited like EVDS from a rock solid defense with Italy and for most of his career with Juventus. He’d be in my top 20 which still isn’t bad. Also, I am not one who believes that I have to look to the present to dind most of the best. The game is over 100 years old. There are many greats over that time but I especially feel there were many greats between 1960 to 1990. No tjust because I grew up in that period but because of the liberty and attitude shown to the game back then. It allowed players to really show their stuff. Maier for example played in the Bundesliga where defense in the 70′s was a four lettered word. I have seen matches where the great Maier gave up 5 and 6 goals in a game and was the best player of the field. If not for him the great Bayern could have given up 10 or 12 on a bad evening. For Germany however, he was a rock and nothing got by him easily. Some of the saves he made for Germany between 1972 and 1976 are legendary. I called him the “Ice Man” because nothing bothered him. His performance on a awful pitch soaked in mud vs Poland in the 1974 WC Semi is one of the greatest goalkeeping performances I have or ever will see. As much as I love Germany, Poland should have won that game 5-2 or 6-2 instead of losing it 1-0. Maier was incredible.
The only other keeper I have seen come close to equaling those types of performances have been Schmeichel. A keeper who as a boy idolized Maier and Schumacher and who delivered the same kind of ability, aggressiveness and reflexes to literally hold fort by himself. As a United fan I don’t need to tell you about his exploits but just in case you are not as familiar, he almost single handedly won the European Championship for Denmark in 1992 and had some incredible games making amazing saves for his country. I still think back to a save he made in WC qualifier against Greece, I believe it was 1997 (not sure) that was a carbon copy of the one Gordon Banks made against Pele in the 1970 World Cup. Breathtaking. Schmeich was a God.
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@Stephen: Stephen mate, you sound like the kind of bloke I’d like to have a beer with in a pub and talk footy until they kick us out.
It’s like you entered my mind and plucked out my thoughts. Amazing how most of that list would have made my list of top ten most overrated players. The only two that would not make my list would have been Walcott, who I think is starting to come along and may prove you wrong given some more time and better health, and Gerrard. I am no lover of many of Steven Gerrard’s antics but I am often too impressed for words over his ability to continually perform magic acts and save Liverpool’s bacon time after time. The guy has a tremendous shot and instinct for the goal and many of his passes are fantastic. There are games though where he does shut it off and they usually happen when he plays for England, so in respect, I agree with you.
As for “the Drogba”, Terry, Guti and especially Raul, I so agree. Torres is also overrated but I still think she does amazingly well considering she’s a girl playing a man’s sport.
Players I would add to that list would be Ashley Fucking Cole, Joe Fucking Cole, Emanuel Yabba Dabba Dour, Ibrahimovich, and too many Italians to mention. I also would like to know what a common street peddler is doing playing the role of #1 keeper for Arsenal? That guy should go back to the Gypsy circus he escaped from. And finally, just to annoy some of you out there that feel that no United player could ever get on a most overrated list, I add the name of Mr. Paul Scholes as an honorable mention because I have been trying for 15 years to figure out what it is that most of you just love about this little red head? I’m being honest. For 15 bloody years he has patrolled the midfield doing his job of being tidy and distributing the safe ball or the back pass and scoring on the odd deflected or ricochet goal. I’m sorry but although I like him, I have always found him to be overrated. Perhaps I’m wrong but then again, this is my personal feeling so arguing with me won’t change a thing. At least I’m offering my honest opinion.
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@Grognard: I know there have been very many exellent goalkeepers during the footballing time, but I think you should consider Iker Casillias to that list. He has done exeptionally well considering the terrible defense he has had in front of him during the tears, so I think Iker deserves to be at least at number 11. Cant say too much about those goalkeepers, as I havent seen all of them very much. You are better positioned to make a desision like that, or a list like that, but I honestly belive Casillias deserves a place.
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@the three Rs: That was brilliant mate. Thanks for sharing that with us. Too sweet. I also would like to elaborate on one of your comments where you said Liverpool players do not swap shirts at the end of the game because they don’t want to expose the straight jackets. No mate, it’s not straight jackets, it’s the numerous scars on their backs from the whippings they get from the Mad Waiter of Madrid whose calling was always to be the newest Barber of Seville. A man who had he been born in North America, would have found life so unfair (un thas e fact) he would have turned into a serial killer or even worse, a chartered accountant or policeman for the Internal Revenue Service.
