Pick your most over-rated England player

noodlehair

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Now that England have nearly won the Euros by playing well in a total of 0 games (again), its time to nominate who you think is the most over-rated player in the England set up.

Obviously this is slightly tongue in cheek thread, so no need for the usual idiots to come in lecturing about how England did quite well actually for nearly 40 minutes against Netherlands.

I've listed all the contenders I can think of. I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but the ones others tend to bring up, and also Saka for some reason. You can add other names if required.

Kane - his scoring record alone probably disqualifies him from winning this prestigious award, but I think the negative impact his selfishness has on a team is often under appreciated, and now he also seems to be quite rubbish. Contributions are mainly limited to complaining at the ref about nothing and diving to try and win penalties.

Saka - I actually think he does quite well for England and its only Arsenal fans who over rate him, and still not that much, but I also irrationally dislike the name "starboy". This is my sole justification for him being on this list.

Foden - Strong contender. E.g. pundits have spent almost this entire tournament constantly telling us all how good he is. His contribution to the tournament is about on a par with Rashford's, in that he's spent every game not playing on the left wing. Still not really sure what it is he's meant to be so good at that it causes Neville to almost start masturbating every time he talks about him. A good player who looks lost without Pep's tactical system around him.

Bellingham - Again don't really think he's a real contender but the media hype has gone a bit overboard. Had a nonsense TV advert made about him which seemed to suggest he was the legend of all England legends, come to rescue us from all past disappointments in football and our every day lives. Which is a bit much based on scoring a goal vs Serbia. Has also been compared to Zidane. Pretty sure if Zidane had a ball played to him on the corner of the opposition's box, you'd never see him control it off for a throw in.

Rice - The lucky winner for me. A £100m midfielder who I still don't know what it is he actually does. Supposedly defensive but then Arsenal had to start playing a defensive midfielder next to him and so good for England that SOuthgate started moaning about missing Calvin Phillips. Mostly out performed by a teenager. Doesn't seem to know how to deal with being pressed. Certainly doesn't control games in any way. Annoying face.

Sterling - I know he doesn't play for them anymore but his constant getting picked by Southgate despite doing nothing except dive about like a spoilt baby still annoys me. Would be clear winner if he was still in the squad, just by virtue of being in the squad at all.
 
I think Rice is a good shout. At Arsenal he has Ødegaard to do all the playmaking for him, so he just has to run around and win the ball back once in a while. He looked shockingly limited for England by contrast.
 
Bellingham, based on the hype to performance ratio. Commentators were still talking up every shit performance he put out.
 
Probably Rice. I think he's a good player but with a very obvious ceiling. The way some talk about him is just the definition of overrating.
 
noodlehair said:
Rice - The lucky winner for me. A £100m midfielder who I still don't know what it is he actually does. Supposedly defensive but then Arsenal had to start playing a defensive midfielder next to him and so good for England that Southgate started moaning about missing Calvin Phillips. Mostly out performed by a teenager. Doesn't seem to know how to deal with being pressed. Certainly doesn't control games in any way. Annoying face.
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Oh ffs, I'd forgotten about that. :lol:
 
Easily Foden. Seems to be very much a system player, and I have to suspect when I see him and Walker playing for England like they did yesterday, they they are missing Pep's doctor friends.

Saka is a good player but very overrated too. Looks pedestrian against a decent full back most of the time.
 
I don't think Saka or Kane are overrated - they're both excellent footballers.

Bellingham potentially is - if only that he gets talked as one of the best players in the world, and he's not quite there, but he is still very good.

I do like Rice alot, but I think he is a bit overrated if you're talking about him in the same league as Rodri - when he definitely isn't (as Rodri is the best midfielder in the world)

So from the OP list, it would definitely have been Sterling - as I never really rated him, or thought he ever even played that well for England, but as he's no longer with the team, it would probably be Foden - as I have always had a nagging feeling that outside of the Pep bubble I don't think he'd be as incredible as he is for City, and his England performances sort of play that out.


Not on the OP list - Kyle Walker is surely a shout?
 
Rice. He's good at making serious, tough faces.

Not so good at the game of football, though.

Belingham. Just in the sense of being talked about like one of the best in the world. Talented and the good player he is but one of the best there is not yet.
 
