Ibrahimovic....Toss

Zlatan makes the difference between Inter and the other Italian top clubs. Take him out of Inter's team and they will look average. Make no mistake, he is a top player.

He is overrated by those who consider him in the same bracket as Ronaldo and Messi. But given that he won several awards for best player in Seria A ahead of Kaka, the temptation to take him as one of the best players in the world is understandable. He is a very very good player but not in Ronaldo's class.
 
Brwned said:
Why do you care so much what the media think?

Pundits are generally just not particularly smart, not sure why you actually bother listening to them.
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They influence everyone from commentators to "fans", they don't change my opinion often but they make watching football and listening to idiots like Andy Gray a nightmare. I mean has Andy Gray ever EVER watched a game of football outside the premiership? He hasn't a clue about any players that don't play in England.

Then idiot football fans buy into it and spout the same crap like they have a clue, clearly a reason i like this board because people actually have their own opinions.

Why does it bother me? why does anything bother anyone, it's irritating.
 
MehdiMahdavikia said:
Stankovic made him look poorer than he is, the guy just isn't good enough to really control and create in these games. You can tell who were the players Mourinho wants shipped out and who he wants to stay.

I think one of the reasons people say Ibrahimovic only does it against lesser sides is because Inters midfield only dominate against lesser sides. I thought Berbatov's reputation took a bigger dive last night.
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What? Stankovic was one of Inter's better players on the night. I guess you missed that ridiculous cross field pass into Zlatan's path which was judged offside - but wasn't.

Muntari let their midfield down big time.
 
vuc said:
What? Stankovic was one of Inter's better players on the night. I guess you missed that ridiculous cross field pass into Zlatan's path which was judged offside - but wasn't.

Muntari let their midfield down big time.
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Agree with that, cambiasso was good, Zanetti was good, Muntari was awful. Anytime inter looked to pass it around it would get to him and then go back to United. He wasn't even winning battles with his strengh or grit, he's better than that performance.
 
FranklyVulgar said:
They influence everyone from commentators to "fans", they don't change my opinion often but they make watching football and listening to idiots like Andy Gray a nightmare. I mean has Andy Gray ever EVER watched a game of football outside the premiership? He hasn't a clue about any players that don't play in England.

Then idiot football fans buy into it and spout the same crap like they have a clue, clearly a reason i like this board because people actually have their own opinions.

Why does it bother me? why does anything bother anyone, it's irritating.
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But who cares what the rest of the fans think? If that bothers you so much then you can educate the ones you actually talk about football with, and the rest of them that just listen to him on Sky, who cares? You'll never meet them, shouldn't have any effect on you.

I find it quite amusing really, you just know when people are talking about things they haven't actually witnessed for themselves. They just build an opinion on the hype, and it's quite funny how stupid they sound when they say it. And they do it all the time.

Graeme Souness does it quite a lot, I find that funny. 'Barcelona...they're a big name, but they're not really a big team.' Always find it hard to understand why Sky have him for Champions League games.

Ruud Gullit knows what he's talking about and normally sets him straight though.
 
Brwned said:
But who cares what the rest of the fans think? If that bothers you so much then you can educate the ones you actually talk about football with, and the rest of them that just listen to him on Sky, who cares? You'll never meet them, shouldn't have any effect on you.

I find it quite amusing really, you just know when people are talking about things they haven't actually witnessed for themselves. They just build an opinion on the hype, and it's quite funny how stupid they sound when they say it. And they do it all the time.

Graeme Souness does it quite a lot, I find that funny. 'Barcelona...they're a big name, but they're not really a big team.' Always find it hard to understand why Sky have him for Champions League games.

Ruud Gullit knows what he's talking about and normally sets him straight though.
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Souness at least doesn't go with the usual, i think he likes to be a bit controversial which makes him sound like a twat.

Joe Cole wasn't that bad last night to be honest... I also don't mind Jamie Redknapp...

Andy Gray does my head in, talking about Raul and Higuain saying they have no pace. Fine Raul has no pace but Higuain is quick. Not rocket fast but he is a quick and mobile player. I mean it's his job to be informative but commentators and pundits coming away with rubbish is irritating. I can't help being annoyed by it.

