Who Are The Top 10 Current Players Who Aren't European Or South American?

Is this a trick question? The main difference between Ba and Chicharito is that Ba was completely off the radar before this season. OTOH, take away Chicarito's 2010-11 season and he is still in the top 10 list.

The Bundesliga is hardly off the radar compared to the Mexican league.

We're not ranking leagues here, we're ranking players. Single-digit goal tallies at Hoffenheim is off the radar.

Chicharito would still be on the radar even if you remove his one good/great Premier league season, due to his NT form. Plus his "off-season" in 2011-12 is still on par with Adebayor and Dempsey production-wise.

John K is right, Ba was pretty decent in the Bundesliga.

Ba only had single-digit goal tallies in seasons where he missed half of the games due to injury. In the one season where he played all of the games he had 14 goals. If you look at his Bundesliga scoring rate, it is about the same as Chicharito's rate in Mexico.

You're essentially comparing 18 year-old Javier with 23 year-old Ba. Take Chicharito's last season at Chivas (compare apples with apples):

37 in 97 = 0.38
v
21 in 28 = 0.75

My comments were in response to you saying that Demba Ba was off the radar and was having single-digit goal scoring seasons. That is just not true if you really look at the stats. Maybe you don't follow the Bundesliga, but he was a decent player even back then.

The age thing is completely irrelevant since we are ranking players regardless of age. Though it does suggest that since Chicharito is younger he may have more room for improvement.

Yeah, TBH I didn't know Ba at all before this year. That said, you can't really be top 10 or get noticed easily if you are injured half the time.

Right, but you were comparing Chicharito 3-5 years ago to Ba 3-5 years ago. So age is relevant then as it fully explains Chicharito's poor goal ratio back then.

agree with all the lists

Let me be clearer. What specific skills are needed to be a good defensive midfielder? Also, getting assists does not equate to linking with forwards or dribbling. Getting assists MAY be associated with those abilities but to compare Song to Schweinsteiger in respect to link up play, dribbling and overall possession play just underscores the degree to which you overrate the former.




----------------


As for the Ba/Chicharito comparison. I was suggesting that I would put Cheech in the list before Ba as opposed to excluding Ba altogether. There's no way in hell Park deserves to be in the list. imo you can have a debate as to whether Ba or Chicharito deserve to be on the list. But you cannot have the same debate with Park/Ba or Park/Cheech. Aside from 2 or 3 patches of superb form, has been a situational player for United - used as a runner and a defensive winger. He's done his job well, but not enough to warrant a post in the list as described in the opening post.

One thing in favor of Cheech imo is how he has performed for his NT and the fact that he's playing at Manchester United as opposed to Newcastle. There's greater pressure at bigger clubs and less opportunities as teams tend to try not to lose rather than try to win. The step up from an ambitious club to a top club has proved to be the undoing of many strikers in the past.

Where's Adebayor? Prince Boateng?

I'm also not sure how you can talk about the best in CONCACAF without mentioning Landon Donovan.

+1
He is Bundesliga's Messi.

You need to be good defensively obviously, but also a good passer and/or dribbler. It is defensive midfielder, not central defender. There is a reason Arsenal are in 3rd place despite so many poor CB's playing behind Song this season.

LOL!!!!...good one bro

I'm not sure what's funny about that, "bro". Or do you seriously think that Landon Donovan isn't in the same class as Chicharito and Clint Dempsey?

How did Donovan at a big club in comparison to Chicharito?

2011/12 top 10 non-European/S. American goalscorers in EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A.

Code:

[SIZE=2]   Player      Age    Pos.   Nat.         League     Club                GP   Gls (PK)
 1 Ba           26     ST    Senegal      EPL        Newcastle United    26    16  (2)
 2 Yakubu       29     ST    Nigeria      EPL        Blackburn Rovers    22    14  (3)
   Cisse        26     ST    Senegal      Bundes/EPL Friburg/Newcastle   23    14  (1)
 4 Dempsey      29     AM    USA          EPL        Fulham              30    12
 5 Kagawa       23     AM    Japan        Bundes     Borrusia Dortmund   23    11
   Adebayor     28     ST    Togo         EPL        Tottenham Hotspur   26    11  (2)
 7 Kone         28     ST    Ivory Coast  La Liga    Levante             28    10
   Hernandez    23     ST    Mexico       EPL        Manchester United   24    10  (1)
 9 Odemwingie   30     ST    Nigeria      EPL        West Bromwich       24     9
10 Sessegnon    27     AM    Benin        EPL        Sunderland          28     7
   Okazaki      25     AM    Japan        Bundes     Stuttgart           22     7[/SIZE]

thats exactly what I´m thinking

It doesn't have anything to do with Chicharito. Just because he's in the top 10 of non-European/South American players doesn't preclude Donovan also being in that group.

Besides that, there are more ways to measure a player's individual quality than which clubs they play for, unless you think Chicharito is also better than Fernando Torres, who is struggling at the big club he plays for.

A guy who can become a difference-maker for a mid-table EPL team during a 2-month loan, leading the league in assists during his time there deserves to be in the conversation is my point.

In that case, you're just wrong then. There's more to evaluating players than just looking at the clubs they play for. If Donovan wasn't capable of playing above the level he currently plays at, he wouldn't be so effective internationally (something I'm sure you know a little bit about).

Are we talking about the same Landon Donovan who disappears in big games when his "quality" is desperately needed?

Chicharito was amazing in the Champions League final

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who was "amazing" against Barca that day.