Football History: Best Ever Players

One debate which rages on is who is the all time best footballer. The answer of this will be different according to who you speak to. Unfortunately I am too young to have watched Maradona or Pele play so I will try to be fair when judging these players.

The Maradona v Pele debate:

Before I get into my views on the two players who are considered the greatest, I would like to mention players who probably were just a level below these two. Duncan Edwards, Bobby Moore and George Best all deserve a special mention. 

As for the Maradona v Pele debate, I will nail my colours to the mast. I believe Maradona is the better player and the greatest player of all time. What gives the Argentine the edge is that he has proved himself in many teams, where as Pele has only played his football in Brazil. 

The teams that Maradona has won with also show, the Argentina side that he won the world cup with was pretty average, he took them all the way almost single handily. He took an unfashionable Napoli side to their greatest achievements, Pele on the other hand has played all his football in just one league, the Brazilian league was not really known for having good defenders at the time Pele was plying his trade. Pele also had pretty good players playing along side him in the national Brazil team. 

For those reasons I would say that Pele can only the second best player in history after Maradona, who stands head and shoulders above the rest. Messi would challenge Pele closely and in my opinion is number 2. 

My Rankings:

• Maradona: number 1
• Pele: Number 3

The Last 15 years:

There are so many players to be considered in this category, the players up for  this would have to be Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, Ronaldinhio and Ronaldo (Brazilian, Fat one). 

Messi:

Lionel Messi has achieved incredible things in his short career already, and at only twenty six years of age he will still win more trophies. I do not believe the argument against him being that he only looks as good as he is playing with other great players. The counter argument to this is that he stands out as the best player over the other great players Barcelona have. He seems to somehow improve every season, last year he broke the record for most goals in a calender year. I think that he will end his career as the greatest player ever, but for now I believe that Maradona is ahead of him and possibly Pele also. 

My Ranking: Number 2

Christiano Ronaldo:

If he was around ten years younger or ten years older he would have been the best player of his generation. As he is playing now he will probably always be considered in Messi's shadow. He is better than every other player who is currently playing. There are many people who believe he is just as good as Messi, Gary Neville for example. There are many areas where he is better than his foe from Barcelona. He is a better header-er of the ball, he is faster and probably better defensively. He has also developed his own style of free kick, this being his trademark. Having won trophies in Portugal, England and Spain all he is now waiting for is international honours with Portugal. In the rankings he would be up the top probably on a par with Zidane and Brazillian greats Ronaldo and Ronaldhino. 

My Ranking: Number 5

Zidane:

He is definitely the best ever French player and the best player of his era. He won every thing which was possible, playing for some of Europe's best teams. His turns on the ball were things which I would try to do at school. Many people will remember him for being sent off in the world cup final in his last game. Zidane not only inspired people on the pitch but was a symbol for race relations in his country. The only reason I would rank him above Christiano Ronaldo is that he was around in my youth, he was the player who I tried to emulate. 

My Ranking: Number 4

Figo:

The other player in Zidane's generation, he like many of the other greats has a long list of European giants listed on his CV. At Inter Milan he is regarded as their iconic player, often attending Uefa events on their behalf. Unbelievably he is one of the few players who made a direct move from Barcelona to Real Madrid. This lead to a pigs head to be thrown at him when the teams met. His biggest regrets must come on the international stage, where he got close to winning something with Portugal on a few occasions. He was also part of the galactico's of Real Madrid with Brazillian Ronaldo, Zidane and Beckham.  

My Ranking: Number 7

Ronaldo (Brazil):

Unfortunately for him, another player came after him with the same name. What is even more unfortunate is that because of this he is sometimes referred to a Fat Ronaldo. Quite easily the best out and out striker included in my list, he had everything. Pace, power, finishing, heading ability and a bit of skill. He could easily have been higher on the list of greats but had problems with injuries at the start of his career and fitness towards the end. He almost was famously omitted from the Brazil team in the world cup final loss to France in 1998, due to mental problems. He has played for both Milan clubs as well as Barcelona and Real Madrid.  

My Ranking: Number 6

Ronaldhino:

One of the most skilful players I have ever seen play. Unfortunately for me his champions league winners medal came at the expense of my club Arsenal. He was signed by Barcelona the same time when Real Madrid signed David Beckham. It could have easily been that Beckham went to Barcelona and Ronaldinho went to Real. His story would have been different if it was the other way around. He was the signing that took players such as Xavi, Inesta, Eto and Deco to another level. The success Barcelona are having now could be partially attributed to Ronaldinho who got the Barca band wagon back onto the right path. 

