Lionel Messi is the best ever? It has been debated and argued since his remarkable goals against Bayern Leverkusen in the Champions League this season. Messi quite delightfully and effortlessly strolled through their defence as if it was not there. He scored his goals with a magnificent variety of shots, chips and lobs. Two came with his left foot and one with his right. In the process he once again opened the debate of who is footballs greatest ever player, and at the same time put forward another strong case in his favour. He emphasized in the process that the playing field is not level in physical terms, but that does not stop him.
For Messi is small, yet his boyish build is of a big benefit to him. It has no impact on him at all. In fact it helps. He is still too quick, too skilled and just too good for even the most powerful defenders.
Messi became the first player to score 5 goals in a Champions League game. He also has one quadruple (v Arsenal), one hat-trick (v Viktoria Plzen) and nine braces in the competition. With 49 goals in 64 games, Messi is the fourth top scorer in the history of the Champions League (since 1992-93), behind Raul (71), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (56) and Thierry Henry (50). Messi has scored 12 goals this season in the Champions League, which equals the best total in a Champions League campaign (since 1992-93). The others to reach that tally were Van Nistellrooy (2002-03) and Messi himself (2010-11). He has scored twice as many goals as any other player in the Champions League this season and since his goal in the 2009 final, Messi has scored 33 goals in 30 Champions League starts.
Messi continues to make an excellent case for himself, and he is only 24 years of age.
But the best-ever? Arguably not for the criteria that is often put forward. However comparisons are subjective. Times have changed, football has changed. Different eras. Different styles of football. Players get too much protection from referees. Ultimately, the game is easier. However, comparisons are subjective. Winning a World Cup, why should this have to be on the list? Messi played for Argentina in South Africa and was admittedly disappointing. He was lively enough in the early games, but was not able to save Argentina from a thrashing at the hands of Germany.
Messi insisted he was satisfied with his form and refused to blame Diego Maradona, a star in the Argentina side that were triumphant at the Mexican World Cup of 1986. Maradona was a star, but is an erratic and explosive team manager who was blamed in some quarters for keeping Messi out on the wing rather than spear-heading the attack as he does so profitably for Barcelona. There was an element of envy in such tactics, there is no doubt about it. Surely though a player should be judged on his appearances he gives week in and week out. Not how he performs over a handful of games every four years. George Best was the best of his generation, but he never played at a World Cup.
Should the World Cup be the ultimate criterion just at the Olympics are said to be in Athletics? If so, then what becomes of the other great Argentinian, Alfredo Di Stefano, who never appeared in one? He played his club football with Real Madrid, whom he inspired to the first five ever European Cups. He was playing 'Total Football' long before anyone else had ever dreamt of it. He was a tireless and influential box to box player who single handedly carried Madrid for many years. However he never kicked a football in a World Cup Game.
Pele.
Pele did play in the World Cup and without doubt played better on the world stage then anyone before or after him. He was just 17 years of age when he took the world by storm in Sweden at the 1958 World Cup and was the same 12 years later in Mexico 1970. On both occasions he led Brazil to World Cup Glory. He scored twice against Sweden in the 58 Final in Stockholm to win the trophy. Unrivalled skill, power, invention, genius. technique and flair.
Who could match him?
Not even Maradona. Even with that amazing solo burst against England and then against Belgium in Mexico City in the 1986 World Cup. He was jointly awarded the honour of Fifa's Player of the Century with Pele and earned 91 caps for his country, finding the net on 34 occasions. The World Cup winning captain finished his career with 292 goals in 583 club and country appearances.
Lets not forget Johan Cruyff. The Dutch winger won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974 - a record jointly held with Michel Platini, Marcco van Basten and Lionel Messi. The Netherlands never lost a match in the 33 games in which he scored. In total he scored 324 foals in 568 games for both club and country, but he never lifted a World Cup.
In terms of current players, lets not forget Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid for 80 million pounds in 2009. At 27, he has won the Champions League and already has 88 caps and 32 goals for Portugal. At club level he has 183 goals in 309 club appearances. Other awards include the European Golden Shoe and Premier League Golden Boot. His 53 strikes in one season for Real Madrid is also a club record.
And the already mentioned George Best. He won the 1968 European Cup with Manchester United along with winning the European Footballer of the Year in the same season. Best also grabbed two English league titles (1965, 1967). He won 37 caps for Northern Ireland and scored 214 goals in 616 appearances before retiring in 1983.