The same with fans, everyone thinks they are correct about everything, that they know their football. You know what i'm talking about. You can't educate anyone, it's patronising to assume you know more to start with and they wouldn't listen anyway.
 
FranklyVulgar said:
Souness at least doesn't go with the usual, i think he likes to be a bit controversial which makes him sound like a twat.

Joe Cole wasn't that bad last night to be honest... I also don't mind Jamie Redknapp...

Andy Gray does my head in, talking about Raul and Higuain saying they have no pace. Fine Raul has no pace but Higuain is quick. Not rocket fast but he is a quick and mobile player. I mean it's his job to be informative but commentators and pundits coming away with rubbish is irritating. I can't help being annoyed by it.

The same with fans, everyone thinks they are correct about everything, that they know their football. You know what i'm talking about. You can't educate anyone, it's patronising to assume you know more to start with and they wouldn't listen anyway.
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Yep, I do like that about him. I think he's a bit overly argumentative though, too passionate in his arguments even when he's wrong sometimes.

Thought Joe Cole was alright, didn't really say anything new but he came across as more knowledgeable than your average footballer. I quite like Jamie Redknapp, although no-one else seems to.

Andy Gray's funny. He knows a fair bit, but acts as if he knows a lot more than he really does. Never knew he said that about Higuain, but that's just rubbish. He's agile, quick and makes use of his pace really well in getting in behind or when attacking players.

Nah, I don't see it that way. Never understood how it comes across as patronising, although I've heard it a few times. I like being educated about football, I don't see why anyone else on here wouldn't.
 
Brwned said:
Yep, I do like that about him. I think he's a bit overly argumentative though, too passionate in his arguments even when he's wrong sometimes.

Thought Joe Cole was alright, didn't really say anything new but he came across as more knowledgeable than your average footballer. I quite like Jamie Redknapp, although no-one else seems to.

Andy Gray's funny. He knows a fair bit, but acts as if he knows a lot more than he really does. Never knew he said that about Higuain, but that's just rubbish. He's agile, quick and makes use of his pace really well in getting in behind or when attacking players.

Nah, I don't see it that way. Never understood how it comes across as patronising, although I've heard it a few times. I like being educated about football, I don't see why anyone else on here wouldn't.
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I like Redknapp because he's honest and he does know a bit, he was a classy player and just because he sounds stupid sometimes doesn't mean he is. I think he's passionate and sincere in his comments which i respect.

Gray does it all the time, i mean watching Liverpool and going on about how great they are makes me sick, Liverpool play spoilers football and i wont even applaud that. Not meaning to sound like Arsene Wenger but he showed no ambition and was actually playing for the 0-0. Unfortunately Real have Heinze and the tie is dead.

I too like to think i know a bit about football but when you get into a conversation with narrow minded idiots it doesn't matter, they believe what they want. You get so many people who don't have a clue about the game but still claim to love it, i can't help but be a bit annoyed by such people.
 
FranklyVulgar said:
I like Redknapp because he's honest and he does know a bit, he was a classy player and just because he sounds stupid sometimes doesn't mean he is. I think he's passionate and sincere in his comments which i respect.

Gray does it all the time, i mean watching Liverpool and going on about how great they are makes me sick, Liverpool play spoilers football and i wont even applaud that. Not meaning to sound like Arsene Wenger but he showed no ambition and was actually playing for the 0-0. Unfortunately Real have Heinze and the tie is dead.

I too like to think i know a bit about football but when you get into a conversation with narrow minded idiots it doesn't matter, they believe what they want. You get so many people who don't have a clue about the game but still claim to love it, i can't help but be a bit annoyed by such people.
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Yep, he's someone who actually has his own opinion and doesn't base it on what the media say. I like that.

It's the way to play in Europe, I'm not going to applaud it but I'm not going to look down on it. Over the past few years the team with the best defence generally wins the thing. I've said it before and that's why I have us as favourites still.

Barcelona are the exception to the rule, they were in 06/07 and they could be again this year. But they're the only team good enough to do it without having a strong defence.

Really? Well pretty much everyone on here aren't what I'd call narrow-minded, and I never talk about football outside of this. Quite a few of my mates don't even know I watch football.
 
