The Criteria Draft - The Drafts

1. VivaJanuzaj & Crappy - Messi, Sammer, Lahm, Zambrotta, Etoo, Cocu, F. de Boer
2. The Red Viper -Ronaldinho, Henry, Cafu, Kaka, Hierro, Popescu, Effenberg
3. Annahnomoss - Ronaldo 9, Thuram, Cannavaro, Ribery, Lizarazu, Pirlo, Essien
4. Cutch - Maldini, Savicevic, Zanetti, Kohler, De Rossi, Benarrivo, Camoranesi
5. NoPace - Ronaldo 7, R. Baggio, Senna, Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hassler, Rooney, Aldair
6. Stobzilla / KM - Zidane, Davids, Robben, Irwin, Signori, Ferrara, Van Der Sar
7. FromTheBench/Theon - Romário, Makélélé, Gerrard, Totti, Blanc, Sagnol, Samuel
8. EDogen - Keane, Scholes, Weah, Evra, Beckham, Bale, Gallas, Raul
9. BigDunc9 - Xavi, Iniesta, Shevchenko, Albertini, F. Couto, Claudio Lopez, Baines, Reus
10. rpitroda - Nedved, Seedorf, Deco, Ferdinand, Luis Enrique, Guardiola, Zabaleta, Kluivert
11. BorisDeLeFora - Nesta, Vieira, Matt Le Tissier, Lucio, Lampard, Villa, Ginola, van Bronckhorst
12. Chesterlestreet - Stoichkov, Mendieta, Des Walker, Prosinečki, Ibrahimovic, Kahn, Bergkamp, Adams
13. Paceme - Figo, Rui Costa, Batistuta, Vidic, Del Piero, Cambiasso, Yaya Toure, Abidal
14. NM / Snow - Redondo, Giggs, Ayala, Ballack, Fabregas, Ljungberg, Buffon, Costacurta
15. Aldo - Rivaldo, Desailly, Stam, Hagi, Simeone, Van Persie, G. Neville, Mascherano
16. Edgar Allan pillow - Roberto Carlos, Litmanen, Pepe, Arteta, Gamarra, Gattuso, Di Maria, Cazorla

@FromTheBench @Theon
 
EDogen said:
I am here again. Finishing off my combo for 8&9. Raul Gonzales Blanco.

Becks and Raul played two seasons together without winning a trohpy.

Becks has won it.

Raul has won it with Al Sadd
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You waited long to finish that one. Big chance as he fits a number of criteria. Best player in the draft by a mile.
 
Can someone please tag stobz and KM as I am on my phone

Edit cheers
 
1. VivaJanuzaj & Crappy - Messi, Sammer, Lahm, Zambrotta, Etoo, Cocu, F. de Boer
2. The Red Viper -Ronaldinho, Henry, Cafu, Kaka, Hierro, Popescu, Effenberg
3. Annahnomoss - Ronaldo 9, Thuram, Cannavaro, Ribery, Lizarazu, Pirlo, Essien
4. Cutch - Maldini, Savicevic, Zanetti, Kohler, De Rossi, Benarrivo, Camoranesi
5. NoPace - Ronaldo 7, R. Baggio, Senna, Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hassler, Rooney, Aldair
6. Stobzilla / KM - Zidane, Davids, Robben, Irwin, Signori, Ferrara, Van Der Sar
7. FromTheBench/Theon - Romário, Makélélé, Gerrard, Totti, Blanc, Sagnol, Samuel, Cantona
8. EDogen - Keane, Scholes, Weah, Evra, Beckham, Bale, Gallas, Raul
9. BigDunc9 - Xavi, Iniesta, Shevchenko, Albertini, F. Couto, Claudio Lopez, Baines, Reus
10. rpitroda - Nedved, Seedorf, Deco, Ferdinand, Luis Enrique, Guardiola, Zabaleta, Kluivert
11. BorisDeLeFora - Nesta, Vieira, Matt Le Tissier, Lucio, Lampard, Villa, Ginola, van Bronckhorst
12. Chesterlestreet - Stoichkov, Mendieta, Des Walker, Prosinečki, Ibrahimovic, Kahn, Bergkamp, Adams
13. Paceme - Figo, Rui Costa, Batistuta, Vidic, Del Piero, Cambiasso, Yaya Toure, Abidal
14. NM / Snow - Redondo, Giggs, Ayala, Ballack, Fabregas, Ljungberg, Buffon, Costacurta
15. Aldo - Rivaldo, Desailly, Stam, Hagi, Simeone, Van Persie, G. Neville, Mascherano
16. Edgar Allan pillow - Roberto Carlos, Litmanen, Pepe, Arteta, Gamarra, Gattuso, Di Maria, Cazorla
 
