It's from goal.com. Seems like random mumbling mostly but there are some entertaining points here surely. 
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Talking Points: Myth & Reality
4/10/2005 12:57:00 PM
Iconoclast Fonz Thomas exposes what he believes to be some popular soccer myths by presenting his view of the reality behind them…
MYTH: BECKHAM IS A GREAT PLAYER
REALITY: Beckham is a mediocre player who has been all hyped up by the English media to the extent of legendhood. Does that mean that he is not good? No. He is pretty good but his talent goes unnoticed at clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid who are so weak in the air. I believe that the true destination for Beckham as of today is Chelsea, as they have Drogba, Terry and Huth who are all good in the air, and his crosses can prove to be more than a handful. But without a shadow of doubt you will be able to find at least half a dozen players of Beckham’s calibre selling water melons in Brazil and another half a dozen driving trucks in France.
MYTH: ROONEY IS A GREAT PLAYER
REALITY: He is definitely good but he has a long way to go before he can be called great. He comes across as a carefree athlete just enjoying his football irrespective of whether the opposition is WBA or Milan. But the true challenge will come when he realises that the aspirations and hopes of a quarter of a billion English fans are firmly and squarely on his shoulders. That is precisely what happened to Ronaldo at France 1998. He just caved in under the pressure. Frankly, if England have to win the World Cup, then Rooney and Lampard have to score, and score plenty. Even Owen could score but he is more of a bits and pieces player and he will get muscled out by the huge defenders that most teams possess.
MYTH: RAUL IS A GREAT PLAYER
REALITY: Everything said and done, there was a time not long ago when he was amazing. But football has since moved on and Raul has stayed put, being more of a liability than an asset at Real Madrid. Though I have admired him for long the final nail in the coffin was when Camacho had to leave for sidelining Raul. But is it fair to blame Raul if the Real fans want to see him play each match irrespective of how woeful he is? Alternately Raul could have come out with a press statement that he was willing to be sidelined as long as Owen was performing better than him. That would have pacified the Raul fans. But instead he comes out with a statement that he is willing to leave Real for the benefit of the club. A smart soccer fan will see through the shrewdness of the statement but a nincompoop fan will be flattered by his humility and start drawing parallels between him and the Pope. Last I heard efforts to have Raul canonised as soon as he dies was gaining momentum in the Raul quarters of Spain.
MYTH : ENGLAND WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP
REALITY: Realistically they have more of a chance of winning it this time around than at any time in the last 50 years. But does that mean that they go in as firm favorites? No. But they are definitely the second best :wth: provided most of their players manage to stay fit. The problem with England is the same as the problem with Arsenal - the second string players are not the same class. Except for Sol Campbell and John Terry and to a certain extent Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge, none of the other players are replaceable. This is not the case with Brazil. You can always replace a Ronaldo with Adriano, and no one would notice the difference. Also England have to find a striking partner for Rooney. Owen is just not good enough. He is only as good as that one goal against Argentina in the WC. But the Owen fans will now argue that he has scored more goals than Ronaldo at Real. But anyone who understands his soccer can see that on most occasions Ronaldo takes at least two defenders with him which leaves Owen in the open to score. He is a good finisher though, maybe even better than Ronaldo on current form. But he does not create any chances on his own, which is a major flaw in his game.
MYTH: ITALY CAN WIN THE WORLD CUP
REALITY: Though they are a good, arguably the best, defensive side, they do not have the attacking flair to score goals. There is an absolute dearth of forwards coming out of Italy. Germany has the same problem, but because of their lenient immigration laws every now and then a naturalized German (Klose, Kuranyi, etc) comes forward. But the same cannot be said about Italy. The attacking flair seems to have ended with Baggio. All the Italian fans can sit and rave and rant about Vieri and Del Piero and Totti but they are just good enough for goals against Latvia and Estonia. If you don’t concede you cannot lose, and Buffon is definitely good enough to sway all penalty kicks in their favour. But the big question is “can they score, even from the penalty spot?”
