Torres, Drogba or Rooney - who's the best?
I've set myself this challenge with a certain amount of trepidation. This self-appointed task is to choose between the three strikers who I feel are the Premier League's best.
It's really a pub debate with myself, and a bit of fun for whoever might feel moved to chip in and tell me where I'm wrong.
The three I am thinking of are Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres.
I've started a row with myself already. What about the skills of Adebayor? Why not the searing pace of Agbonlahor or the intelligence of Van Persie? What of Tottenham's trio of Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch?
Then there is Louis Saha and Darren Bent, who have both had such fine starts to the season. And I haven't even mentioned Eduardo, Tevez, Robinho, Berbatov or Carlton Cole.
We have got such an array of fabulous talent in front of goal in the Premier League, but, for me, Rooney, Drogba and Torres are a cut above.
Now, how to choose? In true tabloid style, I am going to select five categories and award marks out of 10.
To decide on categories, I have consulted with Mark Bright. Here's what we came up with.
FINISHING
Torres - most at home inside the penalty area where he accelerates and glides past defenders with fantastic poise. He has the ability to find his spot with either foot and is great in the air, too. 9/10
Drogba - maybe less of a penalty box predator than Torres, but he can unleash immense power from outside the box. Comfortable on either foot, tremendous in the air and, of course, uses his strength to terrorise defenders. 9/10
Rooney - his goal-attempts are almost always on target as he performs the simple and sublime in front of goal. He may not be quite as effective as Torres or Drogba in the air but is a danger to goalkeepers from almost anywhere. 9/10
Fernando Torres - deadly with either foot and great in the air
TEAM CONTRIBUTION
Torres - Liverpool's system allows him to rely on others to do much of the hard work outside the box. But you couldn't call him a shirker. 7/10
Drogba - is often Chelsea's best defender of set-pieces, with his power and ability in the air, and since Luiz Felipe Scolari left his attitude has been spot on. 8/10
Rooney - he is a fantastic creator of goals for others as well as scorer of goals for himself. He was often used as a left-sided attacker last season, when Ronaldo played as the centre forward. His willingness to track back is legendary. But his tackling sometimes leaves room for improvement. 9/10
Dider Drogba - an asset in defence as well as attack
PACE
Torres - blistering acceleration with balance makes marking him as hard as catching a fish by hand. 9/10
Drogba - he's quick enough when it matters, though it's his strength which makes him so fearsome. 8/10
Rooney - probably lacks the acceleration of Torres, but his ability to be in the right place at the right time is uncanny. 8/10
Wayne Rooney - not as pacy as Torres but pops in the right place at the right time
DISCIPLINE
Torres - gets frustrated with team-mates on occasion but rarely gets angry with opponents or referees. He seems to be the model pro when it comes to keeping cool. 9/10
Drogba - his red card in the Champions League final against Manchester United and antics after the Barcelona semi show that Drogba will on occasion lose his head. 7/10
Rooney - he does seem to have worked on his tendency to lose his temper, but it's something which has been played on by opponents in big matches. 7/10
STAYING FIT
Torres - it's a nagging worry for Liverpool fans who saw Torres miss so much of last season with hamstring injuries, mostly sustained whilst playing for Spain. 7/10
Drogba - not quite so indestructible as his physique would suggest, but then he is six years older than Torres and seven older than Rooney. As a result, he has been getting kicked for longer. 8/10
Rooney - he is harder to stop that the Terminator. He just keeps on playing week in, week out, never losing his edge or consistency. 9/10
So the totals - and as I write this I haven't a clue what they will be...
Torres --- 41/50
Drogba --- 40/50
Rooney --- 42/50
Interesting, and now I am off to argue with myself!
I’m Steve Wilson, one of the Match of the Day commentators. This season, I’ll be travelling round the country commentating on the Premier League and the Football League, as well as reporting for Football Focus. It’s shaping up to be an exciting season, culminating in the World Cup. On my blog, I’ll be sharing opinions and anecdotes and I look forward to reading your comments.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~38~RS~)
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Three very different players that give each of their teams something different.
Out of the three Torres and Drogba are most similar as they are all about goals in the main. If Torres doesnt score he doesnt contribute much else IMHO.
Whereas Rooney, as hes proved over the last 2 seasons gives you so much more than goals. He can walk off the pitch without scoring and still be man of the match by a distance.
I wouldnt swap Rooney for either of the other 2 but id take either of the other 2 in a heartbeat to play just off Wazza. For me as far as out and out strikers go Torres is the best in the world, fractionally in front of Villa and Benzema and he'll only get better.
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I stopped reading when you gave Drogba 9 out of 10 for finishing!!!!!!!!!
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Rooney and metatarsal injuries. Fair enough not so much now but hardly the terminator.
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Fair outcome there, but surely there's more to the modern striker's game nowadays? How about some extra categories such as diving or simulation, I'm sure Drogba and Torres could pick up some extra points there?
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Rooney's the best "at football". He's the pictureboy for Team Player. When strikers say, "Yeah, you know, it's more important that the team win than that I score...", he's the only one who really means it.
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torres 10 finishing
rooney 8
drogba 7
As a united fan i think torres is 3rd/4th best in the world, rooney 1 or 2 places behind. i do think when ronaldo plays up front he is the best by far though. 10/10 in every section
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first comment...maybe?
I am a Liverpool fan, so I would naturally say Torres. But I think to be fair that they are actually slightly different players. Torres is a goal machine...and scores in the big games when it matters (Euro 2008 final, v Man Utd in the 4-1 win etc). He has missed too many games for Liverpools good, but he will always score goals when he plays.
Rooney is a class player, no doubt. Not a goal machine, but he scores often and his work rate and commitment are second to none. Has yet to deliver on the big stage like in the Euros or World Cup etc, but his time could be coming next year in South Africa.
Drogba is so strong, as you rightly say, and is surrounded by a squad that is arguably the best in England, whereas Rooney and Torres quite often have to carry their teams (yes I admit it, yet LFC can score without him, but he is greatly missed when not there. Man Utd would probably miss Rooney even more...not just for his goals but his work rate). Drogba not being there at Chelsea is not so important, I feel, as Anelka is also while not in the class of Drogba, still a very good striker.
So it is hard to compare them, but I would say that Torres is the best goalscorer, Rooney the most hard working striker, and Drogba the best spearhead to a team. All this is just my opinion of course :)
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Ok not first comment, just number 7...That was King Kenny`s shirt number, so that`s good enough for me :)
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Out of the three, I think Rooney is probably the least fragile, the most creative and the hardest worker. I believe Drogba has the strength and athleticism that makes him lethal. I think Torres is becoming more confident on the ball and is probably the most direct striker in his actions.
However I am wondering on what basis these three have been chosen? Why did van Persie not get a mention? Although he is yet to be as productive as these three, he is by far the more complete, influential (n.b. assists) and natural striker in the premier league at the moment. Not even mentioned...
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Come on now. I follow Man utd in the Premier league but you're ratings are at times unrealistic.
Finishing
torres: 9/10
Drogba: 8/10
Rooney: 7/10 - needs to score more
team Contribution:
Torres: 6/10 - goes missing
Drogba: 8/10 - you usually know he is there
Rooney: 10/10 - our Gerrard.
pace
torres: 9/10
Drogba: 8/10
rooney: 8/10
Discipline
Torres: 9/10
Drogba: 7/10
Rooney:7/10
Staying Fit
torres: 5/10
Drogba: 6/10
Rooney: 8/10
totals:
Torres: 38
Drogba: 37
Rooney: 40
Those categories aren't enough to sum them up though. I would add:
Creativity:
Torres: 6/10
Drogba: 7/10
Rooney: 8/10
Natural skill/ability:
Torres: 9/10
Drogba: 7/10
Rooney 8/10
Power:
Torres: 8/10
Drogba: 10/10
Rooney: 9/10
Final scores:
Torres: 61
Drogba: 61
rooney: 65
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All roads lead to Rooney.
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I don't care what the scores add up to, Torres is the best striker out of the three.
In the premier league, he has scored an incredible 46 goals in 64 games. Compare this to Drogba's and Rooney:
Drogba: 61 goals in 141 games.
Rooney: 71 goals in 164 games.
The scores for each section are merely public opinion. What I have here are pure solid facts. There is no arguing with facts.
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Strikers are judged on goals, and rightly so. Torres strike record blows Drogba and Rooney out of the water. It isn't even close.
Does this make Torres the best player? Not necessarily
Does it make him the best striker? Yes
All three are fantastic players and are invaluable to their respective teams.
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ketamine how can u rate torres a 6 for creativity. did u not see the first goal against hull?? the way he created space when there was none was unreal, neither drogba nor rooney couldve flicked the ball the way he did and created that chance.
thats not to say they wouldnt have scored in the same situation, maybe they would have placed the ball perfectly in the corner or just smashed it past the keeper, maybe they wouldnt have scored at all, either way neither wouldve been creative enuff to do what torres did. 10/10
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" The 606 Member Formerly Known as 'The Zog' wrote:
I don't care what the scores add up to, Torres is the best striker out of the three"
"The scores for each section are merely public opinion. What I have here are pure solid facts. There is no arguing with facts. "
You state by your first sentance who you think is the best, you then produce the facts to fit your opinion, hardly fairminded is it? And by the way, you don have facts, you have statistics, dammed lies and statistics in fact.
For example, you pick the PL, but what about cups? What about internationals, and what about europe? Why did you not pick career stats? Simple anwser, because Torres has been in the PL the shortest time and was the most developed when he started playing, you are therefore ignoring all his "learning" matches as a youngster and as he matured, but you are counting Rooneys, again hardly a fair comparison!
And as any Fairminded person will attest Torres is Liverpools Focal striker, for years Rooney haven't been, he was asked to muscle defenders, and set up ronaldo, so he did, Torres is far more selfish, so why not count assists?
The only Fact is that most people will make up the stats to support their argument, and not find the stats, then accept the results, credit to Steve for doing that!
In my personal opinion they are all different players, and suite different styles of play, Drogba suites Chelsea's "attritional" style of play, Torres suites liverpools focus on individual skill and brilliance, Rooney is the very essence of what Utd fans want in their teams, and that is hard-working team players, the fans of all 3 teams are happy with who they have, why not leave it at that?
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I would like to see the goal scored to attempts on goal ratios for these guys, then we'll talk about finishing. I've seen Rooney drag it wide when clear through too many times to rate him as a finisher, although he does score some absolute gems. Torres gets my vote, every time he gets some space with the ball you expect him to score, the only way teams stop him is to not give him any time or space on the ball. On the other hand Rooney and Drogba can make their own space by shrugging off defenders, Drogba especially.
I'm not surprised that none of Arsenals stikers are mentioned, they don't have a top drawer striker in my opinion. Every season is going to be the one Van Persie steps up, but he is not a 20+ goals striker.
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I'd go for,
1. Rooney.
2. Drogba.
3. Torres.
Rooney has the capability to score the goals of Torres but is also the creative force in the United team whereas Gerrard and Lampard are on hand for Torres and Drogba respectively. It's only early days but Rooney has really stepped-up to fill the hole left by Ronaldo. He may not have the mecurial skills of Ronaldo but his awareness of his team mates is far superior. He is also a good passer of the ball and can finish from nearly anywhere in and around the box. Lobs, curlers, volleys, power, he's got it all in terms of shooting technique. Playing through the centre, he is an exceptional player initiating quick counter attacks and providing the finishing touch. He is undoubtedly one of the best, most versatile attacking players in the world.
With Drogba and Torres, they are not as creative as Rooney. Drogba trumps Torres in this respect as his strength allows him to beat players (when he's not diving) and his head doesn't go down as often as Torres. As much as it pains me to say, Drogba could well be one of the finest exponents of centre forward play in the world as he can hold up the ball, go past players, is excellent in the air and with the ball at his feet.
Torres' greatest weapon is his exceptional movement. Contrary to most, I don't believe Torres is about raw pace. It is his incredible movement and ability to create gaps in defence which gives the impression of blistering pace. However he is injury prone and there is always the question as to whether or not he will flourish without Gerrard behind him. With Xabi Alonso gone, Liverpool don't have a guy to fly in long accurate balls limiting his service from non-Gerrard areas. This is made worse by Benitez's tinkering for example Benayoun is superb but Rafa doesn't always play him (yet he persists with Lucas. Odd.).
Torres can go missing too. Obviously this is a problem with all players but if he does have an off day it is obvious in the Liverpool team as they rely on him so heavily and the focus is always on him. If Drogba doesn't perform there is always a chance he will score as he has so many great players to back him up and make him look better. This makes it more difficult to choose between Drogba and Torres as whilst Torres is an amazing player, if he does not have the people behind him he can't get into the match.
Additionally, Liverpool can be comical at the back which increases the reliance on Torres even more. There are only so many times that Torres can bail out Liverpool (see the West Ham Match). If he'd had an off day then, Liverpool could have said goodbye to their title challenge.
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Out of the 3 strikers torres is the best in the world,if they were in the same team rooney would be a 2nd choice striker,and Drogba a 3rd choice striker
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i think the best striker has to be fernando torres, i know drogba is a pretty special striker and creates the space, but torres can work with nothing he creates space fron nothing just like he did against west ham, he gets back hes the all round striker so my answer is fernando torres :)
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I say Fernando Torres is the best striker in the world right now bar none & I'm a GOONER,
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Why am I not surprised at your result? The caption should have been 'Fergie said it, now I can prove it, Rooney is the best'.
If not for the fear of complete ridicule, some would have already started campaigning for Rooney as FIFA player of the year; but wait Ronaldo is still banging in goals for fun; Messi and Kaka are still as captivating as ever, so lets limit it to the premiership.
In the 18-yard box, when space is tight, Drogba is go to guy. When it comes to taking on a defender one-on-one and showing them the grass Torres is unparalled. Rooney is a box of energy, the beloved box to box type English workhorse who knows where the goal is...
Can Rooney dribble? NO! Can he lead the line? NO! Can he take a game by the scruff of the neck and turn it around? NO! Who has done all of this either at Club level or for their national team amongst the three - Torres. He is the best. So spare us the propanganda...
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All excellent players obviously but lets be honest , if we polled the top 100 non-English football managers/coaches/journalists , Rooney would barely get a vote as the best of the 3.
You need to stop trying so hard lads , Ferguson isn't going to start talking to you.
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Torres could pace them 20 time out of 10
Pace
Torres 10
Rooney6
Drogba7
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As a red I would go for Torres all the way - obviously - If we are defining a striker on who would you want with that last minute clean through chance , then it's Torres all the way for me , no doubt !! If we are talking about someone leading from the front , holding up the ball , hassling defenders , making their afternoons difficult and being a general pain in the a*** to the opposition then Drogba wins hands down - He does my head in !! If we are talking about working for the team , running around the whole game , one end of the pitch to another - where does he get that energy from ???...He can pick a pass from anywhere - energy , vision , passing ......Rooney sounds - and looks , to me - like an attacking midfielder , central , just behind the front two , or one , rather than up front .......
Torres' finishing is way above these other two , so the rating comparison on here is too juvenile to even use it , but Torres for finishing , Drogba for leadership and Rooney for Drive...........But I'm happy with Torres , and im sure the fans of the other two are just as happy .
With regards any other premiership players being placed in this debate??.....Not a chance , severely rose tinted if anyone thinks otherwise !!!
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Ha! Yes you better go argue with yourself.
This is a case of Lampard v Gerrard mk2.
Rooney is no doubt a quality player but is not as good as Torres. Rooney will be consistenly good but does not have enough magical games where he single handidly wins games for his clubs.
As they are both a similar age hypothetically if Torres and Rooney were to be sold tomorrow who would bring in the bigger fee? hmmmmm!
