I doubt 8 in 10 fans could name Makelele's club before Real. Makelele was immensely talented beyond anything Kante might aspire to, let alone achieve.
Well, your opinions on the Chelsea midfield have certainly changed since you were observing it in real time. Amazing how that happens
Hazard opens the score for Chelsea. Was about to note about poor Chelsea had been since they scored and Romeu equalizes right on cue.
I've always had respect for Makelele at his best. I doubted Lampard's credentials back then too but shortly thereafter was up in arms about him being cheated out of Balon d'Or
Why? I loved him then. Thing is back then the premium league was crawling with wonderful midfielders Then we started to see guys like Anderson
You went farther than to "doubt his credentials", but that's fine. As with Jitty, my point is we remember the past with tinted glasses. Makelele, for instance, was OK on the ball, but never great. His amazing skill was positioning. You hated Chelsea then. You just like being contrarian. And you're old enough now that players who you tolerated now appear as giants. It happens to us all. I don't think Kante is as good as Makelele, but he is a very good player for what he does (as what Makelele - he was hardly a fit for all systems). Failing to recognize that has its own biases. It's a bit like people who can't look past Pogba's transfer fee.
You say that with a straight face after watching that lasty game where we were denied a stonewall penalty for Cristiano (and yellow card because Umtiti got none of the ball and just kicked him down), yet Ramos gets sent off for a two foot lunge that made no contact. Mascherano does that three times a match without even a foul given. I get that we're the biggest club so people jate us and want to see us fail but man.... what barca have gotten away with over the last decade has been disgraceful. Comoletely out of the ordinary. They have never received a penalty against them this season. Neymar was their first send off in two seasons. Do not compare what they get away with to what we, you or any big club gets away with. It is not even in the same universe.
I don't have a particular bias for or against either Real or Barca, so the victim act is not necessary here, as you're barking up the wrong tree. Over the years watching both teams, in La Liga, I've seen both teams get away with a lot, especially when it comes to other teams. I get it, it's pretty much the same in not just every league, but in a lot of other sports as well, with the top teams getting the rub of the green more often than others. Neymar's last red and subsequent suspension were warranted. As far as Ramos is concerned, I don't care if his leg breaking tackle didn't make contact, it was extremely dangerous, reckless and it could have seriously hurt Messi, had he not gotten out of the way. Messi was even facing his own goal, so there was no reason for it and his expulsion was therefore completely justified. Subsequently, trying to explain himself to the ref, he put both hands to his midsection, to which the ref nodded down and then stared at him, pretty much telling him to take his hands off of him. By the letter of the law, that alone very well should have resulted in further suspension, which obviously he didn't get. So don't come here and have the nerve of telling me with a straight face that Real never get preferential treatment one way or another. Or that Barca have it easier than Real. It is what it is and you trying to deny it, playing the part of the poor victim here, is nothing but a joke.
If Messi didn't jump over Ramos' two footed lunge, Messi would likely be out for 6-8 months with a broken leg. Real Madrid fans can't accept that their team gets a lot of crooked decisions because they're still upset about Messi skull-********ing them.
Moronic posts like this just shows how butthurt you are about Madrid. Every big team gets calls. Every big team does not get the inane amount barca gets. We get penalties against us. We get send offs. They do not. Period. I noticed no mention of the penalty we should have received though. You apparently are about equity as long as Madrid are not particpants in receiving it.
Why aren't you as aggrieved thst Cristiano didn't receive a penalty? That was a stonewall penalty ad game changing. Why is it that these epistles and explanation are only made when it is anti-Madrid?
If you're paranoid to think I'm going to lie about the fact I don't have any allegiances one way or another, or that I seem to support Barca over Real, that's on you! You need to settle down and take out your frustrations on people who deserve it. Real players and the manager choked, once again: Barca were there for the taking and they couldn't get the job done. Take that shit elsewhere. Like seriously...
Wenger reiterates that Sanchez will not be sold to a Prem rival... but expects he will re-up with Arsenal anyway. www.bbc.com/sport/football/39703517
Real choked. Messi stood tall when it counted. There's not much else to it. And I say that as a fan of Ronaldo, a player who was sensational for United and brought us a CL trophy. But facts cannot be denied simply because we don't like them.
Brazil goalkeeper guilty of murder back in prison after brief return to football https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...keeper-bruno-fernandes-de-souza-prison-guilty
Newcastle United raided in HMRC tax investigation into transfers https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...rested?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
David Moyes charged by the FA over female reporter ‘slap’ remark https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...remark?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
West Ham too. HMRC stated officers were deployed across the UK and France with the French authorities assisting. Clearly it involves French/African player transfers between France and those clubs.
new thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/felipe-anderson-and-the-misguided-scottsman-ott.2046099/