Hardly fanciful -what song has been sung for Adel these years? He's too good for you is hardly about Park is it? If suppporters of another Club talk about our Players, there is One only about All recognise is brilliant. As for the clip from the Times you are making mountains out of molehills, bit like the bus ride home - so what, why not? I think Bosingwa has been trying as hard as most of the players since he joined us - you don't have to bang your chest and clap the Support to do that. Most of the players weren't 100% for the last 2 months or so while Hughes was in charge, Bosingwa included, but most seem to be doing a lot better now.
People say many things about AT but 'average' is never one of them You say things simply for effect sometimes
Like I say, understand him and it isn't surprising (doesn't mean it's acceptable). I don't think HR will demand an apology rather than look for an improved attitude. The needs of the club dictate that he uses everything at his disposal in the best way possible.
That's a common reaction from people when they can't accept an opinion that differs from their own. "Oh he's making it up" kind of thing. Jack, read my lips, he's a bloody average player. A V E R A G E I've been saying it for the last two years and nothing he's done since has made me change my mind.
Seriously? What exactly has he done in our two Prem seasons? He's still living off his good NPC season and its not good enough. I agree that he has had a mild dip in form because his form was very average up until that point and his mild dip has turned him from average to poor. I disagree that he was our best player against Norwich and I said before he took the kick that he'd miss it. No hindsight involved. He was poor at Swansea and United but generally he has been poor all season so no great surprise. I bet you haven't got in any rows in the last couple of games since he's been dropped. Played Two, won Two. Go back to the Fulham thread where everyone was creaming themselves but I said "If he does it next week at Newkie and then at W Brom, then I'll get excited". What did he do? Nothing much, just reverted to type: Losing the ball, making a mess of moves and planting balls in row Z. That's not to say he hasn't had some good games. At Chelsea he was MOTM and was decent against City. One through ball at West Ham isn't what you'd be saying about a top player really now is it? Not me. They all deserve a rollicking if they fu*k up. But as bad as those players are, how often to they carelessly squander possession? How often does your golden boy do it? He is the most overrated player we've ever had at our Club and its no coincidence we've started to win since he's been dropped.
Put simply you don’t know enough about football to get drawn into a full on debate about it. Your arguments are devoid of any logic or context. He is fallible and maybe the games against Sunderland and Southampton he needed to get his head straight and to recover his form. Remember though that these were both very winnable games in a side that is now bolstered by improvements such as a clinical striker and a top quality centre back. You can’t speculate whether or not we would have not won those games if he played because that is literally impossible. Before then we had won two games and we can be certain that these games were won precisely because of his influence. You apply no context to the remainder of the season being a total ****ing nightmare for reasons far bigger than how well Adel was playing and within that nightmare he scored some absolute worldy’s like West Ham at Home and West Brom away which were not the hallmarks of an average player. Hard to debate with you when you misunderstand that because I referred to special pass to Remy against West Ham as a game changing example that doesn’t mean he didn’t do anything else. Also the team performance was poor and therefore the impact he can have is to an extent restricted. Or your comments regaridng him losing the ball compared to a Mackie or a Derry being partly due to Adel trying difficult game changing things. Lescott has a better pass completion rate than David Silva is a revealing example. It would be a long and pointless effort to deconstruct your illogical response but luckily I’m off to get smashed as Thursdays in the City are full of 5-10pm happy hours and it’s going on the company Amex anyway. Toodle-ooo
I see the usual boring replies are coming out again....oh well!! I've avoided this one and in my opinion, our last performance against Sunderland was one of the BEST TEAM performances i have seen in the last 2 seasons. Only highlighting that we can move forward with or without Adel. He really isnt the be all and end all that far to many believe he is. As for slating Park?. im no massive fan but have a look in his trophy cabinet then compare it to Adels. I'll gaurantee that At never gets the same amount Park has. Anyone fancy that bet? Thought this would be done by now. Adel has greatly improved from what he was but still not the player that some hold him up to be. As Adel fans, i ask you again. looking back over the last 2 seasons, is that what you envisioned for him when we were promoted. I think VERY FEW of you will say yes. For my part, i thought the one player who would cut it in the Prem was Ali but it seems his injury and Harry dont agree. Always said Adel would struggle but could become a good solid prem player if he put in the graft. We've said we ned to understand him, cuddle him...we've been doing that for 2 years now and it aint worked. he's not the little 21 yr old lad he once was, he been a prem player for 2 seasons now. Surely he's had enough time to grow up? Here's a question for you. Given our need for wins, would you play Adel or Tottenhams 3rd choice winger Townsend? i know who Id choose and he's only 3rd choice at Spuds.! No-one on this board, myself included; has ever doubted his skill (although his tackling, free kicks, corners & heading are debatable). Its his consistency and application that have always held him back. Personally think he needs to move on to a new challenge with fresh players & maybe that will help him develop. I wont hold my breath though. And as for the shinning light, best player comments, what a crock of s**t.! cant even be bothered to reply to those ! Have fun kids. PS matt, I did read you orig "bite" post but chose not to comment as I wanted to see who else would post. Sadly, there are many other posters on many other boards saying the same about AT. Dont think he'll be here next season, no matter where we are.
Let me just clarify what I mean by "average" because I can understand the confusion considering he has such great skill. What I mean is that when you take all the good stuff and then subtract the bad from it, overall you're left with an average player. For every step-over there's a surrendering of possession. For every quality goal, there's 20 shots about 15 yards wide. For every brilliant performance there's a dozen average or very poor ones. For every through ball there's half a dozen times when a pass is on yet he DIY's and the chance is gone. Comprehensively, when it comes to benefits to the team (which after all is all that counts), his overall contribution amounts to a fairly basic one IMO.
You all seem to be forgetting that he scored both goals in the first win of the season against fulham...
Who forgot that? Les Ferdinand scored a cracker 15 years ago. Should be bring him back in and stick him up top?
Absolutely not. He was a cracking player. Always gave 100%, never let his team mates down, never carried on like a spoiled brat but most of all, he was very consistent. Although they were two entirely different players, to even mention Taarabt in the same sentence as Sir Les is an insult to the great man.
Hmmm, it just seems very weird that everyone is doubting him now. I say, get him back in the squad against villa and he'll undoubtedly prove his worth.
Regardless of whether I agree with you or not Sheff, Its looking more & more like Harry has made his decision ? Thats just the way I read it anyway. I think Saturday will tell us a lot about Harrys opinion based on whether AT plays or even makes the bench. Should be intresting. Personally think he wil put him on the bench.