A dislikable fat balding little ogre of a man who has somehow found an outlet for all his ugliness, darkness and malice because he possesses the red ring of power handed to him by the ignorant and foolish owners of the team he now leads and where he has the love and trust of millions of Scousers (aka Orcs) who blindly follow him as he feeds them scraps from his table full of Scouse and vinegar. He has tried to destroy and conquer the land with his horde of evil boredom and excrement, but has never been able to move East due to the wall that has become impregnable. The Gate manned by King Fergie Lord of the Horseman of Manchester who ride upon villains and destroy them with their knights of virtue Sir Ronaldo of Medeira, Sir Wayne the Reborn, The Mad Serbian Vida, and Count Berbatov the Transylvanian. All knights of the Order of Red Devils and sworn to destroy the Scouser darkness from the North West. The evil that is known as Rafa has only a short time left before his flame flickers out and his Spanish ass is washed away with and by the blood of him minions. For the day of reckoning is coming at hand. March will be the telling hour and the Waterloo for the evil one known as Rafa the Rotator.
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@Stephen: I think it was the ponytail that disgusted me most but I hated him and thought he was useless even before he grew that abomination. Ponytails look good on some people, but there are others who just shouldn’t be wearing them. Seaman should have considered a paper bag over his head instead.
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@Grognard: Amen.
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@Patrick: Agrred. Yes Rafa will point to his team’s downfall over the next three weeks as being a case of his best player being out. Nevertheless, United have survived three weeks without Wayne Rooney and have survived all season without Hargo. Lets not forget the first month and a half without the best player in the world. And did we panic or lose grip of reality? Did Fergie start making excuses? NO. Why? Because we found ways to win albeit rather ugly. The difference between a champion and a pretender, is they find ways to conquer adversity, they don’t hide behind it. Everyday I thank God for giving me the good taste and common sense to become a Manchester United supporter. For if I was as unfortunate to choose Liverpool, I may have already done myself in because I am not one who tolerates incompetence, excuse making and classlessness. Praise the footy Gods for United and for Fergie. We are truly the lucky ones.
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@RedDevilEddy: Csillas makes my top 20 list mate, not my top 10. Those guys in the top ten were absolute giants in their time. Casillas is still playing and hasn’t concluded his career. Lets look at him when he is through. I wouldn’t say he is overrated but I have never personally found him that amazing. Good but not great. That’s just me. I also was never a big fan of Peter Shilton who the English think is one of the all time greats. Good but not great. Great for Nottingham Forest over a 4 year period, and very ordinary in my opinion for England. Couldn’t stop a penalty if his life depended on it. Reminds me a lot of the overrated Petr Cech.
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Tevez offered deal!! ..Hope this is true…And if it is, its the best message to all the greedy,sulky footballers across the world..
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Friedel has kept a remarkable level of consistency in latter years. We have found it nigh on impossible to score past him. I also think Jaaskelainen could have excelled at a top club.
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@the three Rs: The problem is that that they were stuck playing for mediocrities. Name me one player in the World’s top 100 of all time that never played for a great team or at least for a great National team? Greatness goes hand in hand with the team you play for and quite often, the luck of the draw.
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@Shyam: My God Fergie is a cunning fox. WOW1 Of course. What better time to get Tevez’s signature on a contract than to get him to sign when he has been starting a lot of games and when Rooney has been injured? This has got to have a psychological advantage in getting Carlito to sign a more reasonable deal. The chances of this happening after Rooney returns and reclaims his starting spot will be slimmer. Proof positive that footballers are truly the dumbest athletes on the face of the Earth and that Fergie is the cunning fox and genius that we all know him to be. How do you like them apples Rafa?
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@Grognard: I hear what you’re saying. By the same token, I thought Le Tissier was an exceptional player but was content to stay at a second tier club and hence never got a chance with England. A compilation of his goals would take some beating for sweetness of shot. How do you rate him?
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@Grognard: At the risk of sounding like a groggy fanboy
, I just have to point out that your posts are just too hilarious!! 
The satire is just perfect. Always a guaranteed good read… keep ‘em comin man. 
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@Gabriel: Perhaps we’re all either real or closet Groggy fanboys.
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I personally think Lampard is a very good player. I dunno, a lot of people hate him but I never found him to be that bad. In context I’m an Irish United supporter and I don’t find any particular reason to dislike him. He’s also exactly the type of player that we need (well definately needed until Berba upped his workrate).
