Players who could have been great barring injury

[Jay86]

Ledley King was on the Fantasy Football program on sky this week and had me wondering how good he could have actually been, he said he'd only really been able to play at 60/70% for about 10 years. He seemed like a really nice guy and wasn't bitter about his bad injury record.

 

Jonathan Woodgate is another who comes to mind, I thought at Leeds he was the better out of him and Ferdinand and although later being voted one of Real Madrids worst ever signing it had nothing to do with his performances as when he did actually end up on the Bernabau pitch he played very well.

[Trumo]

Robbie Fowler.

[Faustus]

Ledley King's a great shout. When you get English players at London clubs bigged up by the media, it's down to typical cockney bullshit more than anything else, but King was class. To put in the performances he did so consistently without even training bar a day or two in the pool and with no cartilage in his knee was frightening. Always used to piss me off how he always used to be fit for games against us and inevitably put in a worldy.

 

Who was that lad Milan signed for a world record fee but ended up out of the game for a year or so because of a car crash? Lentini, wasn't it? I remember Capello raving about his ability before that accident on some programme a year or so ago. He's got to be an obvious candidate for this thread.

[TheHowieLama]

Gascoigne

[Jay86]

Ledley King's a great shout. When you get English players at London clubs bigged up by the media, it's down to typical cockney bullshit more than anything else, but King was class. To put in the performances he did so consistently without even training bar a day or two in the pool and with no cartilage in his knee was frightening. Always used to piss me off how he always used to be fit for games against us and inevitably put in a worldy.

 

Who was that lad Milan signed for a world record fee but ended up out of the game for a year or so because of a car crash? Lentini, wasn't it? I remember Capello raving about his ability before that accident on some programme a year or so ago. He's got to be an obvious candidate for this thread.

Yea I remember watching one of them

Greatest Manager sky features and Capello says on there that Lentini was unbelievably good but got rushed back too soon, psychology he was fucked and was nowhere near the same level ever again, I forgot about him. Thanks!

[robslappa]

Rob Jones.

Ian Durrant.

[manwiththestick]

I remember in my early days of watching footy David Hirst of Sheffield Wednesday always looked a great player, problem was he was always injured.

[SCOUSE TAPAS]

Brian Clough who by all accounts was a goal scoring machine till injury forced him to retire. Jamie Redknapp  had all the ability but was forever broken. Ronaldo the Brazilian who reached the greatest of heights but imagine how long he could of been way out in front without the injuries.

I feel sorry for Martin Kelly who looked destined imo for great things if it wasnt for injuries.

[Brigant Moloch]

lately, Fabio Aurelio, Woodgate & King

[Jay86]

Brian Clough who by all accounts was a goal scoring machine till injury forced him to retire. Jamie Redknapp had all the ability but was forever broken. Ronaldo the Brazilian who reached the greatest of heights but imagine how long he could of been way out in front without the injuries.

I feel sorry for Martin Kelly who looked destined imo for great things if it wasnt for injuries.

Brazil Ronaldo was and will always be my favourite ever player. He was literally unplayable.

[Trumo]

Germany currently have a number of young players that look ready to tear it up on the world stage, but about a decade ago they had a midfielder by the name of Sebastian Deisler who was thought of as the German equivalent of Steven Gerrard. A succession of serious knee injuries eventually led to a severe bout of depression, and the combination caused him to retire prematurely.

 

The Brazilian Ronaldo has already been mentioned. Outstanding player but we never got to see the best of him in what should have been his prime years.

[Magic Sponge]

Freddy Adu.

 

From a young age he was compared to Pele.

[Bjornebye]

rob jones leaps out for me. would have been better than neville 

 

that italian lad that had the car crash and all , gianluca lentini was it? 

 

woodgate is a shout too. saw him in harrods with his missus last christmas. fit her 

[skend04]

Rob Jones, possibly the best right back England never had. The only real highlight of the Souness era and we bought him for something like a fiver.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Heggem

[AngryOfTuebrook]

 

Say "Degen"! I dare you. I double dare you, motherfucker!

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Can we get an XI going?

 

Kirkland

 

Jones

King

Woodgate

Aurelio

 

Redknapp

Durrant

Deisler

Lentini

 

?????

?????

 

(We still need two strikers.  Adu is only 24 - and Ronaldo and Fowler can never be described as "could-have-been-great"!)

[Brigant Moloch]

Rossi maybe? He should change his name from Giuseppe to Anteriore Cruciate Ligamente

[Loki]

Slightly different circumstances but my dad always said that Duncan Edwards was one of the best he ever saw kick a ball,

[Lee909]

Me,it was starting to all come together when i got injured at 26.

I sure a scout would have been watching our 5 side games in the near future

[cloggypop]

Van Basten. He obviously still was great but cut short by injury.

[Chairman Meow]

Slightly different circumstances but my dad always said that Duncan Edwards was one of the best he ever saw kick a ball,

 

My grandad always said he was the best he ever saw play.

[Josef Svejk]

Some great shouts already. Matthias Sammer could have been even better, but for injury. Paulo Futre, too.

[Chairman Meow]

 

 

Physically, he was enormous. He was strong and had a fantastic football brain. His ability was complete – right foot, left foot, long passing, short passing. He did everything instinctively.

 

Not my words, the words of Bobby Charlton.

 

Sounds fuck all like Phil Jones to me. 

[Chairman Meow]

I'm just saying Phil Jones is a shit cunt sorry about badmouthing yer granda there It was a joke that has backfired on me immensely the egg is running down mine face.

 

No worries. I wasn't taking any offence anyway. 

 

Merely pointing out that Edwards would on the surface of it would appear to have been slightly more talented than Phil Jones. Hence the Partridge style quote.