Yeah not here, that's why i post here. You get varied opinions, a fair amount of idiocy but that's natural. I'm sure plenty of people think i'm an idiot too but again it's natural when opinions differ, i usually respect anyone who gives decent reasoning for their opinions.
 
Now that we're past Inter is it ok to point out that Ibrahimovic is really, really shit?
 
Clearly he's not really really shit.

What a stupid comment.
 
I am really really shit. He just isn't as good as, say, Ronaldo or Messi.
 
Stupid thing to say after yesterdays game isn`t it?

He was able to take down pretty much every pass they gave him, without Rio being able to stop him. He managed to hold up the ball and include his teammates in the attack. He also had on in the cross-bar, and one just wide.

He was good last night, despite a few Anderson-son-son-ish shots.
 
He did step it up in a way last night. I still think he should have got the ball himself and just gone on his own a few times. Problem for him was that he barely got the ball from his teammates.. Mourinho took off Stankovic who was their only attack minded Midfielder and left Muntari / Zanettia and Cambiasso on - All defensive minded players.

Football is a game of margins, on another day Ibrahimovic could have scored 2 and what would peoples reactions of him be then?
 
Wibble said:
I am really really shit
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Spot on :)

Doesn't help his case when folk like Ruben try to claim he's had a good night when to everyone else, he was tumescent. He didn't even look confident before the match, I think the occasion gets to him, because I've seen what he can do for Inter and Juve. He just never seems to do it in Europe

It's all very well saying Inter were crap, but we let them have more of the ball and more attacking opportunities than most at OT. And they did feck all with it - and the few good dangerous chances they created, they missed. Including a sitter header Zlatan should have buried
 
I haven't seen anything from him that justifies the claims of best player in the world.
 
Dippersripper said:
I haven't seen anything from him that justifies the claims of best player in the world.
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He's not the best player in the world. He's certainly one of though. His team aren't good enough at this moment to win the champions league, they are missing something.

The way he was bringing the ball down and bringing others into play was top class, in fact it was world class. He had two chances and thats the difference, one he should have scored and hit the bar the other was a half chance he put wide. He also set up the best chance when he played a great ball into stankovic, and it was him bringing down a pass and flicking it on for him to have the volley.

All in he played well, had a few horror moments but showed people who think he is useless that he has a few of the attributes they mention. Not the best in the world but then neither was lampard but Mourinho likes to get them thinking that way.
 
FranklyVulgar said:
He's not the best player in the world. He's certainly one of though. His team aren't good enough at this moment to win the champions league, they are missing something.

The way he was bringing the ball down and bringing others into play was top class, in fact it was world class. He had two chances and thats the difference, one he should have scored and hit the bar the other was a half chance he put wide. He also set up the best chance when he played a great ball into stankovic, and it was him bringing down a pass and flicking it on for him to have the volley.

All in he played well, had a few horror moments but showed people who think he is useless that he has a few of the attributes they mention. Not the best in the world but then neither was lampard but Mourinho likes to get them thinking that way.
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Great post. I'm more and more convinced that if you put Ibrahimovic in a team like Arsenal (because of their gameplan) he would be devastating.
 
FranklyVulgar said:
He's not the best player in the world. He's certainly one of though. His team aren't good enough at this moment to win the champions league, they are missing something.

The way he was bringing the ball down and bringing others into play was top class, in fact it was world class. He had two chances and thats the difference, one he should have scored and hit the bar the other was a half chance he put wide. He also set up the best chance when he played a great ball into stankovic, and it was him bringing down a pass and flicking it on for him to have the volley.

All in he played well, had a few horror moments but showed people who think he is useless that he has a few of the attributes they mention. Not the best in the world but then neither was lampard but Mourinho likes to get them thinking that way.
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Im just not convinced by him at all and I dont think I ever will be. I heard a stat last night that hes never scored after christmas in the champions league. If thats true it just adds to the bottler argument.
 
Decotron said:
Im just not convinced by him at all and I dont think I ever will be. I heard a stat last night that hes never scored after christmas in the champions league. If thats true it just adds to the bottler argument.
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yeah he missed his chances. Still if you look at his teams progress and the way the games went you would probably find it wasn't all on his shoulders. However if you are so easily persuaded that a player isn't up to much by one stat that is your perogative.
 