1. VivaJanuzaj & Crappy - Messi, Sammer, Lahm, Zambrotta, Etoo, Cocu, F. de Boer
2. The Red Viper -Ronaldinho, Henry, Cafu, Kaka, Hierro, Popescu, Effenberg
3. Annahnomoss - Ronaldo 9, Thuram, Cannavaro, Ribery, Lizarazu, Pirlo, Essien
4. Cutch - Maldini, Savicevic, Zanetti, Kohler, De Rossi, Benarrivo, Camoranesi
5. NoPace - Ronaldo 7, R. Baggio, Senna, Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hassler, Rooney, Aldair
6. Stobzilla / KM - Zidane, Davids, Robben, Irwin, Signori, Ferrara, Van Der Sar, Veron
7. FromTheBench/Theon - Romário, Makélélé, Gerrard, Totti, Blanc, Sagnol, Samuel, Cantona
8. EDogen - Keane, Scholes, Weah, Evra, Beckham, Bale, Gallas, Raul
9. BigDunc9 - Xavi, Iniesta, Shevchenko, Albertini, F. Couto, Claudio Lopez, Baines, Reus
10. rpitroda - Nedved, Seedorf, Deco, Ferdinand, Luis Enrique, Guardiola, Zabaleta, Kluivert
11. BorisDeLeFora - Nesta, Vieira, Matt Le Tissier, Lucio, Lampard, Villa, Ginola, van Bronckhorst
12. Chesterlestreet - Stoichkov, Mendieta, Des Walker, Prosinečki, Ibrahimovic, Kahn, Bergkamp, Adams
13. Paceme - Figo, Rui Costa, Batistuta, Vidic, Del Piero, Cambiasso, Yaya Toure, Abidal
14. NM / Snow - Redondo, Giggs, Ayala, Ballack, Fabregas, Ljungberg, Buffon, Costacurta
15. Aldo - Rivaldo, Desailly, Stam, Hagi, Simeone, Van Persie, G. Neville, Mascherano
16. Edgar Allan pillow - Roberto Carlos, Litmanen, Pepe, Arteta, Gamarra, Gattuso, Di Maria, Cazorla

We pick Juan Sebastien Veron.
 
Veron/Davids/Zidane is a lovely midfield

Good job
 
I'll be interested to see how Cantona, Romario, Totti and Gerrard mesh together.
 
Theon said:
Veron/Davids/Zidane is a lovely midfield

Good job
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It is about as balanced as you can get, Veron just adds that little bit of class that may have lacked from another pure holding player, but with the added bonus of not being found wanting going the other way.
 
Gio said:
I'll be interested to see how Cantona, Romario, Totti and Gerrard mesh together.
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Maybe he intends to use the present incarnation of Starfish - the deep sitting maestro, the one who never slips and passes and orchestrates like Pirlo, only better?
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Maybe he intends to use the present incarnation of Starfish - the deep sitting maestro, the one who never slips and passes and orchestrates like Pirlo, only better?
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Knowing Theon it'll be a tight midfield 4-3-2-1 variant, with Gerrard giving it big licks in the right-central midfield Mendieta role.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Maybe he intends to use the present incarnation of Starfish - the deep sitting maestro, the one who never slips and passes and orchestrates like Pirlo, only better?
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For me Gerrard was at his best when he was linked to us, when he played next to a disciplined holder in Didi Hamman.

