Football Soccer Football Soccer Football Soccer

[Underboss]

It's going to be Real Madrid vs Bayern/Barca in the finals.

[Sparked_26]

Hope Real win it.

Drogba looks a bit of a pale imitation of himself. So glad he had the moment to win us the CL. Absolute legend.

Cech, Terry, Lampard, Drogba = all of them are on the wane aside from Cech but even then he's never been quite as good as he was before he fractured his skull. Lamps has more left than Terry and Drogba put together though. Not convinced Ashley Cole should have been offered another contract either.

[Tom Cruise]

I would say Thiago Silva is overrated.

The bloke cost ?0-odd million.

I do hold a belief though that centre half is the easiest position on the pitch by quite some distance. Hence why JT was one of the top 3-4 centre halves in Europe for many years despite having zero pace, prone to rushes of blood to the head and often badly exposed in one on one situations. He got away with it through a mixture of a deep defensive line and having a quick defensive partner.

Centre halves play in the smallest area of the pitch and get the most time on the ball. You'd have to mental to spend ?0 million on a centre-back.

In real terms strikers and goalkeepers are probably the most valuable players in terms of points won, imo.

When City offered ?0 million under Mark Hughes for John Terry some eejit at Chelsea should have bitten their hand off!

Good centre halves seem to benefit from experience more than any other position. Which is why Johnny Evans used to be a joke but is now one of the top centre-halves in the league.

I'm not sure about that. Being a centre half might not look glamorous but there is a lot involved in it, mostly organisational, positioning, reactions, and most of consistency. Messi could have 8 touches which bounce off to the other team but 2 which go in and he's had a great game, imagine Terry had only 2 good touches and 8 bad ones in a game?

It might not be as athletically demanding but in many other ways centre half is one of the most difficult positions on the pitch.

[Sparked_26]

I'm not sure about that. Being a centre half might not look glamorous but there is a lot involved in it, mostly organisational, positioning, reactions, and most of consistency. Messi could have 8 touches which bounce off to the other team but 2 which go in and he's had a great game, imagine Terry had only 2 good touches and 8 bad ones in a game?

It might not be as athletically demanding but in many other ways centre half is one of the most difficult positions on the pitch.

I get what you're saying but because the speed of the game is so quick these days the fact that centre-halves cover the least distance make is less demanding. Defensively a full back has a tougher task positionally as they have to tuck in with the centre backs or go out to the lines depending on what happens. They have to be aware of runners in between themselves and the centre halfs and runners in behind them. 90% of the game is played in front of the centre backs.

I also look at it in the sense that 8 players are trying to make a game and 2 players are trying to destroy it. Which is why there is a greater emphasis on the ball-playing centre half these days. I do think it is the most basic position with the main concern always being what is happening in front of you.

Everyone is taught to track runners from the first time they kick a ball. I am not saying you can get away with two **** centre halves but a well structured team could win a premier league title with two Gary Cahill's imo. Just as Man U used to dominate with Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister back in the day.

I do get what you're saying in the sense that if a centre half make an error it is a goal. But there aren't many goals imo that are directly attributable to a centre back mistake. In most cases the full back culpable, or a someone hasn't picked up a runner from midfield.

I do think that ?0 million centre half is unjustifiable in many ways. It is also one of the reasons I would be pretty relieved to see Luiz leave Chelsea because he tries too hard to impact the game because the nuts and bolts of defending bores him.

[squealpiggy]

Centre half may be less physically demanding in terms of output and speed but then the strength and toughness required is greater and it's a much more demanding position in terms of the mistakes you can make. A good centre half can be the difference between winning and losing. Look at Man City without Kompany for example.

[Tom Cruise]

I get what you're saying but because the speed of the game is so quick these days the fact that centre-halves cover the least distance make is less demanding. Defensively a full back has a tougher task positionally as they have to tuck in with the centre backs or go out to the lines depending on what happens. They have to be aware of runners in between themselves and the centre halfs and runners in behind them. 90% of the game is played in front of the centre backs.

I also look at it in the sense that 8 players are trying to make a game and 2 players are trying to destroy it. Which is why there is a greater emphasis on the ball-playing centre half these days. I do think it is the most basic position with the main concern always being what is happening in front of you.

Everyone is taught to track runners from the first time they kick a ball. I am not saying you can get away with two **** centre halves but a well structured team could win a premier league title with two Gary Cahill's imo. Just as Man U used to dominate with Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister back in the day.

I do get what you're saying in the sense that if a centre half make an error it is a goal. But there aren't many goals imo that are directly attributable to a centre back mistake. In most cases the full back culpable, or a someone hasn't picked up a runner from midfield.

I do think that ?0 million centre half is unjustifiable in many ways. It is also one of the reasons I would be pretty relieved to see Luiz leave Chelsea because he tries too hard to impact the game because the nuts and bolts of defending bores him.

to be fair i think any player is over priced at ?0,000,000 but its the way things go nowadays!

I gather from this thread you are a Chelsea fan right?

How differently do you think your season have gone if you'd had a prime John Terry in your team?

[Tom Cruise]

Look at Man City without Kompany for example.

good example

[E-Thug]

good example

i'm sure that 40 million deal for Thiago Silva included Ibrahimovic in the package too but i can't fully remember. If it's true, then i wouldn't necessarily call it a rip off

[F l i c k e r]

Nah, psg paid separately for ibrah and thiago. Like 57m total if i recall right.

A prime jt doesn't change too much. Luiz would leave him on an island often. Ivanovic is equally prone to ****** shyt as luiz. So nothing changes much with this season.

[Loud!]

Schweinsteiger proving why he is one of the best midfielders in the world.I did not expect Bayern to dominate Juventus so easily.
Also I wonder what Chelsea will do with De Bruyne next season.