My Ranking: Number 8

England's future is good in football

The so called Golden Generation is almost dismantled, with Gerrad, Lampard and Cole the only real survivors. What Roy Hodgson has done well is mix these three more experienced players and Wayne Rooney with a group of younger, hungry players. 

Players such as Barry and Parker have made way for Cleverly and Wilshere, Crouch and Bent are out and instead Welbeck and Sturridge are in. This is a good sign for England as they are all young players who have no fear of loosing, like the players of the last ten years have faced. Although I do not believe England will win the world cup next year, I feel as if the team will show more than the flops of the last few tournaments. 

England seem to have a had a problem in goal since David Seaman had retired, but with Joe Hart, Fraser Forster and Jack Butland they have three keepers who could be exceptional. As a fourth choice John Ruddy of Norwich is pretty good as well. 

The full back positions are very well stocked with Johnson, Walker, Richards, Jeninkson all competing at right back and Cole, Baines, Gibbs and Bertrand at left back. Roy Hodgson has a bit of a headache at centre back, he has many players that he has tried out, but is yet to find a partnership. In my opinion it should be between Smalling and Jones to see who partners Gary Cahill. 

The stars of the English team are defiantly the midfielders, the brightest star has to be that of Jack Wilshere. I hope people do not expect too much from the boy but he really is an exceptional player. I have heard many things such as him being the best player since Gazza, or that he will be the next captian. I hope the media do not go over board and just let him play. To back up Wilshere he also has Cleverly, Gerrad, Lampard and Milner all good players. 

Two of the forward positions are pretty much cemented, these being Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott. The latter having two great seasons in a row now, finally showing his true quality. The only issue to decide is if Rooney plays down the middle or left. If he is pushed out to the left then Jermaine Defoe would benefit being the main striker. If he were to play down the middle then we have Sturridge, Welbeck or Oxlade Chamberlin on the left. 

As I have stated earlier England will not be expected to win the world cup, but this new group of players could trouble some of the top teams. For the first time in many years I am excited about international football. 

The transfer window, QPR, Newcastle and Odemwingie

It is now February and the transfer window is shut, for one man however it has been a nightmare of a month. This man is Peter Odemwingie of West Brom who is still a West Brom player despite spending most of the night camped outside QPR hoping for a move. 

We can only imagine the reception that he will get from his manager, fellow players and supporters now. It seems he will have to bare a few more months of this as he cant move on now. In a way it seems that it is a victory for club power, as Odemwingie used all the tricks in the book to force West Brom into submission. 

It was a quite transfer window in comparison to the past few windows. The Odemwingie story made the day and added a bit of humour. The biggest movers of the day had to be QPR who signed Samba, Jenas and took on Townsend on loan. This has to be a very big risk taken by QPR, the money they have spent this January could cost them heavily if they do not stay up. Harry Redknapp may say that the spending is down to the chairman/owner but he has form on this issue. He may be a good coach but he has a bad record of his clubs overspending and going into financial trouble. This has happened at West Ham, Portsmouth and Southampton. Chris Samba signed for around £12.5 million and for very high wages he could be either the man to save QPR in the Premiership or cost them financially in the future. A big gamble by QPR.

Staying with QPR it is a little dodgy how Samba and Redknapp share an agent, also how Jenas and Odemwingie just turned up outside the stadium and were not let in. Another club who have brought in alot of new faces is Newcastle, the French revolution continues in the north east. This is all the more odd because Alan Pardew a few years before had criticised Arsene Wenger for buying too many French players. Arsenal now have a young British core coming through while most of Pardew's players are from the French league. 

Other good signings in this window have to be Holtby to Spurs, Zaha to Manchester United, Sturridge to Liverpool, Butland to Stoke and Monreal into Arsenal. Talking of Man Utd they once again showed there class and buying power by identifying the player they wanted and getting him signed up early. 

The window also highlighted teams which did not buy the players they needed, for example Manchester City got rid of Balotlli but did not replace him, Spurs needed another striker, Arsenal needed a defender and a midfielder. Only time will tell if these teams made a mistake by not getting in the needed players. 

What a great sporting year - has it ever been better?