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Talking Points: Myth & Reality
4/10/2005 12:57:00 PM
Iconoclast Fonz Thomas exposes what he believes to be some popular soccer myths by presenting his view of the reality behind them…
MYTH: BECKHAM IS A GREAT PLAYER
REALITY: Beckham is a mediocre player who has been all hyped up by the English media to the extent of legendhood. Does that mean that he is not good? No. He is pretty good but his talent goes unnoticed at clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid who are so weak in the air. I believe that the true destination for Beckham as of today is Chelsea, as they have Drogba, Terry and Huth who are all good in the air, and his crosses can prove to be more than a handful. But without a shadow of doubt you will be able to find at least half a dozen players of Beckham’s calibre selling water melons in Brazil and another half a dozen driving trucks in France.
MYTH: ROONEY IS A GREAT PLAYER
REALITY: He is definitely good but he has a long way to go before he can be called great. He comes across as a carefree athlete just enjoying his football irrespective of whether the opposition is WBA or Milan. But the true challenge will come when he realises that the aspirations and hopes of a quarter of a billion English fans are firmly and squarely on his shoulders. That is precisely what happened to Ronaldo at France 1998. He just caved in under the pressure. Frankly, if England have to win the World Cup, then Rooney and Lampard have to score, and score plenty. Even Owen could score but he is more of a bits and pieces player and he will get muscled out by the huge defenders that most teams possess.
MYTH: RAUL IS A GREAT PLAYER
REALITY: Everything said and done, there was a time not long ago when he was amazing. But football has since moved on and Raul has stayed put, being more of a liability than an asset at Real Madrid. Though I have admired him for long the final nail in the coffin was when Camacho had to leave for sidelining Raul. But is it fair to blame Raul if the Real fans want to see him play each match irrespective of how woeful he is? Alternately Raul could have come out with a press statement that he was willing to be sidelined as long as Owen was performing better than him. That would have pacified the Raul fans. But instead he comes out with a statement that he is willing to leave Real for the benefit of the club. A smart soccer fan will see through the shrewdness of the statement but a nincompoop fan will be flattered by his humility and start drawing parallels between him and the Pope. Last I heard efforts to have Raul canonised as soon as he dies was gaining momentum in the Raul quarters of Spain.
MYTH : ENGLAND WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP
REALITY: Realistically they have more of a chance of winning it this time around than at any time in the last 50 years. But does that mean that they go in as firm favorites? No. But they are definitely the second best :wth: provided most of their players manage to stay fit. The problem with England is the same as the problem with Arsenal - the second string players are not the same class. Except for Sol Campbell and John Terry and to a certain extent Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge, none of the other players are replaceable. This is not the case with Brazil. You can always replace a Ronaldo with Adriano, and no one would notice the difference. Also England have to find a striking partner for Rooney. Owen is just not good enough. He is only as good as that one goal against Argentina in the WC. But the Owen fans will now argue that he has scored more goals than Ronaldo at Real. But anyone who understands his soccer can see that on most occasions Ronaldo takes at least two defenders with him which leaves Owen in the open to score. He is a good finisher though, maybe even better than Ronaldo on current form. But he does not create any chances on his own, which is a major flaw in his game.
MYTH: ITALY CAN WIN THE WORLD CUP
REALITY: Though they are a good, arguably the best, defensive side, they do not have the attacking flair to score goals. There is an absolute dearth of forwards coming out of Italy. Germany has the same problem, but because of their lenient immigration laws every now and then a naturalized German (Klose, Kuranyi, etc) comes forward. But the same cannot be said about Italy. The attacking flair seems to have ended with Baggio. All the Italian fans can sit and rave and rant about Vieri and Del Piero and Totti but they are just good enough for goals against Latvia and Estonia. If you don’t concede you cannot lose, and Buffon is definitely good enough to sway all penalty kicks in their favour. But the big question is “can they score, even from the penalty spot?”
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they are so great. I hope they win soon!!!
