Why are people on about leadership, determination, etc?

Typical English mentality.

Bring up attitude attributes to make up for the lack of ability.

This is England's problem. It starts with primary school kids coach's. Long way to go to solve it.

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The flip side is that they work to thier strengths. You get a Carrol or Crouch and use thier strength to get the most out of them.

Perhaps we dont have the DNA, climate, technique, diet etc to have that technical ability here in this country.

Can barely kick a ball that Gerrard kid. Awful tekkers.

IndividualFWA Footballer of the Year (1): 2009
PFA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2006
PFA Young Player of the Year (1): 2001
PFA Fans' Player of the Year (2): 2001, 2009
PFA Team of the Year (7): 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Premier League Player of the Month Award (5): March 2001, March 2003, December 2004, April 2006, March 2009
Liverpool Top Goalscorer (3): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
Ballon d'Or Bronze Award (1): 2005
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2005
UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (1): 2005
UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (1): 2012
UEFA Team of the Year (3): 2005, 2006, 2007
FIFA/FIFPro World XI (3): 2007, 2008, 2009
FA Cup Final Man of the Match (1): 2006
Goal of the Season (1): 2006
England Player of the Year (1): 2007
Member of the Order of the British Empire: 2007
Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University: 2008
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award – 3rd Place: 2005

@ BusbyBabes re "Read this thread, your lot just did it about St Stevie."
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I'm not a Liverpool fan mate, and I did emphasise that Scholes imo is a great player who deserved more int'l recognition in terms of individual accolades. I just can't think of any other player who people invariably use an endless list of quotes to defend.

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I understand this is how people think, but I find it an absurd argument when purely talking about the talent of an individual.

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I agree, but unfortunantly it seems that your talent is more in the spotlight if you have won more but it should be based on ability, contribution, drive, determination, loyalty, mentality etc.

ninja

To be honest you pool fans turned it into a Gerrard debate. Gerrard, among others, was said not to be good enough for the list. Yet we did not have an invasion of Chelsea fans defending Lampard.

We are not all out to get you Liverpool fans ok! Some of us just like a football debate. Stop being so defensive.

Micah Richards : "He's always in the right position, always seems to be at the end of the box when the ball drops in. The complete midfielder - when he's fit, he's the best. Some go missing but he's in the right place at the right time. He's my favourite player of all-time, unbelievable. If you give him a chance it's a goal, isn't it?"

Glenn Hoddle : "There isn’t a player of his mould anywhere else in the world."

Terry Venables : "He’s the best one- or two-touch passer in the country. He sees the game unlike any other player."

Alan Shearer : "If you ask footballers to pick out the player they most admire, so many of them will pick Paul Scholes. He can tackle, and his passing and shooting is of the highest level. He’s the most consistent and naturally gifted player we’ve ha, maybe ever."

Eidur Gudjohnsen : "I'm more an admirer of Paul Scholes than I am of Ronaldo. Ronaldo is a fantastic player, but he has 10 other great players around him every week...Scholes is the most complete footballer I've ever seen. His one-touch play is phenomenal. Whenever I have played against him, I never felt I could get close to him."

Edgar Davids : ""Every one of us (midfielders) is just trying to become as good as him. Everyone can learn from Paul Scholes."

Edgar Davids : "I'm not the best, Paul Scholes is."

Tony Adams : "I really rate Paul Scholes, because he hasn't got the high profile of many of the Manchester United players, he doesn't get too much attention, but he is one very good player. He is an intelligent player, he works hard and he scores some great goals. He is not flamboyant and is a quiet lad off the pitch but he is a tremendous asset to Manchester United and to England. He has already got my vote as player of the year."

Cesc Fabregas : "He is the one whose level I aspire to. He is the best player in the Premier League."

Patrick Vieira : "The player in the Premiership I admire most? Easy - Scholes."

Thierry Henry : "I can't understand why Scholes has never won the player of the year award. He should have won it long ago. Maybe it's because he doesn't seek the limelight like some of the other 'stars'."

Zinedine Zidane : "My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder."

Zinedine Zidane : "Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation."