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@the three Rs: I thought Le Tissier was an exceptional talent who I have nothing but the greatest respect for. Cantona-like talent with RVN like finishing and extreme loyalty to one club and it’s supporters.
Many of us would love to call him a loser for sticking with a club like Southcrapton but his loyalty is rare these days and very admirable. Don’t compare Scholes or Giggs to him when it comes to loyalty. Had those two been with Man City or Southampton instead of United, I seriously doubt they would have remained so loyal. Le Tissier may have his critics but they are not amongst those who love finesse and skill, and certainly nobody within a twenty mile radius of Southampton where he is still revered as a God and could be mayor of that city if he wanted to. That kind of love, adoration and respect only comes to those who sacrifice personal gain and triumph for something more noble and virtuous.
With that said, it’s a shame from a outsiders point of view that he wasn’t a little more greedy because had he been, he’d go down as one of the greatest English players of all time. And his England career would have been greater and plentiful, despite the fact he wasn’t much for tracking back and playing a little defense.
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@Gabriel: OK, I have placed you on my Christmas card list and you are on my official Groggy Fanboy Starting Eleven.
Now try to convince others of these positive characteristics when they think I’m the King of doom and gloom?
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@Liam: It’s got to do with two factors mate. He plays for Chelsea and has had success with them and finally I just absolutely detest that ring kissing ritual when he scores a goal. It’s so fucking gay. Mind you, I don’t hate it as much as Carlito’s thumb sucking bit or that Rocking the baby routine started by the puffter Bebeto and his hundreds of copycats. Just so irritating. I hate Lampard but I despise and stick dirty pins into my VooDoo Drogba and Terry dolls.
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Grognard, on the subject of goal keepers i gotta ask your opinions of shay given and jussi jaskal..ie. erm (couldnt spell it if i tried but u know who i mean, the bolton kepper). Jussi especially to me is an excellent keeper, not world class but i think if he was a good few years younger would be good enough for a top 4 team.
Also on the subject of keepers i wanted to ask u what happened to a keeper called butt. I think he used to play for stuttgart or leverkusen and i remember him taking penalties and free kicks from time to time. Just wondered what the hell happened to him.
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Shay Given called his move to City, “an opportunity to further his career and pick up more silver.”
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Patrick, yep a pretty idiotic quote you have to say, but you cant deny he is absolute quality. If i was a newcastle fan i would be really worrying about the chances of staying up, he was so important to them, watch the game against pool (5-0 defeat but could have been 10-0 if not for him). Not sure why they bought him tho to be honest, i thought hart was gonna be the new wonder boy of goalkeeping. Not a bad keeper but god the english press over hype their players. Dont know how hes gonna feel getting dropped tho, 2 good keepers fighting for 1 position and to be honest a bit surprised given chose city. Im sure arsenal would have moved for him in the summer.
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“I apologise for what I did and it was never my intention to hurt him”
… yeah right…
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@Matthew: First off the German keeper you are thinking of is one Hans Jorg Butt. He played for Leverkusen and Schalke and a host of other teams. Scored over 20 goals by being the penalty taker for his club. Not a bad keeper and still playing. He was signed up by Bayern Munich to back up Michael Rensing this season.
Secondly, Shay Given is what one would call a late bloomer. Not that great when he was young and certainly nothing to write home about when he eventually signed for Newcastle from Blackburn. But as the years went buy Given became more and more solid and right now he is a very good keeper. He still has weaknesses in his game and still has moments that leave you shaking your head but one thing he has been and always will be, is a great shot stopper. He has excellent reflexes and this ability is the one most fans recognize and acknowledge when a keeper does well. Getting lots of work playing for Newcastle and in front of a terrible defensive front four has forced him to literally stand on his head and pull off more than his fair share of saves over the past ten seasons. I rate him in my top 40 but that would be it. Very good but his loyalty and lack of ambition has held him back. Because, like I said earlier, it’s not just about being good at a position, it’s about doing it for the right team, at the right team and unfortunately, his international career has not been one to right home about because the Irish just have not accomplished much. Your team has to be good to help get you in the limelight and to help you gain a reputation and status. Given has just been stuck with a bunch of losers in his club career and perhaps he should be proud of his Irish roots, but not so much from a footballing perspective.
