Entertainment For Lively Minds
Would any British Football players make it into a World 11?
Posted by peterafifer on 4 April 2011 - 9:12pm.
On Saturday night I was watching MOTD with my daughter (I bribed her with chips) and she asked me who the best player in Britain was. I really struggled before I thought of it this way: would anyone playing in Britain make it into a world 11? The only one that I thought would have a chance is Ashley Cole. What do you think? Crouch for the last 2 minutes?
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Two words
Gareth Bale.
Heart says
Robert Snodgrass.
Head says Ashley Cole or Gareth Bale.
Nope
I would agree that Bale or Cole would be nearest, but there are better players defensively than Bale, and Cole is a tw*t (not a scientific reason, I know).
Ashley cole
And that's your lot.
In the ubiquitous 433:
Casillas
Alves/Ramos
Vidic
Piqué
Cole
Mascherano/Busquets
Xavi
Iniesta
Messi
Villa
Ronaldo
Jesus, what a depressing exercise. I don't recall a previous period where so many of the world's best players have played for the same teams at club and national level.
Bale wouldn't get a sniff, by the way. Quality player, but ludicrously overhyped.
Agree with most of that
except Ramos and Mascherano.
On the bench - van der Sar, Lahm, Alonso, Robben, Sneijder
Do you mean Sergio Ramos ?
Living in Spain, I get to see his half-arsed style of defending on a regular basis. He also seems to have lost most of his speed in recent years. He´s nowhere near Dani Alves. or Lahm, or half a dozen more I could mention
Vidic?
Ahead of that hairy bloke who looks like Sideshow Bob who's been doing astonishing things for Chelsea?
I think so.
Luiz has been astonishing mainly because he veers so comprehensively between world-beating and inept.
Rio if fit
Giggs and Scholes if 10 years younger. Yes, quite sad really. Pop along to your local clubs academy and check out the big for their age box to box players. The smaller talented boys (see eminentdans list) have given up chasing giant shadows while looking at the ball fly over their heads. Bitter? Me? Yep.
Billy The Fish
`
Right now?
I think the answer is probably nobody. There have been some great British players in some positions in recent years, but there always seems to be somebody who's slightly greater from somewhere else.
My main problem with these exercises, though, is that eleven great individuals do not necessarily a great team make. For example, even if we could agree that Gareth Bale is "better" than Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel di Maria, the Davids Villa and Silva, Neymar and Robinho (and calling that a big if is an understatement), are we sure he'd fit comfortably into a Messi/Xavi/Iniesta-led World XI based on a short-passing possession game rather than lightning 70-yards-in-7-seconds counters?
Bale?
He'll soon be keeping Cole out of everyones fantasy World XI.
Bale / Cole / Baines
Left-back seems to be where the UK strength lies. It may be a bit crazy to add Leighton Baines but he's been in as good form as Cole this season.