In fairness I wouldn't have touched him if this draft hadn't been all about getting back to the three year peak concept. In that timeframe he has 77 PL appearances, compared to 85 for Kompany in the PL and 83 games in Serie A for Nesta, to use your CB pairing by way of comparison, which is hardly night and day. In the same vein, while I'm generally quite happy to denigrate Liverpool's recent CL runs, in his three year peak Kompany captained an obscenely expensive City team to two consecutive group stage exits and a 4-1 aggregate loss to Barca in the last 16 in the final year of his peak. Im not saying this to get into some sort of pissing contest or proxy war if we draw each other in the next round, but moreso to point out why I think
@Šjor Bepo wanted us to get back to the specified peak in the first place - Kompany has only just retired and we're getting this sepia-tinted account of his peak in comparison with a contemporary player, and the problem is compounded the farther back we go.
Angloma is certainly an example of an underrated player who should appear more, but for me the difference here is that Angloma was a good but unexceptional all-rounder whereas TAA has undoubted weaknesses but also specific strengths that legitimately stand out in an all-time context. How people weigh the relative importance of those strengths and weaknesses is another matter of course.
Didn't want to go too much in details, mate, as I was just explaining my vote, but since we brought it up and the comparisons too, I'll reply to it once again.
First of all on Nesta - Seria A at the time had 18 teams, so that means 4 games less on season basis, which means 12 games less in the time period, which is significant if we look at such period.
TAA started just 18 games in 17/18 season assisting for 1 goal and scoring 1 goal. In the CL his output was the same - 1 goal, 1 assist. Hardly a great output is it?
This year TAA had 1 assist in CL and they were eliminated by Atletico, who are hardly in their best form either, and could've easily decided the tie at home if it wasn't for lot of misses whilst Liverpool were toothless in attack as well.This season is yet to finish too so he isn't even PL champion compared to Kompany for example.
His body of work basically came last year season along with this season PL and 17/18 CL. That's around 60-70 games to base his entire career on thus far. He played in a particular set up(he's just 21) - so it's a question mark whether or not he will adapt to a different set up. Liverpool's gegenpressen and having Klopp aboard means he's getting top class coaching - one of the best in the world (if not the best) and a set up that is generally a team effort that makes players like Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Lovren, Ox look better than they are in different teams and under different coaches.
If we compare him to Nesta per say - Nesta played in an era that featured the cream of the crop attackers in history. He faced the most elite strikers and often came on top. 4 times in a row Seria A defender of the year where he contended with the likes of Maldini, Thuram, Cannavaro and many more. EURO team of the tournament, UEFA team of the year 3 years straight, ESM team of the year - and this is at the time when this award generally counted for something.
When you look at players like Nesta you know that level achieved in that timeframe is not flash in the pan. 35 years old Nesta came against peak of his powers Messi that scored 73 in the course of a season. That Milan led defence kept it cool at home achieving 0-0 draw and in the return leg, he denied him again and again and sometimes even went toe to toe with him on pace. Yes 35 years old Nesta.
With Kompany - again you have the benefit of hindsight. He won the PL under different managers, captained the side as you said, was voted best defender and PL best player in one of those years and hardly you can say it was undeserved. He has played 600 games in his career so despite just retiring you know what you are getting and most likely he would've played a lot more if he wasn't marred with injuries.
Both Nesta and Kompany had also international acclaim and NT careers that you can rely on (not so much with Kompany, but 2018 he played in every minute in the knock out phase and still SF is pretty good for Belguim).
The context is also whereas Liverpool manage to overcame Barcelona in that tie, they did get themselves into a position that they should've been eliminated after the first game when Dembele, Messi and Suarez missed clear cut chances to even put them on double figures.
When you put TAA in a lineup that faces what harms/Joga put he's a glaring weakness. He features against players that are generally in the top 20 of their positions and at the height of their powers. Realistically it's tough to compare TAA in a different setup to gegenpressen on the back of 50-60 games if we could cope with that pressure and being more attacking full back we really can't exempt him from defensive duties, especially when coming up against a top class LW in Rensenbrink ilk. He just doesn't have the same body of work that other players that you compared have to fall back on and one of those 3 seasons he even hardly featured in PL, whilst this one isn't even over yet.
To me knowing a player full career is a big big bonus and much easier to evaluate how he would fare in imaginary set up, as it shows his versatility, his general ability - all his weaknesses and whether or not he can be consistently good in different set up against different type of opposition.
And btw I'm not saying all that because we can meet further in the draft. I'd be saying it if harms went through and it was matter of a single vote