I could write article where i could compare Rooney to Dirk Kuyt, both work hard, play wide because of their commitment to track back, chip in with handy goals! Haha!
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Ronaldo is a striker. He has been a striker playing on the wing for so long but he is clearly a central player. I just wish he had stayed at United so we could see one of the finest centre-forwards ever. Unfortunately Pellegrini doesnt have the vision or know-how to convert Ronaldo. He would be the perfect centre-forward, 10/10 in every category. Outside of the Premier League I would say Ronaldo is the best striker, in I would say Torres is the best. Rooney is brilliant but not quite there yet, he cannot play as lone striker. If he was a bit taller I would have to say Rooney however, especially if he was good in the air.
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Torres is the best striker by a land slide, but Rooney is the best player because he's not a proper forward and lacks the goals of Torres
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I've got to take issue with post #4. Tankcolin, fair enough Drogba and Torres may go down easily at times, but your excluding Rooney from this!? Have you not seen him play for England recently? Lets not forget diving is as much as problem for English players as it is for foreigners.
As to the best striker, they are are fantastically good players in different ways. So I would use their behaviour and their image as a role model both on and off the pitch. On that score Torres wins.
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Hmmmm i think there are some slight mistakes in this blog...first of all using temperament as a indicator would heavily shift the results in Torres' favour because lets face it Rooney and Drogba are both loose cannons, giving them a rating of 7 out of 10 i dont think so taking lets say the top 1000 players in the world i dont think they would fall into the top 300 for discipline Rooney has received numerous red cards and so has Drogba, id say that they would be award a 2 or a 3 at best, i think that power should replace this category but since it has been used these are my results:
Finishing
torres: 10/10
Drogba: 8/10
Rooney: 8/10
team Contribution:
Torres: 7/10
Drogba: 7/10
Rooney: 10/10
pace
torres: 10/10
Drogba: 8/10
rooney: 8/10
Temperament
Torres: 9/10
Drogba: 3/10
Rooney:3/10
Staying Fit
torres: 7/10
Drogba: 8/10
Rooney: 8/10
totals:
Torres: 43
Drogba: 36
Rooney: 36
I am an Arsenal fan btw so i like to think that my bais are minimal...I think that the categories should be revised to show the potential of the play and then the results would be far closer.
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Rooney and Drogba definately should not have 9/10 finishing ability
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A predictable outcome in the English Press's crusade to pass Rooney off as being one of the best players in the world. Rooney is as good a finisher as Torres and Drogba, give me a break.
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Pointless debate but I have nothing better to do so I'll throw in my 2p worth. Torres is the best finisher and best out and out striker and Drogba rates slightly below him. Rooney's not the same kind of player as the other two and he's got the best all round game. If a team needs a striker they should go with Torres. If they need someone to chase the ball all over the park then Rooney's the man. Different kind of players for different team play. It's like comparing Apples and Oranges. Who would Gerrard rather have in front of him? Goes without saying it's Torres.
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I have to agree with MacTowas. While there can be no denying Rooney is a great player I think that there's a severe over-use of hyperbole by the media simply because he is an England international who just happens to be good.
My opinion of the three:
Torres 9/10
Drogba 8/10
Rooney 8/10
Drogba gets marked down for discipline, Rooney for not putting away a lot of chances he really should've. Torres is pure class (his display against Hull last week, especially his first goal, was fantastic) and would have gotten 10/10 but for injuries.
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I would agree and say overall that Rooney is the better striker. What you havn't accounted for is creativity. Rooney isn't just about goals, he is a fantastic link man for the whole team and most of Man Utds best moves come through him at some point. His range of short and long passing is exemplary. He also has fantastic vision either for a pass or for goal. He will try anything to get a goal but can be unselfish aswell. He never hides during a game and is constantly involved. He also covers a huge amount of ground during a game and is physically very strong.
I would also say his temperment is much improved over the last 12 months, probably Fergie's influence. Having said all that about Rooney I do rate Torres. He has strength, speed, good close control and a fantastic eye for goal. What is interesting about both Torres and Rooney is that they are both still young and have room for improvement.
Drogba is a great player and on his day can be almost unplayable due to the combination of sheer strength and speed. My only concern with him is that his shooting sometimes lets him down. By this I mean that of the three I would say he has the least "clean" strike of a ball i.e. he sometimes "scuffs" his shots or mishits which Rooney and Torres rarely do. But having said that his scoring record is very good so he must be doing something right.
All in all the numbers do add up to show Rooney as top man. I think he will also prosper further this season without Ronaldo as he is now the top man. His challenge will be to live up to it.
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What a joke. Rooneys or Drogba finishing the same as Torres?
Rooney is stays fit the most?
also, Drogba adds more to a team than Rooney. Defends set piece and is the most crucial point in attack, setting plays AND scoring?
This article is something a WUM would write, and seeing how it opened up, I see that was your aim.
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Best 'Striker' in the world is Torres, no question. If you had to pick out of the three who you would want to stick the ball away it would be him. Drogba often scuffs the ball, missed chances against Barca last season in Champions league were atrocious. Rooney also misses frequently, but then hits a gem like the famous Newcastle goal.
I do however think it is unfair to draw Rooney into this category. Rooney isn't a 'Striker' and neither is Drogba arguably. A Centre Forward would be a fairer assumption. My arguement is this; Torres relies on Steven Gerrard whereas Rooney and Drogba don't. As people have said time and time again Rooney's work rate is outstanding but then that isn't what the question is Strikers are rated on goalscoring ability... so Torres wins... surely???
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Emmnues are you for real?
Rooney cant dribble lead the line or take a game by the scuff of the neck?
Rooney can do all 3 of those and much more he has everything and is a more of an all round player the torres although torres will score more.
You obviously aint ever seen rooney if you think he cant do any of the 3 things above.
In my opinion Drogba aint in the calibure of the other 2 although he is still a quality player
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Listen people, this is one persons opinion, why slate the guy? It is difficult to choose between the three, so obviously people will have different opinions on who is better. I am a Liverpool fan and not only because Torres plays for Liverpool that I think he is a better striker but because it is my opinion.
I too disagree with a lot of the ratings given but the guy is entitled to his opinion.
Finishing
torres: 9/10
Drogba: 8/10
Rooney: 7/10
team Contribution:
Torres: 7/10
Drogba: 9/10 - you usually know he is there
Rooney: 10/10 - our Gerrard.
pace
torres: 9/10
Drogba: 7/10
rooney: 6/10
Discipline
Torres: 8/10(I find it strange that you think Torres doesn't get involved with referees and opposition players, he has been really bad in this respect so far this season. Although we all know the treatment he gets from defenders)
Drogba: 5/10-Terrible discipline
Rooney:6/10-Is a strange one, he can be fine for most of the season then he just turns, you say to yourself oh no he's lost it, he is gonna get sent off soon, usually you're right.
Staying Fit
torres: 7/10-he got injured last season and didn't really recover from it, although I don't see how that is injury problems, it happens to all players.
Drogba: 7/10
Rooney: 8/10
totals:
Torres: 40
Drogba: 36
Rooney: 36
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Correction*
I copied and pasted one guys ratings so I could enter my own with less effort, yes I know, how lazy of me and somehow I left in the Rooney thing about being "our Gerrard". I don't think Rooney is our Gerrard, just to put things straight.
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As a Manchester united fan I d say Fernando Torres is probably the best striker. No doubts about that. But I'd rather have rooney on my team for what he gives to a team like United's which is more than just finishing. Passion most of all, creative play making oppurtunities for others, tracking back when needed - remember how he defended the left wing. To win championships, you need more than just scoring at an impressive strike rate. Rooney gives that to the team and therefore he is my first choice.
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Answer me this, when was the last time Rooney score 20 league goals in a season?
He hasn't, never has, never will. But you've got to have ManU in there, and you've got to fix it so they win. Ronaldo and Tevez have gone so Rooney has to be spun as the new 'best player in the world'
More media ManUtd sycophancy I'm afraid
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If I was 'in the trenches' playing a tough game there is only striker out of the three I would have in the team, and that's Rooney. I know I would be able to rely on him and I know the teaam would be able to rely on him. Tores is quality, no doubt, and Drogba has raw power, but they are both wimps.
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Utd fan here. There is clearly a lot of bias in this discussion, and anyway, it is not a fair comparison.
For example, when Ronaldo was at Utd, he scored more goals than all 3 of these players, yet he wasn't classed as a 'striker' he was primarily a right winger, pushing forward.
Rooney and Drogba ARE classed as strikers, but don't score as often as Torres. See the problem here?
I for one do not judge a 'striker' simply on goal scoring, because then there would be no contest, because lets face it, Torres would win everytime.
It's more than just goal scoring. If you lose a big goal scorer (like Ronaldo) then a good team can accommodate that, and find goals from elsewhere, as Utd have done this season. However if you lose your creative, hard working goal CREATORS (like Rooney) then there will be no service to the goal scorer, and you're stuffed. This is why I class Rooney as the better PLAYER.
So if the question is:
Who is the best goal scorer? TORRES - I would want a chance to fall to him rather than the other 2 players.
Who is the best PLAYER? ROONEY 1st and Drogba 2nd - Contribute more to the TEAM than Torres, who often goes completely missing.
Havn't really mentioned Drogba a lot in this, simply because I don't rate him as highly as Torres and Rooney, hes still a top class player though.
P.S As for those people rating Rooney 3/10 for temperment, hes not Roy Keane :D
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I'm completely neutral - I don't support Man Utd, Liverpool or Chelsea - and as far as I'm concerned, Torres is by far the best of the three.
His strike rate is much the best, and his contributions in big games (for Spain as well as for Liverpool) can be critical.
If Torres suffered fewer injuries - and if he had more support at Liverpool - the comparison wouldn't even be worth making.
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It just amazes me how some people don't check their facts!
@12: " There is no arguing with facts." (Goals scored in the Prem by Torres)
Too right you can't argue with the facts, Drogba has a career goals/game ratio of 1 goal every 2.147 games while Torres is 1 goal every 2.405 games......so based on that Drogba is clearly more prolific!
And @41: "Answer me this, when was the last time Rooney score 20 league goals in a season?"
Never has but might this season, but Torres and Drogba have both achieved that feat JUST ONCE! Hardly a huge difference then is there?
In terms of scoring 20 or more goals in all competitions in a season Rooney has achieved this twice....to Torres and Drogba's 3 times each.....again not much difference.
Add in Rooney's much greater all round contribution to the team and he is a worthy choice. Your entire comment really just reflects your anti Utd bias.
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I think the question you have to ask yourself is: Who of the three would you want in your team?
Not a doubt in my mind..... TORRES
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words of wisdom
Re: Torres,u cracked me up mate...46 goals in 65 (i think) games has to give you a ratio of a goal every 1 point something games; It cant be 1 in 2.4.
Unless of course you have discovered some ancient math solving skills that you need to pass on to the rest of us earthlings.
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Liverpool fan, but come on now, Rooney a better STRIKER than Torres????. Put Rooney on Liverpool and Torres on United and what do you think their goal totals would be? Torres scores goals out of nothing. IMHO Rooney should be a central midfielder. Amazing energy (and pace for such a pudgy man), great vision, great team player. But Torres is by far the better striker.
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I know Steve is a Liverpool fan but he can't have seen much of them this season. Torres (apart from scoring goals - he is a great player) has spent most of his time moaning at linesmen and referees!
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Firstly, how can you compare 2 out and out strikers like Drogba and Torres...with Rooney? You give Rooney extra points for his tracking back qualities... with all due respect with the systems Liverpool and Chelsea play do you really want your lone striker vacating the space, he should be manning all the time?
We've seen Rooney played as the lone striker,(Club and Country) he can't stay put, he hasn't got the discipline... hence played as second striker or attacking midfield...
So why not compare him with similiar players for a start Ronaldo, Messi, Gerrard...
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A pub debate with yourself??? why doesn't that surprise me.
1.Torres
2.Rooney
3.Drogba
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10. At 7:13pm on 01 Oct 2009, ketaminejustsayneigh wrote:
yours is the most balanced and comprehensive scores so far. Totally agree.
However you could add
Set Pieces
Drogba 9/10
Torres 7/10
Rooney 7/10
Rooney however is still more of and '8' than a 'top 9'. He plays best as a support striker behind an arrow head. A Rooney-Torres or Rooney-Drogba combination would be perfect.
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This article is utter rubbish - designed to make the English "striker" look the best out of the 3 and confirms my long standing opinion that Mark Bright doesn't have a clue. I can guarantee if Torres or Drogba were English they'd have finished streets ahead.
I don't really know where to start with what is wrong with the scoring but
Finishing:
All 3 scored 9/10!! Rooney doesn't have the goals per game ratio to match Torres or Drogba and his scoring record is like that of Kuyts in recent seasons yet he is widely reported as rubbish (which by the way is nonsense)
Team contribution: OK these were fair enough. Rooney does contribute alot - in many respects he's man united Dirk Kuyt.
Pace: Rooney only 1 point behind Torres!! please don't make me laugh Torres should be at least 3 points ahead of Rooney - I can imagine that this was doctoring the scores to ensure the English man won.
Discipline: No arguments there - except Drogba should be a fair bit behind the other 2 - OK so he's improved this season but are you forgetting the champions league semi last year - when the heat is on Drogba is a hot head.
Staying fit: I think this category was created just to give Rooney the points he needs to win this contest. But Rooney has had metatarsal problems in the past as well so he is hardly the terminator! This category has really nothing to do with the quality of the striker!!
Also its a bit harsh to completely overlook other quality strikers such as Van Persie who I feel is as good as Rooney (only he's dutch not english - indeed his strike rate is probably similar if not slightly better), Adebayor who's been setting the league alight etc.
To summarise its impossible to say which of the 3 is the best - they are all different players - Rooney doesn't really play in the same way as Torres or Drogba does - if you asked the fans of each team who's the best they would all say their own man! So its pointless devising a scoring system whose only purpose is to ensure the english man wins!
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There's only one Lee Barnard
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Agree with most things you say but, overlooking the fact that he is a bit of a tool Adebayor should be up there too. He would probably finish fourth but those 4 are a big cut above anyone else in the Prem.
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Like a lot of people have already pointed out, they are three totally different players, each playing in a different system. But as a Gooner, the one I would pick would be Torres. His finishing is sublime, and I can only wonder how many he would score with the service he'd get at Arsenal. Saying that, with the way we finish, I'd take any of them.
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@47 masaimtdr
"words of wisdom
Re: Torres,u cracked me up mate...46 goals in 65 (i think) games has to give you a ratio of a goal every 1 point something games; It cant be 1 in 2.4.
Unless of course you have discovered some ancient math solving skills that you need to pass on to the rest of us earthlings."
No....but I can recommend a course in basic reading skills! I said "career goals/game ratio".....not just the last couple of years in the PL. Get it?
Cracked me up that!!
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53 - Finishing has nothing to do with goals/games ratio or goals tally. Finishing is simply what it says...finish..finishing...last touch.... i.e taking a chance when it comes to you.
Goals/games or amount of goals scored is not how you measure finishing ability. Torres scores more, but I guarantee he's had more shots at goal in which to do so. A GOALS/SHOTS comparison between the 3 players would be a more appropriate measure, and getting those stats from a reliable source is tricky. My guessing is those stats would be tight. So I agree with rating all players the same 9/10 for finishing.
And I wish people would stop claiming that the BBC are biased towards english players and Man United. This blog is OPINION, which everyone is entitled to. And might I add that Robbo I think it was, predicted LIVERPOOL to win the Premier League, yet hes another one thats accused of being Man United biased.
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What would Zamora's rating be, just curious. Do you get points for landing the ball in row Z?
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Big surprise, the English striker comes tops.