Jussi Jaaskalainen is for me a very overrated keeper. Like Friedel, he seems unbeatable against good teams on a big day but like most of the other throwaway keepers in the league, he disappears and fails to impress in regular games and games against weaker opponents. I have never been that impressed by him but again like given, his strongest skill is his shot stopping. But he is not that great in the air, his command of the box is poor and his distribution is only fair and his reflexes are just adequate. He’ll make a great save but leave a welcoming rebound for someone to knock in.
It’s hard to find the complete keeper, especially today. I’m not sure what the reason is but I find it has become much more difficult to find keepers who have an intimidating and commanding presence in the box and who can handle corners and crosses with ease. The last great one to do that in the EPL has been Schmeichel. He owned that box and although no keeper is perfect, he was pretty damned close. Like Maier, he could let in 4 goals in a match and still be the Man of the Match. Nothing came easy for the opponents. When I think of the game’s top keepers today I truly struggle to think of a keeper that is truly awesome at controlling his area and handling high balls. Casillas, Buffon, Adler, Neuer, Boruc, Akinfeev, Frey, EVDS, Cech, Given and others are all good at that but none of them seem exceptional or completely comfortable at that one very demanding skill. EVDS and the great Ollie Kahn were actually a real adventure in this area. Kahn used to frustrate me with his need to punch the ball more often than catch it. EVDS tends to do this a lot also. Amazingly though, all those keepers mentioned have made their reputations for being great shot stoppers. And that is what most fans look for. I am one of those who looks for more. I like intimidation, control of their back four, a communicator, strong positional sense and lightning reflexes and the ability to deflect or parry a ball away from danger and not directly at it. The ability to kick the ball long but accurately to make long throws that start amazing counterattacks and the rare but vital ability to be a great stopper of penalty kicks as well as organize a defense and be lightening quick to react to all kinds of free kicks.
In the history of football their have probably only been a dozen keepers that I can say through my experience of watching the game or from reading about it that have had all these special skills. My father used to tell me about Lev Yashin and Ricardo Zamora. They were before my time but were widely acknowledged as the best to have played the game until Gordon Banks came along. Since then, I think the game has really gone through a Renaissance at that position. The Germans have really revolutionized the position in terms of attitude, training and utilization. I remember reading that Peter Schmeichel idolized two keepers while growing up. They were Sepp Maier and Harold Schumacher. Both great shot stoppers and fantastic at distributing the ball both via the foot and by possessing accurate and long range throwing arms and both exceptional at stopping penalties or point blank shots that required lightning quick reflexes. It’s amazing how much Schmeichel reminded me of Maier in his shot stopping ability but more like Schumacher in his distribution and his intimidating presence in the box. Since those two their have been many great keepers but very few that contained the complete package. Only Schmeichel has had the complete package since Sepp Maier. Is it any surprise then that he has been impossible to forget and to replace. EVDS has done pretty good for himself and for United but he will never be a Schmeichel in my books. Schmeich’s defense was good but not as air tight as the one EVDS has played behind for the past three seasons. As the old saying goes “often imitated but never duplicated”. Maier and Schmeichel will be the kings of keepers for a while yet. Sorry for the long rant. It’s a topic that’s dear to my heart.
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@Grognard: The fact that you can write five paragraphs giving a historical perspective on goalkeepers and goalkeeping is just one example of how you are, IMO, the lifeblood of this website.
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@Patrick: “The fact that you can write five paragraphs giving a historical perspective on goalkeepers and goalkeeping is just one example of how you are, IMO, the lifeblood of this website.”
Or somebody who has seen more football than any one man should in his lifetime…
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@Stephen: I realize the tone of this list is a bit tongue in cheek, but I have to respectively disagree on a few points.
Raul- Say what you want about his pace and his aerial ability, but his goal scoring record speaks for itself. And unlike frauds like Shearer, Raul actually played on winning teams.
Lampard- Take away his goals he is Jermaine Jenas, with the turning circle of the Titanic (That’s the whole point, he is a goal machine.)
Petr Cech- I think your being a bit harsh on him, that best in the world tag was before the cracked skull. He is a mere shadow of his former self.