Sam Allardyce : "There is not a better midfield player in the world."

Kevin Keegan : "What United have got that Chelsea haven't is Paul Scholes. I think he is different to anything else in English football."

Marcello Lippi : "Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team - that goes to show how highly I have always rated him. Scholes is a player I have always liked, because he combines great talent and technical ability with mobility, determination and a superb shot. He is an all-round midfielder who possesses character and quality in abundance. In my opinion, he's been one of the most important players for United under Sir Alex."

Ray Wilkins : "I'm saddened because I think we as spectators, not only in this country but right through out Europe and the rest of the World, will be missing one hell of a footballer."

Gordon Strachan : "Paul Scholes has been the best England midfield player for 30-odd years. You'd probably have to go back to Bobby Charlton to find someone who could do as much as Scholes. When the ball arrives at his feet he could tell you where every player on that pitch is at that moment. His awareness is superb."

Veron: while at Chelsea being asked in an interview who's the best english player : "Paul Scholes."

Peter Schmeichel : "People say he is a great player, but you have to define what a great player is, For me, it is a player who has a bottom level that means his worst performance is not noticed. If he is having a bad game, a team-mate might feel Paul Scholes is not quite on his game, but a spectator wouldn't notice. Scholes, of all the players I have played with, has the highest bottom level. His reading of the game is unsurpassed. He has an eye for a pass, for what the play or the game needs at that precise moment, that I have never seen anyone else have. He controls and distributes the play and the game better than anyone I have ever seen."

Peter Schmeichel : "Still the best player in that United midfield."

Laurent Blanc : "Scholes is the best English player. Intelligence, technique, strength... all the attributes are there. At Manchester United I saw what he could do on the training field. Phew!"

Michael Carrick : "Paul Scholes is just fantastic. When you play alongside him, you realise what a special talent he is."

Michael Carrick : "He is a legend and he's going to be remembered for a long time. Just to play alongside him and learn from him has been an absolute pleasure. I think he is a footballer's footballer; he has been at this level for so long. As long as he is part of us we always feel we have a chance. We appreciate the way he goes about his business. I have never met a character like Scholesy; certainly not someone who is that good."

Park Ji Sung when asked by the club’s official home page which United player he would like to see in the red shirt of the Taeguk Warriors : “It has to be Paul Scholes.”

David Beckham said that, among his teammates at Real Madrid, which included Zinedine Zidane, Raúl, Ronaldo, Luís Figo and Roberto Carlos, Scholes was the most admired opponent : "He's always one of those people others talk about. Even playing at Real Madrid, the players always say to me 'what's he like'? They respect him as a footballer, and to have that respect from some of those players is great."

Brian Kidd : "Paul Scholes had the best football brain I'd ever seen in a kid. Let's face it. Paul Scholes is in a class of its own."

Rio Ferdinand : "For me, it's Paul Scholes. He'll do ridiculous things in training like say, "You see that tree over there?" - it'll be 40 yards away - "I'm going to hit it". And he'll do it. Everyone at the club considers him the best."

Phil Neville : "Paul, for me, is the best player in the England team. It worries teams. Speak to any other international team and they will single Paul out as England's key player. For me, he doesn't get the full credit that he deserves. He is a world-class player and deserves to be up there with the likes of Zidane and Figo."

Gary Neville : "I wouldn't swap Paul Scholes for anybody. He is quite simply the most complete footballer I have ever played with. He is the best."

Steve Bruce : "He's the best player in Britain in my opinion and he has to get himself fit just before we are due to play at Old Trafford. I cannot pay Paul a bigger compliment than to say that he's the most complete footballer in the country. The best bar none."

Roy Keane : "An amazingly gifted player who remained an unaffected human being."

George Best : "To be honest I think England have lost their best player. Certainly he's the most consistent and naturally gifted player we've had for a long, long time."

Sir Bobby Charlton : "I am sorry for England because they don't have any player like him. You can talk about others but there is no one else like him. He is the best technical player England has without any question. He could have had a lot more caps if he had carried on. And if I was the manager he would have ended up with more than I did – easy"

Sir Bobby Charlton : "Paul Scholes is my favourite player. He epitomises the spirit of Manchester United and everything that is good about football."

