Tim wrote:

Holy shitballs!!! Lol!

Lol. It was cute. Still no point doing it in friendlies. It's why we rested the swede masher theo

Really think England have a good future. Sterling is top stuff

Wilshere - Cleverly
Theo - Ox - Sterling
----- Rooney

Thats a decent looking set up in 2 years time. Defence will be ropey though.

Was Theo even in the squad? Any news on his injury? We desperately need him against the scum.

We stole Zlatan and you stole Jenkinson. Even your scouts are crap...

yuv wrote:

How did our other players do? Girs played 90? Kos? Poldi? did Jack get minutes? I understand from the comments Jenks played . did Zaha?

Giroud played about an hour starting for France and Kos played the full 90. They both did OK, nothing brilliant, although Kos had his hands full with Ballotelli. Valbuena was by far MotM. Only match I saw.

That's the guy. 100 percent Finnish.

lol at people who still doesn't recognize zlatan's genius. amazing footballer.

That goal...

He is top of the list in the tier below Messi and Ronaldo for me. He has done it for years as well.

sucks to think that he could have been an arsenal player.

As if he'd still be here anyway.

He'd have stayed one or two seasons longer than he did at Ajax or so I'd guess.

And at the time we were looking to bring him in didn't we have Henry and Bergkamp?

The most ridiculous thing about that goal is that he weighs almost 16 stone and connects with the ball when it's six feet up in the air.

Depressed Rex wrote:

He is top of the list in the tier below Messi and Ronaldo for me. He has done it for years as well.

Better than Ronaldo for me. I'd put a couple of players ahead of Ronaldo to be honest. I don't think he's particularly close to Messi's level.

Zlatan in his prime is unplayable.

If he had been here we wouldn't have gone 7 seasons trophyless. I suspect he would be a legend here

He has never stayed too long at any one club. Don't think it is what motivates him. I also find him a very difficult man to like. I don't think there is a single club he has played for where he has developed a real connection with the club. In his favor though is that he has never pretended to 'love' a club either. He is an honest player, and person, in many ways. I think he is a grade A asshole though.
Klaus, I know what you mean regarding Ronaldo v Zlatan. I just find it difficult to disregard Ronaldo's effectiveness.
In reality, for me, Messi is in a tier of his own. Ronaldo is the one that comes closest for me.

Depressed Rex wrote:

Klaus, I know what you mean regarding Ronaldo v Zlatan. I just find it difficult to disregard Ronaldo's effectiveness.

Statistically speaking both Ibrahimovic and Falcao were more effective last season though. Both had better goals/minutes ratios. But yes, it's hard to ignore Ronaldo's effectiveness in front of goal. He's been scoring for fun for several years too.

So who are the couple of players you'd put above Ronaldo?

Ronaldo is without doubt the second best player in the world for me. He's a running goal scoring machine

Olly Girude wrote:

Ronaldo is without doubt the second best player in the world for me. He's a running goal scoring machine

This. Ronaldo is soooo much better than the next best player

Ronaldo's ridiculously productive, and mentally there's not many fiercer.

I'd take him over Ibra on mentality alone. He's a psychologically damaged nutjob who exists to win.

Burnwinter wrote:

Ronaldo's ridiculously productive, and mentally there's not many fiercer.

'Fiercer' may be the wrong word, but the image (hilarious though it may be, looks like his jaw is melting off in anguish ) makes my case for me.

That's one of the world's greatest footballers crying publicly because he didn't win. Not resigned, not lazily blaming his team mates (perhaps angrily, but not lazily), not looking to the next club, beach holiday, or cup comp, not drifting out of the game absent-mindedly. Torn because he lost. It's an attribute worth having.

He's crying because he's a fucking crybaby.

Ronaldo is superbly gifted and physically superior to almost anyone he's up against. He's a walking one-man show. That's what makes him great. His personality is only slightly less pathetic than his sense of entitlement though. He's acting like a spoilt child when things don't go his way. Nothing admirable or noteworthy about it. And it's certainly not a sign of mental strength.

Have to say I disagree, but it doesn't really matter - it's just subjective. Admiring Ronaldo's nuttiness, drive, and match-winning (and title-winning) ability hardly makes me an outlier. He's a dick, for sure

He's crying because he hates losing.
Listen to his recent interview with Pedro Pinto. He explains his temperament on the field is all due to his deep dislike of losing. I'm just impressed by not only how good he is but how much he has improved most seasons that he has played, adding different facets to his game. I wish our players would like to him for an example

I could never imagine Ronaldo being affected by poor performances. He is dead confident in his ability no matter what, and just keeps on doing his thing. Same with Zlatan. RVP doesn't have that for instance. You can see he changes his game when he gets insecure.

Indeed.
We nearly signed him too

Zlatan too is a physical monster. He is also one of the few remaining players that are still madly exciting to watch.

His goal the other night was the stuff of legend.

What are you talking about, Rex? RvP is a killer. And he's going to win the league for United. I guess we should be happy for him. All we want is to see our favorite players entertain and lift trophies.

RVP has been in hysterical form, and fit, for a long time now. He alters his game though when he is low on confidence. A Ronaldo or a Zlatan, they just keep on doing their thing.

Can't say I've ever noticed that about van Persie.

One thing that sets Ibra and Ronaldo apart from the Dutchman is that they have both got enormous egos. They have to be the biggest star of the team and the center of attention all the time.

Ibrahimovic's athleticism is unreal though. He's the Yaya Toure of strikers. Can't think of many players stronger than him. And he's got the silky skills as well. It's a shame he never got to the PL.

Claudius wrote:

He's crying because he hates losing.

It's not a sign of mental strength no matter how you spin it, which was the point. I'm not the one who brought it up as an argument.

Klaus wrote:

Claudius wrote:

He's crying because he hates losing.

It's not a sign of mental strength no matter how you spin it, which was the point. I'm not the one who brought it up as an argument.

Well, you used the term 'mental strength' — I called him a 'psychologically damaged nutjob who exists to win' (as pictured) and ill-advisedly used the word 'fiercer' …

Fine. Crying like a cock because you get knocked out of the Euros/ Champions League/ don't get to score a good goal is not a sign of mental fierceness. A picture of him crying doesn't 'prove' your case. We done with the hairsplitting now?