[quote author=Ryan link=topic=26402.msg656081#msg656081 date=1219630799]
[quote author=Herr Onceared link=topic=26402.msg655614#msg655614 date=1219577837]
Fuck off rebel.
He continues to do fuck all for us. Its hardly hysteria when its the same fucking thing week in week out.
Frankly im astonished to see anyone defending him.
Hes fucking shite.
[/quote]
S'pose I'll be the yin to that yang then.
He's not "fucking shite" Oncy, however you dress it up. He's an excellent footballer, who (for whatever reasons) has fallen completely out of his way with us in the last few seasons. Whether it's a measure of the way we play, the onus we place on him to be more of a physical presence than the footballer he wants to be, the rigours of the premier league, or the less free-flowing game he's used to from Spain I'm not sure. In his defence, he gets unconsciously compared to Gerrard by far too many. He's not that player, nor is he Mascherano (although quite how somebody as limited as the Argentinian gets the praise he does on here and elsewhere is beyond me), and as a result he unfairly gets the shorter straw.
He was shit on Saturday no doubt about it, but he completely changed the game the week before. Anybody with half a capacity to understand the game can see how instrumental he can be on occassions like that, but unfortunately for us and him those cameos have been few and far between recently. It's a shame to watch him stroll aroudn the park for his national side looking completely at ease with all that's going around him, strutting like the proverbial peacock, and looking the player we bought from Sociedad all those years ago. He can play, but seemingly not for us.
I remember going to see a Celtic - Rangers game about 5 years ago; full hustle n bustle, tackles everywhere, Bobo Balde in his fucking element, anathema to any form of 'football'. In the centre of Rangers' midfield was Mikel Arteta. He didn't get a kick for the 55 minutes he was afforded on the pitch. I thought he was gonna cry he way he was being bullied everywhere. He was laughed off the pitch, and sent back to Spain within a few months. Ity's amazing what comfort zones, appreciation and most importantly confidence (or lack thereof) can do to some players. Rangers wasn't Arteta's environment, just like Liverppol's isn't Alonso's.
[/quote]
Arteta was brilliant for Rangers- he was player of the season bar Barry Ferguson that year. He was absolutely excellent. I was living in Glasgow that year and went to the game with my Father-in-law. He scored the goal in the last day of the season that gave Rangers the league when nobody else had the balls to pick up the ball and take it to the penalty spot, but he did much more than that throughout the season- he was a cocky-so-and-so who regularly provided the spark to win matches. He left Rangers because he had bigger ambitions, and because Rangers were cashing in on their best players to pay off their debts.
I accept the point you're trying to make may have merit, but your example is complete cobblers.
edit: Oh I see Brendan has already made this point. But worth making again.
[quote author=Herr Onceared link=topic=26402.msg655614#msg655614 date=1219577837]
Fuck off rebel.
He continues to do fuck all for us. Its hardly hysteria when its the same fucking thing week in week out.
Frankly im astonished to see anyone defending him.
Hes fucking shite.
[/quote]
S'pose I'll be the yin to that yang then.
He's not "fucking shite" Oncy, however you dress it up. He's an excellent footballer, who (for whatever reasons) has fallen completely out of his way with us in the last few seasons. Whether it's a measure of the way we play, the onus we place on him to be more of a physical presence than the footballer he wants to be, the rigours of the premier league, or the less free-flowing game he's used to from Spain I'm not sure. In his defence, he gets unconsciously compared to Gerrard by far too many. He's not that player, nor is he Mascherano (although quite how somebody as limited as the Argentinian gets the praise he does on here and elsewhere is beyond me), and as a result he unfairly gets the shorter straw.
He was shit on Saturday no doubt about it, but he completely changed the game the week before. Anybody with half a capacity to understand the game can see how instrumental he can be on occassions like that, but unfortunately for us and him those cameos have been few and far between recently. It's a shame to watch him stroll aroudn the park for his national side looking completely at ease with all that's going around him, strutting like the proverbial peacock, and looking the player we bought from Sociedad all those years ago. He can play, but seemingly not for us.
I remember going to see a Celtic - Rangers game about 5 years ago; full hustle n bustle, tackles everywhere, Bobo Balde in his fucking element, anathema to any form of 'football'. In the centre of Rangers' midfield was Mikel Arteta. He didn't get a kick for the 55 minutes he was afforded on the pitch. I thought he was gonna cry he way he was being bullied everywhere. He was laughed off the pitch, and sent back to Spain within a few months. Ity's amazing what comfort zones, appreciation and most importantly confidence (or lack thereof) can do to some players. Rangers wasn't Arteta's environment, just like Liverppol's isn't Alonso's.
[/quote]
Arteta was brilliant for Rangers- he was player of the season bar Barry Ferguson that year. He was absolutely excellent. I was living in Glasgow that year and went to the game with my Father-in-law. He scored the goal in the last day of the season that gave Rangers the league when nobody else had the balls to pick up the ball and take it to the penalty spot, but he did much more than that throughout the season- he was a cocky-so-and-so who regularly provided the spark to win matches. He left Rangers because he had bigger ambitions, and because Rangers were cashing in on their best players to pay off their debts.
I accept the point you're trying to make may have merit, but your example is complete cobblers.
edit: Oh I see Brendan has already made this point. But worth making again.
