International (Sections) Draft Group 1

[Bjornebye]

Please vote for your top 2 teams. Try and give reasoning for your votes. 

 

Do not vote for your own team. 

 

You can vote even if you didn't play. 

 

Deadline is Midday Friday 29th March. 

 

ViRdjil

 

 

Stig

 

 

Rapey

 

 

Alex_K

 

 

 

[Elite]

I've gone for:

 

Stig - That attack is dynamite coupled with a beast of central midfield partnership.

 

Alex - Great Defence and midfield.

[Bjornebye]

Rapey only voting for one side? 

[aRdja]

Gonna have to be super picky with this one.

 

- Stig’s midfield include Beckham and Turan, and his full backs don’t look ‘inspiring’

- Rapey has a natural right back at centre half alongside solid but unremarkable Raul Albion

- Alex has Di Natale who’s probably the weakest centre forward in the league

 

It’s gonna come down to whether I think the team structure or the other players could help the team get away with it... e.g., Barca got away with playing Mascherano at CH because they had Busquets playing in front of him and they had 80% possession every game.

 

[Guest Alex_K]

191 goals in 385 games for Udinese from Di Natale, though. 6th highest scorer in Italian league history. As an equivalent to most other 1s and 2s, I think he wins out. 7 of the 11 players are bonafide world class (including 2 Ballon d'Or winners and further runner-ups, and by most accounts the 2 best centre backs in the world currently). Candela and Senna both good players who saw time for 2 World Cup winning sides (albeit not regulars) and were key in top European sides (Serie A winning in Candela's case) but were not spectacular. Howard was a decent, consistent keeper -- couldn't make the leap to top-class while at United. 

 

If there was a player-to-player analysis between teams I'd be interested to see the results.

[Bjornebye]

2 hours ago, viRdjil said:

Gonna have to be super picky with this one.

 

- Stig’s midfield include Beckham and Turan, and his full backs don’t look ‘inspiring’

- Rapey has a natural right back at centre half alongside solid but unremarkable Raul Albion

- Alex has Di Natale who’s probably the weakest centre forward in the league

 

It’s gonna come down to whether I think the team structure or the other players could help the team get away with it... e.g., Barca got away with playing Mascherano at CH because they had Busquets playing in front of him and they had 80% possession every game.

 

Beckham is one of the best crossers of all time. Pinging it into C. Ronaldo and Torres? Are you mad bro? 

[Bjornebye]

@Sugar Ape why have you only made 1 vote?

[Sugar Ape]

I thought it was only one vote. Won’t let me change it now. 

[Bjornebye]

11 minutes ago, Sugar Ape said:

I thought it was only one vote. Won’t let me change it now. 

Nice bit of shithousing 

[Sugar Ape]

13 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

Nice bit of shithousing 

 

I wouldn’t have voted for you anyway. 

[John102]

• ViRdjil  - Fantastic front line, however, nothing that stands out beyond that. Lots of solid players, if not spectacular. Nothing wrong with that and i think their is a lot to say for team without any obvious weaknesses, however, i think there are similar teams in this draft who do that just with slightly better players.
•  
• Stig - Stig clearly focused most of his points on the top half of his team. The back 5 is significantly weaker though and why i doubt he will win. That defence would not be able to win a game for them if needed. Not sure on Ronaldo's position like, but a team that scores goals for sure.
•  
• Rapey - Similar to whats mentioned above really. The centre back pairing is pretty suspect, with Panucci a right back for me. Maybe controversial too, but Gerrard needs to be further forward to get the best out of him. Nicely balanced attack though, which i like.
•  
• Alex_K - A really nice side, which i thought was too attacking at one point. The left back is slightly suspect, but the rest of that back 4 is superb. With a pretty strong, nicely balanced midfield in front. I do have come concerns about Rui Costa and Kaka trying to take up similar positions, and Di Natale is a significantly weaker focal point than other teams, despite his record. I do think this is the strongest side though.

[aRdja]

Sorry Stig, it was a close one. Points I considered:

1. I just checked that Panucci actually played at CH towards the end of his career, and he has Makelele protecting him here. I think his is probably the most balanced team in the league. 

2. If your team was to play Alex’s the defence and attack cancel each other out... Your great strikers would be nullified by his great defence, yet your mediocre defence wouldn’t be too troubled by his lone striker Di Natale. Therefore it’s down to the midfield battle. Vieira is probably the most complete midfielder in this league, but despite my concerns about Alex’s midfield having too many cooks, I think his is just plainly better. 

 

 

[Bjornebye]

ViRdjil:

 

A Messi/Mbappe front 2 is a frightening prospect. I like the 2 CB's and Essien but other than that I think this is on of the weaker teams in the draft and certainly weaker than normal Ardja sides. 

 

Stig:

 

I agree the defence isn't the greatest but ahead of that the side oozes class. Beckham is criminally under-rated as a footballer. The front 2 is pure sex as is the centre midfield pair. 

 

Rapey:

 

Same as Ardja, its rare to see a Rapey side so weak. Players out of position. A bit of a shuffle and this side looks stronger. I can't fucking stand Deco. Little Nik-Nack looking cunt. 

 

Alex_K:

 

Very balanced side. Great defence and a very creative midfield. Cant see how anyone would pick the other 2 sides over mine and Alex's. Thats genuine , I'm not being biased about my side. 

 

 

Ive gone with Alex_K and Rapey scrapes in ahead of ViRdjil because of Gerrard and Makelele being in the same midfield. 

 

 

[Guest Alex_K]

ViRdjil:

 

Messi/Mbappe = C. Ronaldo/Torres = Ronaldo/Ronaldinho for the trio of best striker pairs chosen. Of the midfield 4, Essien is the standout (if Maicon was known as the Pendolino Express of right backs then Essien must be his equivalent in the midfield .. remember all too well him bossing Gerrard in the 3-1 CL defeat at Anfield, and an injury time winner he scored to knock Valencia out of the quarters at the Mestalla .. a proper player before his injuries kicked in). B. Silva has really saved City this year in the absence of De Bruyne .. but as of now he's a "good" player .. as are Pjanic + Cazorla who don't I think merit conversation with the best. Defense is functional but only Hummels would I say achieved that 'top' level .. Samuel came close but tainted by disaster outside of Serie A.

 

Stig:

 

As above, great strike pairing. Agree Beckham was probably under-rated .. you don't win every trophy under the sun for United/Real/Milan without merit. Keane + Scholes missed the '99 final - which serves as big plaudit to how good he and Giggs were in midfield too. Turan however I'm not convinced was anything more than a decent player (disaster at Barca). Defense is I think the weakest of the groups - but can let that slide with Viera + Di Rossi in front (the latter of whom was a powerhouse for a few years when Italy were competing at their height).

 

Sugar Ape:

 

Panucci was never a great centre back. Zambrotta played his best, World Cup "team of the tournament" games at right back, Douglas Costa was a good '1' pick up and Bobo Vieri + Villa are both interesting players but it looks like an incohesive front 3. Makele + Gerrard were obviously both generational players in their own way: good arguments were made for Deco so would concede he must have been a better peak player than I remember. Definitely some nice players in this team but think some cohesiveness on the pitch may be lacking given their respective qualities and how each other would compliment them.