Rooney's carrying an injury so it's debatable whether he should be playing at all. I don't know the story behind Adebeyor's substitution but it's normal for players to be substituted towards the end of a game if they're looking tired or to change tactics. Anyway, Tottenham beating Chelsea has blown the title race wide open.
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Originally Posted by The Ikara Cult
Yeah i take your point about them being very different players, its just that for the last few months we've had everyone on the TV, newspapers, radio saying "rooney is the best in the world" without much more than a mention of Messi, if that.
Something that people miss out about Messi is he isnt a flair player who stands around, he closes down and works to get his team the ball if he doesnt have it, in the same way Rooney does. The best forward players know it doesnt matter if you win the ball yourself, its about making the opposition play the difficult pass, which they both do brilliantly.
I never saw Maradonna play so i cant chip into that arguement, the only comparison I can make is Zidane and for me Zidane stands above him at the moment, because Zidane reached his peak in his late 20's/early 30s. We cant tell if Messi could be that type of player at 30. Id say Fabregas definitely can, so can Rooney.
For me its between Messi, Fabregas and Rooney to be the best of this generation, that ive seen anyway
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The blind Rooney-worship is a bit irritating, even though I do think it's ultimately justified. It does get a bit annoying though when the people doing it were only half aware that Messi even existed before the Arsenal game.
I totally agree with your point about Messi being more than just a flair player. I don't think he's as effective tracking back as Rooney but that's a size issue more than anything to do with skill or commitment. Going forward though, Rooney isn't even in the same league as Messi. Again, they're such different players. I think that's why the Maradona comparison keeps coming up (besides the obvious Argentina connection). It makes sense in a way that wouldn't with say Zidane (who I personally rate above Maradona) Messi's style/role is almost uncannily identical with Maradona's. I'd be more fascinated if a player emerged that could be compared with Zidane - at least potentially (Fabregas?).
I agree with your three candidates for best player of their generation but can't agree about Lampard being a player of the decade. I'm already disagreeing with my own list, but not to the extent that I'd include him.