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ExiledDevonRed

Listed below are comments made by ExiledDevonRed between Thursday, 15th October 2009 and Tuesday, 10th November 2009.

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Time to tell Fergie to ref off! 12:46pm on 10 Nov 2009 44. At 3:08pm on 09 Nov 2009, celery_schtick wrote:

I'd rather see a panel of ex-refs AND ex-pros sit every week and review contentious decisions and brandish (or rescind) cards post-match.
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As long as it doesn't involve Graham Poll. I intensely resent that any part of my TV license fee is already paid to that egocentric, attention-seeking ex-incompetent "ref".
Valero and Vieri: the future and the past 3:08pm on 27 Oct 2009 54. At 2:09pm on 27 Oct 2009, vcfsantos wrote:
"Apologies for sitting on the fence, but someone has to try and stop the kiddies arguing!
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Ouch! But fair point.
On the other hand, when somone makes a ridiculous comment such as "The physicality of english football is the reason it isn't the best football league in the world and will never be. ", it's only right that we should respond.
On a similar theme, I remember a few years ago when Italian football was supposedly the "best in the world", Channel 4 started showing live games. I looked forward to seeing a game and watched a 3-3 match (don't remember the teams) and it was one of the most boring, insipid games I've ever had the misfortune to sit through (much like the Spanish football that I've seen (IMO obviously!)). Obviously the commentators raved about it though. But for some reason, they didn't think it was worth mentioning the crowd throwing bottles at the opposition players...now if that had been in England....
No, give me the passion, exitement and intensity of English football any day.
Valero and Vieri: the future and the past 12:39pm on 27 Oct 2009 1. At 9:57pm on 26 Oct 2009, galoucura wrote:
The physicality of english football is the reason it isn't the best football league in the world and will never be.
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No, the physicality of english football is the main reason it IS the best football league in the world. On top of all the quality of course.
If you want a non-contact sport, try badminton. (Or Spanish football?)
Bye Bye Pinocchio 9:26pm on 23 Oct 2009 332. At 12:02pm on 23 Oct 2009, RedBlueArmy92 wrote:
I read VIZ... not sure what that says about my politaical views or intelligence? Though it can't be good...
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I read "Viz" as well. And especially for the Daily Mail\Daily Express readers out there, here's a recent "Reader's Tip" from that estemed publication:
"To Daily Express Editors. Why not test your readers' memories by printing inflamatory articles about immigration and then feigning disgust when the BNP get elected"
Brilliant!
Capello's World Cup contenders 9:48pm on 16 Oct 2009 Sigh.... Hargreaves Sigh.....
Still people claiming that Hargreaves was our bet player in the last World Cup. Sigggghhhhhh.
No he wasn't!
Fading memories, rose-tinted glasses.
Look at the BBC's 2006 World Cup pages. Look at the player ratings. Read the reports. He had half a good game, after Rooney was sent off.
He didn't "run the game". He ran, tackled, ran and tackled some more. It was what we needed at the time. But earlier in that game and in the previous games he was anything other than outstanding.
Unfortunately that half a game is all people remember. Short memories!
By all means say that he should be in the squad (if fit).
But don't claim that he was the best player in the last World Cup, because it isn't true!
Robbo's England World Cup squad 12:38pm on 16 Oct 2009 Sigh, Hargreaves, Sigh.
I'm reluctant to start on this as I've spent too long the the same subject on PMs, but...
Hargreaves wasn't our best player in 2006.
He played well against Portugal in the last hour, after Rooney was sent off. In earlier games, he was poor to average.
If you doubt this, look at the ratings & reports on the BBC WC2006 pages.
Unfortunately all some people remember is that last hour.
Rose-tinted glasses
Fading memories
Check the facts....
England cannot replace Rooney 10:04am on 16 Oct 2009 Owen Hargreaves
This is my umpteenth post on here about Hargreaves. "In my opinion" he's a hard-working, above-average domestic player, but an ordinary international. Some people on here have described him as "perfect" and compared him to Roy Keane & Michael Essien! If only we could have Essien available for England. In my opinion, he's not even close to those two. At international level, if you want someone to run and tackle for 90 minutes, e.g. if you're a man down and getting overrun then he can do a job. He'll give away too many free-kicks and get booked too often. That's "my opinion". If you differ in your opinion, fine. If we didn't have different opinions, these boards would be very quiet.
What I object to is re-writing of history, as we've seen by several on here, including Phil McNulty (hang your head in shame). The particular example that I'm referring to (Note 1 below) is that Owen Hargreaves was "outstanding" in the last World Cup and that he was our best player.
