messi

[Ken Gargett]

i know this got discussed a while back but i noticed the following quote on one of the soccer sites which was looking at rumours city were chasing messi - they suggest that city has buckley's and i'd agree with that.

"it must be remembered that Messi arguably the best player of his generation and one of the top fifty greatest footballers of all time at the absolute minimum".

one of the top 50? seem a little harsh. i'm one who believes he is going to have to perform more successfully at the highest level - which he might do in a few months - but surely by any standards, he ranks a bit higher than that.

mind you, i saw one critic recently could find no room for henri in his best ever arsenal side -and that is a hanging offence.

[Bahnofstrasse]

OT...a good way to start your Saturday Ken! Turn up the Volume!

Btw Messi surely is inside Top 50 based on his dominance over the past 10 years. Almost at a Goal a game average over that time frame for Barca

[stillinger]

If he wins a World Cup (doubtful) he's a top five guy. Otherwise it's more in the 10-15 range.

He's easily the best in this generation though I wouldn't mind seeing him elsewhere and would therefore have a better idea on his brilliance. Barca is setup for him.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CaptainQuintero]

For pure ability to win/influence games I'd take Ronaldo over him in a split second still. I've never seen messi take a game by the scruff of its neck and turn a result around or dominate it by himself.

Maybe this is a just result of playing in a team of greats so we will never know.

how he would cope in a situation where he, as an individual, makes up 80% of a teams firepower/creativeness (ron at man-u) would be very interesting to see.

He might well have that ability but until it's proven,I personally couldn't put him ahead of those players who have been able to totally dominate games by themselves. I have to rate proven time and time again individual game-winners the highest

Zidane

Pele

Maradona

Big Ronaldo

Little Ronaldo

Figo

Best

Henry

Keane

Pirlo

Raul

Beckham

Viera

Del piero

Etc etc

Etc

He is an amazing player but to me seems more of an amazing cherry on top, possibly the best cherry on top ever.

For example if I needed a dream striker from the last 6 years or so to get my team to win games, based in what messi has shown so far, I'd pick Didier Drogba in his prime over him. I'm guessing tournaments will be the only way for messi to show if he can drag a team single-handedly through a prolonged series of games unless he moves to a lesser team to test himself.

If I had to pick someone to play in my team of already proven winners, to add extra danger then id pick him first, but as an out and out game winning individual if the rest of the team is not performing for a long period of games, just untested for me.

[Ken Gargett]

For pure ability to win/influence games I'd take Ronaldo over him still. I've never seen messi take a game by the scruff of its neck and turn a result around or dominate it by himself.

Maybe this is a just result of playing in a team of greats so we will never know.

how he would cope in a situation where he as an individual makes up 80% of a teams firepower/creativeness (ron at man-u) would be very interesting to see.

He might well have that ability but until it's proven,I personally couldn't put him ahead of those players who have been able to totally dominate games by themselves. I have to rate proven time and time again individual game-winners the highest

Zidane

Pele

Maradona

Big Ronaldo

Little Ronaldo

Figo

Best

Henry

Keane

Pirlo

Raul

Beckham

Viera

Del piero

Etc etc

Etc

He is an amazing player but to me seems more of an amazing cherry on top, possibly the best cherry on top ever.

For example if I needed a dream striker from the last 6 years or so to get my team to win games, based in what messi has shown so far, I'd pick Didier Drogba in his prime over him. I'm guessing tournaments will be the only way for messi to show if he can drag a team single-handedly through a prolonged series of games unless he moves to a lesser team to test himself.

If I had to pick someone to play in my team of already proven winners, to add extra danger then id pick him first, but as an out and out game winning individual if the rest of the team is not performing for a long period of games, just untested for me.

For pure ability to win/influence games I'd take Ronaldo over him still. I've never seen messi take a game by the scruff of its neck and turn a result around or dominate it by himself.

Maybe this is a just result of playing in a team of greats so we will never know.

how he would cope in a situation where he as an individual makes up 80% of a teams firepower/creativeness (ron at man-u) would be very interesting to see.

He might well have that ability but until it's proven,I personally couldn't put him ahead of those players who have been able to totally dominate games by themselves. I have to rate proven time and time again individual game-winners the highest

Zidane

Pele

Maradona

Big Ronaldo

Little Ronaldo

Figo

Best

Henry

Keane

Pirlo

Raul

Beckham

Viera

Del piero

Etc etc

Etc

He is an amazing player but to me seems more of an amazing cherry on top, possibly the best cherry on top ever.

