2020/21 James Rodriguez

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Who is this Jairo Arboleda?

“In Colombia everyone talks that James is the best creative in the country today, but I think James is not as creative as they paint him.

“James is a person who plays football very well, but if you analyse, he is a person who throws the ball, tries to position himself to put in that 40-meter change of front that he does perfectly.

“But for James to face, dribble one or two, it’s difficult. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, I’m just saying that he’s not the most creative.”

 

[DaChunk]

Needs a goal.

 

[UptheTofees]

Who is this Jairo Arboleda?

“In Colombia everyone talks that James is the best creative in the country today, but I think James is not as creative as they paint him.

“James is a person who plays football very well, but if you analyse, he is a person who throws the ball, tries to position himself to put in that 40-meter change of front that he does perfectly.

“But for James to face, dribble one or two, it’s difficult. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, I’m just saying that he’s not the most creative.”

Some old Colombian player.

James is not as beloved in Colombia as he was before because unfortunately, we tend to [Poor language removed] on our athletes the moment they go through bad stretches and our media fuels those narratives.

The worst for me was when Falcao, a guy who represented Colombia well and was our first world superstar in soccer, professional dude, never got in trouble or anything, was in the downside of his career after injury, fans would insult him and write all kinds of bs to and about him.

Half the country loves James. The other half fuels the narratives that he is an egomaniac selfish dude and a primadonna and that's why Zidane rightfully shunned him.

 

[Baggzio]

Of course, but what I’m saying is is that football is played with a much greater level of physical and technical skill than it was in the 60s, so you could argue Ball was a better player for his time, but he was not better at playing football

but also as others have said it doesnt need to be a debate. Dean was a legend, Ball and Southall legends, hopefully James will be a legend. I guess it’s a modern brat twitter trait we have now of where everyone is judged against others. Messi can’t just be great cos to some ronaldo is better which somehow limits Messi achievements in their eyes

when you see a stats sheet on Kane the comments are of how he can’t lace Thierry’s boots, no trophy etc

when Baines retired and it showed he was t he greatest assister from defence all the comments were red scruffs saying Trent has the record in another season or two

i hate modern football

In my opinion these debates always stem back to Messi vs Pele. For me Messi and Ronaldo are 2 of the best that ever did it, I know that's debatable for some but that's my opinion. The reason people always debate it though was because like others said it was a completely different thing back then and also honestly because Messi and Ronaldo are once in a lifetime players, both happen to play at the same time. Usually one comes along like Pele and defines a generation, after Pele it was Maradona and so on. Pele was great back in the day, he'd be no where near the top 5 in the world by today's standards though. Going further back to the likes of Dixie though is tougher because in many ways he was playing a totally different sport with much different rules and methodology.

It's very unfair on legends past of any club to say they're just average or anything like that but people take for granted the level of player that is out there today throughout the world. Pele played against some woeful players week in week out sometimes, Messi and Ronaldo play the best in the world every week. I mean there's a reason people like Big Sam and Pulis are deemed old school because a lot of the football back then was rough and physical, not hugely reliant on technical skill.

Outside of a few outliers in a generation, like Henry in the early 2000s, football and footballers now are so much better than anything that has come before. The only true judge will be a goalkeeper and I think that's why Southall will probably never be forgotten by Everton fans

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

fans would insult him and write all kinds of bs to and about him

A bit like Everton fans then. lol

 

[Drico]

Yes, the standard of football today is the highest it's ever been. There is no debate about that. However, that's because of the environment (rule changes, technology, nutrition, science) - not some huge upsurge in natural ability.

Nobody has played the game to as consistently high a level as Lionel Messi. However, the legends of the past did not benefit from the rule changes, technological advances, nutritional improvement, and scientific knowledge that he did. So, comparisons are invidious.

I love Messi, but he would have been in a wheelchair had he played in the 1980s.

 

[Soccer4good]

Who is this Jairo Arboleda?

“In Colombia everyone talks that James is the best creative in the country today, but I think James is not as creative as they paint him.

“James is a person who plays football very well, but if you analyse, he is a person who throws the ball, tries to position himself to put in that 40-meter change of front that he does perfectly.

“But for James to face, dribble one or two, it’s difficult. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, I’m just saying that he’s not the most creative.”

