https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52511238
His touch was sublime, who can forget the crossfield ball he killed with a deft touch
To be honest he did let the ball do most of the work; as his tee shirt said 'pass the ball to me'. His talent did the rest. I'm not sure he would make many best 11's because of the work rate. Wouldn't fit into a 'total football team', defend as a group, attack as a group etc.
Still a great player
He was a wonderfully gifted player, some of his control was stunning, but I don't think anyone really consistently saw the best of him. At Spuds with Robbie Keane he formed a top quality partnership but most of the time he was lazy. I think a waste of a real talent. If he had had the attitude and work ethic of someone like Keegan what a player he would be been.
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I doubt if we will ever see the likes of him again, he really was a one off so think yourself lucky to have watched such a talent.
Great for us when we were winning but infuriating when we were losing.
Quote from: filham on May 03, 2020, 11:24:44 AM
I doubt if we will ever see the likes of him again, he really was a one off so think yourself lucky to have watched such a talent.
Great for us when we were winning but infuriating when we were losing.
He only came to Fulham because of Jol and left after Jol left. So no great 'kudos' there. Mitro is the opposite, stayed when Slav left. It would have been easy for him to walk.
he was talented but lazy
he had no interest in the team and in the article he clearly forgot he played for us
Probably the greatest player I've ever seen - and that includes Pele, Eusebio, Best, Moore etc.
Best penalty taker i have seen
Cunning and lazy.
Great player, wrong team.
I honestly was not excited about it amidst the general euphoria when we signed him.
Quote from: sunburywhite on May 03, 2020, 01:57:06 PM
Best penalty taker i have seen
Including Danny Murphy?
Quote from: Southcoastffc on May 03, 2020, 03:21:00 PM
Quote from: sunburywhite on May 03, 2020, 01:57:06 PM
Best penalty taker i have seen
Including Danny Murphy?
I stand corrected
Berbatov socred 22 missed 4
Murphy scored 30 missed 1
But he could make a keeper look very silly.
I'm not sure he was lazy, he was languid, and played at a different speed, but those better at finding the stats than me, will see he usually covered a lot of ground when he played. What he didn't do was the continual lung busting sprints, that people associate with work rate, he wasn't that type of player however he could get past people and score fantastic goals. He was a joy to watch
He could have made a wonderful career in the circus as a juggler, his act coming on between the Bearded Lady and the Human Cannon Ball.
Quote from: Woolly Mammoth on May 04, 2020, 10:04:23 AM
He could have made a wonderful career in the circus as a juggler, his act coming on between the Bearded Lady and the Human Cannon Ball.
I could think of a few of our ex players who would have made excellent human cannonballs .... particularly with the net left back in the caravan......
Quote from: Southcoastffc on May 03, 2020, 03:21:00 PM
Quote from: sunburywhite on May 03, 2020, 01:57:06 PM
Best penalty taker i have seen
Including Danny Murphy?
Regardless of the stats, those two may be the 2 best penalty takers in the history of the game. I can't think of one better.
Quote from: The Rock on May 04, 2020, 04:56:35 PM
Quote from: Southcoastffc on May 03, 2020, 03:21:00 PM
Quote from: sunburywhite on May 03, 2020, 01:57:06 PM
Best penalty taker i have seen
Including Danny Murphy?
Regardless of the stats, those two may be the 2 best penalty takers in the history of the game. I can't think of one better.
Le Tissier comes to mind, and I think Balotelli has a great record. Also don't think stats could reasonably be disregarded when discussing best penalty takers, so Berbatov is probably not that near the top of the list even though he looked like calmness personified.
Quote from: The Mekon on May 04, 2020, 09:30:10 AM
I truly believe he is the main reason we got relegated. Talented player with a crap attitude. I think he destroyed the team spirit.
Very much agree Mekon.
In his first season with us it was not so apparent.
In the second season Jol had so many flair players and so few bread and butter workers (incl Berba) that our Prem spot was on the line even before he was eventually sacked.
This was why he was special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdZUH2A5GM
And this for work rate, who said he wasnt bob to box
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zBHQlCvvkU
Quote from: sunburywhite on May 05, 2020, 06:57:47 AM
This was why he was special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdZUH2A5GM
Nothing special, any decent footballer should be able to do that !
Quote from: The Rock on May 04, 2020, 04:56:35 PM
Quote from: Southcoastffc on May 03, 2020, 03:21:00 PM
Quote from: sunburywhite on May 03, 2020, 01:57:06 PM
Best penalty taker i have seen
Including Danny Murphy?
Regardless of the stats, those two may be the 2 best penalty takers in the history of the game. I can't think of one better.
Mark Blake?
It was the way he did it
Feet made from Gossamer wings
I agree about Le Tissier. Wonderful talent. I think he missed one in 48, Mark Crossley was the 'keeper.
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Heidar Helguson scored 18/18 penalties from 2004 onwards, haven't seen any stats from before that though. The goalkeepers include Van Der Sar, Mark Schwarzer and Petr Cech (twice).
Gifted to the max. Increasingly lazy over time. Had such close-in skill with the ball. The misdirection movements, ever so slight. Light on his feet. Quick, not fast. Wouldn't chase a loose ball. Wouldn't transition (that I could recall anyway). Exceptional passer.
His goals kept us up in his first season.
His second season he did seem more of a liability to us a TEAM.
The expression; " A superb slow dribbler in traffic" coined in the media at the time is the way I shall remember him. He didn't wreck the club all by himself, so the memory is a pleasant one.