Didier Drogba- Again I think you are being a bit harsh again. The man has not aged well and is plagued with a horrible attitude and chronic injuries. But you can’t tell me that at the peak of Chelsea’s powers he was one of the most feared strikers in the world. I have never admitted this on this blog before, but Drogba used to be my favorite player. I love players with speed and power, and Drogba had both in abundance. I think people forgot just how dependant Chelsea were on him. There offense consisted of long ball after long ball to Drogba and everyone knew it yet he still scored. I will admit that his best days are now behind him, and that he is easily one of the worst teammates in the world, but you can’t deny his former talent.
Ibrahimovic- I don’t know one way or the other if he is a big game bottler, but calling him overrated is laughable, he is incredible.
Theo Walcott- I agree, one mazy run against Liverpool, and a hat trick against a shambolic Croatia and, now he is the second coming of Jesus(pronounced ‘Hey-Zeus’)
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I tried to post this after the Everton game, but I don’t think it went thru so I’m going to repeat myself…
I have flip-flopped on my stance regarding Tevez so many times its laughable. I thought that Tevez didn’t deserve the treatment fergie dished out to him and that we don’t deserve to have a player like him on our squad. While I still maintain that he has been horrible mistreated, we should do everything in our power to resign him. You are welcome to your opinion on him as a player, because I am not trying to argue that right now.
Is Carlos Tevez a 32 million pounds striker? No, but neither is Rooney or Berba(but that’s another topic all together). Think of what Tevez has done for this club, the late winners, the never say die attitude, and most of all the Anti-Sulk. How many times has he been left out of the squad, or called to warm up in the second half only for fergie to never call his number? Any player in the world would be justified to sulk this season if they were in his shoes, but He never did. I hate that the main thing holding us back from signing him is because of that CUNT Kia Joorabchian. This asshole is a fucking parasite, and I can’t believe people like him are even allowed in football. I don’t see the remaining 20 odd million as us purchasing another striker. I see it as us thanking Tevez for his loyal service, by buying his freedom from this mobster.
Here is a nice article on Tevez from the Guardian… http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/feb/05/carlos-tevez-film-manchester-united-argentina
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Somebody wrote a nice eulogy for Tevez. Heres the article verbatim:
The Boy From Fuerte Apache
It is a slow news day so it gives me an excuse to feature a nice article I found about Carlos Tevez. It was written around 2004 but beyond that I have no further details…
The Boy from Fuerte Apache
He grew up in poverty loving Boca Juniors above all else. He has wild talent, unpredictable moves and amazing accleration. His football is magical, his goals exceptional. But he can’t score with his head and his tongue flops out when he dribbles or shoots.
In a country where the ‘new Maradona’ label attaches itself to any half-decent youngster, 19-year-old Carlos Tevez is undoubtedly the closest thing yet. He even made his professional debut against the same team, Talleres de Cordoba. The only noticeable difference is that Tevez is right-footed.
Even Maradona sees himself in Boca Juniors’ current maestro. “The things he does with the ball!” gasps the legendary Argentinian. “The first time I watched him, so tiny, at La Bombonera (Boca’s stadium), he reminded me of myself.”
Five foot eight and stockily-built, dressed head to toe in Nike training gear including his customary woolly hat (he has one for each day of the week; today’s is black), Carlos Tevez has little of the air of a star about him when we meet at Boca’s Casa Amarilla (yellow house) training ground. Sitting by the edge of a training pitch, the recently-crowned 2003 South American Player of the Year smiles when Maradona’s name is mentioned. “The comparison with Diego is something to be proud of, but I don’t think I deserve it,” he says. “There was only one Maradona and there’ll never be another. Perhaps I’ve picked up some movements because I learned to play football watching him on telly – and on the pitch when I was lucky enough to go to a football match, which wasn’t often – but it’s craziness to compare me to him. He delivered so much joy to the people. He was a World Champion, he was in Europe for so many years. Me? I’m a pibe (a boy), I’m just starting.”
As he prepares to leave his teenage years behind on February 5, the reminders of Tevez’s youth are everywhere. When Boca travelled to Tokyo for the Intercontinental Cup against Milan. Tevez felt more uncomfortable than he ever had when marked by rugged Argentinian defenders in important matches. The reason? The specially tailored suits the club had ordered. “I’ve never worn a suit or a tie in my life,” he complained. “It’s strange, I really can’t see myself getting into that.”
