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| Samuel Eto'o - How good has he been? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 4 2009, 06:24 PM (1,010 Views) | |
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May 4 2009, 06:32 PM Post #16 |
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Danny Dyer
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Henry was world class in more areas of the game than any I have ever seen and will probably ever see. |
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| Cull58 | May 4 2009, 06:33 PM Post #17 |
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Paul McGrath
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yeah he could head when needed. Anyways... great player but never elite. And he has benefitted from bein in barca team of course. |
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| Scholes | May 4 2009, 06:34 PM Post #18 |
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Nothing's as it seems
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You've missed the point Ant. This is about Eto'o anyway. |
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| AntMcfc | May 4 2009, 06:35 PM Post #19 |
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POTY
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I've not missed the point at all, Batistuta had everything RVN had and more. There's no way you can justify taking out Batistuta and including RVN, Henry and Batistuta I'd have said ok then but not RVN. |
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| roonaldo | May 4 2009, 06:40 PM Post #20 |
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Dirk Kuyt
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Batistuta may have had more to his game all round, but at the end of the day a strikers job is to score goals and rvn was better at it |
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May 4 2009, 06:40 PM Post #21 |
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Danny Dyer
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Did Henry not benefit from Arsenal? Ronaldo from Barca/Inter/Madrid? RVN from United/Madrid? |
| I am soft. | |
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| Cull58 | May 4 2009, 06:40 PM Post #22 |
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Paul McGrath
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I could score ten a season playin for barca DaG |
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May 4 2009, 06:41 PM Post #23 |
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Danny Dyer
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You wouldn't make the U15 team |
| I am soft. | |
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| Cull58 | May 4 2009, 06:43 PM Post #24 |
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Paul McGrath
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That isnt the point |
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| Scholes | May 4 2009, 06:45 PM Post #25 |
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Nothing's as it seems
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You have missed the point. You say Batistuta had everything RVN had and more, which is a point I do not wish to discuss on an Eto'o thread, but the 'more' becomes irrelevant if Thierry Henry has it too
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| Scholes | May 4 2009, 09:29 PM Post #26 |
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Nothing's as it seems
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Your thoughts Cule? |
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| elcule | May 4 2009, 09:34 PM Post #27 |
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Kolo
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Right, here we go: I plumped for the second option; evidently the chances of bias skewing my judgement are likely to be slightly higher than your average poster, but I believe I can back up this claims with sufficient justification to make it plausible. Eto’o certainly borders on entering that elite club of the top 5 strikers since ‘92 – even if it is debatable or not whether he can quite join their ranks just yet. I am of the view that the only strikers that you can categorically state were ‘better than Eto’o’ over this period were Luiz Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry. Beneath these behemoths, the cream of the crop, I would place Eto’o along with other legendary figures such as Romario, Gabriel Batistuta, Alan Shearer and Filipo Inzaghi. Now, these selected latter players may all have had superior careers to Samuel’s thus far (partly due to the fact that SE9 is only 28), but I believe it would be fallacious to state that they were greater than the Cameroonian in his heyday. Receiving my Sky subscription towards the back end of the 03-04, I wasn’t privy to Eto’o’s exploits as a Mallorca player. You can imagine therefore my skepticism upon hearing that Barcelona had recruited such a relatively unknown player in order to fill the considerable hole vacated by a departing Patrick Kluivert. My doubts were assuaged in no time however; Barcelona romped the 04-05 Primera season and additionally would have progressed far further in the Champions League were it not for the exertions of a certain Mr. Colina at Stamford Bridge. Eto’o was at the forefront of this title surge, being Barcelona’s top scorer due to the instant telepathy