Fo Dne wrote:The facts are, if you take a very good Sunday or Saturday league player and played him in a professional match in the premier league, baring fitness (assuming thats not a strong point) they wouldn't completely embarress themselves. I'm not saying here they'd stand out or look good but the chances are if they have a good game they'll more than likely just look like a run of the mill player.
Its the same with premier league players, if you put them on a Sunday league pitch. They don't all of a sudden become the best dribblers, passers and everything else on the pitch. They still play the same way and do the same things and have the same Ideas. IE Alonso wouldn't all of a sudden become really fast and a great dribbler who'll beat twenty men on his own and smash on in from the edge of the box. His strengths and weaknesses will still be the same.
It's rare that I completely disagree with you Stu, but I do here. "Sunday League" is a bit of an all encompassing phrase, but if you mean non-paid local league level, then IMHO these two statements are nonsense. Anybody in there who could step up into the Premier League and look like a "run of the mill" player on a good day is in the wrong job.
Similarly, if Alonso moved into that standard and played, he would look like Pele. His weaknesses would still be the same relative to the rest of HIS game, but the defincies of the other players in comparison to him would mean they were never shown up. His lack of pace would be much less aaparent as his reading of the game would be so superior to everyone else that he'd look two yards quicker. He'd be able to dribble alright in that standard too, it's a completely different game altogether.
Similar in my eyes to putting a grown man and regular decent standard local league player in amongst under 15 boys. You would hope that the man would stand out like a sore thumb, so would Alonso in local leagues, or indeed any of these other players which we sometimes slag off.
I know from reading your posts previously that you've played against some pro's, past present and probably future and so have I. You probs weren't a million miles off making it yourself and neither was I. You'll also know that there's a World of difference between playing for the Rose and Crown Badgers in the Cricklewood Intermediate Leave division three (southern section) to the say the Northern Counties East League. If we're talking leagues where blokes get paid, regardless of how much it is then there are admittedly some good players. Some guys have slipped through the net for a variety of reasons, some have good jobs and prefer to play part time and work rather than sweat on a one year extension at Rotherham.
They are extreme exceptions though in my experience, the ones who on a superb day who could hold their own in the Premiership. I played against quite a few lads who made it, as they were on their way up and to be fair, there wasn't a whole lot in it between them and me. As a centre half, there were a couple who I always felt I could handle no bother, players who went on to earn good livings (Marco Gabbiadini who I played against many times being a prime example) but were they to have come back into my life while I was drifting around decent standard local leagues, I'd have got a rude wake up call I reckon. I played against a fella called Tommy Hutchinson (not the Man City one) who had played many times apparently for Wimbledon in the lower leagues in a previous life. He must have been well in his thirties when we played him (Hackney and Leighton Premier league, decent standard, lots of ex apprentices, injured ex pro's) and from corners you couldn't get near the fecker. Didn't matter how many of you marked him, the best you could do was jump into him to put him off. So early could he pick the flight, and so powerfully could he attack it that a corner was like a fecking penalty. God only knows how we'd have got on marking John Terry, Vidic or the like.
No, in the main I don't agree on that one Stu. I can only think the standard you are playing in is very very good, and not by any means typical "Sunday League". In typical Sunday League, N'Gog definately would be the new Henri, although I'll grant you that's probably the only place.
and seems to think he can make them into diamonds just because they are big and black. I'm sorry, but not every big black player who's physically good will become Vieira or Henry. This stupid obsession that managers have with it is becoming quite annoying.
, this is where I think we should give Babel a go. We also need a proper right winger. Also a better right back wouldn't hurt although Arbelola is fairly good most of the time.
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