This year there have been so many great sporting achievments, that it is easy to forget some of these events. For example Rory Mcilroy has had a fantastic year, in any other year he would have won sports personality award but this year he came tenth. 

Every sport seems to have conjured up some great moments, in particular the Olympics, some of these memories will last long in my mind. The Olympics being held in London not only inspired the athletes but brought the country together. This is another felling that I will never forget. For those weeks of the Olympics every person was proud to be British. The athletes did not disappoint either, one after the other bringing home gold. Super Saturday was probably the greatest day in Olympic history, what made it better was that Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah were household names, but the crowd support also pushed through Greg Rutherford to win gold. He is also a household name now. 

Team GB excelled in many sports, especially cycling, rowing and boxing. The effect of these sports are that more people are taking them up. The Para-Olympics for me was remarkable. Seeing some of the athletes compete was inspiring and on many occasions I would forget that they were actually disabled. These people are all hero's, for me the star of the Para-Olympics was David Weir.   

Cycling in particular has had the best year of all the sports. Bradley Wiggins, winning the Tour de France and Olympic gold was amazing. If I was asked a question of naming two cyclist four years ago I could probably only name Chris Hoy or Victoria Pendelton. Now I can real off many cyclist's at a drop of a hat. The only blot on cycling this year is Lance Armstrong, the less this is mentioned the better. 

Up until the last two months English cricket probably felt as if they had missed the party, having a rather disapointing year by their standards. This all changed with the remarkable series win over India right at the last part of the year. It seems that English cricket is in safe hands with Alistair Cook, especially going into the Ashes next year. 

Another sport that has been pretty disappointing is football, the England team did the usual loss on penalties. The real drama came from Chelsea and Manchester City. The way in which the league was won, and between two great rivals can never repeated. Didier Drogba also stepped up for Chelsea winning the champions league rather dramatically. 

If I had to pick one person to win sports personality of the year, I would have picked Andy Murray. He has had an incredible year, reaching the final of Wimbledon, winning Olympic gold and silver and also his first major. I think his achievements should rank very high as he has to compete against three of the best tennis players the world has ever seen. 

Golf has been another sport packed with drama, Rory Mcilroy has pulled him self clear as the number one player in the world. He was also part of a successful Ryder Cup team. This was an amazing win considering that the USA had such a big lead. Ian Poulter led the comeback for Europe, many golf fans will remember this years Ryder Cup as one of the best ever.  

It has also been a good year for rugby, with Wales winning the six nations. The biggest highlight has to be England comprehensibly beating New Zealand towards the end of the year. Snooker seems to be getting back to popularity, with younger players like Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson coming through. The British guys in Formula One could have had a better year, but that is mainly down to their cars as well as Sebastian Vettle being so good. 

All in all I cant remember a time where British sport has been so strong. It seems at the moment that it will be impossible to top this year of sport. I hope that we can have even half the drama we had this year, if so we will have another hard choice as to who should be the sports personality next year. 

Why Bundesliga should be considered the best league in Europe

Over the last ten years many have considered either the Premiership or La Liga to be the two best leagues in Europe. Although fans of both these leagues can argue that their league is the best, in my eyes the Bundesliga really deserves this title. I will not be talking about Serie A, as I think that the league has gone backwards over the last twenty years. Saying this I think the league is back on the rise, but very slowly.

The rise of German football has been highlighted by the fact that in the last two seasons they have had more teams making it out of the group stage than the premiership. Bayern Munich will count themselves very unlucky not to be called champions of Europe this season. 

Once again this season only two English teams have made it past the group stages, which is a worry for fans of English football. The main draw of the premiership for fans is the fast game, the fact that any team can beat another on any given day. This also applies to the Bundesliga, the games are very similar to what you would see in the premiership, if not with more technical players. 

It seems that German football is doing something very right at the moment, producing many many technical players. The difference between the premiership is that young players are getting a chance at an earlier stage. Players such as Ozil, Reus, Gotez, Sahin, Muller and Kagawa were given chances at a young age. The top teams in England do not dare put in a young player from their youth team. Lets compare Tom Cleverly, who has pretty much only broken into Manchester United's midfield last season. He at 23 would have played many many games for a team like Bayern Munich or Dortmund. Another example is Josh Meckran who is a good player but will never get a chance at Chelsea. The problem effects the English national team in that the young players do not a chance to develop their game for their clubs from a young age.