Other Candidates: Eusebio (Portugal), Franz Beckenbauer (Germany), Michel Platini (France), Zinedine Zidane (France).
So, let us be happy with saying that Messi is, at this moment, the finest footballer on the planet. As for in the history of the game, the debate will rage for years.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Referee Dean got Tyne-Wear derby spot-on
The laws of the game do not state that the referee should take into account the time of an incident or that the game is a local derby.
They do however say that the game is refereed based on the opinion of the referee in the decisions he makes.
This is exactly what Mike Dean did. He applied the law perfectly for 90 minutes and whilst leaving the field of play.
Lee Cattermoles first minute lunge on Cheik Toite could have easily been a red card. But thankfully for the sake of the game referee Mike Dean gave Cattermole a stern talking to and rightly issued the yellow card.
The next 30 minutes saw five cards issued and a penalty correctly awarded for a blatant shirt pull by Mike Williamson.
However it would be a great help to the game if more referees were bold enough to give more penalties for blatant infringements inside the penalty area. Although admittedly not all of them are quite as obvious as today's.
Dean had no option but to show the red card to Stephane Sessegnon for swinging his arm although contact was quite minimal. The reaction from the Newcastle man was highly embarrassing and hopefully he will be quite disappointed when he sees a replay.
Mike Dean also awarded Newcastle a clear penalty for a foul on Shola Ameobi which will be one of the easiest decisions he makes this season.
The sending off of Lee Cattermole was also spot-on. He followed the officials almost the whole length of the pitch debating numerous decisions and I shall leave it to the lip-readers to work out what he said just before he was given the red card.
A strong and physical game which you would expect from the two teams, although along with their managers lost their heads at times. However referee Mike Dean kept his for the whole 90 minutes and produced a fantastic display and reminded many that there is still a very high standard of refereeing in the Premier League.
Even Match of the Day gave him 9.5/10!
They do however say that the game is refereed based on the opinion of the referee in the decisions he makes.
This is exactly what Mike Dean did. He applied the law perfectly for 90 minutes and whilst leaving the field of play.
Lee Cattermoles first minute lunge on Cheik Toite could have easily been a red card. But thankfully for the sake of the game referee Mike Dean gave Cattermole a stern talking to and rightly issued the yellow card.
The next 30 minutes saw five cards issued and a penalty correctly awarded for a blatant shirt pull by Mike Williamson.
However it would be a great help to the game if more referees were bold enough to give more penalties for blatant infringements inside the penalty area. Although admittedly not all of them are quite as obvious as today's.
Dean had no option but to show the red card to Stephane Sessegnon for swinging his arm although contact was quite minimal. The reaction from the Newcastle man was highly embarrassing and hopefully he will be quite disappointed when he sees a replay.
Mike Dean also awarded Newcastle a clear penalty for a foul on Shola Ameobi which will be one of the easiest decisions he makes this season.
The sending off of Lee Cattermole was also spot-on. He followed the officials almost the whole length of the pitch debating numerous decisions and I shall leave it to the lip-readers to work out what he said just before he was given the red card.
A strong and physical game which you would expect from the two teams, although along with their managers lost their heads at times. However referee Mike Dean kept his for the whole 90 minutes and produced a fantastic display and reminded many that there is still a very high standard of refereeing in the Premier League.
Even Match of the Day gave him 9.5/10!
Friday, 2 March 2012
England need a manager sooner rather than later
Since the departure of Fabio Capello England are once again back to square one. They have started that well known trip of going round in circles with no-one in sight to take control.
It reminds me of the stage we were at with a certain 'Wally with the brolly.' When Sven-Goran Eriksson stepped down The Football Association appointed his assistant which turned out to be an unforgivable mistake.
They can not afford to do the same again. It was the correct call to let Stuart Pearce take charge against Holland, but he can not stay in the long run, not even as a stand-in for the European Championships in the summer. His CV just does not have enough experience or success on it.
On reflection, it wasn't a bad performance against Holland but we should not read too much into the result. Pearce was brave to select the squad that he did and it certainly opens up more possibilities for the summer.
There is no denying that Holland played the game as a friendly. There is no point pretending that England played really well against world-class opposition, because they did not. Holland played at a walking pace for 90% of the game, and when they did step-up the pace they easily exposed the very fragile English defence.