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Just read a comment from Tankcolin
4. At 6:57pm on 01 Oct 2009, tankcolin wrote:
How about some extra categories such as diving or simulation, I'm sure Drogba and Torres could pick up some extra points there?
And Rooney??
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Torres only scores wonder goals in anfield just lyke henry in highbury. He's d best striker no doubt but is injury prone .When he gets to 27 his injury situation will be worst than dat of owen. Talking abt d hull game last week, wasn't suprised but wat do u expect; a team dat has won twice in their last 25games fielding or handing a 16yr old his debut. Of course Torres will tear him apart. why couldnt he do dat agst fioretina. I'll neva exchange rooney 4 any player in d world unless ur maradona. Get a dvd on rooney, u'll be amazed to see he's scored all types of goals from volley to chips, freekicks, screamers,flicks, headers, tap ins,round off d keeper even penalty kick.
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Just another note on the finishing aspect of this discussion, Last season, Michael Owen had the best goals/shots ratio of all strikers in the Premier League. He had only 28 shots in 28 games but scored with 8 of them, thats 2 goals every 7 shots, thats 29% of his shots end up as goals.
So last season, none of these 3 players were the best finisher. If this was a discussion on finishing ability alone, Michael Owen would surely be up there. Which is why Fergie offered him a contract. Not very good fitness wise, but when a chance falls to him, he takes it.
Oh wait, an English player, I'm being biased now towards english players, doh.
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How can you rate strikers without comparing goals scored??? Rooney in my opinion is no where near Torres as a goalscorer, and as a target man Drogba is streets ahead of the other two. The consistency of Rooney is based I'm assuming on league games this season because in the Champions League he's been quiet, and whilst some of his league performances have been impressive he missed a hatfull of changes for England against Slovenia including at least two open goals. Why didn't you just include Englishness as a criteria just to make sure he won? Best striker in the Premier League this season is either Bent or Defoe. They are scoring more goals than these three in teams that don't create the number of chances that the big four do!
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How about points for making goals out of nothing? Torres wins that hands down and is arguably the most important aspect of a striker's game
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Rooney and Torres in the same team....
Now youre talking :O)
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Of the three, Drogba far more than the others fits the bill as a true centre forward with his athleticism, power, goal instincts and ability to lead the line and work defenders. He's also the best for me in the air, most memorably with a goal he scored a few years back, away from home against bayern munich in the champions league. 18 yards out, moving away from goal and somehow able to arc his body and work the neck muscles to generate a huge amount of power and beat the keeper top corner. truly stunning goal and not a goal torres or rooney would be capable of scoring. For all that said, its rooneys attitude and presence on the pitch that makes him the best footballer of the three. Torres for me is an exceptional player but along with gerrard is overrated to some extent. His best performances tend to, but certanly not always, come against weaker opponents or in matches where liverpool are comfortable in the game.
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i think it would be good to look at their performances in the big games and against thier rivals.
Drogba simply has a habbit of scoring big and important goals.
he always scores against arsenal, scored inlast seasons cup final, normally gives liverpool a horrible time. and barcelona often fail to cope with him.
he generally gives Chelsea the most when he really needs to.
torres for me maybe able to score against hull etc. but often struggles away from hope.
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Comment No. 7 Robokopthe3rd, has Euro 2004 been wiped from the history books?? Did an 18 year old Wayne Rooney not score 4 goals, to finish joint 2nd in the top scorers list? He could have gone on to top the scoring charts if he hadn't broken a metatarsel.
In my opinion, I think the result of this debate is spot on. As an all round attacking footballer I think Rooney shades it. The goal scoring stats would suggest otherwise but his all round contribution can not be surpassed by Torres or Drogba.
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this debate could go on all day............id prefer rooney because im a United fan and he is involved in everything in the majority of matches for United.
I wouldnt mind all three to be honest, drogba to win the balls in the air and hold it up, rooney to get the ball and create everything and torres to score the goals
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I love the point from Rafa's_Magic_hand_signals about rooney getting props for being able to play on the wing?!? Yes its a bonus but shouldn't be bought up when assessing him as a striker!
www.football-journo.com
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the point is that technically Torres is the most complete, but Rooney isn't the same position as the other two. i feel that this season will be Rooney's hardest as he can't rely on Ronaldo anymore, so he might be found out. Winning a game from nothing is important in the PL, and where Torres carried Athletico (and Liverpool this year) and Drogba expects to win games on his own, Rooney doesn't have that.
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This is an abloute JOKE. How can Steve Wilson give in every five categories minimum on a 7.
Discipline for one - Hello Drogba antics last season when barc knocked chelsea out, is one of a long history 4 drogba. Rooney 2 is a hot head and will always be one, stamping on carvelho in the euro, constantly bitting the ears off referees.
A true reflection of the scores I think are
FINISHING (i.e goal scoring abilty)
Torres - 10
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 6
PACE
Torres - 8
Drogba - 5
Rooney - 5
DISCIPLINE
Torres - 8
Drogba - 3
Rooney - 4
TEAM CONTRIBUTION
Torres - 6
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 9 (would be 10 but tends to go mising in big games, always will b under ronaldo's shadow)
STAYING FIT
Torres - 6
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 8
Totals
Torres - 38
Drogba - 32
Rooney - 32
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You mentioned rooney's ability to be in the right place at the right time briefly, shouldn't positioning be a category on its own. Torres and Rooney clearly 10/10, drogba probably slightly less.
Also if you have a team and all it's lacking is goals you'd go for Torres and Drogba as better out-and-out strikers. Rooney is arguably a better all-round player, one post fairly likening him to Gerrard, but you'd much rather see Drogba or Torres in the box. We shouldn't be fooled too much by the fact Rooney is currently in the goalscoring form of his life.
Also Rooney and Drogba probably deserve lower discipline scores than you gave if Torres is a 9/10.
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How come no one has mentioned Drogba excellent ability at set pieces?
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" Rooney is a 9/10 finisher" ???
He has many other qualities but finishing isn't one of them.
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72. At 10:31am on 02 Oct 2009, captainlazytim wrote:
"i feel that this season will be Rooney's hardest as he can't rely on Ronaldo anymore, so he might be found out. Winning a game from nothing is important in the PL, and where Torres carried Athletico (and Liverpool this year) and Drogba expects to win games on his own, Rooney doesn't have that."
7 goals in 10 games so far, including the saving goal in the CC, the winner against Birmingham and the goal against Spurs that finished the game, suggests your theory...so far at least....doesn't stand-up to scrutiny.
Also, Gerrard comes up with the vital goal for Liverpool much more often than Torres. Backs to the wall and I'd have Gerrard ahead of Torres any day.
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Are you a man*** fan?
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I'm sorry, but I have to debate the issue of discipline. If I try and think of ant strikers that are more undisciplined than Wayne Rooney, I really do struggle. Drogba is bad too, but his are much less frequent. It is very rare to see Rooney remain calm at 1-0 down with 50 mins gone. He'll be remonstrating with referees and players and this is much worse if his team goes two down.
People may say his temperament has gotten better, but I disagree, I just think its so infrequent that games are going against Man U that there is no need for him to get wound up. That said, he can still lose it when the game just has added pressure, rather than the team being down.
As such on a discipline basis I would rate them as:
Torres 9
Drogba 6
Rooney 4
Having said that I would rate their finishing abilities as
Torres 9
Drogba 8
Rooney 7
I would also add the category of consistency
Torres 8
Drogba 6
Rooney 7
Torres loses out because of his european form, Drogba suffers due to too many low scoring seasons and Rooney could move up in this category if he plays as a striker for the foreseeable future.
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I could have told you before you started you Rooney would have came out top in your ratings. There is no denying he is a great player, but better than Torres? I'm not so sure.
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A centre forwards job is to score goals, Torres does that better than the other 2. Torres is the best finisher out of both of them & he's in the top 2/3 in the world. As for DISCIPLINE, Rooney & Drogbas records speaks for it self, red card in big games, Champions league finals, world cups etc.
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this is a load of trash! the only catagory rooney could even hold a candle to torres in is team contribution and even he goes missing in alot of games or maybe hes jst been seen off!... waste of time!
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I think Steve wilson didn't mention his other secrete category -
being english
Torres - 0
Drogba - 0
Rooney - 10
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I forgot to mention about the discipline category. Correct me if I'm wrong but was Rafa Benitez not complaining about Torres the other week, about how he fails to keep his cool and argues with referees and opposition defenders far too often?
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How about loyalty as an additional category. You can take for granted that rooney will be at man utd in ten years time, bowing out as an alltime premiership great. Liverpools love affir with torres however. You just know that it will end acrimoniously in a year or so time with him riding off into the sunset to play for the team he alway wanted to i.e. barca, madrid, even milan ala christaiano ronaldo. See also cesc fabregas.
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I am a Man Utd fan so i might be biased but too many people have attacked the blogger here.
Finishing
torres: 9/10
Drogba: 8/10
Rooney: 8/10 (people say he doesnt score more but the fact is he doesnt get as many chances, when HE has Gerrard behind him, he scores 10 in 9)
team Contribution:
Torres: 8/10
Drogba: 9/10
Rooney: 10/10
pace & stamina
torres: 9/10 (the fastest among the 3)
Drogba: 8/10
rooney: 9/10 (runs the most among them)
Discipline
Torres: 8/10 (this season even he has had his moments)
Drogba: 5/10- (no improvement)
Rooney: 7/10- (some might say i am biased here, but this season he has been the peace-maker this season for us so many times!!)
Staying Fit
torres: 7/10
Drogba: 7/10
Rooney: 8/10
totals:
Torres: 40
Drogba: 37
Rooney: 42
some say creativity should be counted but all have their own creative skills which the others cant imitate.
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All fantastic players. Out and out strikers i think it would be silly to say torres ain't the best, but I don't think
drogba and Rooney r that type of player, they get goals thell both be there about at the top this season along with torres but there not all about playing off the defender. Torres could go
a whole game and have 4 touches where as Rooney would have more than some
of the centre mids! Not saying torres doesn't do alot with those touches though. But watching Rooney play is different. He's a genious. He's Paul scholes meets zidane meets stevie g! He's only 23 and he's a leader! Definitly a future old Trafford captain!
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Rooney's discipline is 7/10? You gotta be kidding me right? Surely 7/10 means 'Good' His discipline is more like a 3 surely.
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Come on you have to be kidding - Rooney has had a spell of 7 or 8 good games he's not even in the top 5 top prem strikers yet look at his average season goals ratio - Torres is lethal followed by Drogba (unplayable), then Adebayor, then Van persie then Rooney, that is the people i would least like to face!
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In my biased opinion the winner is Torres; Hes the best finisher out of the three so I find it odd they all got the same mark I would said torres 9, Drogba 8 and Rooney 7 (because you have included aerial ability in this category). Pace wise rooney is no slouch but the other two clearly have an advantage so Torres9, Drogba 8, Rooney 7. Personally I would have had slightly different categories (aerial ability (Drogba, Torres then Rooney) and strength (Drogba, Torres and Rooney equal) for example) but everyones a critic!
oh and clearly Torres has the best hair :P
As it seems I'm 'picking' on Rooney I would say hes a different type of player and would play really really well behind one of the other two in a mouth watering partnership.
In conclusion I wouldnt swap Torres for anyone
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Why am I not surprised ? Could the article get anymore English ? Rooney above Torres and Drogba ? Seriously ??
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i agree 1.rooney, 2.torres, 3.drogba I dont believe any of these 3 would get in a top 5 or top 10 in the all time section though. Compare them to some other strikers around in the last decade and you`d see their true worth maybe?
How about Henry,Ronaldo(brazil),shevchenko, and van nistelrooy?
FINISHING
Henry 9/10
Ronaldo 10/10
Shevchenko10/10
Vnistlerooy10/10
TEAM CONTRIBUTION
Henry 9/10
Ronaldo 7/10
Sheva 9/10
Ruud 7/10
PACE
Henry 10/10
Ronaldo 10/10
Sheva 7/10
Ruud 7/10
DISCIPLINE
Henry 9/10
Ronaldo 9/10
Sheva 8/10
Ruud 7/10
CONSISTENCY
Henry 9/10
Ronaldo 10/10
Sheva 9/10
Ruud 10/10
Totals:4th -Ruud, 3rd-Sheva joint 1st-Ronaldo & henry
Van nistelrooy-has won la liga twice,eredivisie twice, EPL once, several top scorer awards.
Shevchenko-Ballon D`or 2004, twice top scorer in serie A, won Champions league 2003, serie A 2004.
Henry-1 World cup,1 Euro champs, 1 Champions league, 1 la liga,2 EPL, 4 tops scorer awards in EPL.
Ronaldo-World cups record goalscorer, 3 World player awards, 2 Ballon D`ors, 1 euro golden boot,2 copa Americas,2 la liga top scorer awards, 1 world cup golden boot, 1 wc2002 silver ball, 1 world cup silver ball.
Nuff said, will they match these legends? hmmm lets see
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Why would you make categories and then not even apply them correctly? e.g. "rooney lacks pace but gets into the right places" - that is no substitute for pace...
7/10 for drogba and rooney for attitude or whatever you said is frankly ridiculous
And finishing 9/10 for all three was wrong too...torres is better than both of them...
gah.
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Right. As a "striker" hands-down its Torres. Goal record, style of play, and so on..
As a more general forward, Drogba does a good job, but I'd consider him playing the center-forward role a bit more, rather than a striker. Say for instance, in a PL dreamteam, Torres up front, followed by Drogba.
Rooney is a great player. More compariable to drogba and should play in that center forward, Center attacking mid possition. In my little PL dreamteam example rooney sitting just behind them to feed them, and support them with additional firepower. (But i'd rather gerrard there!)
From what I've seen, Torres gets frustrated sometimes. Although he stays cool, if he cant score this winds him up and turns into one of his off days. Liverpool have loads of class to feed torres, not just gerrard. Benayoun, Kuyt, Babel, Reira etc all lay passes/crosses from wider possitions. He'll fall easily, but can barge his way through defenders providing they dont trip him.
Drogba. Drogba. Drogba. Man I hate that man. But he is good. Just damn annoying. If he used his strengh and physique more often....
Still, good attacker. Dived too much in the past. Really, really over-exaggerates fouls. To the point when recently he had to go off in a strecher, for a pathetic, overly exaggerated fall. Dumbass, everones watching you!
Rooney. He is like Kuyt for liverpool. Just a little better, well, a fair bit. Or a Tevez, if you will? Maybe thats why Fergie saw no real room for tevez, when he prefered old Roon?
Either way, all great players, but if you need a "striker" then Torres. Torres. And Torres again.
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@89. At 11:15am on 02 Oct 2009, lease27 wrote:
"Come on you have to be kidding - Rooney has had a spell of 7 or 8 good games he's not even in the top 5 top prem strikers yet look at his average season goals ratio - Torres is lethal followed by Drogba (unplayable), then Adebayor, then Van persie then Rooney, that is the people i would least like to face!"
Van Persie's goal/game ratio is worse than 1 in 3 and he's nowhere near the 3 players being discussed on that socre. Wise up!
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When you compare strikers you have to look at their ability to score from different situations and their ability to create for others when 'others' are in a better position.
-Poaching goals in the box
Torres 9/10
Drogba 7/10
Rooney 5/10
-Headers
Torres 7/10
Drogba 9/10
Rooney 5/10
-Creating space (dribble and score)
Torres 9/10
Drogba 8/10
Rooney 6/10
-Long range shooting
Torres 7/10
Drogba 9/10
Rooney 8/10
-Decisions (passing to teammate when teammate has a better chance)
Torres 8/10
Drogba 6/10
Rooney 9/10
-Strength
Torres 7/10
Drogba 9/10
Rooney 9/10
-Pace
Torres 9/10
Drogba 7/10
Rooney 7/10
-Agility
Torres 8/10
Drogba 7/10
Rooney 7/10
Totals
Torres 64/80
Drogba 62/80
Rooney 51/80
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Let's try it out with some practical & current Questions:-
(1) Who will miss "the player" most? ManU, mainly because of Rooney's enthusiasm.
