Unpopular opinions thread

[Beigl 1,387]

I am a big fan of unpopular opinions. What are some of your unpopular opinions on Chelsea or football in general?

I will start:

Gerrard was a better player than Lampard and I think it´s not even close.

The Premier League era from 2004-2009 is overrated. The big four had some pretty strong teams at the time, but they benefitted from the fact that most other strong teams from europe were in transition at that time. 

I also believe the Premier League is much better nowadays. Sides like Wolves, Leeds, and so on can play some really good football with great passing at times. From my memory midtable sides from say 12-15 years ago just hoofed the ball upfront to a Kenwyne Jones or Peter Crouch type of player and hoped to get the most out of it. Because of nostalgia most fans over romanticize this era and say "those were the good old times". 

Ivanovic was not a good defender. Overall he was still a very good player for us.

Sturridge was vastly overrated by our fanbase from 2011-2013.

Kalou was a decent player for us. He scored like 10 goals (some very vital) every season, you can´t ask more from a super sub.

Willian was a good servant and better than Malouda.

Mikel never had the qualities to play as 10 for a big club. That´s why he was converted to a decent DM in his time here. 

Matic contribution in 2014 was overrated. 

[killer1257 3,282]

Suarez is the best PL striker ever. 31 goals and 17 assists in 33 matches. These are Messi level stats.

 

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[Beigl 1,387]

4 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

Suarez is the best PL striker ever. 31 goals and 17 assists in 33 matches. These are Messi level stats.

 

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Yes, I always thought his 13/14 season was on par if not better than Ronaldos 07/08 season. Suarez carried an average team almost to the title.

[NikkiCFC 7,580]

On 12/17/2020 at 10:21 AM, Beigl said:

I am a big fan of unpopular opinions. What are some of your unpopular opinions on Chelsea or football in general?

I will start:

Gerrard was a better player than Lampard and I think it´s not even close.

The Premier League era from 2004-2009 is overrated. The big four had some pretty strong teams at the time, but they benefitted from the fact that most other strong teams from europe were in transition at that time. 

I also believe the Premier League is much better nowadays. Sides like Wolves, Leeds, and so on can play some really good football with great passing at times. From my memory midtable sides from say 12-15 years ago just hoofed the ball upfront to a Kenwyne Jones or Peter Crouch type of player and hoped to get the most out of it. Because of nostalgia most fans over romanticize this era and say "those were the good old times". 

Ivanovic was not a good defender. Overall he was still a very good player for us.

Sturridge was vastly overrated by our fanbase from 2011-2013.

Kalou was a decent player for us. He scored like 10 goals (some very vital) every season, you can´t ask more from a super sub.

Willian was a good servant and better than Malouda.

Mikel never had the qualities to play as 10 for a big club. That´s why he was converted to a decent DM in his time here. 

Matic contribution in 2014 was overrated. 

I agree with most but not with some.

Gerrard was good but not better than Frank. Frank had everything! Best goalscoring MF in the history. Smart player, great shot, left foot, in the box, inside, amazing set piece taker, scored headers, great passer, in defense... He could do everything.

Also about Mikel, I do not think that is unpopular opinion. I think we all agree on that.

[MoroccanBlue 5,197]

Prime Lampard was better than Prime Gerrard and Scholes. 

[Beigl 1,387]

17 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

I agree with most but not with some.

Gerrard was good but not better than Frank. Frank had everything! Best goalscoring MF in the history. Smart player, great shot, left foot, in the box, inside, amazing set piece taker, scored headers, great passer, in defense... He could do everything.

In my opinion Gerrard could do everything that Lampard did and on top of that he was a better athlete, more dynamic and a better passer. He was also a better dribbler and better defensively. In general I think he was a more multi-dimensional player than Lampard.

For most of his career Gerrard also played alongside some very average players, whereas Lampard played alongside the likes of Makelele, Ballack, Essien and so on.

[MoroccanBlue 5,197]

Never knew Garcia, Mascherano and Xabi Alonso were average players. 

[Vesper 27,310]

This was the biggest robbery in WC final history

The 1954 WC final, where the best team ever in football history, the 1953-1995 Hungary national side (highest ELO ranking ever, 2231, in May 1954, after after they beat Uruguay 4 -2) was fucked over so bad and West Germany won 3 -2. In an earlier group game, the Germans had wilfully targeted and took out via injury, Ferenc Puskás, the best player in the world. He played again in the final, but was not at all fit. Plus, the Germans were all doped up on methamphetamine, lol.

 

The Wankdorf Stadion in Berne saw 60,000 people cram inside to watch the final between West Germany and Hungary, a rematch of a first-round game, which Hungary had won 8–3 against the reserves of the German team. The Golden Team of the Hungarians were favourites, as they were unbeaten for a record of 32 consecutive matches, but they had had two tough knockout matches. It started raining on match day – in Germany this was dubbed Fritz-Walter-Wetter ("Fritz Walter's weather") because the West German team captain Fritz Walter was said to play his best in the rain. Adi Dassler had provided shoes with exchangeable studs.

 

Card autographed by coach Sepp Herberger and the 11 German players that appeared in the final

Hungary's Ferenc Puskás played again in the final, even though he was not fully fit. Despite this he put his team ahead after only six minutes and with Zoltán Czibor adding another two minutes later it seemed that the pre-tournament favourites would take the title. However, with a quick goal from Max Morlock in the 10th and the equaliser of Helmut Rahn in the 19th, the tide began to turn.

The second half saw telling misses by the Hungarian team. Barely six minutes before the end of the match, the popular German radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann gave the most famous German piece of commentary, recommending that "Rahn should shoot from deep", which he did. The second goal from Rahn gave West Germany a 3–2 lead while the Hungarian reporter György Szepesi burst into tears. Later, Zimmermann called Puskás offside before he kicked the ball into Toni Turek's net with 2 minutes left. While referee Ling pointed to the centre spot, linesman Griffiths signalled offside. After a one-minute consultation, referee Ling disallowed the claimed equaliser.

The West Germans were handed the Jules Rimet Trophy and the title of World Cup winners, while the crowd sang along to the tune of the national anthem of West Germany. In Germany the success is known as "The Miracle of Berne", upon which a 2003 film of the same name was based. For the Hungarians, the defeat was a disaster, and remains controversial due to claimed referee errors and claims of doping.

One controversy concerns the 2–2 equaliser. Hungarian goalie Gyula Grosics jumped to catch Fritz Walter's corner shot, but in plain sight of the camera, Hans Schäfer obstructed him, and so the ball reached Rahn unhindered. The second controversy concerns allegations of doping to explain the better condition of the West German team in the second half. Though teammates steadfastly denied this rumour, German historian Guido Knopp claimed in a 2004 documentary for German public channel ZDF^[8] that the players were injected with shots of vitamin C at half-time, using a needle earlier taken from a Soviet sports doctor, which would also explain the wave of jaundice among team members following the tournament. A Leipzig University study in 2010 posited that the West German players had been injected with the banned substance methamphetamine.^[9]

Most controversial was the offside ruling for Puskás's intended 87th-minute equaliser. The camera filming the official footage was in a bad position to judge the situation, but eyewitnesses claimed that the referee was wrong, including West German substitute player Alfred Pfaff.^[10] However, since then, unofficial footage surfaced evidencing no offside (shown on North German regional public channel NDR in 2004.

 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Vesper