All-Time Fantasy Draft

Neil Franklin

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Arguably England's best ever central defender.

Stanley Matthews said:
Neil won everything in the air, tackled with superb timing and when the ball was at his feet possessed the nous to pass it with all the guile and intelligence of the most cerebral of inside-forwards. An erect physique belied tremendous mobility and breathtaking speed over four or five yards.
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Tom Finney said:
Franklin was the best centre-half I ever played with or against. Just before the 1950 World Cup, he went off to play in Colombia, thinking he was going to make a bit of money, but it didn't work out. When he came back, the FA were furious and clubs wouldn't touch him. He was still good enough to play for England, though. It was very sad.
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The Independent said:
What made Neil Franklin different as a central defender was his pure skill. Virtually all stoppers of his era were hunky bustlers whose brawn and aggression were their paramount assets, but the Stoke number five adopted a singularly subtle approach. Though firm in the tackle and competitive in the air - indeed, impressively so for a man of 5ft 11in who weighed just 11 stone - he tended to master his adversaries by shrewd positional sense and almost uncanny anticipation. Then, having gained possession of the ball, he could stroke it with masterful accuracy to which-ever colleague he chose. Invariably, Franklin appeared in command of a situation, serenely composed, a born organiser, a delight to the eye.
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Getting this early before we are dumped with some no mark keeper. Imperious commanding the area, a superb one and one shot stopper and a knack for starting a quick counter with his throws.

THE IRON CURTAIN
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RINAT DASAYEV


Fergus'son: 1. Beckenbauer 2. Eusebio 3. Didi 4. Krol 5. Zanetti 6. Kocsis 7. Vidic 8. Shesternyov 9. Pirri
DanNistelrooy: Cristiano Ronaldo 2. Ronaldinho 3. Nesta, 4. Gascoigne 5. Makelele 6. McGrath 7. Vogts 8. Camacho 9. Seedorf
KM: 1. Messi 2. Scirea 3. Bozsik, 4. Sammer 5. Nedved 6. Valderrama 7. Banks 8. Schiaffino 9. Djalma Santos
Thisistheone: 1. Maradona 2. B.Charlton 3. Eto'o, 4. Cannavaro 5. Coluna 6. Bremner 7. Carlos Alberto 8. Blanc 9. Alonso
NM: 1. Pele 2. Neeskens 3. Passarella 4. Boniek 5. Thuram 6. Tardelli 7. Carvalho 8. Blokhin 9. Rummenigge
Cutch: 1. Best 2. Van Basten 3. Robson 4. R Baggio 5. Charles 6. Tigana 7. Hierro 8. Maier 9. Nilton Santos
Brwned: 1. Di Stéfano 2. Keane 3. Falcão 4. Giggs 5. Matthews 6. Brehme 7. Trésor 8. McGrain 9. Spencer
MJJ: 1. Duncan Edwards 2. Garrincha 3. Muller 4. Luis Suárez 5. Meazza 6. Schmeichel 7. Rui Costa 8. Nasazzi 9. Chumpitaz
JakeC: 1. Ronaldo 2. Maldini 3. Deschamps 4. Gento 5. Stam 6. Law 7. Deco 8. Janes 9. Augusto
mightberight: 1. Ferenc Puskas 2. Stoichkov 3. Breitner 4. Jairzinho 5. Bergomi 6. Varela 7. Koeman 8. Marzolini 9. Gerets
EDogen: 1. Cruyff 2. Moore 3. Redondo 4. Figo 5. Romario 6. Desailly 7. Dzajic 8. Schnellinger 9. Essien
Gio: 1. Platini 2. Xavi 3. Rivaldo 4. Kohler 5. Davids 6. Gentile 7. Moreno 8. Nordahl 9. Franklin
Antohan: 1. Laudrup 2. Rijkaard 3. Iniesta 4. Facchetti 5. Henry 6. R. Ferdinand 7. Effenberg 8. Vasovic 9. Dasayev
Stobzilla: 1. Zidane 2. Yashin (Russia) 3. Scholes 4. Souness 5. Savicevic 6. Cafu 7. Kubala 8. Van Nistlerooy
Isotope: 1. Zico 2. L. Matthäus 3. Santamaríá 4. Hansen 5. Hagi 6. Finney 7. Viera 8. Irwin
paceme: 1. Figueroa 2. Baresi 3. Voronin 4. Masopust 5. Batistuta 6. Gullit 7. Socrates 8. Amoros
 