(2) You want someone to score goals? Torres.
(3) You need somebody to out-muscle the opposition defence? Drogba*
Vis a vis the teams, Drogba will be more dangerous this weekend when Chelsea play Liverpool. I fear for 'pool cause Drogba has over time proven to have out-muscled Carragher. And after being beaten in CL mid-week, Benitez is likely to parade a more defensive line-up this weekend.
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As a Chelsea supporter for over forty years I naturally go for Drogba. Only Rooney comes close to making goals out of nothing. Torres just waits to be set up.One category you should have included was which of the three,and you chose the right three, would most goalkeepers not like to see with the ball.
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torres behind roooney..ridiculous
i m sorry but the english media favours the english for obvious reasons
not saying rooney isn't good...he is good but over ratedd..
noy being hyprocrite and saying england are not a good team..they are a top top team..but the english media takes them slightly further..
1st.torres
2nd drogba
3rd rooney
the records speaks for itselfff
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The flick to score by Eduardo, his record of goals per game. Wait until he has a run of games, wait until he starts bangin em in when his confidence takes off ? Records and statistics will speak for themselves, is Eduardo the best finisher you ever saw ?
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Pure thrash,Roney is a non scoring striker.Only a conceited Englishman would drum up such Rubbish
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Anyone agree that berbatov displayed a creative excellence in the final third of the pitch against wolfsburg the other night that none of these three are capable of. hes got so many goals in him too but just hasnt been able to get that scoring streak going. We should have been talking about berbatov in this discussion but he isnt fulfilling his potential. Yet.
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Three amazing players.
But the scoring is strange beyond belief!!
Finishing - Rooney is class but not a threat in the air like the other two and doesn't score anywhere near them either.
Pace - again (and I love Rooney, well when he plays for England) how can he be an 8 out of 10 he is not close to Torres or even Drogba! and it clearly says pace not positioning...
Staying fit - Torres had a poor record last year but apart from that he has been very good throughout his career (athletico too).
Drogba in the last few years had a alot of injuries and Rooney has also had his issues for one season so think the scores are too far apart.
Contribution - Rooney has the best all round game but he cannot play upfront on his own which both Torres and Drogba can. these guys hold the ball up very well and also run the channels ie, outlet for their teams
Discipline - although you are probably about right that Torres has the best attitude out of the three i think they should all be about two points lower!
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The most valuable player in world football will be Nicolas Bendtner.
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Right, stats don't lie...
Finishing...
Based on shot to goals ratio for 2009/10 season and career goals per game ratio. (Sources premierleague.com and soccerbase).
Torres: 10 (33% goals to shots/0.46 goals per game)
Drogba: 8 (16% goals to shots/0.38 goals per game)
Rooney: 8 (21% goals to shots/0.37 goals per game)
Staying fit...
Based on number of injuries over the last 3 seasons. (Sources: physioroom.co.uk).
Torres: 8 (6 injuries since 2007/08
Drogba: 7 (11 injuries since 2007/08)
Rooney: 7 (11 injuries since 2007/08)
Pace...
Based on speed with and without the ball. (Sources: whoisthefastest NIKE campaign and Opta stats).
Torres: 9
Drogba: 8
Rooney: 8
Discipline...
Based on league disciplinary record over last 3 seasons (including Drogba’s UCL sending off and semi-final outburst). Torres is also the only player not to have been sent off. (Sources: statbunker and opta).
Torres: 9 (8 yellows)
Drogba: 6 (8 yellows)
Rooney: 7 (18 yellows)
Team contribution...
How do strikers ultimately contribute to a team?...yes, goals. Results based on strikers’ % contribution of their team’s league goals over the past 3 seasons. (Sources: statbunker).
Torres: 9 (29%)
Drogba: 7 (13%)
Rooney: 8 (19%)
(Unbiased) totals...
Torres: 45
Drogba: 36
Rooney: 38
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As the author stated, a very childish and meaningless way to compare players, so why bother. If you want to know who is the best striker, you look to see who has scored the most goals. I may be wrong but I don't think Rooney has yet had a 20 league goal season? Obviously he's a great player, England's best bar Gascoigne in recent times but I wouldn't class him as a striker, more of a forward.
Torres is a cut above in my opinion, he's quick and incisive and his goal scoring record is second to none. Each player would be in the top 10 on the world at the moment, but it's interesting to note that pretty much every fan of the three teams remain biased/loyal to their player, which is fair enough I suppose - but also that every neutral has gone for Torres, which says something.
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WordsofWisdom
So far, yes, v. good. But over a season the toll will be taken (plus he is England's most important - in terms of finding a replacement - player, so is all that pressure good?). When it comes to game-winners, Liverpool have the edge over the top four, 2 to one, but in all other areas we generally suffer, and Alsonso's defensive contribution is being shown up by Carra's loss of form.
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As a Man Utd fan, personally I feel Drogba is the best striker out of the 3, sure Torres has a better goal scoring record and Rooney is the most creative and better worker out of the 3, on his day Drogba is simply unplayable. That been said I'd rather have Rooney because he is away and by far the best player out of the 2. As strikers are judged on goals, how about throwing team trophies into the mix while each player has been at their club to help judge who offers better teamwork.
Drogba signed 2004
Premiership x 2
FA Cup x 2
Community Shield x 2
League Cup x 2
Rooney Signed 2004
Premiership x 3
Community Shield x 1
League Cup x 1
Champions League x 1
Fifa Club World Cup x 1
Torres signed 2007
nothing for Liverpool
So does been the best finisher mean been the best striker ?
Also, who said Rooney hasn't delivered in major tournaments ? Don't suppose you remember Euro 2004, while still a young boy @ Everton, got in the team of the tournament, and scored 4 goals in 4 games (providing he played them all) compared to Torres 2 goals in 5 games at Euro 2008, FACT is Torres isn't even Spains best striker
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rooney is definitly not a 9/10 finisher other wise he would be a 20goal a season striker....which he aint!!!
Torres is taking the top striker claim which i think used to belong to thierry henry.
Drogba is definitly upthere but he just dosnt cut it and like you said he is 6 or 7 years older than rooney and torres and only now people are starting to rave about him...
Come on and get real!!!
Y.N.W.A
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hello svete. Rooney does not score enough goals, he gets a few like, but he plays well more games fellas. right, get this he is like iaian dowie. works very hard for the fellas and doesnt get the goals, plus he's quite ugly guy. but because them might put a pure volley in the top bin every now and then they are world beater are thee. back in my day in like 1994 rooney wouldn't even live with strikes who were sticking 20-30 goals away a season regular. ferdinand, cole, shearer, suttin, sheringhum, klinnsmun, cantona, kalchenskiks, matty te lissier, rideout, robbie flower, even uvay rozler. now we are raving about someone whom gets 15 league goals. its not on this. what would your average striker like rod wallace be worth in todays market. hey look, that guy has just put 15 goals in, thanks though. drogba is dead strong, but last time i looked, this was no weight lifting competition. and rooney man, that guy has legs like a pregnant woman.check this and holler back.
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Only pompous euro trash twits could contrive a situation whereby wayne rooney did not receive a single vote in last years fifa poll for player of the year
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rooney better than torres and drogba ! in his dreams...
he is NOWHERE near as deadly in front of goal as torres and drogba ! Rooney misses alot of easy chances ! and he goes awol in alot of games too !!
if torres and drogba were english, this wouldnt even be a debate !
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rooney is top, torres 0.0002 behind him, my dream striking pair in the world right now would be torres and rooney - unbeatable
Chelseas most important player - Terry
Liverpool - Gerrard
Man u - Rooney
the fact that rooney is such an influential player at so young in a team like man u speaks volumes
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Theres a reason you didn't mention Tevez, and certainly not Berbatov, and thats because they are the two single most overrated players in the Premiership today.
and at least Tevez has the workrate...
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winwhenyouresinging - it doesnt matter how many injuries you have, its the time you spend out of action
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Many of you guys (gals) talk about statistics. Full stats for each players career are as follows:
Torres:
Played - 382 games at ALL levels (professionally)
Goals - 168
Yellow Card - 42
Red Card - 3
Drogba:
Played - 363 games at ALL levels (professionally)
Goals - 182
Yellow Card - 57
Red Card - 4
Rooney:
Played - 380 games at ALL levels (professionally)
Goals - 146
Yellow Card - 80
Red Card - 4
I am a Liverpool supporter since 1969 and a die hard reds fan, but must admit that Drogba’s strike rate is by far the best. He has always been a thorn in our side! The full stats make interest reading – don’t think anybody knows about Torres’ red cards in Spain.
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I think if we're talking about 'best player' among those three then you'd go for Rooney every time but if we're talking about best STRIKER and by that I mean the player with the most attributes to help him score then look no further than Torres. The perfect striker.
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In my assessment, I give Drogba (8), Torres (7) and Rooney (6). My assessment is based on club and national performance.
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#112 - I don't think the European coaches that vote on the FIFA poll have some sort of vendetta against English players. There were better players than him last year, as there have been so far this year. I doubt he cares if anyone is better than him, he just wants to win things. I'd put him in the top 10 in the world at the moment, but I doubt he'd be in the top 5.
This was never going to be an unbiased and logical debate given the strong feelings of all three sets of fans. It's fair enough to love your own teams players, but I'd say your opinion is almost nullified as useful if you're a fan of either club.
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There is no way that you can consider Rooney as good as Torres at finishing.
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A striker should score goals. In terms of being the best goalscorer, Rooney isn't quite there, although that is certainly down to his position for the last few seasons. But Messi scores a massive amount from wide.
If we are looking for a two man partnership, I choose one of:
Drogba
Villa
Ibrahimovich
Eto'o
Torres
Benzema
to play with one - or two if you are Barca - of:
Messi
Ronaldo
Rooney
Totti
Arshavin
Berbatov
Personally, I would pick Villa and Messi. They have absolutely everything.
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Ha Typical-Rooney scores the highest in keeping the "big-upping" of english players in world cup year. From an objective viewpoint I can only say that in my view, even though I am a Liverpool fan, I would take Drogba over the other two any day of the week. The only things against him is his age at the moment. In fact he loves playing against big teams, particularly Liverpool and I am so confident he will terrorise us on sunday that I am substituting Torres for him in my fantasy team this weekend. Rooney had his good points but he's a hot head and a thug.
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In terms of potential I'd give Rooney the nod every time.
Drogba is at the peak of his powers and a phenomenal and truly World Class. Could he get better at this stage of his career? Probably not.
Torres is deadly and and the most coveted out and out striker in football.
Rooney can still add to his game. A maturity, greater aerial ability and goals, especially in gig games.
I'm not sure Torres could add Rooney's aggression, commitment, power and creativity (vision in particular) and these are all natural gifts.
I think in two years this argument would settle itself.
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Put it this way, if I were a defender, the opposition striker I would fear the most will be Drogba of the 3. When he is having a good day no one can stop him! (I support Livepool FC)
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117. At 12:22pm on 02 Oct 2009, proteapoolman wrote:
Many of you guys (gals) talk about statistics. Full stats for each players career are as follows:
Torres:
Played - 382 games at ALL levels (professionally)
Goals - 168
Yellow Card - 42
Red Card - 3
Drogba:
Played - 363 games at ALL levels (professionally)
Goals - 182
Yellow Card - 57
Red Card - 4
Rooney:
Played - 380 games at ALL levels (professionally)
Goals - 146
Yellow Card - 80
Red Card - 4
I am a Liverpool supporter since 1969 and a die hard reds fan, but must admit that Drogba’s strike rate is by far the best. He has always been a thorn in our side! The full stats make interest reading – don’t think anybody knows about Torres’ red cards in Spain.
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In defence of Rooney and Torres they have only played in top quality league. Drogba played in France up to a few seasons ago - the quality of the league there is not great. Also Torres and Rooney are alot younger but have played a greater number of games and at a higher level. In addition Torres carried Atletico and was club captain at a ridiculously young age - La ligue is a top quality league comparable to the premier league.
Not that I think Drogba is a poor player - I'd have him over Rooney and just behind Torres - he's just arrived on the scene alot later in his career than Rooney or Torres.
Rooney only finished top of this cos he's English - if Torres was English you'd never hear the end of how great he was.
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why does everyone have to be the this lone striker, if they work hard and creative suddenly they are a an attacking midfielder as Rooney apparantly, its like all strikers have to fit a Dennis Law outfit, Rooney is a striker maybe not as out&out as Torres, but he's still a striker, where as Torres makes space and runs between players, Rooney has qualities elsewhere, like assist, yes thats right, just because you assist so many goals doesnt make you midfielder,
As a person I absolutley hate Rooney as I hate Gerrard and Drogba make no mistake there is no bais here, but one can't deny these players talents, especially Rooney, I personnaly rate him as one of the best players in the world, it's really not as simple as coming to the end of the season and looking at :goals scored Torres-30 rooney-20 assists: Torres-7 Rooney-25, this is the bigger picture make no mistake. What im trying to say is in the modern game being as tactical that it is among top clubs you cant just have a striker who's a good finisher they need to have so much more, and I'm not talking about running around like a headless chicken either uuuhmmm(Teves), nor am I talking about deadly finishers in front of goal uhhhmmm (Fillipo Inzagi-Hakan Sukur) these guys touch the ball three times in one game and score two of them, hardly the perfect striker 40 goals whateva! You have to get the balance right Rooneys almost there.
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Everyone goes on about Rooney workrate but how can Torres or Drogba go back and help set up play when they are lone strikers? Torres is the best in my opinion:
Ps: Giving Rooney 9 for finished the same as Torres unbeliveable, rooney couldn't finish his dinner :P
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Drogba and Torres score more goals than Rooney, playing the same teams in the same competitions. You can’t argue with facts, that makes them better strikers.
Wayne Rooney lacks pace, can’t dribble and his finishing is worse that the other 2, it doesn’t appear so because patriotic commentary and punditry conceals his shortcomings by minimising his faults, while magnifying his attributes. When other strikers don’t score when they should have, the commentary is ‘should have scored’ ‘ he should be scoring from theere’ when Rooney doesn’t when he should have, the commentary is – ‘hit the target, but brilliant save from the keeper’ or ‘fantastic idea by Rooney’ or ‘you could see what he was trying to there,’ etc etc.
Wayne Rooney of course ‘tracks back’ but I am not aware of any of the games great forward talents, past or present, Maradona, Cruyff, Pele, Zidane Best who was ever eulogised for their defending. Rooney played in consecutive Champions league finals without making an impact in either. Of course his formidable publicity machine churned out the usual propaganda, ‘exiled on the left’ did not receive support’ ‘sacrificed himself for the team’ bla bla bla. But the only ones who are fooled are those who want to be
Torres in the Euro’s final, one chance – bang – big game big player. The type history, not BBC blogs, celebrate
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I'm and Atlético fan and have watched Torres since he was young, and you guys are really overrating his finishing. When he was with us his finishing let him down a lot, very inconsistent. He may have improved a little but I have seen him miss sitters for Liverpool as well.
Despite this, I would still rate him above Rooney and Drogba.
Finishing
Torres 6
Drogba 7
Rooney 7
Team Contribution
Torres 8 (normally defends well from corners)
Drogba 7
Rooney 8
Pace
Torres 8
Drogba 7
Rooney 7
Discipline
Torres 7
Drogba 5
Rooney 4
Staying fit
Torres 8 (He was nearly always fit for Atlético)
Drogba 6
Rooney 9
But there is a lot more to a great striker than those 5 categories.
