Mails: So then, which Ronaldo was the best?

Mails: So then, which Ronaldo was the best?

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

Here’s to you, Graham
The very sad news of Graham Taylor’s death today for some reason led me to reflect angrily on the British press and its treatment of him during and after his England role, and how that treatment is a perfect case study of how twisted and negative our perspective of the England team is.

I am at an age where I became interested in football at the start of Mr. Taylor’s England reign. His reign was, needless to say, deemed a failure, and boy did the press paint it as such. Given I had no knowledge of his work prior to this, and being a young and impressionable kid, I spent a good few years with the strong view that Graham Taylor was an absolute clown…thanks exclusively to the way the press portrayed the man. His work with Watford in the 90s, plus his commentary work and seeming all round decency led me to slowly re-evaluate the media-fed perception of Mr. Taylor to the point where I had a lot of respect for him.

This afternoon I looked into his career before he took the England job and it is quite simple stunning. Taking both Villa and Watford from lower leagues to 2nd place finishes and cup finals.

It made me feel sad that I wasted a good five years with such a negative impression of him, and sad also that our media (and let’s be honest average England fan) has such a passion to belittle and ridicule any and all mistakes/failures by the England team, ensuring all future players and managers are crippled with fear by it.

Anyway, RIP Graham Taylor.
Simon Agar, London

Genuinely saddened to hear of the passing of Graham Taylor, a man that was about much more than what he will be primarily remembered for over the coming days.

From an Irish perspective, i first came to be aware of Taylor through Paul Mcgrath’s excellent autobiography; in it Mcgrath makes clear his absolute gratitude to Taylor for how he handled his drinking and off the field problems and how he was absolutely key to him staying involved with the team during his rough period. From the book it’s clear that Taylor was a genuinely decent man who cared about his players and would do anything for them.  The problems were dealt with in house and the real reason for Mcgrath’s absences etc kept from the media, with Taylor doing his utmost for the long-term health of the man, never mind short-term results.

My point is that whilst a poor record in charge of the English team may underpin a number of tributes in the next few days- as a professional your career highlights will always frame these things-, but just to remember that Graham Taylor definitely did help to save someone and bring them back from the brink. Given the journey we went on subsequently, for that all of us in Ireland are truly grateful.

RIP
Kevin, Dublin

Oh, Dimi
I am writing into the mailbox slightly bemused but more angry at this recent development. I have tried to remain positive over the last few weeks and after our run of 10 points in 4 games recently I felt that although the performances were not that great but this would finally give the players the boost that they seem to have been scrambling for all season.

Now this morning I read that Payet has stated that he no longer wants to play for the club. I have known for a while that something has not been right with our mercurial Frenchman. At times he seems disinterested during games which has given our team a nervousness and lack of cohesion. It is a huge slap in the face for the club who gave him the platform to get back into the French team and ultimately we built a team around him. Bilic should have the biggest disappointment though as a player he worked tirelessly to get to the club has ultimately stabbed him in the back at a time where he and the club needed him the most.

But herein lies an opportunity, maybe the issue with the team has been Payet’s arrogance and lack of fight which has created some unrest at the club? I am not putting the blame all at Payet’s door as he has performed well at times this season, but a team’s confidence is so important to how they perform on the pitch and we look devoid of that this year. You only have to look at Leicester to see that. With the over reliance on Payet now shifted hopefully we will see some current players up their performances so we can try and finish this season with some sort of respectability.

The best option for all parties is to sell in this window, we can get around £25m in for Bilic to invest in our strike force (properly I may add – take note Mr Sullivan) and write off this season as a bad memory and start again in the summer.

It is a shame, he had a chance to go down as one of our greatest ever players, now he is likely to be derided by our fans in the same way as Paul Ince was all of those years ago.
Ross ‘Turns out we haven’t got Payet, he has himself and that is all that seems to matter’ Jenkins

Small fish in a bigger pond, or biggest fish in a tiny puddle?
With regards to the latest bit of nonsense at West Ham – I was wondering if the mailbox would help me understand – is it wrong or beneath you to be the best player in a team of stinkers?

Payet at WHU. Snodgrass at Hull. Moses at Wigan. Seems to me that almost every team in the bottom 5 of every season has had that one standout player who usually helped their cause with a solo performance, fell short and was sold for the big bucks to a mid-table/top-six team as soon as relegation was confirmed.

As a player, you definitely want to improve your career options as well as your game. Agreed, you need to play with the best to rate yourself and perhaps be one of the best. But when you’re comfortably head and shoulders ahead of your teammates who are in a battle for survival – is there a moral obligation to help them out and not be a tw*t? After all, football is a team game and despite the team being shite – surely fans would remember you more fondly if you single handedly inspired them to safety rather than slinking off to a better team?