It's an interesting debate that I've had on here before, but whilst Gerrard's peak years came in Rafa's tightly organised 4-2-3-1 his most suited system came before that.
 
Stobzilla said:
It is about as balanced as you can get, Veron just adds that little bit of class that may have lacked from another pure holding player, but with the added bonus of not being found wanting going the other way.
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Two bald guys and a blind man? Please. Give me variations of hair styles and perfect vision any day of the week.
 
Gerrard is that underated on here that you get the feeling you might as well pick a much lesser player.
 
Theon said:
For me Gerrard was at his best when he was linked to us, when he played next to a disciplined holder in Didi Hamman.

It's an interesting debate that I've had on here before, but whilst Gerrard's peak years came in Rafa's tightly organised 4-2-3-1 his most suited system came before that.
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I wouldn't disagree wildly with that. Trouble with him, as I've always seen it, is that he was at his absolute best when he could be unleashed, so to speak, in an untamed sort of role - but this role has something inherently unstable about it, something hazardous, even.
 
Annahnomoss said:
Same goes for all the Liverpool and Chelsea players. The Arsenal ones are rated highly though.
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I've got the same feeling about Baines to be honest and his stock is probably at his lowest its been in about 6 years after Hodgson restriced him in Brazil. However having watched him every week for the past x years i know how good he is that i couldn't leave him out. Very unappreciated player on here i think.
 
Annahnomoss said:
Same goes for all the Liverpool and Chelsea players. The Arsenal ones are rated highly though.
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That's because Arsenal beat our good team. Chelsea had money and beat us when we were poor. Liverpool never beat us, unless you count last year which is a moot point. City are similar to Chelsea but a bit worse. Meanwhile a player that has retired is a lot better because he's retired and the memory of seeing him play 5 times and seeing clips of him on youtube and highlight reels throughout his career is a lot better for the obvious reasons that he was never seen having an average or poor game.
 
BigDunc9 said:
I've got the same feeling about Baines to be honest and his stock is probably at his lowest its been in about 6 years after Hodgson restriced him in Brazil. However having watched him every week for the past x years i know how good he is that i couldn't leave him out. Very unappreciated player on here i think.
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The issue with Baines is, his performances have only been in the premier league. Make no mistake, he has been the best left back in the premier league if we consider the last four to five years. People ultimately judge players on how they do in the big games and big stage like UEFA Champions League or UEFA Euros or FIFA World Cup.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
I wouldn't disagree wildly with that.
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I've had this debate a few times, I think it is interesting. Had a quick scan and here is a few thoughts which give an indication of what I mean.

Theon said:
I think people put too much emphasis on things like 'tactical accumen' to play in central midfield. I mean Scholes was a striker when he moved there, but due to having the right partner it worked fine. If you just look at the players we have used in the middle in a midfield two it's silly to conclusively write off Gerrard in that position, he had all the tools to play there and like I said previously, the best form of his career IMO was when he partnered Didi Hamann, or even before with Redknapp.

He is better defensively than players like Cleverley and Anderson yet we have played them in a two, even together. I'd also consider him better than an early Scholes as he was fitter, a better tackler, more aggressive etc, plus Scholes got forward even more than he did. I mean look now, people have advocated playing Kagawa in a two, but Gerrard couldn't do it?

There's no doubt he was haphazard at times, but that's why he needed someone to sit like Didi. Just because he wasn't best in the holding role doesn't mean he couldn't play any form of central midfield. In a box to box role he was perfect and could dominate games.

My original point was that he would have learned tactical discipline anyway, if you look at players like Keane, Scholes, Robson etc they were all similar to Gerrard when young, but developed the tactical side of their game and became more reserved going forward. He never got the chance to develop that part of his game because Benitez stuck him out of the wing, which was a waste of his talents IMO.