At the moment it stands:
Torres 36
Drogba 32
Rooney 35
I would add 5 more such as
POWER
Torres 8
Drogba 9
Rooney 8
GOALSCORING
Torres 9
Drogba 8
Rooney 7
TOUCH
Torres 5
Drogba 7
Rooney 8
HEADING
Torres 9
Drogba 9
Rooney 6
AWARENESS
Torres 7
Drogba 7
Rooney 8
Which would give final standings of:
Torres 75/100
Drogba 72/100
Rooney 74/100
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NguemosWorthAFortune post 37
If you know what it means to dribble, you'd know Rooney can't dribble. He makes good use of space, this means he gets into good positions; he use his strength to charge through defenders and knows when to pass so does not needlessly lose the ball like Nani...
Rooney can't lead the line so he can't play as top 9 that's why he needs a big lump like Heskey in the national team. Rooney has NEVER taken a game by the scruff of the neck - if he has pls simply tell me which one. Don't abuse me just tell me the game he took command of.
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this is a "pub argument" that will go on for years, but to simplify it, if you ask NON supporters of the three clubs who they would go for, i think you'll find that all would want Rooney in their team, but Torres up front as striker...
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We are talking about a striker here. And the job of a striker in any team, is to bang in goals. Amongst the three striker mentioned above, i would go for Torres. Drogba would come second and i don't rate Rooney.
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DAVID_W-N-W-A post 126
Your correct about Drogba's goalscoring in France. In 75 games he scored 50 goals. What really helped his average is scoring 32 in 44 internationals - mainly against poor quality African teams!
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Sorry should be DAVID_Y-N-W-A post 126!
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Also, Rooney plays in probably the best team of the 3-Torres the worst. I think you have to factor that into the equation too.
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If you were in a Man City type situation (IE won the football lottery) and could buy just one of them I would go for Rooney. If you could get 2 it would be Rooney and Torres.
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Funny article, before I started reading I knew that Rooney would be first and that's the "problem" with English football or it's supporters, they overrate their players a lot. Rooney isn't bad but he has never proven himself to be that special, he is a very good player in a fantastic team, that's the difference with Torres who is a brilliant player in a good/ordinary team. If Rooney would be that great their would have been interest of Barca, Real, Juve etc. This week I read something about Rooney being absent at selections for the world player or european player of the year, that's not because he isn't liked, but probably just isn't good enough and I also doubt he will ever be.
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Ps: Giving Rooney 9 for finished the same as Torres unbeliveable, rooney couldn't finish his dinner :P
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I take it Rooney had scored 146 deflections in his career then?
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How amny matches have rooney won on his own.
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Absolute dribble, you are either a Utd fan, or your patriotism is taking over here. You ask any club manager in the world which striker they would take and guaranteed Torres would be picked 90% of the time. And btw I am a liverpool fan!
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superiorfcbarcelona this is exactly the blinkered effeminate euro trash opinion i was referring to in an earlier post. With the exception of lionel messi there is no better player/man than rooney in world football. As for calling liverpool an average team. They destroyed one of the temas on your list real madrid last season and i would strongly fancy english clubs to continue their domination of the likes of madrid and juve again. if fletcher had made the champs final, barca would have been beaten by man u as well. juve ? interest in rooney ? im sure juve would trade in their entire team for rooney if they thought they get him which of course they couldnt.
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For me its torres, if he has great players around him the game is already over coz he is that good. Rooney and drogba are winners and very good footballers but they can be wasteful sometimes and can lose a game for their team by being undisciplined.
For me theres few world class players around at the moment but torres is one of them. If you could chose 1 striker in the world you would have to pick him as you wouldnt want anyone else having him.
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Steve, I'm writing to you in disgust that you should consider Rooney to be the best striker in the Premiership. Steve, what are you basing your marks on? Are they based on the Manchester Unted Supporters Club Annual 2009/10 Steve, are they Steve? Steve, are they based on the Manchester United Supporters Club Annual? Answer me Steve, have the decency to answer me.
What is this? What's going on here? Who gave you permission to write this? Has your editor seen this? Steve, has this been passed through senior staff? Are they aware that you're writing this Steve? Have you hacked the site, is that what this is?
Answer me Steve, dammit answer me.
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Gents, how about estimating an Expected Sale Price in comparison with Ronaldo? It would be something like this;
Ronaldo - 80m
Torres - 50m
Didier - 40m
Rooney - 30m!
Englishmen, please understand that you are the ones that rate Rooney so highly! If all of the three where available on the Market to be bought by say, Real, Inter or Barca, Definately Torres would be snapped up first! Followed by Drogba and then Rooney.
Whatever criteria you use to value these 3, Rooney is not as good as Torres or Drogba.
ciao
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Pace:
Torres 9
Rooney 8
Really?
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People who say Rooney has yet to make an impact on the big stage make me laugh. Did they not watch him play for England in Euro's in 2004. Until he got injured he was awesome and dragged England up to another level. I dont think you can say who is the better player between Rooney or Torres though as they are both better than each other at differnet things but they are, in my opionion, the two best forwardds in the Prem and in top 5 of all players in the prem.
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The best striker is based for me on
Finishing - How accurate his strikes are
Heading - Whether he can head a ball accurately and powefully
Composure - Whether he is liable to hit the back of the net given a good chance
Strength - Naturally, his ability to outmuscle a defender in and around the area
Pace - How quickly he can beat his man in a sprint
Consistency - How often he performs at his best, including the big games
Teamwork - Whether he contributes to the team when he's not scoring
For me, Drogba wins on heading and strength, and is equal to Rooney for teamwork and consistency and Torres for finishing and pace. I can't really see discipline and staying fit being relevant to be honest, Ronaldo was the best striker of our generation hands down and he was injured all the time, and discipline is not important really, more for defenders!
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Wright, Shearer, Henry, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo...
Those guys were dominant in front of goal in their time.
I think you just about got the short-listed three right for this era. However, every avid premiership follower knows that TORRES has become the most feared striker in the league today...
Just ask yourself...Who would you really hate to see striking against your team right now?? He's got pace, strength, skill and a certain uncanny ability that the legendary strikers have. T wins it for me. Drog comes a not too distant 2nd. Roo has time to get even better...
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I'm a Liverpool fan, but I think Drogba is the best striker in the world.
Strong as Gilardinho, As good in the air as Toni, fast as Rooney and as finishes like Romario.
Only attitude lets him down, but that's got nothing to do with ability.
I love Rooney (the player) and think he is the most industrious and passionate striker in the world.
Torres is so skillful and great on the ball- I also don't think he's all about pace, it's all about how quickly he moves his feet and shifts the ball in enclosed spaces.
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Torres v. Rooney is like Van Nistelrooy v. Henry. Like Van Nistelrooy, Torres is undoubtedly the better centre-forward, but like Henry, Rooney is undoubtedly a more effective all-round footballer.
Whoever made Comment #7 clearly wasn't watching Euro 2004...
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#28 and #61
I agree Rooney is a very capable "simulator" but for me Drogba and Torres would pick up more points in this category.
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Drogba is awful in a 1 on 1 situation - v Barcelona and v liverpool in last seasons CL semis/qfs stand out for that - yes he can hti the ball hard but so can Torres - Torres is definately 1 chance and he'll take it type of player - hasnt drogba had the most shots this season? and oly scored a small %age?? not very good finishing
Also i think Torres does score in more games rather than batches of fbeing on fire
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Rooney isn't good enough to lace Torres' or Drogbas' boots!
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I tell you who is the best....
MESSIAH....
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Torres a better defender from corners than Drogba? That is a joke. The amount of times Drogba has gone up against a top player defending set pieces and cleared the ball is astonishing. Yes, it is not what makes you the best striker but I would rate his contribution to the team above both Torres and Rooney, added to his ability to hold the ball up and bring other players into a move creating goal scoring opportunities!
Torres
Drogba
Rooney
End of!
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I wouldn't swap Messi's left foot for those 3. They'll never ever reach the standard that Messi has set. That bloke is pure class something Capello also acknowledges.
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1.)Indiscipline from your assessment does not carry much weight 2.)If a striker stays fit from beginning of season till the end and manages 12 goals while the other gets two months lay-off due to injury and hits double digits who is more lethal?.One of our foreigners (Torres)should be ahead if we use your parameters to make a correct assessment.
Phil.
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There is English bias in the article. There is Manchester United fan bias in the comments.
Ask any defender which of the three (if they really had to) they would rather face in a big game and is they answer honestly it would be Rooney every time.
Drogba can be completely unplayable and Torres is always the most likely player on the pitch to score a goal. Rooney is a top class striker but a top class defender would be more confident of neutralising him than the other two.
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the weights you gave to each category makes all this fundamentally flawed, for instance there is no way finishing and discipline should have the same weight.
wouldn't want to get into this argument though, it just boils down to kind of play one likes, you will not change anyone's no matter what criteria or statistics you use
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ask yourself this question. If those 3 played in the same team, and that team won the game 1-0 who would you put your money on to have scored that solitary goal??????????
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I am a Chelsea fan, but I think Torres is the greatest follow by Drog n Rooney!!!
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my answer is Drogba
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Torres is currenlty one of the best however he should learn more from David Villa.
Rooney is a striker of his own kind. He seemed to like to create a lot of space for him to shoot well. His shots always hit defenders and a lot of off targets. His advantage is that the shots are powerful, if well aimed the ball makes a race with the gollie....
Now Didier is a real striker...from; any angle, any distance away from the goalpost and even tightly closed he can put his boot at the right place of the ball to strike and score.....Drogba is even more mature now. Whenever he discovers that all the defenders are hardly letting him to kick the ball he plays the killer pass especially to his now partner, Anelka and Anelka does likewise......
The list of strikers mentioned above is good but if you don't include Anelka , i am puzzled (he was last season best scorer, some of you will say something silly just because he had the golden boot with just 19 goals, and where these finest strikers you boast about?). What about the likes of Asharvin (the man who destroyed Liverpool singled handed.
Some of the strikers mentioned in this topic are like a season in a year. They are still in rain season and doing good but when their dry season comes we will forget about them....hahaha!
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Post 131 stated
"Rooney has NEVER taken a game by the scruff of the neck - if he has pls simply tell me which one. Don't abuse me just tell me the game he took command of."
What about against Spurs last season in the 2nd half at Old Trafford? Scored 2 and was heavily involved in the build up to the other 3 goals from the left side of midfield
Match report on the guardian was "Rampant Wayne Rooney inspires Manchester United's imperious comeback to sink Tottenham"
Source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/25/premier-league-manchester-united-tottenham-hotspur
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KebBrutre wrote:
However I am wondering on what basis these three have been chosen? Why did van Persie not get a mention? Although he is yet to be as productive as these three, he is by far the more complete, influential (n.b. assists) and natural striker in the premier league at the moment. Not even mentioned...
v.Persie far from complete, cant use his right leg, heading, tracking back, he does get assists, but nothing to write home about. eduardo is more complete than him
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This is a stupid debate. The best 'striker' is the player at the end of the season with the most goals or the player thats pretty close to the top and has a bunch of medals.
The best strikers in the world do not score 10 or so league goals a season. The best strikers in the world do not count how many assists they make. The best strikers in the world only think about goals.
This is why Drogba and Rooney are not the best strikers in the world.
This is why Torres is one of the best strikers in the world.
Messi, C.Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Torres, Etoo are all considered the best strikers because simply they score the most goals. Its not rocket science.
Rooney is a wonderful player and will be considered one of the best strikers in the world when he hits 25-30 goals a season. Ditto Drogba.
And don't start whining about assists because its not like Messi and C.Ronaldo dont provide assists!
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Torres is a cut above in my opinion, he's quick and incisive and his goal scoring record is second to none
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i think it is second to quite a few to be honest
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I'm sorry, but has anyone ever actually watched Wayne Rooney play football? It is nothing more than an excuse for the game that Drogba and in particular Torres play. He gives the ball away more than any player I have ever watched, so too right he should have legendary willingness to track back. Torres, Drogba, Anelka, Bent, Defoe, Keane, Adebayor and Eduardo are all ten times the finisher that Rooney is. 9/10?! You've got to be kidding
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I agree with some of the comments about your scoring, Steve. Your categories are fine.
Finishing - Torres is about the deadliest I've ever seen. Give him 10. Didier has his big misses, but is pretty good - 8. Wayne blasts far too often - 7.
Team play - Torres plays right at the front - 7. Drogba when he's in the mood - like this year - plays everywhere - 9. Rooney, i';s his best subject - 10.
Pace - Torres is blindingly fast - 9. Drogba a step behind - 8. Wayne, i'm sorry, is not in the same league - 7.
Discipline - Torres can have 9, but the other two, dear oh dear, not just verging on but actually unprofessional at times. Wayne is growing up a bit, to his credit, but Didier is occasionally an embarrassment to his team, the game, and himself. 6 for Rooney. 5 for Drogba.
Staying fit is Torres' weak point - 7. Didier often gets into tussles and then gets injured - 8. Rooney, almost an ox - 9.
Final tally. Torres 42. Drogba 39. Rooney 39.
As I would have said subjectively, Torres is the best striker in the league. Most importantly, his highest scores are for finishing and pace, and really that's what it's all about.
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Torres is the best (i hate liverpool)
Drogba if your in a rubbish team ( best for long balls)
Rooney if you need a utility player (overated as a striker but will perform anywhere admirably)
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Can't Split the 3 but i could see a Rooney Torres partnership being on the best of all time.
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Torres has got a wee bit more to do yet, especially in the big games against key rivals, to be considered alongside truly great players like Rooney and Drogba.
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If Torres isn't a 10/10 for pace, tell me the striker in the world who is? Its a bit silly to have a 10 point scale and not give the quickest, fastest striker in the world a 10 for pace.
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1. Torres
2. Drogba
3. Anelka
4. Rooney
5. Adebayour
6. Van Persie
7. Defoe
8. Keane
9. Carew
10.Bent
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If Bellamy could stay fit for a bit of a stretch he'd be right up there too
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But apart from Torres and Drogba, none are fit to lace the boots of Messi or Ronaldo
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Torres is the best out-and-out STRIKER of the three - no debate.
Most players at the top level are playing UNDER INSTRUCTION - Torres is to score goals. He's done that and some. His strike rate at Liverpool is second to none.
Rooney has only begun to play as an out-and-out striker this season. He has always scored in streaks, so remains to how long his current run of goals wll last.
Drogba is unplayable on his day (as are the other two). 2006-7 was a standout season for him, but beyond... not in the world class bracket.
As a striker, Torres has had the biggest impact, in the shortest time possibly in the history of English football.
PS - to have 'staying fit' as a category is just silly. You'd probably end up with Steve Claridge a better striker than Marco Van Basten if that were the case!
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174*
Not performing in big games? really?
I think you'll find he's still got Vidic in his pocket from last years disasterous defeat and that's (obviously) from a United fan!
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I agree with most of your points - just two categories are missing -- 1. Past performace and 2. Most feared by defenders.
under past pfermance - for example a previous winner of the golden boot --this is very important If you add these categories then that would make Drogba the best...and deservedly so......
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I think Wayne has the attributes in the wrong places. He has some amazing qualities for a Striker, some amazing qualities for an attacking midfielder, making him a jack of all trades yet master of none.
Torres, however, is far closer to mastering striking than Drogba or Rooney.
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1. rooney/drogba
2. tevez
3. berbatov/torres/santa cruz/adebayour
4. anelka/keane//van persie
5. kuyt/defoe/carew/crouch/eduardo
6. agbonlahor/yakubu/jones/bent/mcfadden
7. beattie/doyle/cole
the rest
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robinho?