I thought that Ibrahimovic played really well last night. He is the best 'olf fashioned' centre forward I've seen at OT in a long time. I don't remember seeing Rio dominated so much by an opposing centre forward. Our luck was that his teammates were too poor to prosper from his winning and controlling of the ball. Yea, his shooting was shit, but they Inter were desperate at the time. Never seen him live before, and I was impressed.
 
Ok, I admit, I must have watched a different game to half you lot, cos what I was watching, he was poor again

This 'his team mates were poor but he was good' thing is bollocks if you ask me
 
If Ibrahimovic had one sixth of the desire of Tevez he would be absolutely incredible. He just sometimes doesn't look bothered or go that extra yard, he is very naturally talented but is letting himself down by not caring enough in my opinion.
 
Desire my arse, he is a very good player, but nowhere near as good as people make him out to be.
 
If he played for us he would become the best striker in the world. He is perfect for us.
 
Brad said:
Spot on :)

Doesn't help his case when folk like Ruben try to claim he's had a good night when to everyone else, he was tumescent. He didn't even look confident before the match, I think the occasion gets to him, because I've seen what he can do for Inter and Juve. He just never seems to do it in Europe

It's all very well saying Inter were crap, but we let them have more of the ball and more attacking opportunities than most at OT. And they did feck all with it - and the few good dangerous chances they created, they missed. Including a sitter header Zlatan should have buried
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Opinions.

I didn`t see him before the game, so can`t comment on how confident he looked.

What I did see was that Rio couldn`t stop him from jumping up and taking the ball down, holding it, and getting his teammates involved. The time Inter had on the ball was very much up to him I thought, cause he managed to fight up their on his own and keep the ball.

All in all I thought he was good last night, but not good enough to change a game vs us.
 
His hold up play and control was good yesterday and thats it. The finishing was poor and he didnt show enough desire on the night. Overall another ineffective peformance from Zlatan Ibrahimovich.
 
You have to play three strikers on Saturday, but 4 choices. Which three do you pick?

Torres, Berbatov, Rooney, Ibrahimovic.

I wouldn't even put Ibrahimovic on the bench!!
 
Torres, Rooney and Ibrahimovic (if you have to play all 3) would be about the best combination you could pick in world football. They'd have just about everything you could want from your front players.
 
Ruben said:
Opinions.

I didn`t see him before the game, so can`t comment on how confident he looked.

What I did see was that Rio couldn`t stop him from jumping up and taking the ball down, holding it, and getting his teammates involved. The time Inter had on the ball was very much up to him I thought, cause he managed to fight up their on his own and keep the ball.

All in all I thought he was good last night, but not good enough to change a game vs us.
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You could just have easily been describing Dean Windass there...

He's a striker. It's about goals. Apparently he's never scored a Champions League goal post Christmas. And some have the temerity to call him the best player in the world :rolleyes:
 
Ruben said:
Opinions.

I didn`t see him before the game, so can`t comment on how confident he looked.

What I did see was that Rio couldn`t stop him from jumping up and taking the ball down, holding it, and getting his teammates involved. The time Inter had on the ball was very much up to him I thought, cause he managed to fight up their on his own and keep the ball.

All in all I thought he was good last night, but not good enough to change a game vs us.
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Only messi is that good.
 
IhabX7 said:
If he played for us he would become the best striker in the world. He is perfect for us.
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Yep. I thought he was very good. Held up the ball brilliantly against the best defenders in the world, he's the type of player who would thrive in playing with quality players. Having 4 defensive midfielders as support doesn't help him.

Better version of Berbatov.
 
Brad said:
You could just have easily been describing Dean Windass there...

He's a striker. It's about goals. Apparently he's never scored a Champions League goal post Christmas. And some have the temerity to call him the best player in the world :rolleyes:
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It`s not just about goals though. It`s about playing the role the manager has given him in the team. Yesterday he was left alone for most of the match, and he did quite well against the, IMO, best center pairing in the world. He could have scored two last night, should have scored one, and also played Stankovic very nicely through on goal.

Not scoring a goal in the CL after Christmas isn`t only about Zlatan, it`s about the teams he has played for. You can`t expect Inter or Ajax to go very far in the CL after Christmas, and that will obviously show in his stats as well.

Best player in the world, def no from me. Average, absolutely not.
 
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