For example if I needed a dream striker from the last 6 years or so to get my team to win games, based in what messi has shown so far, I'd pick Didier Drogba in his prime over him. I'm guessing tournaments will be the only way for messi to show if he can drag a team single-handedly through a prolonged series of games unless he moves to a lesser team to test himself.

If I had to pick someone to play in my team of already proven winners, to add extra danger then id pick him first, but as an out and out game winning individual if the rest of the team is not performing for a long period of games, just untested for me.

interesting list. intended to be in order?

i'd move pele up one. and i'd struggle to have beckham anywhere near there.

from what i'm told about best, he might be higher. i'd have figo a little lower. henri i just love. he is the bloke i most enjoyed watching.

on pele, i was down at the versace hotel on the coast a few years back, meeting someone around midnight (it was actually business - i was doing stuff for their wine list and had to wait till the somm was finished work). walked through the foyer and past a bloke having a drink with a friend. knew him but could not place him, so said hi and kept going. he waved and said hi. i got about ten more steps before i realised it was pele.

[Ken Gargett]

OT...a good way to start your Saturday Ken! Turn up the Volume!

Btw Messi surely is inside Top 50 based on his dominance over the past 10 years. Almost at a Goal a game average over that time frame for Barca

BRILLIANT!

from the day that darkness was released, that has been one of my top three fave bruce songs. hence, top three songs of all time.

BRILLIANT.

thanks so much.

[CaptainQuintero]

Oh no order at all sorry

re Beckham, I have to have him in a list of players who could win games by himself. Did you see the England squad mates he singlehandedly dragged through group stages (where they should realistically never left) and into quarter finals etc. for the last 15 years lol?

For players competing in the starting place with messi,(ill try and put in an order)

Zidane

Pele

Maradona

Little Ron

Big Ron

Henry

Best

Messi

Missing out some greats, lots of Dutch masters from the 90s, charlton etc dinky as I didn't get to see them play so that's a negative on my part not theirs

Infact thinking about it, best and messi probably are very very equal at the moment. There are vids of best taking the ball from his own keeper and dribbling it into the opposition goal etc, great stuff to watch. But messi has time on his side to pick up those big international gongs with poor teams.

But can he get higher than pele? Not now I think, at 17 pele was dragging teams to big wins, messi I think simply didnt have the opportunity and that chance is gone.

Maradona and zidane, I don't think so either. Zidane was a one off, I never got to see pele play year on year but I have no idea how anyone could replicate zizou. Just a pure one off, I've never seen anyone do what he could do, consistently and with apparent ease, just to give a little Gallic shrug afterwards as if slightly embarrassed for bending the laws of physics and physical ability

I'm sure people who watched pele week in week out would say the same thing though. Although no make erectile dysfunction tv ads by zidane as of yet!

[Ken Gargett]

Oh no order at all sorry

re Beckham, I have to have him in a list of players who could win games by himself. Did you see the England squad mates he singlehandedly dragged through group stages (where they should realistically never left) and into quarter finals etc. for the last 15 years lol?

For players competing in the starting place with messi,(ill try and put in an order)

Zidane

Pele

Maradona

Little Ron

Big Ron

Henry

Best

Messi

Missing out some greats, lots of Dutch masters from the 90s, charlton etc dinky as I didn't get to see them play so that's a negative on my part not theirs

Infact thinking about it, best and messi probably are very very equal at the moment. There are vids of best taking the ball from his own keeper and dribbling it into the opposition goal etc, great stuff to watch. But messi has time on his side to pick up those big international gongs with poor teams.

But can he get higher than pele? Not now I think, at 17 pele was dragging teams to big wins, messi I think simply didnt have the opportunity and that chance is gone.

Maradona and zidane, I don't think so either. Zidane was a one off, I never got to see pele play year on year but I have no idea how anyone could replicate zizou. Just a pure one off, I've never seen anyone do what he could do, consistently and with apparent ease, just to give a little Gallic shrug afterwards as if slightly embarrassed for bending the laws of physics and physical ability

I'm sure people who watched pele week in week out would say the same thing though. Although no make erectile dysfunction tv ads by zidane as of yet!

as a group, can't argue. what i saw of pele, and no doubt they were selective highlights so possibly distorting things, i have not seen better.