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Te best in the EPL: Torres due to the sheer number of goals. The best in the World: Ibra because of his effectiveness and artistry.
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What about Rooney's Metatarsal injuries?
Seen as theres no catagory for ariel abillity, your implying that Roony is as good at heading than the other 2.
Rooney makes his fair share of reckless challanges and often bemoans his teamates for poor passes or not passing.
I feel you are gifting Rooney points, just because he's english does't mean he's better.
A ppor Biased article
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Best striker? Torres by a fair margin. Not just his goal-scoring rate, but his history of huge goals in huge games. Best overall player? Torres again, I think. He's the only one of the three who'd certainly start ahead of anyone in the world. Drogba is a brilliant player who can dominate, but is a little unpredictable. I think it's fair to say that between Capello figuring out how to use him for England, and Ferguson making him the focus of Man U, Rooney has emerged as either bordering on, or actually among, the world's best. It all depends, to me, how he plays this year, and how Man U. and England fare. As of this moment, for best overall player, I'd have Rooney second and Drogba third. But Rooney will push Torres if he keeps playing as he's been.
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sorry #185 to clarify, ibrahimovic the best striker in the world !! i applaud your sense of humour.
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Rooney is very good but vastly overrated by the English media.
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world 11
3-4-3
Ronaldo--Torres--Messi
---------Kaka--------
--Iniesta----Gerrard--
-------Essien--------
-Carvalho--Vidic--Lucio-
------Buffon-----
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I think your choice of the best three is just the generic sanitised media choices. The fact of the matter is that Drogba and Rooney are nowhere near better than Van Persie. Torres is leagues ahead of all three as a Striker. Drogba is clumsy and greedy, alot of his goals are fortuitous to say the least. Rooney is a bit naive with his play sometimes and his attitude stinks. Torres is a great striker a team player, wonderful sportman and great role model to kids. I wouldn't want any of my kids to turn out like Didier or Wayne, regardless of footballing prowess.
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How can you give Drogba a 7 for discipline? You'd be kind to give him a 5, especially since he has the tendency to melt down at the worse moment possible. And how do you pick Rooney over Torres? Fitness perhaps. No knock on Rooney. He's a great player, but I my All-World squad, he'd be a sub. If he was fit, Torres would be my striker. I'd want Drogba playing for the other team.
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This blog is surely a joke. All three are totally different players, offering differnt options. The respective teams they play for work their style to suit these guys as they are the best at what they do.
Is Rooney a striker? Not in my eyes. However, if you had to pick one player to cover you in all situations, Rooney is by far the best option.
Torres is a fantastic striker with a great goal ratio, but so this was true of Van Nistlerooy, and lets be fair, he was far from a complete player.
Drogba is very much a mood player and plays his role well, but again, he is what he is and thats your lot. Yes he is big so helps out when defending set pieces, but height is nothing to do with ability.
Rooney could play in any position, even in goal, and he would exceptional. I dont see how else you can compare them.
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Good blog robbo
Agreed with a number of others - Rooney overrated cos he plays for ManU -the refs are on ManUs side as we saw against Man City a few weeks ago.
Drogba is the main man and I agreed with his reaction to the ref in last seasons Champs league semi against Barca - just goes to show that footy is completely rigged and whoever Platini favours seems to win.
Torres is quality
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...so if you get rid of the 'staying fit' and talk about them when fit - Torres is the best. And scores of 7 for discipline for Drogba and Rooney is ridiculously generous!! YNWA
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The Premiership has some of the worst defenders/defences going. Any striker worth their salt should find it easy to breach these so called Premiership defences. I can't see the guys mentioned above doing so well in Spain or Italy. Torres has already scored more in England than he ever did for Atletico.
Opinions please.....
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Liverpool fan here, but regardless of the ratings my order would be:
1. Drogba
2. Torres
3. Rooney
Rooney's a great player but as a striker is not up to the quality of the other two. he brings a lot of other positives to the team tho. Drogba's presence gives him the edge over torres for me. as others have said he can go missing - something you can rarely say of drogba.
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Welcome to our annual Fantastically Overstated Blog Post Awards.
In 3rd place it's Hanney4England - who scores extra points for the blatant ridiculousness of this remark - with:
"If Bellamy could stay fit for a bit of a stretch he'd be right up there too"
And our runner up - who wowed our judges with his wildly speculative stat - it's Curaldo with:
"any club manager in the world which striker they would take and guaranteed Torres would be picked 90% of the time"
That leaves our winner. A true connoisseur of the overstatement - or maybe just someone who has never watched a player other than Zinedine Zidane (a bit like in that film).
Please give a round of applause for sebo4eva with:
"Rooney... He gives the ball away more than any player I have ever watched"
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For durability - read how many games they have played in last 3 years then make your score. Drogba has not been kicked more coz hes older because he didnt start playing at high level till 22. Torres and Rooney had played quite a bit by the time they reached 22.
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Finishing is quite easy to work out - goals per game/minutes. I think Torres would be first followed by Rooney.
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What a quaintly English article and posts.
Not until half a dozen posts are basic things like stats mentioned, and somehow technique doesn't register with anyone as a category. Not surprising given the state of the English game.
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Some fairly border line xenophobia in these rants I'm afraid. Ann unwillingness to believe that someone from foreign shores could be better than one of our own?? Torres wins this argument every time in conversations between unbiased and logical football fans. One guy says Torres has more to do in big games, despite him scoring in an international cup final and being the main protagonist in Liverpool's demolition of Man U (probably said poster's team) last season. I'm entirely neutral in this, and if I could swap Shola Ameobi for any of them it would be Torres, we don't create much and he doesn't miss.
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They are great strikers.
But what about Etoo, Forlan and maybe even Henry.
Etoo has scored in 2 champ league finals.
Forlan has won European top scorer twice both times beating Etoo.
Henry may not be as good as during his Arsenal days but he is still scoring goals for club and country and considered one of the best scorers in Premier League history,
Also for all his critics and his poorer goal to game ratio.
Raul still scores and is still the top Championsleague goalscorer
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Complete English Bias, you wanted Rooney to come out on top in that so you made sure he did. Absolutely no way he's a good a finisher as Torres!! and im a united fan! Rooney loses at least 2 points to Torres on finishing
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When determining the best striker, you have failed to include a category for goals per game, which is really a little silly and in my view makes the result defunct.
It is like picking the sexiest TV star but not including her looks as one of the criteria, instead focusing on her acting skills or amount of screen time.
I think Wayne Rooney is the most gifted all round footballer of the three (and possibly in the PL) - in terms of skill, vision etc. but is quite a distance behind both Torres and Drogba in terms of goal scoring - and goal scoring should be the overriding criterion.
Just wanted to get that off my chest.
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I'm a Man Utd fan and are as such more inclined to state that Rooney is the best striker, but compared to what Torres and Drogba do for their team I will stand by Rooney.
Torres and Drogba are both brilliant strikers, but thats all they do, they score goals, ok they have the ability to change a game with a single goal, but Rooney can do that by delivering a killer pass, a cross or even defending!
Rooney plays with his heart on his sleeve, he'll defend as well as attack, all be it hap-hazardly! When the whole team is playing a little lacklustre, Rooney will still be playing like theres no tomorrow, he'll chase everything down and is constantly looking to set someone up aswell as score himself!
Torres and Drogba may be better strikers than Rooney, but if I were given the option to have one of the 3, I would choose Rooney of Torres and Drogab any day of the week, not solely on his attacking capabilities, but because he gives so much more to a team than either Torres or Drogba could ever give, and Rooney does this game in, game out for both club and country!
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Mr Wilson, you are a fantastic MOTD commentator and a fine observer of the game and I'm sure this all a bit of fun, but when you are talking about the word "strikers" our Wazza comes nowhere near the genius that is Fernando Torres. I may be a bit biased, but the categories you choose are a little puzzling. "Staying fit" is a bizarre choice? It is irrelevant year on year and has nothing to do with their prowess. And, as for pace, Liverpool's number nine is at least three points clear of Rooney. Rooney is an all-rounder for sure, but as far as out and out strikers go, both Torres and Drogba are far more influential.
Torres is a serene, swaying matador to watch, Drogba, a careering powerhouse, and Rooney, a sack of red spuds...
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Torres - gets frustrated with team-mates on occasion but rarely gets angry with opponents or referees. 9/10 - I think not: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5499550,00.html
As for Rooney 9/10 for "staying fit" - he started only 25 Premier League games last season, and the same the season before. That is not 90% of games.
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what about adeybayour at this time he is amazingly brilliant in mid air always attacking good contrebution he has good pace but does have bad temper
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This debate is utterly comical, if we were contrasting two of these three strikers (Rooney and Drogba)then this case would be a hot topic, however including Torres is pure stupidity. Torres is undoubtedly one of the top four strikers in the world alongside Eto, Messi and Villa. He is undisputedly the best STRIKER in the league, only a fool would say different. Drogba and Rooney aren't a patch on Fernado and whoever created this blog knows it.
Rooney can't use both feet like Torres has demonstrated over the years, neither can Drogba. Don't get me wrong Rooney and Drogba are world class strikers with different attributes. Rooney is more of a team player not a stiker, he will battle the whole of the 90mins, he has a great shot on him, is a great passer and reads the game like he wrote it.
Drogba is unplayable on his day with his skills, brute force and eye for goal. But when it comes to Torres he is a cut above the rest, one of the bloggers wrote you cant argue with facts and i couldn't agree more with his admission, Torres games:goal ratio is something Rooney and Drogba should be trying to strive for. This guy is the real deal, if you were to ask 10 of the best coaches in football which striker they would want in their team I wouldnt be surprised if at least 6 of them said Torres.
I also feel that the catergories the strikers were based on are ambiguos, the following catergories should have also been added.'Ability to take on defenders', and 'Aerial threat' amongst others.
If Torres was English this debate would have already been put to bed before it even started.
All three strikers are gracefully great to watch and give defenders nightmares week in and week out, but ask yourself this. If your team was through on goal with seconds left on the clock in the champions league final at 0-0, which striker would you want through on goal ????
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This rating is very bias, but as expected you will choose an english man :) as a manutd fan rooney is not better than torres or drogba, he needs 12 chances to put away 6 goals, torres needs 1 chance as drogba needs 1/2 a chance, finishing is what a striker is paid to do drogba is unmatched in this field, to take out torres and ronney you put 2 defenders on them and it is over drogba need at least 4 defenders to slow him down he is a bull .......drogba is a complete striker heads,finishing and power is unmatched.... this is the premier league i think the best striker is samuel eto point blank
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Finishing
Torres - 9
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 7
Team Contribution
Torres - 7
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 9
Pace
Torres - 10
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 7
Discipline
Torres - 9
Drogba - 5
Rooney - 5
Staying Fit
Torres - 7 (Only in the last season or so)
Drogba - 7
Rooney - 9
Aerial Ability
Torres - 9
Drogba - 10
Rooney - 7
Dribbling
Torres - 8
Drogba - 7
Rooney - 7
Power
Torres - 8
Drogba - 10
Rooney - 9
Touch
Torres - 8
Drogba - 8
Rooney - 9
Goalscoring Ability
Torres - 9
Drogba - 9
Rooney - 7
Totals
Torres - 84
Drogba - 80
Rooney - 74
I`m a Liverpool fan but i tried to be as unbias as i possibly could be! Some of you might agree with my ratings and some of you wont but these ratings are my personal opinion!
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I have not had the time read ALL the posts. This seems like a very popular debate but I get the jist of it. Most agree that the three are different types of strikers but surely the headline "Who is the Deadliest" would refer to the best goalscorer.
I think Rooney is one of the best all round players in the world but he is more like a Steven Gerrard than a Fernando Torres. Being a supplier of goals is not necessarily a quality needed to be a great striker.
That said I noticed that many people suggested examining the 3 career records as far as goals scored and number of games. Here is what I have found out.
These stats include all clubs and senior international
Goals/games/rate
Torres
151/348/ 2.3 games per goal
Rooney
111/286/ 2.58 games per goal
Drogba
152/314/ 2.26 games per goal
This was a suprising outcome for me but it is worth noting that Drogba has scored 40 out of 59 games for the Ivory Coast. Had he played 59 games for England or Spain I doubt he would have half that many.
That said it does prove that Rooney should not be number one. If we revisit this after the world cup I would like to bet that Torres goal average will be better than Drogba but for now well done to the diving, petulent, stroppy African.....
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i dont like arrogant players in any sport , I admire Rooney , but for me Torres is the worlds best striker , way ahead of Drogba,Ibra,Etoo and Rooney is close second the rest dont even come close to them
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Liverpool and Chelsea have world class midfielders and so their respective football managers offer much freedom to Torres and Drogba to go for the kill. On the other hand, Rooney had to shoulder different responsibilites when Ronaldo used to be the main goal getter in the last many seasons. As a result he has developed other qualities which have served his team well. He scores goals but is also a tireless worker in midfield and infront of his line of defence. Liverpool has Gerrard and Chelsea has Lampard who are consistent. These creative midfielders have been instrumental in providing regular passes and loads of confidence to Torres and Drogba. As some have pointed out, the comparison could have been between Torres and Drogba or even Lampard and Rooney.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
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I'm sorry, I didn't think this could even be considered a contest? Fernando Torres is the greatest striker in the world right now, hands down. He mightn't track back or defend set pieces like Drogba or Rooney, but that's not a STRIKER'S job. It's up to them to get goals, something Rooney doesn't do enough, and Drogba can because he has such a fantastic midfield line behind him. I mean, how else did Anelka manage to become top scorer last year?? Personally, I think Rooney, and especially Drogba, go down way too easy, something which irks me completely when you look at the size of them. Finally, Torres is just a sublime player to watch. Can you really imagine the other two scoring that winning goal against Germany last summer? 'Nuff said.
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All three are strong strikers, but instead of examining their striking skills (Torres is the best finisher, Drogba is the Big Man Up Front, Rooney is the creator-plus-finisher) let's think about their weaknesses - they can also help to define a player.
Torres: not as creative as Rooney, not as strong as Drogba, relies more on midfield supply than either, maybe a little easier for a central defender to knock off the ball.
Drogba: let's face it, he's a diver and you can't say that about the other two. He's temperamental and mouthy, gets himself and his team in trouble, and goes missing when he's angry. He's not such a natural finisher as Torres, but more so than Rooney, and again, lacks Rooney's creativity.
Rooney: much weaker in the air than the other two, only really now coming into his own as a central striker although his experience as a creative player is far stronger than the others, lacks the exceptional ball control of the other two when it's between his feet, and is still prone to arguing with the ref.
All three are superb footballers: but all three also have weaknesses, and sometimes it's harder to eliminate a weakness than develop a strength.
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Yeah Torres is the best striker by miles.
Anyone who disagrees with that clearly has been in a hole for the last 3 years.
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Torres is the best goalscoring forward. Drogba the best target man and Rooney the best creative force
Also to the tool near the top who said Ronaldo is 10 in everything, did you not realise 2 of the categories are work-rate and discipline?
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127. At 12:55pm on 02 Oct 2009, wisejohnny wrote:
" ... As a person I absolutley hate Rooney as I hate Gerrard and Drogba..."
Why? Have you met all 3? Had a chat with any of them? Thought not.
So why use the verb 'hate' ?
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From the moment i saw the names of the 3 players, i knew you will pick Rooney as the best. How i knew? Very simple....English players (and indeed all english sports men and women) are over-hyped.
