Unpopular Opinions (Association Football version)

[Thistle]

7 goals, 5 assists in 72 premier league appearances for Cleverley. 3 goals and 3 assists in the last 3 seasons (including this one). Did well in div 2 which helps his stats out a fair bit.

Fair enough, I remember he did well at Watford which may have inflated my opinion of him. Currently I think Cleverley's all round game is better but that's not saying I won't change my mind in a couple of seasons.

 

[pieman123]

Cleverley is average, nowhere near Wilshere

 

[moomba]

Foreign owners are not actually bad for football, bad owners are bad for football.

 

[moomba]

Winning the league cup or Europa league is a bigger and better achievement than finishing 4th.

 

[moomba]

Winning the league is a bigger and better achievement than winning the champions league.

 

[Jatz]

Winning the league cup or Europa league is a bigger and better achievement than finishing 4th.

Surely that's not unpopular?

 

[moomba]

Surely that's not unpopular?

4th in the league I meant. I'd be very much in the minority on here on that one.

 

[Jatz]

4th in the league I meant. I'd be very much in the minority on here on that one.

I knew what you meant.

Unless you're Wenger - winning trophies > finishing 4th

 

[CotchNCo]

Somebody should go back and watch a fully fit Jack Wilshere's 10/11 season. You might be a little surprised.

 

[moomba]

I knew what you meant.

Unless you're Wenger - winning trophies > finishing 4th

But you and I are logical, intelligent, common sense type of people, surprising you're not a (sky) blue really. Most on here have their priorities wrong on this issue.

 

[Forward Press]

But you and I are logical, intelligent, common sense type of people, surprising you're not a (sky) blue really. Most on here have their priorities wrong on this issue.

I hold the same opinion as you, but I wouldn't call the other side 'wrong'. If all other things are equal, I'd prefer a cup win over 4th place, but the Champions League nets you a ridiculous amount of money (mostly in the form of prizemoney and TV deals), far more than even an FA Cup win. I understand why some sides celebrate 4th, even if it looks patently absurd to many observers.

 

[CotchNCo]

Any chance Arsenal have just been not good enough in the seasons we finish 4th?

Wenger doesnt start a season thinking "lets just get forth, that's good enough." Anyway missing the CL is a huge deal. Liverpool struggle one year miss out on that revenue and they haven't been back since.

 

[moomba]

I can understand why people see 4th spot as the be all and end all, but will never understand why people are prepared to sacrifice silverware to get it.

 

[SM]

Newcastle and Soton should focus on the FA Cup since neither is in any danger of relegation, nor of making top 4.

 

[CotchNCo]

I can understand why people see 4th spot as the be all and end all, but will never understand why people are prepared to sacrifice silverware to get it.

Man City are in the fortunate position where falling to achieve CL football will not hugely affect their bank balance.

On the bolded part, i for the most part agree with that but the League Cup means nothing to me and i would definitely want 4th over that.

 

[Gus Poyet]

The EPL has destroyed English football.

 

[moomba]

Man City are in the fortunate position where falling to achieve CL football will not hugely affect their bank balance.

I've been supporting the club long before we had money.

 

[CotchNCo]

I've been supporting the club long before we had money.

Was this back when top 4 was a dream and the hypothetical of top 4 or trophy was irrelevant because you would achieve neither?

 

[Magma]

foreign players are not the reason for a smaller english talent pool.

 

[moomba]

Was this back when top 4 was a dream and the hypothetical of top 4 or trophy was irrelevant because you would achieve neither?

My dream used to be to see us play in a cup final. Didnt expect we'd ever come close to winning the league so just wanted us to finish as high as possible.

But for me reaching a cup final would have been as good as its gets. My lowest point supporting the club (including 4 or 5 relegations) is still getting knocked out of the Fa cup in the quarters by West Ham 6 or 7 years ago.

 

[moomba]

Diving isnt just something that foreigners do (unpopular with the press rather than the real world).

 

[BlueBen]

"Assists" is by far the most overrated stat in football and it is absurd that people rely on it so religiously in trying to prove or disprove a player's worth.

I can play a five-yard sideways pass to a teammate who blasts it in from 35 yards, and I would get the assist, even though my contribution to the goal was, realistically, very minimal.

On the other hand, I can play a defence-splitting ball to a teammate, who then squares to another teammate for a simple tap in. I don't get an assist, even though my contribution was such that without it, the goal would not have been scored.

It also doesn't account for the fact that other players will make mistakes that have nothing to do with the would-be assist provider - I might put in a fantastic cross that is out of the reach of any defender but is headed against the bar by the striker with the goal at his mercy. I don't get an assist, even though I would have if the striker had done what he should and normally would have done.

 

[Tomnat Tigers]

Fernandinho is having a much better season than Yaya Toure.

 

[ossie_21]

"Assists" is by far the most overrated stat in football and it is absurd that people rely on it so religiously in trying to prove or disprove a player's worth.

I can play a five-yard sideways pass to a teammate who blasts it in from 35 yards, and I would get the assist, even though my contribution to the goal was, realistically, very minimal.

On the other hand, I can play a defence-splitting ball to a teammate, who then squares to another teammate for a simple tap in. I don't get an assist, even though my contribution was such that without it, the goal would not have been scored.

It also doesn't account for the fact that other players will make mistakes that have nothing to do with the would-be assist provider - I might put in a fantastic cross that is out of the reach of any defender but is headed against the bar by the striker with the goal at his mercy. I don't get an assist, even though I would have if the striker had done what he should and normally would have done.

Not unpopular, totally agree. Just like the goal scored by Ramirez against us..I could not tell you the name of the player who passed him the ball before he hit it from the same distance you mentioned. But while its over-rated it still can't be discounted, especially as it can show a player who is consistently in the right, dangerous positions

 

[Spitter9]

I think James Milner is underrated.. some people may agree but i often seen him categorised as very poor player