But it’s on the training ground that the pibe spirit burns brightest. Out there he’s a magnet. Laces undone, twisting, turning, trying Higuita’s Scorpion Kick; whatever he does, Tevez is the centre of attention. People adore him because they see a little boy having fun, a kid who encapsulates both the amateur spirit and the age-old tale of the fan who becomes part of the team. In his spare time, Tevez even calls his four brothers out for a game, kicking around plastic bottles or whatever else he can find.
Already sportswear giants, Nike, are preparing to turn Tevez into the new Ronaldinho, believing that his charisma, style and poverty-stricken background are perfect for the South American market, and newspaper La Nacion recently commented: “Tevez is capable of becoming Boca’s greatest ever idol, for he sums up characteristics of the four greatest idols of the club in his position. The explosiveness of Maradona, the feint of Angel Clemente Rojas, the physical strength of Alberto Marcico, and the sense of being the creative axis of the team so typical of Juan Roman Riquelme.”
For Marcico, who coached him in 2002 as Boca’s assistant manager, Tevez is already above his contemporaries: “(Pablo) Aimar, Riquelme, (Ariel) Ortega, (Andres) D’Alessandro, they’re all great players. But Tevez is the most explosive player since Maradona. He’s more complete than the rest. He’s got personality and stamina, and he’s equally aggressive when he has the ball or when he has to go and get it. Whatever stadium he plays in, he performs the same way. He’s magnificent.”
A broken tooth, a neck covered in scars from an accident with boiling water and his ‘Apache’ nickname are the tell-tale signs of Tevez’s tough childhood. Fuerte Apache is perhaps the poorest, most dangerous of Buenos Aires’s suburbs, a place where even the police fear to tread.
Tevez grew up with money scarce and simply feeding the family a constant battle. “So many people had to live with the things I had to,” he says. “But the hunger vanished with an ‘I love you’ from our dads. That’s the way it was for us.”
In that environment, Tevez learnt one basic law: only the strongest survive. It was a lesson he would take to the potrero, the neighbourhood football pitch, full of stones, cans, craters and violence. There he learned to play football the hard way. “They say there’s pressure at La Bombonera,” says Tevez. “What pressure? The real pressure is at a potrero where everything is allowed, where nobody protects you, where you’re playing against older and tougher lads! At the potrero, you work out how to do a bit of everything: go up and down, mark and play. You learn to cover the ball and to put up with heavy knocks.
“We played matches where the winners got sandwiches and Cokes (paid for by the losers) and they were terrific. The lowest tackle was around the neck, but you had to accept it. The prize was the prize and the honour was honour.” If he had it his way, Tevez would still be playing there, “but I’m a professional now and have to take care of myself,” he explains.
No sooner had Boca discovered Tevez’s potential than they took him out of the potreros and out of Apache. One of his closest friends, Dario, had recently been shot to death. At Boca, Tevez quickly became friends with another dazzling young footballer, five years his senior. The star of the first team, Juan Roman Riquelme had himself been labelled the new Maradona and, like Tevez, came from a villa (shanty town).
“Roman is like my brother,” says Tevez. “We both came from poor families and he helped me a lot. He always gave me things – shoes, jerseys – and he talked to me when I still hadn’t played a match.”
A few months after his debut for the reserves, Sunderland made an offer for Tevez. Boca turned it down flat. In October 2001, he made his first-team bow. Then, two weeks later, Riquelme was sold to Barcelona. “Roman came to see me and told me something I won’t forget,” recalls Tevez of his friend’s departure. “He said: ‘I’m leaving, but you’re going be the leader of Boca now. If the team plays badly, it’s your fault. And if it plays well, it’s because of you. Face the fact that you’re the conductor, the director.’”
Still only 18, Tevez faced it. “Playing for the reserves, he would win matches on his own,” recalls Heber Mastrangelo, boss of Boca’s youth teams, where Tevez scored 72 goals in three years. “He’d just grab the ball and dribble past everybody, opponents, team-mates, the referee. Amazing.”
In the first-team, he appeared to play as if nothing had changed, but Tevez concedes that it was hard without Riquelme. “I had only just made my debut when Roman was sold, and the tag of being the successor to Riquelme was crazy too! Riquelme is almost at the level of Maradona: there will never be another player like him.”
