The Modern / Current Players Draft

Isotope said:
Darrent Bent bullied Vidic, once upon a time.
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The action needs to be repeated in the same manner to me proven. He was in the PFA team of the year one season and our players of the season another season. In between those two seasons he was injured. You know this.
 
I'm really enjoying having opinions on every pick. I vote for a current Prem draft next.
 
NM said:
I'm skeptical of the Dortmund picks tbh. Same (a little bit with the Atletico ones). All of their players have excelled under Klopp but struggled under any other system. Even Gotze hasn't hit the heights he was expected to (yet).
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NM said:
Can't speak to his Polish exploits, but I thought he hadn't been very good in Munich. Nothing against they guy - one of the top strikers today, but it would worry me if you have a side not based on fast transitions.
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That's not exactly the case though. The narrative that he's 'struggling' has been grossly overplayed to say the least, with many jumping on the bandwagon without really having seen too much of Bayern.

He has a record of 10 goals and 3 assists in 20 Bundesliga apps and 13 goals and 5 assists in 27 appearances overall. Plus his overall play has been generally good. Not exactly someone who is struggling is it? Granted, he has had a few iffy games but by the way some are going, you'd think that he's having a Torres-esque or Shevchenko-esque season at Bayern.

Balu said:
Neither Götze nor Lewandowski are struggling. I'm not entirely sure what kind of performances people expect from us. Our attack is incredibly well balanced and the goals are shared almost equally between a number of players (Lewandowski, Götze, Müller and Robben). There's no way Lewandowski can stand out in our team the way Aguero does at City for example, that's the nature of our tactics and the quality we have in attack. The same is true for Götze, who excelled at Dortmund when the game completely ran through him. That just won't happen when Robben and Ribery are carrying the ball forward down the wings
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A terrific post by Caf's resident German expert earlier this season.

People forget that he's just made a huge transition from one extreme tactical set up to another - from Klopp's insane pressing, incisive, direct and high tempo counterattacking game to Pep's more methodical, 'carving' and possession based game. As such it is only natural that he's taking time to adapt, where he inevitably has some iffy games.

Besides like Balu aptly stated, Lewandowski was Dortmund's talisman (after Reus) whereby most routes to goal were through him and he was the alpha dog. That obviously won't be the case at Bayern with an all star attack where Lewandowski would inevitably be required to play a supporting role at times. That's were his versatility and all round game comes into play. His link up and hold up play has been generally excellent this season for Bayern.

Lewandowski is probably Pep's ideal striker - good link up play, industrious, physical, pacey, aerial threat, brilliant technique topped off with a genuine goalscoring threat. Possibly the most complete striker of this generation and someone who doesn't exactly need a specific system to cater to his needs.

Also take Bayern's ever fluctuating team (injuries) into consideration and you'd understand that he isn't exactly struggling but just bedding in and even then he's been fairly good.

Snow said:
I rate Lewandowski highly but that thread on him ruined it for me. Couldn't take a chance on him. For what it's worth I think most of the comments in that thread are rubbish.
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https://www.redcafe.net/threads/robert-lewandowski-bayern-munich.393987/page-1

Just look at this thread a few months ago with just about everyone raving about him, calling him the most complete and best striker in the world and a player they'd give an arm for. It just takes 6 months of supposed 'poor' form and the said player becomes undesirable. It's incredible how fickle football fans can be at times.

A slight whiff of 'poor' form and the strikers being shite under Pep and the post Dortmund struggle narratives would be unnecessarily and sensationally played out without enough justification to warrant it.
 
Snow said:
@kouroux can answer that.
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He's been very underwhelming, the proper defintion of an inconsistent player. His days are numbered not only because he hasn't been playing well for them but he came back late from their winter break without the club's permission. He was seen with some friends enjoying himself in some beaches, he also said that when he'll retire he'll cut himself completely from football, that there are other things he enjoys in life.
I mean he has sent many wrong signals to his fans and really he isn't appreciated like the likes of Pastore or Lucas as they're both seen as players who give their best even if they also have consistency issues at times.
He's half the player he used to be in Italy because the system (him playing as a winger basically) doesn't suit him at all, he used to enjoy linking up with Cavani because he was also closer to the goal. At PSG he has much more defensive responsibilities and there is also Ibrahimovic, a player who likes to run things.
 
My first pick is Neven Subotic. Need a minute for the second one. Has crappy left his pick with anybody?
 