Kane by a distance, he's supposed to be England's best player but can't remember the last time he played excellent (not just score a goal).
 
Based on this tournament — Foden for me. I still think that he’s a special talent and would play much better under a more competent manager, but that drop off in performances is inexcusable.

Kane is a close second, he was atrocious.
 
Yeah, I think it's Rice. Not a bad player but he just feels sort of... old fashioned? He's a "does the basics" player but doesn't do any of the basics to an outstanding level. I can imagine him being displaced more easily than any of the other hyped players
 
Pickford. Comes across as an absolute cocky gowl he's just a pure old hoofball merchant who makes a meal of most things he has to deal with. Must be a nightmare to have that tosser with his weird energy and stupid hair in goal behind you.

Rice is a good player, but he was never a 100m player, but he's been judged as one. I wouldn't even say he's really that much better than someone like Scott Parker. He's just too limited on the ball.
 
Kane just looks finished, knackered or injured.

Rice has gone down notches for me, and I didn’t rate him that highly in the first place. I didn’t expect so much fear in his game.
 
Southgate, any player can look shite when there's no tactical plan that is remotely similar to what the players are used to in club football.
 
Foden by a mile
Kane (not really overrated, just terrible this specific tournament)
 
Stones. Should be the unquestionable leader of the defense by now. Wasn't even England's best CB.
 
I'd defend Bellingham because he was out best player in Qatar and had been great for Dortmund and Real. I think the issue this tournament he was played as a number 10 in a system that has Kane, Foden and Bellingham all trying to play the same position and having no striker who is getting behind defenders to make space. .

I don't think Foden is overrated but again victim of the system and trying to shoe horn him in. When he's played on the wing for city it's usually on the right.

I think Rice though is probably that player. The amount of times he was muscled off the ball, or gave it away. He can't progress the ball and you look at him next to a CDM like Rodri who defensively does was Rice does much better and can actually be a playmaker. Then you struggle to see why rice was 100 million.
 
I think of it in terms of the biggest gap between club performances and performances for England. So from that perspective it’s:

1. Foden
2. Kane
3. Bellingham

Rice played to a quite similar level to how he does for Arsenal, he just didn’t have the functioning system around him to mask his flaws like at club level.

Watching Bellingham reminds me of what John Giles used to say about Steven Gerrard, capable of incredible moments, but incapable of controlling a game. Foden similar.
 
It’s definitely Rice. Needs four or five touches before deciding what he wants to do with the ball. Thats criminal in a midfielder.
 
Bellingham, purely for that fecking advert, Foden been the bigger flop though but he will go under the radar as there's no hype around him.
 
Real Name said:
Rice. He's good at making serious, tough faces.

Not so good at the game of football, though.

Belingham. Just in the sense of being talked about like one of the best in the world. Talented and the good player he is but one of the best there is not yet.
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Rice is so limited. Even in the last Euros, Philips was much better with the ball, so we ended up getting pasted by Italy. Some make out he's become something like prime Redondo since. I'm sure if you watch him every week for Arsenal he's decent enough, but he’s a way off world class.
 
In Absentia said:
Rice is so limited. Even in the last Euros, Philips was much better with the ball, so we ended up getting pasted by Italy. Some make out he's become something like prime Redondo since. I'm sure if you watch him every week for Arsenal he's decent enough, but he’s a way off world class, and I think, in time, Arsenal fans will get frustrated with him.
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Probably Foden, because people were genuinely comparing him to Rooney. It’s amazing how people just lose their ability to watch football and form their own assessment with media narratives in their heads.

Kane was awful but I think most people now see he’s on the decline.

Bellingham I feel did the hard yards and did come up trumps once for us at a key moment but it wasn’t great from him.
 
Too many to pick from but the two biggest ones are Bellingham and Rice. Both immensely overrated.
 
Always feels weird saying players are overrated when I actually think they're good players.

Rice - Good player but made out to be some hybrid of Roy Keane and Carrick by sections of the media.

Foden - Also a good player but not the best in the league for me and quite a few City players are better IMO...... KDB, Bernardo, Rodri & Doku are all better Midfielders for me.

For me they're the two most overrated by some distance.... Even though I think they're good.
 
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