Theon said:
Yeah I am not doubting that. My point is 1) he is widely known as a sweeper and regarded by the casual fan to be the best defender in history, so it will be the best way to get votes - it is what he is primarily known for. 2) tactically I think it suits him better.

Edit - out posting on my phone so sorry for not going into more detail, if you want will expand later
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I've always thought 'the greats' are just known as being brilliant over the position they actually played on the pitch. And for most of the top 10, it's generally argued what position they actually did play with some saying one thing and others another examples are abundant, just a few:

Maradona: AM or SS?
Cruyff: CF or WF or AM or SS?
Di Stefano: take your pick straight through the offensive spine
Pele: Striker or SS or AM?
Messi: pretty much just called a 'forward'
Zico: AM or SS?
Platini: AM or SS?

It goes on and on.. they are generally just 'Pele' or 'Maradona' and given ambiguous titles like #10's or some such.

'Beckenbauer' is another. I've never thought of him as just or a most revered sweeper but rather a brilliant player who was devastating wherever he was played through the spine of the team. If West Germany had won the world cup in 1966, Beckenbauer's legend would read differently despite the fact his performances wouldn't have changed - he was superb as midfielder in that cup, capable of things only the elite can muster.

If you are talking from a factual basis, having had discussions about this on cafe, I apologise as I've not been party to much discussion about legends on here, otherwise, I'm gonna stick to my guns with what I've said in the previous paragraph.

From tactical POV he's no worse off in midfield than he is at the back as he has shown that he was immaculate at both - the crux of the matter with Beckenbauer is just surrounding him with grunts so he can get on with being brilliant, really.
 
AldoRaine18 said:
Getting this early before we are dumped with some no mark keeper. Imperious commanding the area, a superb one and one shot stopper and a knack for starting a quick counter with his throws.

RINAT DASAYEV
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Aye I suspected Anto would snare him early much like he did in the 50s draft. Top keeper too, best in the world during the mid-to-late 1980s.
 
Gio said:
Aye I suspected Anto would snare him early much like he did in the 50s draft. Top keeper too, best in the world during the mid-to-late 1980s.
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Got two over him for that era, tbh.

Would be surprised if at least one of those is not taken in the draft.
 
So what do people think about Essien with Redondo?

Romario
Dzajic -- Cruyff -- Figo
Redondo -- Essien​
 
Fortitude said:
Got two over him for that era, tbh.

Would be surprised if at least one of those is not taken in the draft.
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Oh, we've had endless discussions on that actually. There are 2-4 from that era (depends on where you draw the line timewise).

I just prefer Dasayev at his peak as the more consistently reliable pair of hands. Very little in it, but his distribution gets him over the line in my view. A very important but often understated attribute.
 
EDogen said:
So what do people think about Essien with Redondo?

