Question of the Week: Players you've come to respect/dislike

[Mandieta6]

Remember, if you have an idea for a question you would like to see, PM it to me, and each week one question will be selected based on the quality of the question and it's subject. I will not choose the questions on my own, but this is the best way to ensure that we don't keep discussing the same things.

Send a goddamn question you idiots.

This week's comes courtesy of no one:

What players did you previously rate highly and have now come to realise that they're average/poor/failed to fulfill their potential, etc? Or, on the flipside, what players did you not rate and now you begrudingly admit aren't that bad?

Past Questions:
13/9 - What will football be like in 50 years?
19/9 - What are some rule changes that would improve the game?
3/10 - The European Super-League Discussion
11/10 - How would you spend 50m?
19/10 - Why does ____ underperform?
26/10 - How to stop Barcelona?

 

[Mandieta6]

I thought about this when Liverpool's Lucas got injured for the season and everyone was crushed because he's one of their better players. I got to thinking, this can't be the same Lucas who meh-ed at everything and excelled at nothing from a few years ago. But it is. I used to really dislike Lucas, because he was a poor player who had no outstanding qualities other than not sucking horribly in certain aspects of his game, but he's become a very respectable DM. He's even carved himself a tiny little niche (and by nice I'm grasping at straws because it's not that at all) by being one of the better players at tracking the playmaker across the pitch, to the wide zones.

You might scoff at that, but really, most DMs do struggle with tracking the AMC to the wide zones. It's become a topic, those AMCs that make good lateral movements thrive (e.g Silva) and those that don't get marked out of the game by the DM. I have to give it to Lucas, he's improved. That said, if there is no designated AMC to mark, Lucas is poor to decent, but the point of this thread isn't to single out players who are good, but those that have improved beyond your expectations for them (or declined).

Also in that vein, Lescott, Micah Richards, Walcott. I don't think any of them are top players, but they've all performed, with some consistency, at a level I didn't think them capable of. Richards and Walcott have learned to play to their strengths, and they've both been long enough at the same club playing the same role to create an understanding with their teammates, and in Theo's case especially, I think that is a big factor in their improvement. I still don't rate Walcott, but there's no denying that he works. Richards really has improved, and his trampling runs have really helped City, although I'm certain that without all those excellent players around him distracting the opposition, he wouldn't be half the player he is today. He's still poor on the ball, but consideringn that he was absolutely abysmal before, that's not too bad. And he's still young, too.

Lescott is different because he was good at Everton, poor at City and now he's performing at an acceptable level for a title-aspiring side. I used to rate him, then I didn't, now it's in between. On paper, he's not in the Top 10-15 CBs in the Prem, but in practice, he probably is (helped by the fact that all the good CBs seem to have taken the year off). Again, this most definitely has to do with City being City.

 

[Sir Calumn]

Last season I hated Balotelli, now I've decided I absolutely love him, but that's got nothing to do with his football!

I agree with you about Lucas, I thought he was awful right up until this season, but he is actually really important for the club. Also the way he plays allows Gerrard and Adam to better display their creative qualities without having to worry about the defence being covered.

Erm... Darren Fletcher took a long time to convince me.

I dont know, there are probably a lot more but I cant think of them. One I used to like and now dislike is Glen Johnson, I just think he has next to no defensive ability and is keeping better players out of the England side. Also I loved Suarez when he first came to the EPL but his diving and his little rat face are starting to annoy me.

And I will try to think of a question to PM you for next week I promise!

 

[Filipower]

Di María, back in his first Benfica season. Rubbish. Now he's a very good player.

Also Lionel Messi. He used to be not so special.

 

[Mandieta6]

Yeah, Fletcher went from being poor to great in my mind. Shame about his mystery illness.

 

[poet11]

Alex Song is one. Walcott, i think has improved a lot. I still think he doesn't have that high a ceiling.

Eduardo is a player who could have been a fantastic player.....was unfortunate.

One player I've come to like after despising him is Busquets. I haven't seen a player like him(the fascinating role he plays).

 

[farmboy]

I might catch some flack for this as a united fan, but my respect for Roy Keane has really fallen since he retired and failed as a manager.
Edit: more specifically, just how much of an ass he is really became obvious as his career wound down.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Pretty obvious during his career too

 

[Jaboldinho]

Busquets, a bit. I hated him when he first started, he messed up a lot, and still Pep seemed to prefer him over Yaya, which ultimately lead to selling Yaya. And I didn't like it. But he has developed into a unique role, and he plays it close to perfection. I dislike him for other reasons, though.

 

[farmboy]

Pretty obvious during his career too

Yeah but I was young and I let my judgement get blinded by his loyalty to United. So it was more a case of me growing up than him changing at all.

 

[Sir Calumn]

Oh Park Ji Sung, at first I thought United only bought him to sell shirts in Asia and at first they only played him against the **** teams and I thought that was all he was good for, but I grew to admire his work ethic and the way he could pull out good performances against big teams.

 

[Dytza]

I used to rate Angel Di María as a very limited player during his Benfica days, and first half of season with Madrid. Now he's one of my favourite player. Fantastic!

Maybe I'd have 3 or 4 more but the are not coming in my mind atm.

 

[MaestroZidane]

Tevez - I was cheering for him when he was in ManCity. But now with that crap that he is pulling... he can go F**K himself and stay in Argentina.

 

[Back Door Skip]

Alexis Sanchez... I thought Barcelona paid too much for him with guys like Villa, Pedro Bojan and Cuenca in the team, but he's shown flashes of brilliance when not injured.

 

[Arnau]

Hleb. Thought we sing a class player in 08 but he is ****

 

[Sevillista]

I gained a lot of respect for Raul after his move to Schalke. It took balls to try a new club, and he proved that he could succeed without the benefit of Galactico teammates. I still don't think he's world class by any means, but he's better than I gave him credit for.

 

[Mandieta6]

Regarding Hleb, I'm as surprised as you are, I used to rate him quite highly.

 

[Sir Calumn]

Regarding Hleb, I'm as surprised as you are, I used to rate him quite highly.

Ditto.

Also Flamini, went from a player I disliked to a player I really liked, and back again.

A lot of the Arsenal and ex Arsenal guys actually. I thought Rosicky was really promising at Dortmund and for Czech Republic and he has really disappointed, van Persie I really didnt rate when he first came to Arsenal and now he's world class... and the list goes on. I guess being an Arsenal fan is never dull, unless you like winning things of course.

 

[Arnau]

I believe Rosicky would have become world class if he had continuity, injuries killed him... a bit like Van Persie, when he is able to play +10 games in a row free from injury (this season) is top stuff, same goes to Robben. Hleb is an strange case.

I always wondered why are the Dutch so prone to injury.

 

[Help?]

Eastern Europeans, they all give up after a bit of success