#1 : C.Ronaldo #2 : C.Fabragas #3 : D.Drogba #4 : R.Santa Cruz . This season playing insane #5 : Carlos Tevez
I don't think Ronaldo slacks off under pressure but there is a big difference in his level of performance when he is allowed to play his natural attacking game compared to when he is tactically restricted to one wing. Our conservative style of play against some sides works against us and I have no idea why we do it. Take a look at Drogba's scoring record, particularly in his first two seasons for Chelsea. Even last season, while very good for him, it was relatively poor in comparison to his peers. That he was somehow labeled the best striker or even the best player in the world by certain people was baffling. I don't think Fabregas merits any place in this top 5. I would not even include him in the top 5 of offensive minded central midfielders in the Premiership. For more of my thoughts on Fabregas see the following thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286131 It's not really about there being better options in his position but more to do with there being better and more inflential players who merit a place in a top 5 ahead of him. Although in saying that it all depends on what you want. Play him in central midfield and I would take a couple of players over him (Scholes and Ballack) because I don't think he operates best with tactical and defensive responsibility. Allow him to play at his best with the freedom to roam forward and there are another couple of players I would add (Rooney being one). I rate Torres highly but he has only been here for half a season and I do not think he is in the top 5 yet. There are better players (like Rooney, Berbatov, etc) who were left out. Plus in general there is a distinct lack of defenders in these lists who are not only better in terms of their position but also far, far more influential for their clubs.
Here's my pick for the top 5 players in EPL Cristiano Ronaldo Torres Gerrard Drogba Fabragas Cheers, Plavin
Fair enough. Though you are often biased, you often give just as many good justifications as well. Being a relatively new fan of the EPL, its interesting to see what you have to say. I don't always agree with you, in fact, I rarely agree with you, but I hardly ever see people who can defend their points better than you will do. Here are my new top 5 in the EPL btw: 1. Ronaldo 2. Essien 3. Gerrard 4. Drogba 5. Torres And the next 5: 6. Cech 7. Adebayor 8. Lampard 9. Toure 10. Terry I'm sick, tired, and not thinking straight, so this might not be my actual views, just a warning.
for someone with a username joecole, im surprised you didnt include him in your top 5. he has been incredible this season.
I don't know if you're talking about for England or for my Chelsea. I don't watch England, but for Chelsea, he's been up and down. At times he's brilliant, dominating the game. Other times he's just a show off who pretends he's Ronaldinho on the ball and ends up giving up the ball. I guess it all depends on which games you watch though.
i have not caught all of chelsea's games but have seen quite a few and the ones ive watched he has been without question the difference maker. No doubt he's got flaws in his game, but overall he has looked impressive in the attacking 1/3 and has been one of chelsea's most creative (if not the most creative) players this season
not in the last season. he has had subpar performances, but without him, chelsea wouldve been in a lot worse position than they are currently.
Yes and the fact that a show pony brit is our most creative player speaks tons about our creativity. Just kidding, he's one of my favorite players.
Joe Cole has three goals and one assist over the last season and a half in the Premiership. In the whole of January he has a single assist and in the whole of December he had two goals. Granted he was injured last season but those are the figures. Even if you look over his entire career he has only managed to hit 8 league goals in a season twice. He's consistent but far from great. He is a very talented player but productivity is the main problem when you consider his talent, team and role. For England he has two goals in WCQ, one in ECQ and one in the WC. Again, simple not enough for a player in his postion and with his talent. Particularly when you consider that his inclusion in recent sides has had an impact on other players because of his tendency to cut inside and add to the mess in the middle of the park. Agreed.
Its not all about the stats...im sure hes been involved in many of Chelsea's goals whilst not getting the direct assist.
Joe Cole plays in a position that demands either goals or assists. I accept that there are things outside of those but to have such low figures in both for a player of his ability, his position in the side and the players he operates with is simply not acceptable. He needs to step up and do more or his career will be one of talent wasted.
meant to say not in THIS last season, meaning 07/08, where he has 6 goals and 3 assists and has saved chelsea on many occassions with key plays.
Couldnt have put it better myself, I still believe he would be better suited in the middle than on the wing.
These are my picks based on importance to team as well as individual performance ... 1.) Cristiano Ronaldo - ManU 2.) Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal 3.) Stephen Gerrard - L'Pool 4.) Benjani Mwaruwari - P'mouth 5.) Francesc Fabregas - Arsenal
Not at all. Benjani has 12 goals for Portsmouth this season ... the next highest scorer on the team is Defoe with 5. He has over 1/3 of the team's goals this season (team = 35 goals total). That would be impressive enough if you weren't taking into account that he's been out of the lineup since the beginning of the year with the ANC. Since he's been gone they've lost 2-0 to Sunderland, beat Derby 3-1 & lost 2-0 to Man U. They had 5 losses in their first 22 games with him and they've had 2 goal-less losses in the three games since he's been gone. The bottom line is that he's been sensational this season, and as I mentioned in my first post, my top five is based on individual performance and impact on the team ... both of which he's got top marks for.