I am an Arsenal fan, so my view are impartial, the pecking orders are
1) Torres
2) Drogba
3) Rooney
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Torres scores so many goals he doesn't need to do anything else. Torres scores bags of goals and not tap ins. Drogba is the main striker for Chelsea, and Rooney is ok, but I am an English Chelsea fan and I wouldn't flinch before picking Torres ahead of both of them. Until Rooney ups his game he shouldn't be considered in the same category of player as Torres. Rooney has never had a season like Torres debut at Anfield. Rooney's scoring record for England and in the Champions League was woeful, nothing for 2 seasons. Heskeyesque if you will. Anybody who thinks Rooney is better than Torres is English or a Manu fan. Ridiculous.
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Torres and Drogba are great strikers,Rooney his not only a great striker,he is also a playmaker.
Rooney is in the same level as Kaka,Messi or Ribery,the fabolous four in the actual football scene.
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I wonder if Berbatov would be on the list if he was still pumping away at Tottenham. Plus you missed out Jason Roberts on the list...
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There is one key category that everyone has forgotten. When the ball is with (say) Torres, do you feel a goal is more likely than when it is with (say) Drogba? You will realise that the answer is invariably tilted in favour of Torres for all comparisons. He is lighting fast, has brilliant ball control, has amazing dribbling skills, is deadly in the air, has the singular ability to pick the right option, to create a path when none exists, and to link up with his team mates. Check out his three goals last weekend and you will know exactly what I mean.
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Why did you bother asking Mark Bright?
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You should have included categories where you could subtract points for things, for example, Diving, Petulance, Bad Haircuts, Number Of Youtube Rap Video Remixes Made From Something Said Into A Camera. Drogba would automatically have minus 50 for the last one.
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Torres = a genius on his day, rarely wastes opportunity; Drogba = a footballing siren, incomparable in getting possession, control and swift execution; Rooney = a prize asset, a workhorse and a goalscorer; multidimensional.
Future; of the three only Rooney is going places.
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You named sixteen strikers, yet failed to mention Anelka. In terms of finishing, he was far and away the best last season. He is controlled yet intuitive, in the right place and producing precisely the right shot for the situation. Try to think of Anelka's "typical" finish. You can't? That's becaiuse he doesn't have one, he does what's necessary in the situation. Not quite Gerd Mueller (my all-time best striker), but he has similar instincts close to goal.
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Ok gent's so we all agree at the moment Torres is the Greatest stricker in England possibly the 'World',But to be hounest as a Liverpool supporter as it pains me to say that Rooney sheer work rate is stunning he's ability to create is awsome kind of like our own Kuyt they are something else are'nt they like energiser bunnies they just keep going.
Drogba is a very talented stricker of the ball but i would rather have Torres running ahead of me on the pitch.
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ok 'The 606 Member Formerly Known as 'The Zog''
In the premier league, he has scored an incredible 46 goals in 64 games. Compare this to Drogba's and Rooney:
Drogba: 61 goals in 141 games.
Rooney: 71 goals in 164 games.
ypou have given these stats which may well be true, i havnt checked. what you have failed to mention is rooney played a lot of the last season or two out on the wings to feed ronaldo which obviosly had an effect on how many he scored. if he played up front for all the games he played on the wings you would have a much better reflection of whos better but he didnt so that cannot really be compared. rooney is a much more versatile player than torres or drogba who will work harder than the other two and also will get more assists!
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Re Post 120 - Control LUFC
"Torres is the best goalscoring forward. Drogba the best target man and Rooney the best creative force."
Spot on. I really cannot remember the last time I agreed with a Leeds fan...
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Sorry, post 220 NOT 120. I need more coffee...
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This article is kind of null and void when it says Rooney is one of the best strikers...
He's not really a striker, but a forward.
Torres is probably the best true striker in the world. Drogba is brilliant but not as good as Torres.
As a total package, Rooney destroys Torres and Drogba...
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#106 winwhenyouresinging Based on league disciplinary record over last 3 seasons (including Drogba’s UCL sending off and semi-final outburst). Torres is also the only player not to have been sent off. (Sources: statbunker and opta).
Torres: 9 (8 yellows)
Drogba: 6 (8 yellows)
Rooney: 7 (18 yellows)
Read you're facts you fool.....If it is based on LEAGUE disciplinary record then how can you count UCL & semi final outburst of the same competition, AND Rooney 18 yellows yet still scores above Drogba, i.e. 7/10, and answer me this, how does Torres get a 9/10 when he has the same amount of yellow cards than Drogba???
If you were to be totally unbiased then both Drogba & Torres would get 8/10 and Rooney 5/10 due to the ratios stated.
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How on earth can you give Drogba a 7 for discipline?? The "man" is a wild animal. Not just for his actions in THAT semi-final but for his week-in, week-out antics, I'd give him no more than a 2.
Finishing
Torres: 9/10
Drogba: 8/10
Rooney: 7/10 - needs to score more.
Team Contribution:
Torres: 8/10 - he lifts the whole team merely by being on the pitch.
Drogba: 8/10 - you usually know he is there.
Rooney: 9/10 - bit of a headless chicken at times but tireless.
Pace
Torres: 9/10
Drogba: 7/10
Tooney: 8/10
Discipline
Torres: 9/10
Drogba: 2/10 - see above
Rooney: 6/10 - still an IED waiting to happen. Remember Besiktas?
Staying Fit
Torres: 6/10
Drogba: 6/10
Rooney: 8/10
Totals:
Torres: 41 Numero Uno
Rooney: 38
Drogba: 31
Now, in all modesty, ask a panel of football experts from around the world and I think that 1-2-3 would be the most agreed on ranking.
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Tevez for me...if Utd had kept him this season and played him up top he would be up there for top scorer come end of the season. Problem last season is you play Rooney and Tevez alongside Ronaldo and they have to do the donkeywork, then get criticised for not scoring enough.
For me, bar Wayne Rooney, put either Drogba or Torres in a team fighting relegation and they'll do very little. Tevez has shown at West Ham that he can carry such teams and I imagine Rooney could do the same.
Tevez pips Rooney for me though simply due to his ability to integrate into different styles of play. Tevez played in Brazil (Which for an Argentine is a huge deal) and also belongs to the small club of South Americans that have settled in the Premier League.
Tevez all the way
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Just done a few sums, in answer to those who keep banging on about Rooney not scoring enough goals, too many red cards, Torres is the golden boy with an exemplary behaviour record...
Worked out the average goals per game (based on the BBC stats for each player) and also how many red cards players had received over the course of their entire career (please can everyone bear in mind that Torres has only being playing in England for 2 years now, he did exist before!)
Rooney
0.37 goals per game for club (remember he's been playing backup to Ronaldo for 3 years)
0.45 goals per game for country
4 red cards
Drogba
0.47 goals per game for club
0.72 (!) gaols per game for country
4 red cards
Torres
0.45 goals per game for club
0.33 goals per game for country
3 red cards (!)
All pretty close I would say, apart from Drogba's international record.
However, with all that in mind I agree that Rooney is more of an attacking midfielder than a striker. I would love to see him playing in the hole behind a front 2 for United, filling the role that Scholes used to play before he tragically got too old.
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I'm a Liverpool fan and I think Steve's not far wrong with this. However, 'Staying Fit' as a rateable attribute? That's just daft. Injuries can happen to any player at any time and more often than not as a result of the actions of opposing players. You can't possibly say that any player is better or worse than another at not getting injured.
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how does drogba get the same score for finishing as torres!?..i find drogba lacks composure infront of goal and often blasts the ball at the keeper.
also the category of disipline and staying fit are not the best for judjeing strikers...maybe strengh or heading would be a better option....i still cant deceide who is the best out of those 3 though!
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Just about every category gets it very wrong, for me. Torres has much better finishing than Drogba or Rooney, and Drogba's team contribution as perhaps the world's best target man has been severely underestimated. He, like Ibrahimovic, can just as much for a team by standing in one place than Rooney or Tevez can by running for 95 minutes. People are making 'team contribution' synonymous with 'work rate'.
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Sentence in last comment should read: 'He, like Ibrahimovic, can do just as much for a team by standing in one place than Rooney or Tevez can by running for 95 minutes.'
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For some reason, u seem to leave heading out:
drogba 10
rooney 4
torres 7
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it's quite orthodox when you say "Torres" is the best. it's pointless reading this, what happened to the other strikers you mentioned, they have also been proven to be as deadly as well.
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I asked myself if I would rather have Torres or Drogba instead of Rooney for England. Drogba no way, Torres I could live with.
Torres and Rooney I can't split, 10/10
Drogba 9/10
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Best striker? Torres. I'm a Utd fan and any team in the Prem would love him there. Most gifted? Rooney, easily. Best finisher? I think Eduardo in the prem..
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7/10 for discipline for both Drogba and Rooney? That's a joke. I'm sorry but after those ratings it doesn't help put your opinion in good light at all.
Rooney is almost a liability with the stuff he's pulled. He's put his team in trouble time and time again and will do it time and time again. He mouths off to referees almost every game and gets away with it as well, because he's England's 'golden boy'.
Drogba seems to be non-existent in the Champions League this season, wait.. maybe that's because he is! And why would that be? That added to the fact he got sent off in the Champions League final which potentially cost Chelsea the European Cup as he could've taken one of the penalties.
You only rated them 7/10 (which is absolutely criminal) to keep the scores close. Also Torres is a FAR better finisher than both Drogba and Rooney, to rate them the same is simply not logical. And don't get me started on the pace issue. Your argument as to why Rooney is an 8/10 is because he pops up in the right place at the right time? How does that make him fast? That makes him aware of what's going on around him.
Based on these factors, Torres could've won this by a clear few points.
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What a weird blog.
Why award marks out of 10 in various categories, only to give the 'overall' award in that category to someone other than the player who got the highest marks? The defending one, for example, which Rooney should clearly get, if he's been given 9/10 instead of Drogba's 10/10.
Pace as well. Pace is pace. Being in 'the right place at the right time' is positioning. Torres is clearly the fastest - that's an absolute no brainer. To rate positioning, add another category, and call it positioning.
Then there's the finishing bit. OK, I'm biased, but Rooney? 9/10? Both Drogba and Torres finish the majority of good chances they get. They rarely (well, rarely these days in Drogba's case) go several matches without scoring. Rooney has a few months of being on fire, then a few months where he doesn't score at all. He has also never got close to the highest scoring totals of the other two. So how can he bet a better finisher? That makes no sense.
Sure, he may have a better long shot, but like with pace and positioning those are two seperate attributes. You could argue Carrick has a decent long shot, for example, but he certainly isn't a good finisher. Put in another category called 'long shots', and give Rooney top marks in that instead, rather than adding 'long shots' into the category of 'finishing' as if they were the same thing.
I know these things aren't meant to be taken seriously, like the guy says it's pub talk, back of fag packet stuff to while away a few minutes, but it doesn't make sense on it's own terms.
Here's my equivalent:
Finishing:
Drogba's great at heading and diving. 11/10.
Torres has a lovely haircut, and he's the best looking. 4/10
Rooney prefers the older lady. 7/10
ROONEY. He has a ginger beard so just edges this one.
Defending:
Drogba is from the Ivory Coast and probably likes Hip-Hop. 8/10
Torres has tattoos in Elvish on his arms. 17/10
Rooney smokes fags in the off season. 2/10
DROGBA. His bigger feet give him the nod here.
Playing Sitar:
Drogba is a beast. Strength and Power. On his day no-one can live with him. 6.3725/10
Torres is like lightning, and hardly scores the same goal twice. 4/742
Rooney is a great creator with incredible workrate, though he does have a temper. Sin 34.2
GEORGE HARRISON. The sadly deceased ex-Beatle is the clear winner here, despite a great showing from Goeff Boycott, who really does graft.
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Ooops - Drogba got 8/10 for defending, over Rooney's 9/10, obviously.
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I always find it amazing how many premiership-centric readers this blog has. That in it itself is not a problem since its the national league but what I can not stand is the generic labels handed out on a weekly basis, i.e Torres is the best striker in the world! Torres is not even the best striker of Spain, how can he be the best of the world??
David Villa has a better scoring record than him at club level and international level, is more valued by spaniards who should know a thing or two about football seeing as they boast the current European champions at both club and international level. And what of Samuel Eto'o? The best striker, in terms of contribution to team (goals and assists) in Spain over the last 5 years and has picked up where he left off in Italy! Lets not forget Torres at Atletico was not a special striker. He was gifted granted but nowhere near the level of Eto'o. Liverpool have done well to make him into the fearsome striker he is today but the best in the world?? Questionable.
As for the debate between these three, all three have very different qualities. Torres is the best finisher, Drogba the most powerful and Rooney the most creative. Without getting bogged down in the subjective ratings system employed in this blog, I would say, Torres is the best STRIKER of the three, Rooney is the best PLAYER of the three but as a defender/manager who would I least like to face...DROGBA hands down! If all three were on top of the game on the same day in the PREMIERSHIP, Drogba would be the most fearsome simply because of his power and all round team contribution.
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I am saying this as an Everton season ticket holder.
Your blog is titled "Deadliest Striker", the deadliest striker is Torres as shown by the following stats.
Torres has scored 46 goals in 64(8) appearances in the Premier League.
Drogba has scored 61 goals in 141(32) appearances in the Premier League.
Rooney has scored 71 goals in 164(16 appearances in the Premier League, for Manchester United.
This shows that it's not even close between Torres and the other two. Your blog is a sham, aimed at promoting Rooney, due to him being English, coincidentally just ahead of the World Cup. I again reiterate that I am an saying this as an Everton season ticket holder.
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I dislike Liverpool just as much as the next bloke. But to place Rooney above Torres is unreal. If we are talking about an out & out striker someone to score you goals. An "Inzaghi" then look no further than Torres the kids prolific, he has great skills, suberb shot, searing pace & fantastic finishing for me nobody comes close in the premiership nor any other league.
For me Torres is currently the best out & out striker in the world.
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Simply ludicrous blog -
Agenda - To keep the England bandwagon rolling all the way to the almighty train wreck that will be next years world cup campaign..
BBC - there are more interesting subjects to blog about than this.. poor show!
Torres is a better striker than the other 2... Stats don't lie, and in the EPL he has a vastly superior record. A better player? That's certainly arguable. But Rooney has played in a different position, and can only loosely be classed as a striker. Drogba is the better link-up man, and much as I dislike him, is a monster of a player!
Anyone who believes Rooney a better striker than either Torres, or Drogba for that matter, needs a cold shower!
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This is whats in the blog and i've added Kuyt and by the blogs scoring, lets see where he will be.
FINISHING
Torres - 9/10
Drogba - 9/10
Rooney - 9/10
Kuyt - not brilliant though is getting better 5/10
TEAM CONTRIBUTION
Torres - 7/10
Drogba - 8/10
Rooney - 9/10
Kuyt - works so hard you could light up NEW YORK if we could work out how to catch his energy 10/10
PACE
Torres - 9/10
Drogba - 8/10
Rooney - 8/10
Kuyt - Not that fast 5/10
DISCIPLINE
Torres - 9/10
Drogba - 7/10
Rooney - 7/10
Kuyt - Never in trouble 10/10
STAYING FIT
Torres - 7/10
Drogba - 8/10
Rooney - 9/10
Kuyt - Never injured 15/10
Totals.
Torres --- 41/50
Drogba --- 40/50
Rooney --- 42/50
Kuyt --- 45/50
That how much bull this is, by this blog KUYT!!!! is the best.
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7/10 for Rooney on Discipline? Your having a giraffe.
Torres is the best all round striker in the above list. Then Drogba and then Rooney.
Sadly for your list Adebayor IS on a par with Drogba and Rooney and should also have been on list.
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A striker is a striker......Why would I want Rooney when my midfield is already sorted.
A striker is there to score goals, and if he does that than he is priceless.
Last minute, need a goal? In the box? Who would you choose?
I'd go for Torres. Everytime.
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A pointless debate if ever there was one. One category I'd like removed is injury history. How on earth can it be considered as if it's something in the player's control? Injuries are not unique to any human, leave alone players, and bodies do differ (some just being more fragile than others).