Premiership clubs spend alot of money on players, but so do many German teams, the only difference is that they have a good system of financial control for the Bundesliga, something that the premiership could look at. 

Compare the German league to La Liga and it is evident that apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona every other team may struggle against German opposition. Athletico Madrid are on good form, but this will probably end when they sell their best player Falcao. In my opinion the best teams in Europe at the moment are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Dortmund and Bayern Munich. 

Summer manager merry go round?

It is quite clear that the summer will be big for football, especially the managers. There will be big jobs available and it seems that big managers may also be on the move. 

Let me start with the current Manchester City boss manager Roberto Mancini is under great pressure. This is despite being their best manger of recent times, delivering them champions league football, a premiership title as well as the FA cup. The pressure comes from the poor showing in the Champions League two seasons running. It has been stated that if they do not win the league this year then he could be off. If I was a betting man id say he wont be out of a job for long. He has been linked to Monaco in the past, I think he can still get a bigger job than that. Would Inter take him back? possible PSG?

Pep Guardiola is currently on a break from management, when he decides to return to football in the summer he could almost choose any job in the world. The only issue with him is that he is untested outside Barcelona, this is something which he would like to change, he is currently living in New York and learning English. It is common knowledge that Chelsea want him, employing a temporary manager after another waiting for him. It is very likely he will replace Rafa in the summer. The only other club I could see him at is Manchester City who have recently employed two people he worked with at Barcelona (watch this space). I think if Fergie decides to call it a day, he may be also interested in the red side of Manchester.

In my eyes Jose Mourinho is currently the best manager in world football, all the clubs would love to have the success he brings. He has won the title in four of the top leagues as well as two champions leagues. I don't doubt he will win it again with either Real Madrid or another team. By all reports it seems that he is unhappy once again, and has decided to leave Madrid. If he does he also has alot of options as to his next move. If there is a job at Man City or Man Utd he will be the top candidate to fill this role. Do not rule out a move back to Chelsea or PSG, as he loves London and teams with money (Paris is not far from London). 

Arsene Wenger may have had his reputation a little tarnished in England over the last few years, but in Europe he is regarded as one of the best managers still. His achievements with Arsenal is absolutely phenomenal  qualifying for the champions league year in year out. This may be tested this season, as a result he could step down from Arsenal, especially given the fan pressure currently. If he was to leave he would want one final challenge, this could be from PSG, who is very close to. Other options available to him could be Inter Milan, Monaco and believe it or not Real Madrid, who have courted him for the last ten years.   

At PSG the expectations are very high, they have spent alot of money on the team and appointed one of the best managers in world football. Carlo Ancelotti is that man, the reason he may be replaced is that PSG sit fourth in the French league. They are doing the opposite of Manchester City, as they have been very good in the Champions League but shown poor league form. Like the managers named above he will not struggle to get a job. I think a good fit for him would be Arsenal, as he will have a good squad to work with, he is good at developing squads, but he will also be courted by Inter and Real Madrid. 

The last man on the list is the great Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest British manager. He will not be sacked and may even stay on if Manchester United fail to win a big trophy. If they do how ever win the league or champions league he may decide to end on a high. Just last week I heard Graham Hunter on the radio stating that Fergie was going to call it a day, before Barcelona dismantled Manchester United in Rome. Most Manchester United fans are torn between Moyes or Mourinho at the moment to replace Ferguson. I would suggest that Mourinho will be the best man for the job. 

Other managers to mention are Rafa Benitez who is just keeping the seat warm at Chelsea. If he does a good job he will get back into a top job, his name is always linked to Real Madrid. Roberto Di'Matteo is a champions league winner and could be in the running for Inter Milan, this would be a good fit for him. 

The summer should be pretty interesting, it will shape the clubs fortunes for years to come. 

A fans view of Wenger & Board

I said last time that I am reluctant to write about Arsenal, but I had to write this piece as it has been on my mind for a while now. 

Watching Arsenal these days is a challenge because it seems there are flaws in the team, deficiencies in management and problems at board level resulting in the top players leaving every year.

Let me first start on Wenger, for me he has been the best manager Arsenal have had, obviously people may say Herbert Chapman but he is way before my time. It has been an absolute pleasure watching Wenger's teams over the last 15 years, especially the invincibles. This surely is a feat that probably wont be repeated in the premiership again.