Just curious to know how many of us feel this way. I happily accept the argument that every player wants to win trophies and be the best but at the same time – is it better to be a small fish in a bigger pond or the biggest fish in a tiny puddle?
Budhaditya

 

Calm down, calm down
Liverpool have failed to win in three games.

According to one mailboxer, the Southampton game was a ‘debacle’. Sure, it was a disappointing result but a debacle? Christ, relax.

Second in the league still, which is always the priority. Sure, Jurgen loves to win a trophy but the fact is, outside of Liverpool’s brilliant first choice 11, the quality is not there. Wijnaldum is basically useless, goal at City aside. There is no player quite as good at avoiding the ball as him and for Carl (honestly, like a wand) the Welsh to compare him to Ronnie Whelan is frankly bizarre. Stick him in a midfield with Lucas and Can and you’ve got for the perfect recipe for giving the ball away.

So yes, Liverpool are disappointing lately but the squad is shit and will remain so until the summer. So calm down please?
Alan, Córdoba.

Why every time Liverpool win, lose or draw do our fans see it as the end of the world or the start of a 50 game win streak, we beat Man City ‘we are unstoppable, going to win the PL  I’d say’, draw against Sunderland ‘Klopps an awful manager we won’t make the Europa’, loose against Southampton ‘beginning of the end’,  beat United on Sunday then and it will be ‘it’s our year again’

What is all of the commotion about a Liverpool collapse? Ok our B team full of 18/19 year olds were held by a league 2 side playing 10 at the back, a game we dominated and never looked like losing. We drew with Sunderland because we conceded 2 penalties, a game we should have won. We put it a very bad performance against Southampton, a team that held us in St. Marys in the league only a couple of months ago, but guess what? They have to come to Anfield, a 1-0 deficit with a home leg to come is not the end of the world is it?

Now, look on the Brightside, we just beat Man City who were favourites for the league at the start of the season, we are in 2nd in the league!! Yes you heard me I said 2nd  place and our own fans think our season is over because we lost a match in a completely different competition? This season we’ve the best record against the other top 6 teams this season, we’ve played the best football we have in ages and we have time to bring in a signing or two if we need it.

Can ye all please think for a second before writing a load of boll**ks and embarrassing us any further after one good/bad result, there are 38 games in the PL season, we didn’t win it after 10 games in October, and were not going to finish 9th after 21 games in January, it’s a long season were only half way through.
Dallen (Qualify for CL football and this season is a major success) Luimneach.

As a Spurs fan, I read reports on F365 concerning Liverpool with two things in mind. Firstly, I am hopeful that any good or bad news is not greeted by some churlish, toxic response by a fellow Spurs fan which in due course leads to nasty tit-for-tats comments/mail that are frankly cringeworthy for the majority both teams’ fans. And secondly, I revel in news of them losing games or dropping points. Not because of any dislike. On the contrary, I fear their resurgence and their immensely likeable manager, and don’t want them to “nab” a Champions League place that I inevitably associate with being Spurs’ to fight for. Yes, some of the fans’ sense of entitlement is rather amusing but – let’s face facts – they hardly have the monopoly on that! 🙂

However, and here is where I get to the point… Isn’t there a slight over-reaction amongst their fans taking place regarding their latest result? Some people are criticising Klopp, Can and Lallana in remarkable fashion. Chill out. They had a bad day at the office against a good team. Liverpool is progressing well on all fronts under solid leadership.

Relax, people!
RM, THFC

(God forbid they lose to Man Utd this weekend…then, I fear all hell may break loose! And yes, I hope they lose or at least drop points)

As mentioned in this morning’s mailbox by CB (amongst others), these are really tough times for a Liverpool fan.

In the FA Cup, In the League Cup, 2nd in the Premier League!

Where did it all go wrong?

#Kloppout
Stephen Baines

Overrated Jurgen
Liverpool’s abject performance last night has surprisingly caught so many people by surprise! I am not for one second claiming I am the most optimistic person, particularly when it comes to my beloved Liverpool, who I have seen falter and ultimately collapse on too many occasions.

I write a (very irregular) football blog and have written at length about Liverpool fans getting carried away this season. I have repeatedly stated that a succesful top 4 challenge would be a good result for this Liverpool team in this current competitive landscape. Where so many fans keep getting the idea of a title bid from is beyond me. Yes, they may be second in the league, but teams around were faltering and Liverpool ultimately failed to take advantage.

