Hi all,
I'm not going to dwell on the result of the Man City game tonight, we fielded a weakened team against a strong City line up and as such the result was inevitable. It will be a good experience for the younger players even though at this stage of the competition I think we should have sent out a stronger team and when it comes to Wenger, you knew he would be stubborn and stick with the kids.
I want to focus on the absolute nonsense I heard from Stan Collymore earlier this week when I decided to tune in to Talk Sport. Collymore was actually comparing this current Chelsea team to the invincibles! What really annoys me is when I hear pundits and fans saying that going a whole sason or 49 games unbeaten is not that great an achievement - if it was that easy then surely every team could do it! The fact is that it's unlikely we'll see a team do that in the near future or if at all.
Collymore mused that this Chelsea team and the invincibles were like for like in players... if you'll indulge me.
Goalkeeper:
Collymore was right in this respect, there is very little to choose between Lehman and Cech - both world class on their day but prone to the odd mistake. However, Lehman definitely wins on the madness scale!
Full backs:
Ashley Cole - fair enough! The guy was quality for Arsenal and quality for Chelsea, not much more that can be said.
Lauren and Botswinga - Lauren in his day was a fantastic player, calm, reassured on the ball and proven at the top level. Botswinga? Is he really that good? I'm not so sure...
Centre Halfs:
Campbell and Terry - this is a no brainer for me, in 2004 Campbell was one of the best if not the best centre half in the world. Terry is a dirty player with a slow turn of pace. A good defender and no more, he gets shown up on the international stage.
Toure and Carvalho - little to choose between them, I'd still rather have had the 2004 Toure - great pace and excellent skill on the ball.
The midfield:
Vieira and Essien - Essien is a fantastic player but not in Vieira's league, Vieira in 2004 was the best central midfielder in the world. Vieira could take on teams on his own, he was a fighter with the skill to match.
Gilberto and Mikel - Do I really need to explain myself here?!
Pires and Joe Cole - Can you believe Collymore compared Joe Cole to Pires??! Pires is one of the greatest players to grace the Premier League - elegent, classy and scored a hatful of goals. Can you say the same about Cole? I don't think so.
Ljunberg and Lampard - different players so hard to compare, Lampard scores goals but adds little else whereas the Swede scored goals and added a pace and threat that Lampard could only dream of.
Henry and Drogba - Droba is a magnificent player but how can you compare him to a player that scored 226 goals for Arsenal? Henry had flair, every goal he scored was special and he would win games on his own. Henry 2004 or Drogba 2009, it's quite a simple choice really.
Bergkamp and Henry - How dare Collymore compare these 2 players! Bergkamp is the GREATEST footballer I have EVER had the pleasure of seeing. Not only the best foreign player to play in the premiership but in my opinion he is in the top 20 footballers of all time and I'm sure there aren't many gooners who would disagree with me.
So there you have it Collymore, you are an idiot (I've been wanting to say that for so long).
Does anyone disagree with my analysis? If so, then please leave a comment.
Stoke on Saturday - turning into a really big game now, 3 defeats in a row and no goals scored. I'll write a preview of the game on Friday.
Enjoy the rest of your week gooners!
In the meantime here's some classic action to tide you over:
No comments:
Post a Comment