Sorry. I'm in a meeting.. I'll pick as soon as I'm out
 
  1. Pat_Mustard: 1. Xavi 2. Villa 3. Dani Alves 4. Barzagli 5. Verratti 6. Laporte 7. Tevez
  2. Raees: 1. Ronaldinho 2. Hummels 3. Chiellini 4. De Jong 5. Gundogan 6. Isco 7. Carvajal
  3. Physiocrat: 1. Robben 2. Fabregas 3. J. Boateng 4. Wilshere 5. Alba 6. Nani 7. Rafael
  4. MJJ: 1. Kaká 2. Torres 3. Essien 4. Matic 5. Pique 6. Neuer 7. Baines
  5. Stobzilla: 1. Lahm 2. Alaba 3. Vidal 4. Rooney 5. Turan 6. Özil 7. Griezmann
  6. The Red Viper: 1. Iniesta 2. Terry 3. Neymar 4. Van Persie 5. Hargreaves 6. Marcelo 7. Cahill
  7. Isotope: 1. Suárez 2. Eto'o 3. Mascherano 4. Pepe 5. Koke 6. Chivu 7. Marchisio
  8. Theon: 1. Schweinsteiger 2. Ibrahimovic 3. Sánchez 4. Sneijder 5. De Gea 6. Koscielny 7. Khedira
  9. BorisDeLedFora: 1. Vidic 2. Kompany 3. De Rossi 4. Cavani 5. Rakitic 6. Hamsik 7. Arbeloa
  10. Snow: 1. Hazard 2. Modric 3. Busquets 4. Azpilicueta 5. Adriano 6. Thiago 7.Srna
  11. VivaJanuzaj: 1. Thiago Silva 2. Yaya Touré 3. Ivanovic 4. Pogba 5. Gotze 6. Alex Song 7. Clichy
  12. NoPace: 1. Kroos 2. Reus 3. Ramos 4. Di María 5. Ledley King 6. Falcao 7. Casillas
  13. Barney: 1. Gerrard 2. Alonso 3. Martínez 4. Benatia 5. Zabaleta 6. Ricardo Rodriguez 7.Valencia
  14. Skizzo: 1. Müller 2. Evra 3. Godín 4. D. Silva 5. Miranda 6. Sterling 7. Lewandowski
  15. crappycraperson: 1. Ribery 2. Agüero 3. Varane 4. Carrick 5. Vertonghen 6. Cech 7. Lavezzi
  16. NM: 1. Bale 2. Cole 3. Maicon 4. Cambiasso 5. James Rodriguez 6. Courtois 7. Subotic 8. Dante
 
With Cambiasso shielding it I think it's quite good. Not sure how complimentary the CB duo are, but its decent enough quality wise to pass the initial test surely. Depends on the attackers really. Very good support on the wings from Cole & Maicon, that's for sure.
 
NM said:
Cole - Dante - Subotic - Maicon.
Thoughts?
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I was surprised Dante went so late. His peak was pretty damn good for Bayern. I think your left side is quite solid. Right side has good power and pace but might struggle with clever movement.
 
Pat_Mustard said:
Excellent full backs. I'm less convinced by the centre backs, particularly given Subotic's form this season, but then there's hardly alot of stand out names in the player pool. A decent unit overall is my first impression.
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Skizzo said:
If you didn't have Cambiasso in front, I may have been a bit more critical of it. Mainly the pairing centrally. The full backs are excellent, arguably the best full backs in the draft.
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Cutch said:
Not blown away by the centrehalfs but it looks a fairly balanced and functional unit.
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I'm counting on the full backs, cambiasso, the "peak form" of Subotic and @Balu for Dante
 
Thumbs up for being picked...

Blaise-matuidi.jpg


Blaise Matuidi

@Barney
 
  1. Pat_Mustard: 1. Xavi 2. Villa 3. Dani Alves 4. Barzagli 5. Verratti 6. Laporte 7. Tevez
  2. Raees: 1. Ronaldinho 2. Hummels 3. Chiellini 4. De Jong 5. Gundogan 6. Isco 7. Carvajal
  3. Physiocrat: 1. Robben 2. Fabregas 3. J. Boateng 4. Wilshere 5. Alba 6. Nani 7. Rafael
  4. MJJ: 1. Kaká 2. Torres 3. Essien 4. Matic 5. Pique 6. Neuer 7. Baines
  5. Stobzilla: 1. Lahm 2. Alaba 3. Vidal 4. Rooney 5. Turan 6. Özil 7. Griezmann
  6. The Red Viper: 1. Iniesta 2. Terry 3. Neymar 4. Van Persie 5. Hargreaves 6. Marcelo 7. Cahill
  7. Isotope: 1. Suárez 2. Eto'o 3. Mascherano 4. Pepe 5. Koke 6. Chivu 7. Marchisio
  8. Theon: 1. Schweinsteiger 2. Ibrahimovic 3. Sánchez 4. Sneijder 5. De Gea 6. Koscielny 7. Khedira
  9. BorisDeLedFora: 1. Vidic 2. Kompany 3. De Rossi 4. Cavani 5. Rakitic 6. Hamsik 7. Arbeloa
  10. Snow: 1. Hazard 2. Modric 3. Busquets 4. Azpilicueta 5. Adriano 6. Thiago 7.Srna
  11. VivaJanuzaj: 1. Thiago Silva 2. Yaya Touré 3. Ivanovic 4. Pogba 5. Gotze 6. Alex Song 7. Clichy
  12. NoPace: 1. Kroos 2. Reus 3. Ramos 4. Di María 5. Ledley King 6. Falcao 7. Casillas
  13. Barney: 1. Gerrard 2. Alonso 3. Martínez 4. Benatia 5. Zabaleta 6. Ricardo Rodriguez 7.Valencia
  14. Skizzo: 1. Müller 2. Evra 3. Godín 4. D. Silva 5. Miranda 6. Sterling 7. Lewandowski 8. Matuidi
  15. crappycraperson: 1. Ribery 2. Agüero 3. Varane 4. Carrick 5. Vertonghen 6. Cech 7. Lavezzi 8. Coentrao
  16. NM: 1. Bale 2. Cole 3. Maicon 4. Cambiasso 5. James Rodriguez 6. Courtois 7. Subotic 8. Dante
 
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