After a festive period which has left the majority of the squad looking jaded and performing at a significantly lower level than last year, our shortcomings have been brutally exposed. The key reason behind my pessimism surrounding this supposed title bid was the fine balance of the first XI. Make no bones about it, Liverpool’s first XI is capable of beating any side in this league, however each time you take just one member of that XI out of the side, the impact is enormous.

Move Firmino out of the middle and you lose his wonderful ability to drag centre backs out of position while assuming all sorts of unortodox positions(not to mention his much vaunted pressing game).  Remove Matip’s calming influence from the centre of defence and chaos reigns over our entire defence, with mistakes a mere inevitability. Henderson’s recent absence highlighted his importance in the midfield as we obviously lose his limitless energy but also his much improved passing range. Take Mane out of the team and the threat of stretching the defence with his direct running and sheer pace is nullified.

Worryingly at this moment in time, the latter of these looks as though it will have the biggest impact. The space created between midfield and defence by Mané’s direct running, allows the likes of Firmino, Coutinho and Lallana to wreak havoc. This is yet to have been replicated in his absence.

Herein lies perhaps one of my biggest issues of the past 12 months and I’m sure many LFC fans will reel back in horror at reading this but… Jurgen Klopp is an over rated coach. Of course his skills as a manager are second to none, clearly he has improved a host of current Liverpool players and dragged several individuals up a notch or two under his tutelage. My problems lie with his coaching ability.

Although it may be harsh to criticise him for the balance in the squad (as I cast envious glances over my shoulder at the impressive tactical flexibility of Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham) after a little over a year in charge, his lack of tactical nous is a worrying factor for me. Too often when the tide is going against this Liverpool side, they lack ideas and the manager lacks the in-game management of a world class manager. Shouting and wildly gesticulating appears to have distinctly less impact than various tactical tweaks.

I feared when United came to Anfield and comfortably Liverpool out that Mourinho had laid a blueprint to nullify this Liverpool side. Claude Puel employed similar tactics on Wednesday evening, with effectively 6 men in defence and 3 midfielders just in front, forming a compact and well drilled back 9. Liverpool did not even come close to causing any serious problems for Fraser Forster and frustrations escalated as Liverpool repeatedly attempted to move the ball through the middle, failed and passed to Milner who was effectively left 1 v 2 for most of the night due to Firmino and Coutinho’s  natural tendency to drift in field.

This is not a damning indictment of Klopp, he is a good manager and will win trophies with Liverpool. This said, I just feel that too often his shortcomings are overlooked as he is portrayed as some sort of demi god and wanted to give my own two cents! This is certainly not the first time in Klopp’s reign that he has been out manoeuvred by a top level manager (see Unai Emery in last year’s Europa league final) and it would be nice to see him find an alternative formation or tactical tweaks in order to maintain the potency in the absence of certain players.

I see Liverpool increasingly suffering between now and the end of the season. Mané’s absence will of course hinder progress and fatigue and injuries will no doubt hit in the latter stages as Klopp’s demanding methods take effect.

Karius was excellent last night. Every cloud and all that…
Alex, LFC

Leave Emre alone
Look. Emre has had a three game streak where he has been b*llocks. But he is only 22 years old, with a load of top flight experience and caps for a very competitive national team. Give the man a break. It´s fair to criticise the performances against a high standard that he set himself previously. It is not fair to completely right him off as player. He has a chance now to develop his mentality. The last 3 games have been a nightmare, but for Emre and indeed the whole team it is all now about the reaction. Regarding the team, I´d like to add that this squad is still learning how to be winners, which involves set backs and frustration at points. We can judge this team at the end of the season when we have a full picture of how they responded to this blip of adversity in an otherwise decent-so-far season. One last thought regarding our system. Don’t be surprised to see us switch away from 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 or similar in the next month. Klopp tried it last night and I think it’s going to be a change of tack to accommodate Sturridge who is badly out of sync with the 4-3-3 and it’s fluidity.
Paul, LFC, Mönchengladbach.

Which Ronaldo was/is better?
After seeing Owen’s latest inappropriate comments on the Brazilian Ronaldo, it got me thinking. Which Ronaldo is the best?

For me as a man in his late 30’s it will always be the Brazilian Ronaldo. Yes the Portuguese one (CR7) is more consistent, has scored more goals, won more stuff and played for bigger clubs over a longer period. So I am happy to admit that I am probably wrong. But if you go back and look at the clips of Big Ronnie in his prime you can’t help but think if it was not for the injuries he would have been the undisputed best player ever.

This also got me thinking that these two great players also represent something else, the shift of importance from international football to club football.

