Team Of The Decade

[Squiggles]

[quote author=StevieM link=topic=33583.msg872748#msg872748 date=1243005523]
[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=33583.msg872711#msg872711 date=1243001576]
----------------Reina--------------
Babel---Hyypia--Carragher---Riise
----------Hamann--Alonso-----------
----Gerrard---------------Garcia------
------------Torres---Owen----------

They're comfortably the best players of the last decade.
[/quote]

Ryan Babel at RB doesn't work for me...  (but adding a "b" I know who you mean).

Gerrard on the right doesnt do it for me, espically since I think we've established his best role is in the centre wth "freedom".

Torres and Owen as a partnership would clearly not work.  Torres is at his best when's he's alone and Owen needs to play off a bigger striker.  They're clearly unsuited.  Records on paper do not a partnership make.

Garcia.. meh?  That I choose Berger, which should probably re-inforce how poor we've been at attacking left mid for the last 10 years.
[/quote]

Nonsense

We're coming at this from different angles. I feel the team should be made of our eleven best players; those who delivered most for this club over the last decade and this is their accolade. Your looking at if from an actual hypothetical working 'team' - though I still disagree over several points:

- Berger in any 'team of the decade' thread is laughable - good player though he was.

- Writing off partnerships is, I think, ridiculous; take a look at how Scolari thought Drogba and Anelka parnership would never work, the doubts over the Yorke, Cole pairing, and how Tevez was "too similar" to Wayne Rooney brigade. And regardless of whether you think Torres & Owen wouldn't work, both players deserve to be in the squad on merit.

- Gerrard has been placed on the right to accommodate those two stikers, but also because I feel Hamann and Alonso are both worthy candidates for the side. Also because Kuyt aside, I can't think of another candidate who's even close to getting into a side like this. For Dirk to be a serious candidate, he will have to deliver one more season like his last - lets hope he can do it.

 

[StevieM]

[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=33583.msg872758#msg872758 date=1243006695]
[quote author=StevieM link=topic=33583.msg872748#msg872748 date=1243005523]
[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=33583.msg872711#msg872711 date=1243001576]
----------------Reina--------------
Babel---Hyypia--Carragher---Riise
----------Hamann--Alonso-----------
----Gerrard---------------Garcia------
------------Torres---Owen----------

They're comfortably the best players of the last decade.
[/quote]

Ryan Babel at RB doesn't work for me... (but adding a "b" I know who you mean).

Gerrard on the right doesnt do it for me, espically since I think we've established his best role is in the centre wth "freedom".

Torres and Owen as a partnership would clearly not work. Torres is at his best when's he's alone and Owen needs to play off a bigger striker. They're clearly unsuited. Records on paper do not a partnership make.

Garcia.. meh? That I choose Berger, which should probably re-inforce how poor we've been at attacking left mid for the last 10 years.
[/quote]

Nonsense

We're coming at this from different angles. I feel the team should be made of our eleven best players; those who delivered most for this club over the last decade and this is their accolade. Your looking at if from an actual hypothetical working 'team' - though I still disagree over several points:

- Berger in any 'team of the decade' thread is laughable - good player though he was.

- Writing off partnerships is, I think, ridiculous; take a look at how Scolari thought Drogba and Anelka parnership would never work, the doubts over the Yorke, Cole pairing, and how Tevez was "too similar" to Wayne Rooney brigade. And regardless of whether you think Torres & Owen wouldn't work, both players deserve to be in the squad on merit.

- Gerrard has been placed on the right to accommodate those two stikers, but also because I feel Hamann and Alonso are both worthy candidates for the side. Also because Kuyt aside, I can't think of another candidate who's even close to getting into a side like this. For Dirk to be a serious candidate, he will have to deliver one more season like his last - lets hope he can do it.
[/quote]

Friendly debate

Hypothecial team that works versus collections of best players. Our defence and central idfield are the same becaue we're playing tyhe best players we've had over the last 10 years in their normal positions. A point to remember.

Berger. would fit in to our team very well. INnuries ruined him, I agree. I also agree that having him at left mid is not ideal, but the only other option is Garcia, who was not effective out there. Garcia was effective in the centre off a striker (in the positiion Gerrard has been playing this year). There's no on else capable of playing that role.

I don't disregard the role of striker partners at all. Cole & Yorke were so good together because they were different types of players. It's like sticking Fowler & Owen together and pretending they'd be th gratest ever. They wouldn't. Fernando's ame is all about having the freedom of the frontline to roam in between defenders, drag the out of position and cause havok. Fernando is neither the great creator, nor the decoy/workhorse that Owen needs.

Gerrard is to good a player to stick on the right to accomodate other players. A Hamman, Lonso axis would give him free spirit that Gerrard has always needed to be. Owen couldn for Gerrard..

Just cause Garcia had a left foot didn't maker him a left winger.t hold the line.

The fact remains we haven't had a truely decent left sided attacking midfielder in the last 10 - years.. What comes after Berger/Garcia... Riera / Babel???... Doissena??? That's scary,