Players you just don't 'get'.

Best English defender.*

Just to note that I don't have anything against English CBs. Most of the names mentioned were extremely well suited to what was required of them. The only purpose of my initial response was to counter what I feel is an oft bandied and somewhat unfounded cliché.

I'll leave it there.

It annoys me when people say certain players are overrated because it's usually comments from people who just clearly haven't seen enough of the player to make a valid opinion.

Players are usually rated fairly in general and anyone who has seen Ribery would know he's one of the finest wingers in the world for the past 10 years. Raphael Honigstein, probably one of the best football journalists around and an expert on German football even made him his player of the season for a team that just won the double, shows you pretty much how good the player is, or just watch him play regularly.

Nice read BTW

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/jun/10/honigsteins-2013-review-budesliga-season

manutd1982 is a very good poster but overrated.

I've always liked Ribery.

Well, since around 2005/6

Ribery has arguably been the best winger in world football for the past seven odd years.

Raphael Honigstein, probably one of the best football journalists around and an expert on German football
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Honigstein is the most biased journalist I've ever come across. Everything I read from him is basically about the superiority of German football compared to any other league/country. One of his comments on a BBC article I believe :

"Leverkusen and Schalke are good enough to beat Arsenal and Chelsea on any given day"

This was despite Chelsea being the champions of Europe at the time, and Arsenal winning one and losing one against Schalke in the group stages.

Really average player. All he does is run. I've spoken to a few Chelsea fans that don't get how a cm that doesn't really possess any footballing ability can play so many games for a club like Chelsea.

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Ramires is a strange one although he does posess footballing ability. You only have to look at his chip goal against Barca in the 2012 CL semis.

Unfortunately he has a very poor first touch which he is constantly having to compensate for and his passing ability and range needs a lot of work.

I agree that he does lack certain qualities but he also has some very good qualities and certainly knows how to score goals when he´s in the right areas.

The 4-2-3-1 doesn´t suit Ramires at all which is the main problem. He is much better suited to a 4-3-3 where he can be given licence to get up and down the pitch.

Based on admittedly limited viewing, I actually think Ramires looks like a handy utility man to have in your squad, the sort that might not excel in any particular role but that can do a job for you in several positions.

He's essentially a Brazilian Scott Brown