Admittedly England were missing a handful of key players - John Terry, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. Three players who can change a game, pull off that match winning moment and more importantly three players who the rest of the team can rally behind.
As for the players that were on the field. Ashley Young picked up from where he left off for England, he was by far the best player on the field and since his injury return he is getting back to his best. Adam Johnson looked threatening every time he picked up the ball, has a really eye for the game and looks more and more at home in the England team with every cap.
Off the field, the recurring message from The FA is that there is no rush to appoint a new coach. Personally I would like to know what their plan is as I'm not convinced they have one. Waiting until the end of the English season and then appointing Harry Redknapp or another candidate is not the right way to go, but it seems to be the option that The FA is taking. Whoever takes the job needs longer than two weeks to sort things out. Turning the fortunes of England is not going to happen with a short term fix. It's going to take a lot of time and a lot of planning.
Many people are taking a different view on the situation. They believe that the European Championships are not the main issue here, but that we should be looking 2 years down the line to the World Cup 2014. However this is wrong, I am pretty sure that people have been saying this since 1966!
My own view is that the powers that be need to bite the bullet and come up with some kind of arrangement with Tottenham that enables Harry Redknapp to take charge as soon as possible.
From leadership off the field to leadership on it, England need someone to take control. I am not sure why Stuart Pearce took Jo Hart into the press conference with him when he had no intention of giving him the armband. Hart had to face the question, 'are you going to be captain?' I imagine he had no idea. Naming the captain on match day is not the way to go, if there is no long-term leadership off the pitch then we at least need someone on it.
On the whole, we may be 4th or 5th favourite for the tournament, but instead off constantly looking two years down the line, and when that comes around looking two years down the line again, The FA need to act now and give us the best chance of being competitive in the summer.
It reminds me of the stage we were at with a certain 'Wally with the brolly.' When Sven-Goran Eriksson stepped down The Football Association appointed his assistant which turned out to be an unforgivable mistake.
They can not afford to do the same again. It was the correct call to let Stuart Pearce take charge against Holland, but he can not stay in the long run, not even as a stand-in for the European Championships in the summer. His CV just does not have enough experience or success on it.
On reflection, it wasn't a bad performance against Holland but we should not read too much into the result. Pearce was brave to select the squad that he did and it certainly opens up more possibilities for the summer.
There is no denying that Holland played the game as a friendly. There is no point pretending that England played really well against world-class opposition, because they did not. Holland played at a walking pace for 90% of the game, and when they did step-up the pace they easily exposed the very fragile English defence.
Admittedly England were missing a handful of key players - John Terry, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. Three players who can change a game, pull off that match winning moment and more importantly three players who the rest of the team can rally behind.
As for the players that were on the field. Ashley Young picked up from where he left off for England, he was by far the best player on the field and since his injury return he is getting back to his best. Adam Johnson looked threatening every time he picked up the ball, has a really eye for the game and looks more and more at home in the England team with every cap.
Off the field, the recurring message from The FA is that there is no rush to appoint a new coach. Personally I would like to know what their plan is as I'm not convinced they have one. Waiting until the end of the English season and then appointing Harry Redknapp or another candidate is not the right way to go, but it seems to be the option that The FA is taking. Whoever takes the job needs longer than two weeks to sort things out. Turning the fortunes of England is not going to happen with a short term fix. It's going to take a lot of time and a lot of planning.
Many people are taking a different view on the situation. They believe that the European Championships are not the main issue here, but that we should be looking 2 years down the line to the World Cup 2014. However this is wrong, I am pretty sure that people have been saying this since 1966!
My own view is that the powers that be need to bite the bullet and come up with some kind of arrangement with Tottenham that enables Harry Redknapp to take charge as soon as possible.
From leadership off the field to leadership on it, England need someone to take control. I am not sure why Stuart Pearce took Jo Hart into the press conference with him when he had no intention of giving him the armband. Hart had to face the question, 'are you going to be captain?' I imagine he had no idea. Naming the captain on match day is not the way to go, if there is no long-term leadership off the pitch then we at least need someone on it.
On the whole, we may be 4th or 5th favourite for the tournament, but instead off constantly looking two years down the line, and when that comes around looking two years down the line again, The FA need to act now and give us the best chance of being competitive in the summer.
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