he created with his partner in crime, Ronaldinho. By this time, Eto’o justifiably laid claim to being the best striker in the world and, to convince his remaining doubters, he set about maintaining the same form in the 05/06 season, this time earning the Picichi accolade for being the league’s most prolific talent in front of goal – note, an achievement that he earned despite his participation in the African Cup of Nations for four weeks. Eto’o’s pinnacle came as he scored the crucial equalizer in the final of the Champions League – a feat that neither Ronaldo, Henry nor Van Nisterlrooy never achieved – as he led Barca to victory. Momentous as this occasion was, it heralded the end of the successes of Rikjaard’s Barcelona; it is no coincidence that Barca’s subsequent barren spell coincided with Eto’o spending large chunks of the ensuing two seasons on the sidelines, recovering from a series of debilitating knee ligament injuries. This view is given further credibility when viewed in the light of this season - potentially the most successful in any Spanish club's history - with Eto'o remaining fit for the duration. These stats underline Eto'o's importance as a player for Barcelona - making Scholes' presumption that Eto'o simply the man who applies the final touches to moves in a team surfeit with attacking prowess, rather narrow minded. Could Henry or Bojan fill in for him last year? Could Eidur Gudjohnson or Saviola fill in for him in 06/07? The answer to both of these is a resounding 'no'. Eto'o's contribution to overall play is massively underrated; his work rate is incredible - often being the only one of our fabled trident who is actually closing the opposition down - as is his movement, which can only be described as world class - drawing defenders out of position and having an unerring ability to find space, the like of which I have rarely seen in any player. Eto'o will drop deep to receive the ball - demonstrating a touch and passing range that is as overlooked as his utility to Barcelona - helping the side to maintain possession and build from deep. Finally, and of the greatest import, he is lethal, and I mean fucking lethal, in front of goal. Left or right foot, long or short range, he will stick it away. His ability in the air, although not prodigious, is still more than competent and would be given more exposure were it not for the Blaugrana's penchant for playing tika-taka football. If he were to have a flaw, it would be that he's not the coolest of customers. When given a snap shot or a sniff of goal, Eto'o will take it - like any predator. That said, when given too much time - for example when set through one on one - Eto'o tends to ‘overthink’ his shot and this ends up costing him dearly, often spurning the simplest of chances. Apologies for embarking on such a long essay, but I really adore this player and it upsets me when he is so underrated. He is absolutely integral to Barcelona, and although he doesn’t have the pace he once had, he remains for me the person I’d most like to see leading the line for Barca – except Villa. ![]() If you read the whole thing, then I much appreicate it, it's a long motherfucker. Edited by elcule, May 4 2009, 09:35 PM.
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![]() Winner. "If I go to Anfield and someone puts the ball into the box and Carragher hammers it out of play the fans applaud. At Camp Nou you would never be applauded for that." - Xavi | |
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| KOL | May 4 2009, 09:47 PM Post #28 |
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Big Daddy Welbz
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Great post there Elcule, i agree that in our generation there haven't been many, if ANY, striker's with better movement then Eto'o. I've gone with the great but not elite tag. Only 3 striker's i've seen are elite in my book: Henry, Ronaldo & Romario. Those players were just so much more then goalscorers. For me Eto'o is in the group underneath that with Shearer, Batistuta & RVN |
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| elcule | May 4 2009, 09:49 PM Post #29 |
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Kolo
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Maybe I've underrated Romario - I haven't seen him much tbh, most of my opinion on him is based on hearsay, but at least half of his career (including the European Cup win) was pre-1992/3 season so I think it unfair to place him in that top 5. Edited by elcule, May 4 2009, 09:50 PM.
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![]() Winner. "If I go to Anfield and someone puts the ball into the box and Carragher hammers it out of play the fans applaud. At Camp Nou you would never be applauded for that." - Xavi | |
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| rollingstone | May 4 2009, 09:50 PM Post #30 |
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Viru
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I know you've said that Henry, Ronaldo and RVN were better than him, but surely these gems have a case: Bergkamp, Weah, Baggio. Can't really disagree with your essay as I haven't seen anywhere near the amount of Barca games you have. I've always got the impression that he's borderline world class and that there has always been a couple of other strikers who have had better seasons than him - mainly from what I hear you say! |
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