He also had to deal with his new-found fame. “How did I not get confused? Simple: by understanding that I’m Tevez and not Maradona. And besides that, luxuries are not important to me. You’ll never see me in limousines or drinking champagne. I’m from the neighbourhood, a simple lad. I’m the same as I’ve always been. Maybe I’m a bit more famous to other people now, but that doesn’t stop me doing the things I always did. I hang out with my best friends, drink mate (Argentinian tea) with them, play cards, I visit Apache, we spend hours playing PlayStation. I’m Carlitos, as always. The difference is that I’m on TV and in magazines now, but I don’t believe the hype. I try to keep looking forward, otherwise I’ll be a failure.”
In 2002, Tevez came to England to play Manchester United at Old Trafford. The match would demonstrate another similarity to Maradona, a short temper. Reacting to a scything challenge from Paul Scholes, Tevez was sent off, but his memories of the visit are positive.
“I have David Beckham’s shirt hanging in my room, alongside Riquelme’s boots,” he says. “Old Trafford is a superb ground. It’s funny to have the supporters two metres away from you, though. In Argentina that would be impossible; they’d jump on to the pitch and steal the ball (laughs). Besides, the people were all sitting, neat and tidy, and no one threw anything – it was like playing at the theatre!”
For Tevez, there’s no place like home. “I’ve played at Old Trafford, the Nou Camp and the Morumbi (in Sao Paolo) packed with 100,000 Brazilians, but nothing compares to La Bombonera. Do you know how it feels to be there? Mamma mia! It’s awesome. You hear everything, the crowd sings the entire match, and sometimes you can feel the vibrations. You don’t believe that the stadium actually trembles until you experience a match there. It’s unique.”
Back at La Bombonera, Tevez moved to the next level, but only after Boca manager, Carlos Bianchi had decided to play his star man further forward. Tevez says he admires four players – Maradona, Riquelme, Ronaldo and Gabriel Batistuta. The names are relevant because in Argentina the debate still rages over where he should play. He shines in midfield or up front. But is he a playmaker? Or a striker?
Bianchi, himself a prolific goalscorer, had no doubts when asked in early 2003. “For me, he is a forward, but he needs to add some of the secrets of the striker’s position to his game. The champagne goals are important, but the banal goals really make the difference. I want him to score more banal goals.”
Three months later, Tevez became the leading goalscorer in the Torneo Apertura with eight goals in 11 matches, plus his usual share of assists, as Boca streaked to the championship. Shortly after, he inspired his team-mates to Copa Libertadores glory.
Unsurprisingly, European clubs took notice. Bayern Munich have already made two offers, both rejected. Bayern vice president, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, believes Boca will settle for E20m, but according to Boca chairman Mauricio Macri, Tevez will remain there for at least two more years.
“Look, I don’t drive myself mad thinking of Europe,” is Tevez’s view. “The guita (dosh) doesn’t drive me mad and at Boca I’m very happy. I’m just a boy, I still want to go out with my friends and my family, things that I couldn’t do in Europe because they wouldn’t be there. Perhaps later I’d like to try European football, to be among all the ‘monsters’ who play there?”
If – or when – he does go to Europe, Tevez may yet spring a surprise. “If you’d asked me a year ago, I would have said I would most want to go to Barcelona, but nowadays, it’s Villarreal,” he says. “Why? Simple, to play with my friend Roman. The things we would do there! And Spain would be easier for me because of the language.”
Villareal? Spain? Alberto Marcico believes Tevez can conquer the entire football world. “He’s already the best Argentinian player in the world and soon he will play in Europe and show his qualities to them, as he did in South America winning the Copa Libertadores on his own. He’s not only a Boca idol, he’s the one player who supporters from all the teams want in the national team. That’s because it’s clear he loves and breathes football.”
He certainly does. Recently, Boca made a generous offer that most 19-year-olds would accept in the blink of an eye: an appointment with a highly-regarded plastic surgeon who would remove the scars from his neck. When Tevez found out that he would need four months of rehabilitation, his answer was immediate. “What!?! Four months! First, if someone doesn’t like how I look, it’s his problem, not mine. And second, are you out of your mind? I could never go so long without playing football!”
And with that, he called to his brothers, found a ball and began to play.
–
Happy Birthday Apache!
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@Patrick: Thanks a lot for the compliment Patrick. It’s nice to be appreciated. It helps when you have such a passion for the sport and that others share the passion with you. I love this game but I also love it’s history. I suppose that is why I can come across as negative towards some of the antics and styles of play in todays overly technical and overly strategic game. Still, the game is almost as good as sex when played with the right mixture of skill and strategy. Ah what am I saying? Nothing beats sex.
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