What is all this "Giroud works hard" baloney. The man gets paid a shed load of money so should run his ****ing socks off. In fact, any lazy Prem footballer should be tarred and feathered if they take a 1 second break!
The point being made is that he works hard for the team, in hold up play, pressing defenders, bringing other players into the game and creating chances. Not that he just works hard because he should as he earns a lot of money. For comparison, look at somebody like Berbatov. He does **** all unless the ball is placed to his feet. A lazy player who just shrugs his shoulders when it doesn't come off and doesn't bother to try and win the ball back for his team That's what is meant by the hard work that Giroud puts in.
Surprised you picked Drogba because apart from the one season he scored 29 goals, he was far from a prolific goalscorer. In fact you couldn't have picked a better player to compare Giroud to, in terms of someone who unsettled defences to the benefit of his teammates. Here is Drogba's PL scoring record. Want to average them out and see how Giroud is doing? 3/4 19 4/5 10 5/6 12 6/7 20 7/8 8 8/9 5 9/10 29 10/11 11
Statistics only tell you one part of the story (also you've missed out on his assists), in terms of impact, Drogba is far more dangerous and on many occasions, unplayable. Granted, Giroud tries hard and he maximises his abilities to the fullest that benefits us. But in terms of pure skill and impact, Drogba is significantly better. He can on his day, be extremely hard to contain and can usually bully defenders around. Giroud is reliant on players playing well around him and I've rarely seen him pull something special off, whereas Drogba can make something happen from a single moment of brilliance. Giroud is more on the level of Benteke, Sturridge etc. and has a long way to go to match the level and achievements of Drogba. By the way TT, would you rather we have Giroud who is in his peak over a peak Drogba?
Giroud 74 appearances 28 goals = 1 goal every 2.64 appearances Drogba for Chelsea 228 appearances 100 goals = 1 goal every 2.28 appearances, about 15% better. Now take into account that Giroud has started most matches he has played in and Drogba was a sub in a lot of Chelsea games, particularly in his early career there. I wish I could find stats for minutes played per goal, it would give a much fuller picture.
1 goal for every 2.28 appearances for Drogba. Giroud - 18 PL appearances this year, 8 goals, 2.25. But we are arguing over fractions, they are absolutely in the same category, world class, I completely agree with you.
Drogba's Chelsea stats: please log in to view this image As you can see, Drogba has been used as a sub a lot.
Oh dear, don't tell me you're calling Giroud world class and putting him in the same bracket as Drogba?
Ha!! So we're comparing Drogba's whole career at Chelsea, including his sub appearances toward the start & end of his career to Giroud just this season? No bias in there at all!! Brilliant. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Funny how some people can try and make a point by using statistics? Anyone who has never witnessed Drogba could be taken in by those stats....
Just realised, I did a comparison of all games vs PL only. Drogba in all competitions for Chelsea was 341 appearances and 157 goals = 1 goal every 2,17 games, which is about 20% better.
The real problem is just like statistics, personal memories are easily corrupted. Everybody remembers Drogba from that one season where Chelsea had very few goal threats and he led the line magnificently. However, they forget the other years where he was used very much like Giroud, and other players contributed to the scoring. We can quibble about statistics all you like, but the facts are that Drogba wasn't the goal machine you all made him out to be. I am Gooner was right to select him, because he was a beast and a great team player, exactly like Giroud. You are all trying to make fun, but you guys got hoisted on your own petard here.
So, basically the difference is that we had a tough CL group and Giroud has only played 24 minutes in the cups this year?
I said Drogba was an example of a world class striker who did a lot of defensive work, i.e. someone who is all round better than Drogba. You were the one who brought up stats, but now trying to deny it. I said you need to take the sub appearances against Giroud starting most of the time into account as well and said minutes played per goal would better.
Yep, but the very fact that you need to start getting down to that level just shows how close it is. Remember, it took Drogba 6 years to get to his most prolific season. You are claiming that Giroud is at his peak halfway through his second season. There is a lot of wiggle room in this debate, but you tell me that you aren't surprised it is so close, and I'll call you a liar!
So the stats show that Drogba in all competitions, including loads of sub appearances at the beginning & end of his Chelsea career well into his 30s was 20% more prolific than Giroud - not including assists. Looks like Gerry has some serious catching up to do. If he finishes this season with 20 PL goals I'll be happy for him to lead the line. At present, I'm very unsure.
I never said Giroud was at his peak. I only said hes not good enough to be Arsenals first choice at the moment. Drogba was not very good in his first year or two so did not play whole games. He did however make more of a difference to games than Giroud does. It may only be that Giroud needs a rest but I see very little to justify his selection