No he wasn't!
He had a good last hour against Portugal (when we were a man down), but prior to that, he was poor (in a poor side).
At the risk of being an anorak, below are the links to player ratings (by the likes of us) for the 2006 World Cup games. The second game against Trinidad & Tobago isn't included as he wasn't even selected for the starting 11. Now these are obviously just a summary of peoples opinions, but i would guess a lot of opinions, so it's probably as good a guide as we're going to get:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5058688.stm (Paraguay)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5059162.stm (Sweden)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5103522.stm (Equador)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5122518.stm (Portugal)
Hargreaves' ratings and rankings (by England player) are summarised below:
Opponent Rating Ranking
Paraguay 4.57 13/13
Trinidad & Tobago Not selected
Sweden 6.92 3/14
Equador 6.68 6/14
Portugal 8.72 1/14
So you'll see that according to the ratings, prior to the Portugal game, we was the 13th best, 3rd best & 6th best England player - hardly outstanding!
Then came the Portugal game, where for the first hour, he did OK. Then when Rooney got sent off, he ran and tackled himself into the ground. Yes, for that last hour he was excellent. That was his type of game and he shone.
But look at the tornament as a whole. He wasn't selected for one game and his average ranking was 23rd over 4 games, i.e. around 6th. Over the 4 games, he was our 6th best player! Outstanding? Hardly!
Unfortunately, because he played well in the last hour of the last game, that's all that some people remember and so claim that he had an outstanding tournament.
He didn't.
Stop rewriting history. If you think he should be in the squad then say so and justify it. But be honest about it.
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1. There are other examples, e.g. that Paul "Flapper" Robinson's downfall started with "that" goal against Croatia - his decline set in long before that. Unfortunately, the media likes "key moments" and this fits the bill. So that's the story that is peddled when most have people have forgotten the truth
Capello's World Cup contenders 8:34pm on 15 Oct 2009 362. At 5:58pm on 15 Oct 2009, ScruffyPrawn wrote:
the last thing Hargreaves is ... is ordinary!
........ but his box to box engine is a rarity and possibly not seen at the highest level since Keane in his pomp
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If you want someone to run box to box, pick a marathon runner. If you want to win the World up, pick a footballer. And at international level, Hargreaves is a very ordinary footballer. And certainly no Roy Keane.
Yes, Hargreaves works exteremely hard and covers a lot of ground. Which is why he "shone" in the last World Cup game against Portugal after Rooney was sent off. It was his kind of situation. But prior to that, in the same game and the previous 4, he was at best "ordinary". If you just want cover for that kind of situation, he may be worth a squad place. But he's not up to starting a game.
Unfortunately, because he played well in the last hour of the last England game, some think that he played well in the rest of the tournament. He didn't. I think "ordinary" sums his performances up very well.
Capello's World Cup contenders 5:20pm on 15 Oct 2009 345. At 4:43pm on 15 Oct 2009, rooney_rooney_then+rooney wrote:
Once again the other Owen, Hangreaves, well, he is Perfect, and we all hope he will be fit enough, because he could be the difference!
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I'm tired of going on about how over-rated Hargreaves is, but I must respond to....
"and we ALL hope he will be fit enough"
No that is wrong, just plain wrong!
SOME people hope that, but many don't. I certainly don't. To me, Hargreaves is very ordinary.
Don't include us all as sharing your opinion.
Capello's World Cup contenders 4:33pm on 15 Oct 2009 277. At 2:12pm on 15 Oct 2009, WordsofWisdom wrote:
@ 253. At 1:35pm on 15 Oct 2009, boblinc wrote:
"Why does Bent not get a look in and why all this talk about Hargreaves.
So much hype about him when he played in Germany but has never been more than ordinary in an England shirt."

Sorry, but wasn't he England's player of the tournament in 2006?
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No, he wasn't.
As I said in an earlier post, he had a good last hour against Portugal when we were a man down, but in the games prior to that, he was poor, as he has been for most of his England career. 1 good hour doesn't make him player of the tournament. Unfortunately, that last hour is all that some people remember.
Yes, he works hard and he is versatile(in that he plays several roles at a mediocre level), but that isn't enough. You could argue that we should take him to cover for injuries for other players...sorry, did I say injuries? Owen Hargeaves?

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