Sir Alex Ferguson : "Very few players can do that, but Scholes is one of them - and I knew he was one of them. That's why, without question, I think Paul Scholes is the best player in England. He's got the best skills, the best brain. No one can match him."

Sir Alex Ferguson : "He has an awareness of what’s happening around him on the edge of the box which is better than most players. As a kid he always had a knack of arriving in the penalty area just at the right time, but he’s proving just as effective from outside the box because he’s using his experience in the right way. It doesn’t matter who I am thinking about bringing into my midfield, Paul Scholes will be included, as he would in any side in the world."

Sir Alex Ferguson : "You've missed Paul Scholes - and he's my best player," Ferguson chided her.

Does no-one else think that it is easier to perform if you have better players around you?

I know when I play it makes it easier. More space, balls to feet, better vision of team mates, not having to track back as much, team generally has more possession, etc.

Ninja
Yes. You are right about that. You need the right mix of mental and technical ability.

Gerrard though, was a dunce on the ball.
Not a lot of intelligence to his play.

He was very physically strong and powerful, so he'd force his way through.

He has no tactical awareness, little vision (don't look at his long ball) and he couldn't read a game.
So even mental attributes he was found wanting.

I took a load out because it doesn't fit in from people like Bergkamp, Henry, Owen, Raul and Dechamps...

I think whenever there is a Gerrard debate, United and Liverpool fans will argue. But the fact is Gerrard is one of the finest English Midfielders in the last 20 years, alongside Scholes (perhaps not better) he has stayed loyal and made the best use of what he has.

Did Shearer really say Scholes could tackle?

Ninja
Yes. You are right about that. You need the right mix of mental and technical ability.

Gerrard though, was a dunce on the ball.
Not a lot of intelligence to his play.

He was very physically strong and powerful, so he'd force his way through.

He has no tactical awareness, little vision (don't look at his long ball) and he couldn't read a game.
So even mental attributes he was found wanting.

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I agree with most points but i would say that Gerrard has incredible mental strength.

One thing i have picked up the rarity of him missing penalties. It seldom happens, especially when he scores against big teams.

Not everyone is blessed with Xavi-esque technique.
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Xavi's technique isn't his strongest attribute imo. His awareness and anticipation are.

Gerrard is probably the most unique and best CAM ever.
Again you don't win European club footballer of the year without being world class.

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"Perhaps we dont have the DNA, climate, technique, diet etc to have that technical ability here in this country."

Absolute nonsense.

Another excuse there.

It's the mentality. As andre's scarf said, this nation has a long way to go.
Even the coaches are in denial. And have no clue about football.

They have the sh'ittest headless chicken, who can't hit a barndoor or control a ball playing for them up front, and he gets off easy.

Some of the players coming through the youth system is pathetic.
I know street footballers better than them.

And here comes the Paul Scholes quotes again.

Xavi's technique isn't his strongest attribute imo. His awareness and anticipation are.

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In my opinion that is technique. Having that extra vision, that anticipation something is going to happen, having that spidey sense. You use that to implement into your physical body.

I think im going with a mind over body comment here! But i would say Xavi is an extremely intelligent individual who i imagine would be a perfectionist, the complete conductor.

Robbing_Hoody I taught Reina to flap (U6374)
posted 29 seconds ago
Does no-one else think that it is easier to perform if you have better players around you?




Very good point, but Gerrard is all about the individual. His main assets are his drive, pinging a pass, shooting, crosing and his mobility. If he was somebody who relied on movement around him like Xavi or Silva, I'd agree.

It does explain why he hasn't won a league title to an extent, but you could argue the side with Torres, Alonso, Reina and co should have won the league.

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Rooney is England's only world class player imo. Very intelligent player.

In my opinion that is technique. Having that extra vision, that anticipation something is going to happen, having that spidey sense. You use that to implement into your physical body.
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Biggest load of garbage I have ever read. Denilson, possibly the most technicaly gifted footballer ever, he was toss.