On the Ball (new Football Focus)

[Ted Max]

Paul Scholes. Not a bad midfielder. Terrible tackler, but.

[Keef]

Agree about Beckham, have always been a big fan. Wouldn't say he has everything, as George Best said, he can't head, he can't tackle and he has no pace. However, he has plenty to make up for his short comings.

[Sandperson]

Ted Max Wrote:

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> I would tentatively suggest that Gerrard has too

> many poor games to be considered automatic best

> ever. He's certainly a dominant personality and

> fantastic player. I think his need to be dominant,

> though, and the need of the Liverpool team for him

> to lead, contributes to these poor games, as he

> over-stretches and starts to lose his passing and

> positional play.

I think there's an element of this with Rooney too. Tries too hard to influence a game and gets tired and frustrated.

[DaveR]

You can't have this sort of debate without a pint in front of you - it just doesn't seem right

[Jah Lush]

This is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you because I'm Spurs through and through but Denis Bergkamp was different class. Unfortunately Gazza when he was in his pomp injured himself almost beyond repair and moved to Italy just as the Premiership was getting off the ground otherwise he'd be right up there.

[????]

Blackburn 2 Aston Villa 0

Chelsea 3 Hull 0

Everton 1 Bolton 0

Man City 1 Middlesbrough 0

Portsmouth 0 Liverpool 1

Sunderland 0 v Stoke 1

West Brom 2 v Newcastle 0

Wigan 2 v Fulham 1

Tottenham 0 v Arsenal 8

West Ham 2 Man U 2

[Jah Lush]

Blackburn 1 Aston Villa 2

Chelsea 2 Hull 0

Everton 1 Bolton 1

Man City 3 Middlesbrough 1

Portsmouth 1 Liverpool 2

Sunderland 3 v Stoke 1

West Brom 2 v Newcastle 1

Wigan 2 v Fulham 2

Tottenham 2 v Arsenal 1

West Ham 1 Man U 4

[Atila Reincarnate]

Jah Lush Wrote:

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> This is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt

> you because I'm Spurs through and through but

> Denis Bergkamp was different class. Unfortunately

> Gazza when he was in his pomp injured himself

> almost beyond repair and moved to Italy just as

> the Premiership was getting off the ground

> otherwise he'd be right up there.

Yes Jah, Bergkamp seemed to inhabit a different planet to the others on the pitch. He made everything he did look so simple, and effortless. It's not just what he did when he had the ball but the vision he had off the ball. I always told my son since he was 6 years old when we wnet to highbury, to watch Bergkamp not just when he had the ball but to watch his movement off of it. Truly magnificent, deceptively powerful, but always graceful.

[Atila Reincarnate]

???? Wrote:

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Tottenham 0 v Arsenal 8

I'm Arsenal to the marrow as people on this forum will testify, but come on, let's be real here.

[????]

B)

[Jah Lush]

Precisely Atila. I remember going to Highbury for the derby many years ago and he destroyed us and it still pains me to this day but he was magnificent.

Are you going on Saturday? Bit of a bastard the 1.30 kick-off but I'll be there.

[Jah Lush]

Atila Reincarnate Wrote:

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

> ???? Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> Tottenham 0 v Arsenal 8

>

> I'm Arsenal to the marrow as people on this forum

> will testify, but come on, let's be real here.

He's West Ham Atila and he only does it to wind me up. Plank!

[Atila Reincarnate]

Couldn't beg, steal or borrow a ticket!! All my so called season ticket holding mates with spares sold them on before I could get a look in. I thought it was a Sunday game?

[Jah Lush]

Whoops! It is on Sunday. You'd better it watch down the pub then. Come on you Spurs!

[????]

They'll be showing the Hammers sticking it to Manure

[Ladygooner]

Blackburn 1 Aston Villa 2

Chelsea 2 Hull 2

Everton 2 Bolton 1

Man City 1 Middlesbrough 1

Portsmouth 3 Liverpool 1

Sunderland 3 v Stoke 2

West Brom 1 v Newcastle 2

Wigan 2 v Fulham 1

Tottenham 4 v Arsenal 4

West Ham 2 Man U 2

[Mick Mac]

I relation to all of the above, I would say Bergkamp and Cantona are the best "strikers" although i guess neither are out and out goal scorers. I'd add Shearer at his peak, as an out and out goalscorer but obviously a very different player. None of these three were ever found wanting when the chips were down/pressure was on.

I'm not a David Beckham fan, I think George Best summed him up pretty good as Keef said, but other than brilliant delivery I fail to get it with Beckham.

Tierry Henry - can be absolutely sublime - the complaint I would have about him is that to my recollection he rarely scored goals when Arsenal were behind against top opposition and really were in need of a goal. A friend of mine calls him a "sunshine" player...maybe not one to rely on when really needed. He had a good chance to win the Ch League final for Arsenal against Barcelona when Arsenal were struggling to protect a 1-0 lead and broke upfield, but shot tamely at the goalkeeper, cue Henrik Larsson, now there's a player to rely on when the chips are down.

Henry said: "People always talk about Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly and everything, but I didn't see them today, I saw Henrik Larsson. He came on, he changed the game, that is what killed the game. Sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that; you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight"

Larsson played a few games in the premiership aged 35, so as my personal hero I'm giving him a mention. Fergusson made many earlier approaches to sign him, but for me I'm glad he stayed in Glasgow.

[????]

I have to say the best individual performance I have ever seen against West Ham was Gascoigne at UP in his first season with Spuds...there, I said it Jah.....

[Jah Lush]

Oh! That must have hurt Quids.

[Sandperson]

I can't agree with the Beckham thing (obviously I love him as an ex-United and current England player) but if there was a player who put his heart and soul into a game a la Gerard, Rooney, Keane etc then he was that man. Take the England draw against Greece and see him doing that time and again for his club and you've got a brilliant footballer who gave his all. The only mistake he made (apart from some petulance) was leaving OT for a poor Madrid side (a decision forced on him by circumstance) where the players were obvioulsy not being trained properly and then the subsequent move to the US.

[Jah Lush]

Okay Beckham's a grafter and he's a very good dead ball specialist and a good crosser so what. He's not fit to clean George Best's boots.

[Sandperson]

I didn't compare him to George Best. :))

[matthew123]

No Sandperson the mistake Beckham made was not joining Barcelona.

[Jah Lush]

Au contraire La Beckham has many many many mistakes and most of them to do with hair-dos or shall we say hair-dont's. Oh and marrying a stick insect called Vicky.

[Mick Mac]

and wearing a skirt...