Big Ronnie was the last “greatest player in the world” via predominantly international football. This used to be the benchmark of a great player. Think about it, Pele never played in Europe and Maradona largely failed at Barca and had no impact on European cup (yes I know he won the UEFA cup) but yet are held up as the best two players. That could not happen these days, Neymar was never truly rated until he came to Europe and someone like Higuain or Sanchez will never be world class as they will forever be tinged as real-barca rejects unless they single handily win the champions league.

Now Big Ronnie had a decent club career playing for some of the biggest clubs in Europe but he never played in a champions league final and hardly won any league titles. In today’s era that would most definitely rule him out of the running as worlds greatest player. What he did do though is have a couple of unbelievable world cups, taking Brazil to the final in 98 and scoring winning goals in 2002.

CR7 on the other hand is rated as the best player in the world for primarily club achievements, dragging united to win the champions league while bringing back to back league titles while also fulfilling his destiny at Real and winning a couple of Champions Leagues over there too. Now I know people will say he has won the European cup with Portugal which was a great achievement and he did play a key role in several matches but he was also anonymous in many games and has done nothing at the world cup. CR7 was crowned FIFA world player several times before winning last summers tournament. Finally if you were to pick out the best player over the last decade it is unlikely that you will mention a Spanish or German player despite these two teams being the last world cup winners.

I am not saying its right or wrong but for me Big Ronnie was the last greatest player due to international football, you then had some transitional players that were great in both international and club football like Ronaldinho and Zidane before moving to this new era were club football now dominates and in order to be world class its almost solely down to what you do in club football with massive weight given to the champions league and we have CR7 and Messi as perennial kings.
Paul K, London

A cunning plan
Surely one of these mega rich Chinese clubs is ripe for an Ali Dia-ing.  It would be easy wouldn’t it?  Set up a load of fake pages with your fictional player in, create a few you tube highlight reels, get your dodgy Portuguese mate to phone up and act as your agent then finally bag yourself a cool couple of million in signing on fees.  I’d suggest doing this at the close of the transfer window to create a sense of urgency in the buying club.

I’m married and lazy (and despite what you’ve read above, not a complete idiot) so therefore this isn’t a plan I can put into practice but I wanted to gift it to the mailbox in the hope that some chancer reading this might pick it up and run with it.
Matt, AFC

Should I feel dirty?
Whenever I watch highlights of the 99 champions league final I get goosebumps still. That’s OK, I’m a united fan and I remember almost crushing my mum with a hug so tight when the second goal went in it should do.

However, I’ve just been watching some of the 2005 final and seeing Liverpool’s comeback gave me an excited, happy feeling as well. Even the aguerrrooo goal makes the hairs stand up. Both of these things, according to the tribalism of football, should just make me feel sad, especially the Aguero goal. I genuninley want to know does this make me less of a united fan or just someone who loves the excitement of football? I also would like to know if any fans feel the same way?
Bernard (also watching barca destroy united didn’t leave me bitter, just appreciative) MUFC

Wisemen
There was an unexpected added pleasure to your read about lower-league signings this morning. I followed the link to be reminded of the excellent rebuke a Fleetwood employee issued to Tim Sherwood and scrolled down to find the mail in question. It was a mailbox from December 2015 and before I found Chris Morton’s mail, I noticed another titled ‘Title? Spurs won’t finish in the top four’.

Good old Brian, LFC. Consistently getting things wrong. In a world in which so much is changing so fast, it’s good to know some things are a constant.
Neil, SCFC

Bravo
May I applaud both Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London for writing his mail on the incomparable Kelly Smith and F365 for publishing it. ]

For those who know less about Women’s football, Kelly is one of the greatest ever to play the game (I would rank her alongside Marta and Mia Hamm).  She was always head and shoulders above pretty much everyone else on the pitch and with that bite and steel we all love in our footballing heroes.  Had she been born in the US she would surely have been a much greater celebrity than she is now.  I was so star-struck when I literally bumped into her in the Ladies when Arsenal were playing West Ham at the Boleyn Ground a few years ago, I couldn’t even muster a word.

If you have never watched women’s football and feel yourself doubting how good she could possibly have been, may I suggest you look up a few of her match-winning performances on YouTube*, you will not regret it.

Carolyn, (so grateful she was one of ours) South London Gooner

*Other video oriented digital platforms are available.

Thankyou for today’s suggested reading in Mediawatch. The article on Anthony Knockaert was an exceptionally uplifting piece.

Perfect for early January and freezing cold weather!

Proves that there is still a level of decency in the game, amongst the deplorable behaviour that we see all too frequently.
Juniorballs

Just wanted to say just read George Caulkins beautifully written piece on Anthony Knockaert and it bought me to tears.

Looked a proper numpty sitting at my desk !
Chris (despairing hammer from Essex)