When talking about Wenger it has to be kept in mind that he has done many great things, both for the good of Arsenal and English football. For example his training methods and revolutionary ideas regarding diets have now been adopted by virtually all English clubs. He also has to be admired for his love of good football, he has always kept to his principles. Him being a man of principles has often been a brush to tar him, this is something which I believe is very unfair. 

A good question to be asked is that if Wenger had not revolutionised Arsenal in such a way, would the quality in the premiership be more equal to that of the French or Dutch leagues instead of being one of the best leagues in the world. In my opinion the league would not have developed as well, as it has without him. Even the great Sir Alex Ferguson had to adapt to Wenger's new style.

Where he could be criticised over the last 7 years is that he has lost sight of the current problems. I can put up with the comments saying that getting fourth place is more important than the FA and Capital One cups as we need the income to be a top club. It is also a way to show and promote the club across the world to new fans and players. On this front Wenger has worked miracles over the last few years. My gripe about this is that we don't win the so called lesser cups, and also apart from one final do not challenge for the Champions league. 

The statement is a cover up for Arsenal's failing not winning any trophies, the board also probably like the extra income instead of the glory. It can be said Arsenal have been pretty close to winning things in the last 7 years, but the same problems which every fan, pundit or ex player can see always end up costing us. For example Wenger allowed the defence and goal keeper situation to continue for this trophy less period. Most notably costing us in the champions league final and Carling Cup final v Birmingham. 

If I had asked fans about Wenger six/seven years ago then there would be a unilateral backing. But now it seems that the tied is slowly turning, and now many people are changing their minds almost on a game by game basis. There seems to be something lost, the same drive doesn't seem to be there. It could be that he has had to fight so many battles for his players that he now cant see their flaws. 

My biggest problem was the use of Santos in the last few games. It was clear for all to see that Santos against Schalke at home was terrible. Infact he was so bad that in the player ratings in one paper I saw he was given a 4, this was pretty generous and only awarded to him for playing.  Most managers would have taken the player out the firing line for the next few games, but Wenger did not take him out the team. He played against QPR, and Man Utd  big games where he was slightly better but still pretty poor. 

Against Man Utd I blame Wenger for Jack Wilshere getting the red card. Sir Alex took off Cleverly when he was given his last warning, Wenger instead took off Ramsey. Leaving on a player who has been out for so long and had just been warned about a second yellow card. 

The next game against Schalke started all great, Arsenal took a normal two goal lead. But as the last few weeks have shown, two goals are not enough for Arsenal. This switching off that seems to happen is a direct result of the manager and coaches. The motivation of the players is non existent  so it is the managers job to either play more motivated players or motivate them to continue playing. The slowness of making substitutions is also evident now, making the first sub of the game in the 92nd minute against Schalke.  

When Man Utd have a bad game, you can guarantee they will be a lot better the next game, as Sir Alex will make sure of this. When Arsenal play badly it is clear the next game will be worse. Another thing to take note is that when players come to Arsenal they have a good reputation, pretty much most of these players leave with this ruined. It has happened all to much now to be down to individual players motivation, there seems to be something clearly wrong.

For me Wenger SHOULD NOT BE SACKED, but should be given to the end of the season to change things around. if he cant change things around then the phrase every dynasty has its day will come to mind. Then a young and fresh manager should be given a chance to make his own legacy.

It is not all Wenger's fault, infact he may only be acting the way his done because of the shocking board Arsenal have. Peter Hill Wood has passed his sell by date, demonstrated by his hatred of the fans. Ivan Gazidas is a man that speaks well, but the things that come out his mouth is utter garbage. Our policy in theory of being able to challenge in the next few years seems to something that could work in theory, but Chelsea's latest yearly profit makes our plans seem a little flawed. They spend a lot on players, haven't really sold any players for big money, yet made a profit, this means that they spend on squad and make money. We sell our top players, have the most expensive seats and pay off our debts on the stadium to make a profit. OK we need to pay off the stadium but what happens to the excess profit? Silent Stan turned out to say a little lie in the last board meeting. I have never trusted the guy, and that pretty much proved it.

For me things need to change quickly. Hopefully a new board next year, but this is very unlikely. A little suggestion to the board is that if they cant afford to pay some players what the going rate is, then they could try taking this out from the wages of the best paid manager in the league.