Romario
Dzajic -- Cruyff -- Figo
Redondo -- Essien​
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Essien was a beast but, as many others, injuries and erratic form have blurred the picture. Five years ago he would be on a par with Keane in some people's eyes, but not now. I know it is about peak form over the best couple of seasons, but you can't help it. Henry himself has gone down a notch in people´s perceptions with his February cameos and the like. At his peak he was absolutely devastating though.
 
antohan said:
Essien was a beast but, as many others, injuries and erratic form have blurred the picture. Five years ago he would be on a par with Keane in some people's eyes, but not now. I know it is about peak form over the best couple of seasons, but you can't help it. Henry himself has gone down a notch in people´s perceptions with his February cameos and the like. At his peak he was absolutely devastating though.
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This I think. I don't rate Essien much personally - maybe because he has been crap for the last 4-5 years!
 
antohan said:
Essien was a beast but, as many others, injuries and erratic form have blurred the picture. Five years ago he would be on a par with Keane in some people's eyes, but not now. I know it is about peak form over the best couple of seasons, but you can't help it. Henry himself has gone down a notch in people´s perceptions with his February cameos and the like. At his peak he was absolutely devastating though.
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This is true, I will have to hope that people remember how good he really was.

I really had a hard time picking my midfielder to play with Redondo and I might pick another one to have as an alternative. Want alternatives based on what players I will come up against.
 
Does Essien really belong in an all time XI but? Maybe we'll look back on him in years to come as one of the great midfielders of his time, but he seems a bit out of his depth in this company imho. What are his standout performances that will live long in the memory say? Maybe i'm being harsh
 
Antonio Cabrini.
On the road, guys. Sorry..
If paceme isn't looking for a striker, i'll post my next pick now also.
 
I have second thoughts on Essien I must say, not really sure he will be in my XI when all this is over...
 
paceme said:
Bernd Schuster

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Cracking player, also underrated, partly due to only having one smashing debut tournament before exiting the national team for some bollocks excuse (ultimately, it was him or Matthaus).
 
antohan said:
Cracking player, also underrated, partly due to only having one smashing debut tournament before exiting the national team for some bollocks excuse (ultimately, it was him or Matthaus).
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Didn't want Austrians playing or something? I don't know. I just know he was better than Wolfgang (forget the surname) who actually played for Germany and took over from Maradona when he left Barca as their main creative force.
 
paceme said:
Didn't want Austrians playing or something? I don't know. I just know he was better than Wolfgang (forget the surname) who actually played for Germany and took over from Maradona when he left Barca as their main creative force.
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Many would disagree on your Wolfgang fellow, but he fits in much more nicely.

It was actually a case of him and Matthaus hating each others' guts. Matthaus being in Germany and him being in Barca gradually turned the tide until he got cut off for turning down a callup for a dead-rubber game offering the unacceptable excuse of "his second son due to arrive around that day".
 
--------------Yashin

Cafu ---- Puyol -- Ayala ---- LeftBack

------- Scholes -- Souness

Kubala ----- Zidane ----- Savicevic

---------- Van Nistlerooy

Thoughts, my initial thought is ... don't give the ball to me.
 
paceme said:
YOU DID NOT SEE

My almost complete first XI
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9th pick: Cabrini
10th: Raul

Then Stobzilla picked Ayala for his 10th.

Sorry for make it a bit hectic. I'm doing field work. Limited access n time for internet.
 
antohan said:
Many would disagree on your Wolfgang fellow, but he fits in much more nicely.

It was actually a case of him and Matthaus hating each others' guts. Matthaus being in Germany and him being in Barca gradually turned the tide until he got cut off for turning down a callup for a dead-rubber game offering the unacceptable excuse of "his second son due to arrive around that day".
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I don't really know that much about the other player compared to Schuster, I just know that I have heard a few times that Wolfgang was the more hard working 'typical German' type, I needed some more flair and creativity in my team.
 
At right back I pick the very first international black player, also the first international football superstar. The French baptised him "The Black Marvel"

José Leandro Andrade

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Individual


(by 1930 his vision was slightly impaired due to a collision with a goalpost. He had actually been a free-agent for three months prior to the WC, and even then was good enough for Bronze Ball and MOTM in the final. Peaked at the Olympics)


More to follow, don't want to hold you guys up
 
I had Andrade for both def mid and right back but did not know what to do with him. Still not knowing what I am doing with my team right now.
 
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