Someone was saying in the Gerrard/Scholes thread that he never reached his potential which I agree with, think once he retires on reflection he will go down as a player that didn't get the most out of his undoubted talent.
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Theon said:
Gerrard was best as a centre mid where he had the ability to influence every aspect of the game. He could have been the complete midfielder as he could tackle, had the stamina, work rate and mentality for midfield, then could also dictate play and score goals.

Benitez ruined Gerrard, first playing him as a right winger and then playing him behind Torres in attacking midfield, just limited his influence. The team should have been built around Gerrard in the middle of the pitch. Though Gerrard and Keane were different types of player, as a centre mid there wasn't a player I would have preferred succeed Keane around 2004. But as an attacking midfielder, mehh I'm not that bothered.

Overall Keane is unquestionably the better player, but if Gerrard had stuck to centre midfield and developed accordingly it could have been a lot closer.
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Annahnomoss said:
Same goes for all the Liverpool and Chelsea players. The Arsenal ones are rated highly though.
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Nature of the beast, really. Would be strange if it weren't so.

When speaking of Starfish, in particular, though - the whole Scholes versus Frank versus Stevie thing comes into play too.

For my money Starfish could be an extreme asset to the right team - in a free role of sorts, perhaps. He was, after all, sheer hell to deal with in his pomp - one of the most purely dangerous players I've ever seen when he bombed forward. He'd cause panic wherever he went when he was in that mode. But it was up and down - and when his forward bombing was cut off, his wild style of play would become a liability.

I think you need plenty of cover for him if you intend to include Starfish in a well functioning side.
 
The Red Viper said:
The issue with Baines is, his performances have only been in the premier league. Make no mistake, he has been the best left back in the premier league if we consider the last four to five years. People ultimately judge players on how they do in the big games and big stage like UEFA Champions League or UEFA Euros or FIFA World Cup.
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I am glad you recognize that he has been the best left back in the league in the past 5 years because he has in my opinion. I am not disagreeing with your points about the Champions League and him having not played in it, although i remember a great performance he put in against Ronaldo when he was at you lot which proves he can do it against the best and he has obviously played against some great players in the Premiership . I just think he's being harshly judged because of his performances for England when near enough every player Bar Beckham and Cole ( which is another reason he is taking more criticism because Cole played at his true level for England) haven't shown their true colors even some of the best players of there generation like Scholes and Gerrard.
 
Gio said:
Like this?
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I remember that!

You actually lined up originally in a 4-2-3-1 with Gerrard as an AM, which is what I was talking about above.

For me, that 4-3-3 you changed to is absolutely perfect for Gerrard.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Nature of the beast, really. Would be strange if it weren't so.

When speaking of Starfish, in particular, though - the whole Scholes versus Frank versus Stevie thing comes into play too.

For my money Starfish could be an extreme asset to the right team - in a free role of sorts, perhaps. He was, after all, sheer hell to deal with in his pomp - one of the most purely dangerous players I've ever seen when he bombed forward. He'd cause panic wherever he went when he was in that mode. But it was up and down - and when his forward bombing was cut off, his wild style of play would become a liability.

I think you need plenty of cover for him if you intend to include Starfish in a well functioning side.
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Lampard was a AM or a 10. His best position was that. You can compare him to Rooney as much to Scholes or Gerrard.

Scholes and Gerrard were their best as Box to box 8's during their early years. (Scholes' best years though arguably came as a 6 later on but he played the exact role with Keane/Butt back then that, Gerrard played alongside Hamann or Mascherano and then later even Alonso for a period as Theon referred too.)
 
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FromTheBench said:
Lampard was a AM or a 10. His best position was that. You can compare him to Rooney as much to Scholes or Gerrard.

Scholes and Gerrard were their best as Box to box 8's during their early years. (Scholes' best years though arguably came as a 6 later on but he played the exact role with Keane/Butt, Gerrard played alongside Hamann and then later even Alonso for a period as Theon referred too.)
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Yeah, sure. I'm just referring to the debates people are wont to engage in. I don't think the comparisons are particularly interesting myself. They're clearly very different players, all three.
 
It's got to the point now where i don't even know who to pick next ( assuming all the ones i have penciled in last to my go.
 
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