An old Colombian player who dreams of having 0.00000001% James' creativity lol

 

[Vaughan]

Can’t teach talent mate you have it or not I firmly believe greats will be greats in all eras

Can’t teach talent mate you have it or not I firmly believe greats will be greats in all eras

But coaching, sport science and technical knowledge outweigh mere talent. The worst centre backs in the premier league can play out from the back now, no one in the 60s would hit a curving shot let alone a knuckleball. It’s apples and oranges. Yes there will be players from the 60s with more talent, but they still played an inferior game because of the limitations of the time

 

[Vaughan]

Yes, the standard of football today is the highest it's ever been. There is no debate about that. However, that's because of the environment (rule changes, technology, nutrition, science) - not some huge upsurge in natural ability.

Nobody has played the game to as consistently high a level as Lionel Messi. However, the legends of the past did not benefit from the rule changes, technological advances, nutritional improvement, and scientific knowledge that he did. So, comparisons are invidious.

I love Messi, but he would have been in a wheelchair had he played in the 1980s.

Yes thats my point. So thats why I’m saying he’s the best footballer we have had.
In the same way DCL is a better player than Dixie Dean, obviously for his era Dean another level and who knows what he looks like with modern advancements. Put in the cold light of it the modern player is better, which is why I think James is the best at playing football that we’ve had

 

[Drico]

Yes thats my point. So thats why I’m saying he’s the best footballer we have had.
In the same way DCL is a better player than Dixie Dean, obviously for his era Dean another level and who knows what he looks like with modern advancements. Put in the cold light of it the modern player is better, which is why I think James is the best at playing football that we’ve had

Best, yes, quite possibly. But not the greatest.

 

[collymcd]

Some old Colombian player.

James is not as beloved in Colombia as he was before because unfortunately, we tend to [Poor language removed] on our athletes the moment they go through bad stretches and our media fuels those narratives.

The worst for me was when Falcao, a guy who represented Colombia well and was our first world superstar in soccer, professional dude, never got in trouble or anything, was in the downside of his career after injury, fans would insult him and write all kinds of bs to and about him.

Half the country loves James. The other half fuels the narratives that he is an egomaniac selfish dude and a primadonna and that's why Zidane rightfully shunned him.

People want heroes just as much as they to watch a hero's fall. It makes them feel better about themselves.

In saying that, that shout by Arboleda is one of the worst pieces of commentary on football I've ever seen.

 

[mill]

An old Colombian player who dreams of having 0.00000001% James' creativity lol

And defines creativity as ‘dribbling past 1 or 2 players’.

 

[bluerobert]

Yes, the standard of football today is the highest it's ever been. There is no debate about that. However, that's because of the environment (rule changes, technology, nutrition, science) - not some huge upsurge in natural ability.

Nobody has played the game to as consistently high a level as Lionel Messi. However, the legends of the past did not benefit from the rule changes, technological advances, nutritional improvement, and scientific knowledge that he did. So, comparisons are invidious.

I love Messi, but he would have been in a wheelchair had he played in the 1980s.

I suppose something else to consider is they didn’t have the cocktail of hormones and treatments Barca were able to provide him in his youth to aid his physical development. Had he been born 20 years earlier he might never have even become a professional footballer

 

[Terrarian]

Magic in his boots, pin point accuracy is just amazing.

 

[banno]

I don't like the dissing of players of history being not as good as the so called athletes of today. For all we know there could have been loads of Messi, Ronaldo type players back then but due to changes of football periods they may not have coped with heavy footballs, playing in mud, snow. Physicality of tackles that they could get away with. Yes Football has changed with science and being a less physical and almost a non contact sport. You cannot say with conviction the Dixie would not have made it in todays game just like we cannot really say Messi would have made it yesteryears game. Football is totally different now and will probably be totally different in 50 years time. What is important is what they were like at the time and place they played. In the past you needed different types of strengths and mental attitudes than a player of today and all players have to adapt to the times and every player that played pro footy at a high level be it in the past or future were good enough to cope with the type of football at that given time.

With regards to James I would rather him do his 40 yd pin point passing (bypassing 5 or 6 players) than dribbling 1 or 2 players