How does one purport to compare such dissimilar players. In truth, each offers their teams something very different. I wonder if many here watch the Reds play to see how much El Nino fits in the team ethos. He drops deep to supply crosses to Gerrard on occassion (e.g. our second goal at Old Trafford last season), or goes to the flank to supply crosses (examples abound). Does he help in defense? No player in a Rafa Benitez team is exempt from defensive duty (check your facts please). Shirking from such partly explains why Babel's been omitted from starting lineups.
Even without weighing in on other league strikers e.g. Bent or Arshavin, the three teams in question are extremely different in setup, mode of play, playing personnel and suchlike. While all three place heavy emphasis on a team ethos first, Chelsea is an experienced team of mature players who've played with each other for quite a while. They do have their style, described a bit correctly as "attritional". They play a grinding, physical, English-like soccer. Liverpool, is a team where everyone telepathically plays any position, akin to Cruyff's total football, with uncompromising defense providing a platform for offensive play. This might explain why players are "played out of position" (read the recent comments by Jermaine Pennant to understand). Man U have an offensive playing style, heavy on passing, with more offensive midfielders than pure centre forwards.
Each of the above influences how personnel are deployed. Drogba becomes more of a figurehead upfront, with poaching and creation of space (many a time, physically) - not to mention holding the ball - as part of his style. In Rafa's favored 4-2-3-1 system, Torres becomes more of a finisher of crosses from all over (Kuyt, Benayoun, Gerrard, GJ, etc). His lone striker's role involves creation of space, outrunning defenders, all of which are part of his natural talents. He doesn't need an "all round game" with the likes of Kuyt in the team. At OT, Rooney is an all-rounded, box-to-box creator (what Kuyt does for the Reds and a player Wayne should more correctly be compared to), so he doesn't necessarily need to be a pure striker.
All the above create endless permutations and combinations of playing possibilities. That said, a striker should be mostly judged by goals scored. Contributing to offence changes the striker's position from the traditional no. nine to more of a ten, a trequartista who plays behind the main striker in the "hole". This assertion definitely identifies the two pure strikers here as Torres and Drogba.
Wayne Rooney due to his obvious giftings is a versatile midfielder (like Gerrard or Carragher), who can play a number of positions. If the article's key question is who's the better striker, then it ought to be Torres by a country mile. However, each of the three (on behalf of others not considered for debate) offers something different to each team they play in. Each, like any human I know (not just players) comes with individual talent and ability. It therefore becomes futile to write up an article heavy on comparison.
As a Red, I fear Drogba's threat, BUT Chelsea isn't just the Drog. There's Anelka, Lamps, Malouda, Essien and any other (even Ivanovic). Man U has many offensive threats, not just Rooney (with Giggs sober head always a danger to the opposition). Is Liverpool a "two-man team"? We played most of last season without the Gerrard-Torres axis, yet scored more goals in the league than anyone else (77 plus a goal difference of 50). Why haven't we collapsed after Alonso (player departures are normal everywhere)? It's because we do have other personnel and our results demonstrate this.
As fans, and this is an appeal to the mature among us, love your team passionately but be mature in your assessment of others. It's just a game after all. True lovers of the beautiful game appreciate what others offer and it's what we ought to always do. Bad-mouthing others or insulting is quite juvenile.
YN(Ever)WA(Ever)!
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quite simply, TORRES!
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I categorize the Best Striker in EPL on following points
FINISHING
Fernando Torres - 9/10
Wayne Rooney - 9/10
Robin van Persie - 8/10
Didier Drogba - 9/10
Robinho - 8/10
TEAM CONTRIBUTION
Fernando Torres - 8/10
Wayne Rooney - 9/10
Robin van Persie - 9/10
Didier Drogba - 7/10
Robinho - 9/10
PACE
Fernando Torres - 9/10
Wayne Rooney - 8/10
Robin van Persie - 8/10
Didier Drogba - 8/10
Robinho - 9/10
DISCIPLINE
Fernando Torres - 9/10
Wayne Rooney - 7/10
Robin van Persie - 8/10
Didier Drogba - 6/10
Robinho - 8/10
STAYING FIT
Fernando Torres - 8/10
Wayne Rooney - 9/10
Robin van Persie - 8/10
Didier Drogba - 9/10
Robinho - 9/10
CREATIVITY
Fernando Torres - 8/10
Wayne Rooney - 8/10
Robin van Persie - 8/10
Didier Drogba - 6/10
Robinho - 9/10
NATURAL SKILL/ABILITY
Fernando Torres - 9/10
Wayne Rooney - 9/10
Robin van Persie - 9/10
Didier Drogba - 8/10
Robinho - 9/10
POWER
Fernando Torres - 9/10
Wayne Rooney - 9/10
Robin van Persie - 9/10
Didier Drogba - 9/10
Robinho - 9/10
TEAM DEPENDENCY
Fernando Torres - 5/10
Wayne Rooney - 5/10
Robin van Persie - 8/10
Didier Drogba - 7/10
Robinho - 8/10
LOOKS/POPULARITY
Fernando Torres - 9/10
Wayne Rooney - 9/10
Robin van Persie - 9/10
Didier Drogba - 6/10
Robinho - 9/10
As per the ratings above, the ranks are
1) Robinho - 87/100
2) Robin van Persie - 84/100
3) Fernando Torres - 83/100
4) Wayne Rooney - 82/100
5) Didier Drogba - 75/100
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
A striker is expected to score goals. A strike is a part of the team that plays on the field, so he is also expected to work an contribute to the team by covering the lapses of his follow team mates.
Out of these three;Drogba, Rooney and Torres who is doing all these?
Drogba plays as a defender when he is needed to defend,he plays as a midfielder when the need also arises and definately a world class player that you can't take away from him. Do you agree that he is the biggest nightmare of most defenders? All the three srikers are good and each has a quality that the other two may not have.But Drogba to me is the best of the three.
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@262
Drogba, Torres and Rooney can all be a nightmare, even for the best defenders in the world
However, of the three, Torres and Drogba are the more menacing and both are more capable of providing the goals to win games when it matters.
Rooney contributes far more than Torres does to team play, as does Drogba, who is perhaps the best in the world at leading the line and holding the ball up, but that is not specifically the job of a striker, which is of course to score the goals that win you games.
To be in position to score - not challenging on the flanks or tracking back into midfield like Rooney or Kuyt for example.
For this reason Torres is the best pure striker, poacher, finisher.. in the EPL. He is always in position to score when it matters. He has scored more regularly than the others in the EPL. On top of this, he can score goals from nothing, and he usually scores important goals in big games.
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If you look at who is the best striker in terms of a striker Then torres is the best. He fits the role of a striker in a well balanced side. And that is to it. Drogba is only as good as Torres on his day and all days arent his. Rooney is the most valuable player of them all, but he is not the best striker of the three
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End of debate......Drogba all day long, just look at the strength he showed to set up our second today and his sublime pass for Anelka, was Torres playing today or was he injured cause he wasn't on show at all.....Some striker he is!
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Torres is flavour of the month but ask any Premier League defender who they'd least like to face and I reckon most would say Drogba. He's a nightmare to defend against because of his strength. A good footballing centre half would fancy their chances of being able to contain Rooney or Torres but would always struggle to contain Drogba. True, Torres has a better scoring record in the Prem because most teams rely on Terry Butcher style centre backs - for some reason we still think big is better - and he can outwit them easily with his sharp intelligence and movement but a Cannavaro (in his prime), Carvalho or Lucio would always fancy his chances against Torres. That goal he scored a couple of weeks ago when he drifted in from the left then beat the lumbering centre half on the left and toe-poked in was the perfect example of what he can do in the Prem but would never pull off in Serie A. I've never seen anyone suppress Drogba in any European game, and he's more than just a bully as that left footer showed the other week. Best strike on the 'wrong' foot I've seen in years. Torres is nowhere near as two-footed. Also, Drogba's mere presence creates chances for others. It usually takes two defenders to stop him so space is freed up for Anelka or Lampard.
But Torres is a fantastic striker. His balance is sensational. He can go either way in an instant like George Best. Rooney is a superb player too, and more creative than either, but spends too much time being involved in build up play because he wants to be involved in everything. If Ferguson or Capello could get him to play purely as an all-out striker he'd be right up there because he reads the game better than almost anyone, although he lacks Drogba's power and Torres' natural athleticism.
Of current world strikers I'd have Drogba at the top but who you'd pick for your dream team would really depend on the system and type of game you intended to play. Luis Fabiano is in the top three at the moment and his strengths are really suited (obviously) to the looser, spontaneous Brazilian style of play. That just wouldn't suit Drogba because he lacks the instant first touch.
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Quite simply put, none of these guys are in Drogba's class. He has everything, everything! Team contribution, Free kicks, Pace, Fabulous first touch...everything.
If he was English, we would all have made convenient excuses to forget his disciplinary issues (Rooney is no saint, Cantona was a thug, Gazza is an idiot, Best was a whoremonger and a drunk! the list is endless)
Tonights match proves more than ever which of these guys I would love in my team. And he does this consistently - against Arsenal, against United, against Liverpool.
I'm a United fan but's face it. I hate playing against Drogba and I'd rather have my defenders face Torres or Rooney than Drogba.
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Not saying Cantona or Best were English but you get the point
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no question, it's got to be drogba. His pure physicality, mentality and awareness is amazing. He has got what no other striker in the world has got. He's strong, has the ability to push past players, his mentality he has a keen sense for success and is dedicated to winning, and his awareness, runs, and shooting his top class. He is a top scorer, so to me, Drogba has it all. Drogba number one striker
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Torres is the best striker, but Rooney is the best player.
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I think Drogba is the best out and out striker in the world. He is strong, quick, skilful, double footed, brilliant in the air, majestic, influential and lethal. Ever since I saw him for Marseilles I knew he was special. He is by the far the best Chelsea have got. Nobody can do what he can do, especially not Torres.
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Steve i guess from your totals you know you have made errors in the way you gave marks. There is know way Rooney is better than either Drogba or Torres. he is the least effective striker amongst the 3 players. The competition for top spot is between Drogba & Torres, so you are off the mark with your assessment. Its a failure
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For the guys rating Torres as the worlds best striker, i wonder where you watch your football. In the spanish team he is second to David Villa by miles. When he was in spain, the likes of Eto, Fabiano, Villa, Messi were all ahead of him in the striking order. I guess the english mentality of over rating players has caught up with you guys who forget that football is played in other countries at the highest level. Can you all take a look at strikers in internationals or champions league? Torres doesnt feature as a dominant forward that determines games as regular as the likes of Messi,fabiano, Drogba....or even Steven Gerrard (a midfielder) his team mate at l'pool. Yes he is good, but still not near the best of strikers.
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Steve's thrown the bait in the water for a good old dust up, and he's got plenty of takers. I'll give some more to think about.
Managers.
A "straw poll' like this one fails to take into account team setups, strength of squads, managerial expertise and acumen, or otherwise, and the management of the game plan by those outside of these three players. You could also add to this poll the "best game plan follower", or " most likely to ignore the skipper", or a number of other parameters.
Benitez plays Torres because he's got little else to back up with, and Torres is prone to injury at times, which means the 'pool are more disadvantaged by his absence. Does Torres win or lose based on this? Would he have more goals, and a better maturation of his fine skills if he were at Chelsea, Man U, or someone else like Spurs, or Arsenal? Frankly i think he'd be excellent at Arsenal, more so than paired with Rooney. Torres and Arsharvin together would be lethal, imho.
Fergie is Fergie, and will pick teams as he sees fit, with a very large squad to choose from, and what seems a neverending supply of FA sponsored luck. Does Rooney win or lose from this arrangement? Man U certainly do, because time and again, the Reds pull a game out of the bag, and walk away with a point or more. I can't see Rooney and Torres, or Drogba and Rooney in that team together, but let's be frank, ManU don't really need it.
Chelsea have made it a habit of steaming through managers, but one thing is for sure. Under Morinho, Hiddink, and Ancelloti, Drogba is playing great football, and it looks like he's thoroughly enjoying himself. Would he have scored more goals, if these 3 managers had been in charge for the entire time Droggers has been at Chelsea? Drogba and Anelka are a natural match, now the last 2 managers have them working together, and i would imagine defenders have their hands full with what is fast becoming a very lethal combination. (I think Nick Anelka is a very good player, who could done with Hiddink involved earlier in his career.)
So i'm amused by the poll, and the inevitable responses, and have enjoyed the wide variety of comments, both pragmatic and passionate.
Just to wind things up a bit further, Drogba gets my vote for his all round skills. If i were a defender, he's the one i'd least like to face on the pitch.
It would be worth running this amusing poll again at the end of the season, now that Ronaldo and Alonso have gone, and see how the trio of strikers you've picked, have got on.
Some more.....bait.
:)
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You missed goals to games ratio and Torres is a cut above, I won't argue the fact that Torres is the best, Rooney doesn't even come close in my opinion and Drogba is just a girl.
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232. At 05:20am on 03 Oct 2009, simonma1704 wrote:
ok 'The 606 Member Formerly Known as 'The Zog''
In the premier league, he has scored an incredible 46 goals in 64 games. Compare this to Drogba's and Rooney:
Drogba: 61 goals in 141 games.
Rooney: 71 goals in 164 games.
ypou have given these stats which may well be true, i havnt checked. what you have failed to mention is rooney played a lot of the last season or two out on the wings to feed ronaldo which obviosly had an effect on how many he scored. if he played up front for all the games he played on the wings you would have a much better reflection of whos better but he didnt so that cannot really be compared. rooney is a much more versatile player than torres or drogba who will work harder than the other two and also will get more assists!
_________________________________________________________________________
The thing you're missing is if Shrek really was that good he would have been played as a striker but he wasn't, surely 'the master' Fergie wouldn't be so stupid to play the best striker in the premiership on the wing?
Go figure.
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I knew when I saw Rooney named with Torres and Drogba you were going to put him number 1. He is the most overrated striker in the league bar none. Thats not saying he is very good. He couldn't live with Torres as an out and out striker. Drogba and no Anelka? Doesn't add up at all mate. Pretty sad really.
I like Roo, and I am United Fan. He brings a lot yes and is very important to the team he plays for. But Rooney couldn't do a job at Liverpool or Arsenal. They play differently. Torres could play for anyone Anelka has played for everyone...Rooney on top? Tell you what you must have had too many beers in that pub chat of yours, and you are probably standing outside beating the krap out of yourself now... As for even mentioning Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch as top strikers....and ignorning Keane for years when he was brilliant.......ah heck you must be mcnulty in disguise.
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43. At 03:02am on 02 Oct 2009, reddev99 wrote:
Utd fan here. There is clearly a lot of bias in this discussion, and anyway, it is not a fair comparison.
For example, when Ronaldo was at Utd, he scored more goals than all 3 of these players, yet he wasn't classed as a 'striker' he was primarily a right winger, pushing forward.
Rooney and Drogba ARE classed as strikers, but don't score as often as Torres. See the problem here?
I for one do not judge a 'striker' simply on goal scoring, because then there would be no contest, because lets face it, Torres would win everytime.
---------------------------------------------
Hate to be pedantic but the word Striker, means to be a hitter, and the only thing to hit is the back of the net. Goal Scorer. Not Number 9 or 10 or 11 but Striker. It's goals and nothing else. Thats why everyone thinks Berbatov is a waste.
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i think last weekend show that none of us know anything... the order?
drogba
err thats it!
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I honestly think that Rooney isn't as good as everybody thinks, im a Manchester United fan and at the moment Rooney isn't exactly plaing to his true potential but i think that he needs to pull his socks up and score more goals or defoe will be taking his place in the england squad
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