comment by Mex. (U6687)
posted 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 15 seconds ago
None of the above are world class in my view.

But 'world class' is a subjective term.

Personally, I think there are less than 100 world class players in the world, more or less.
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i agree, none of the above are world class, in the past 10 years id say england have had a few world class players at their peak in their respective positions

Scholes
Rooney
Gerrard
Lampard
Ferdinand
Campbell
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Terry
Best defender and part of best defence.
Include 3-4 times in UEFA team of the year and winner of footballer of the year

There are not many players who could have beaten Europes best after being 3 nil down at half time, yes its a team game but make no mistake about it, Gerrard was the catalyst.

As for Scholes its pretty hard to argue against him being world class.

comment by Koscielny Patented Proof Readers (U7373)
posted 9 minutes ago
I've never been convinced by Gerrard. His best games for Liverpool were always with a world-class midfielder holding his hand; he was always made to look better by the tactical intelligence of other players. As soon as he became the biggest name in Liverpool's midfield, his limitations started to shine through.

Scholes? There's definitely an argument to be made for him. It's a shame Arsenal fans mostly remember him as a bit of a thug, because in his prime he was probably United's best source of spontaneous creativity.

Beckham is an obvious choice. Technically superb, gave structure to his teams' attacks, and was so proficient he played to an exceptional level until the age of 37.

Campbell - for all his gum-flapping lately, people forget just how good a defender he was. Wouldn't have looked out of place in Italy.

Lampard would have been eaten alive in any other European league.
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Same Lampard who kept the England flag flying high in Euro 04 and qfiers for WC 06

Or the one who only came second to legendary Ronaldinho in WPOTY

I'm just saying that if he only won pfa player of the year once, and has never been in the top 3-5 for world player of the year, how can he be called world class.
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its not as cut and dry as just the personal awards, but to say that is a bit harsh on him, in terms of personal achievements he has

3rd place in the ballon dor
6 consecutive pfa teams of the year
3 consecutive uefa teams of the year
3 consecutive fifpro world xi's
uefa cub footballer of the year

as i said, its not all about personal acheivements, but he got all.most of them from 05-09, and for those years id definitely say he was a world class player

as i said, its not all about personal acheivements, but he got all.most of them from 05-09, and for those years id definitely say he was a world class player
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I think Gerrard has been a world class player for maybe 2 seasons, but i think at that time he was playing alongside Alonso which helped him a lot too.

Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, A. COLE, Scholes, Beckham, Owen are few on top of my head

Its definently an interesting question. Let me throw another one in there. Gary Lineker - golden boots all over the place and one of the most prolific strikers in the world in the late 80s and 90s. Would he be classed as world class? Very good at his job but I can't say he was ever world class and I feel ATM this is why you can't add Sturbridge to the list of world class players. You can easily see the skill difference between him and Luis.

Comment deleted by Site Moderator

a rinsed term - just like 'Genius'.

it is fairly basic for a player - to be world class - you have to produce on the 'world stage' . I appreciate the CL is probably now considered a world stage, but prior to its expansion it would be international tourny's only.

like the world cup.

there is a clue in the title of this.

the caveats are players like Best/Bale etc will never be able to show their wares at this tourny because of the countries they played for.

I don't believe any English player mentioned thus far is 'world class' based on the above criteria.

My friend has a similar opinion to the one above in that Messi will never truly be a legend of the game unless he wins everything - this to me is insane.

Wilshere is an example people either call him world class or overrated dross.

In reality him and most English players are somewhere inbetween.

comment by Simon West (U1830)
posted 6 minutes ago
Its definently an interesting question. Let me throw another one in there. Gary Lineker - golden boots all over the place and one of the most prolific strikers in the world in the late 80s and 90s. Would he be classed as world class? Very good at his job but I can't say he was ever world class and I feel ATM this is why you can't add Sturbridge to the list of world class players. You can easily see the skill difference between him and Luis.
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I think Gary by his own admission says this.

Gary Lineker ‏@GaryLineker · Mar 12
Messi makes me realise how s.h it I was!

Fair play - I don't mind Lineker one of the better hosts

No middle ground

Surprised to see Wilshere mentioned but not Ramsey. Surely the Welsh are Brits (even if we don't want them to be but that's more rugby than football)

No doubt little Leo is a wonderful wonderful player, but he ain't no Maradonna until he contributes to an Argentina side that lifts the JRT.

Possibly this year.

that is world class.

CR7 slightly different because he has basically dragged Portugal to these tourny's and again produced in them as well.

A lot of the players mentioned are superb consistent EPL performers, but world class?

how can you mention John Terry and the word 'class' in the same sentence.

Behave

With the new crop England could be a good team unit, theres just one thing standing in their way, Roy.

comment by Dalglish's Double Fist Pump (U6580)
posted 3 minutes ago
My friend has a similar opinion to the one above in that Messi will never truly be a legend of the game unless he wins everything - this to me is insane.
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Ok, that's obviously a bit extreme - but I think there will be a small faction of people who always have doubts about Messi, if he decides to finish at Barcelona. There will always be the argument that Barcelona was his comfort zone, and that he would have had to prove himself with a different challenge.

I think these pair are world class:
http://bit.ly/NdXIKT

What's that?...oh Brits....

"how can you mention John Terry and the word 'class' in the same sentence."

http://i57.tinypic.com/24dmzaf.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjFUfIxfQvc

I wont hold my breath for a response

comment by Respected Kings Road (U1762)
posted 9 minutes ago
With the new crop England could be a good team unit, theres just one thing standing in their way, Roy.
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Paulo Ferreira has won:
2 Champions Leagues
2 Europa Leagues
3 Premier Leagues
2 League Cups
4 FA cups

Even fackin Mikael Silvestre has a Champions League medal.

To be fair Ferreira has robbed a living

The same people who say Gerrard/lampard were never world class are probably the same ones who think the likes of Vidal are

comment by Dalglish's Double Fist Pump (U6580)
posted 6 minutes ago
To be fair Ferreira has robbed a living
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He's just pinned his career on Mourinho's colours. Lucky sod.

RKR.

you can exhale:

the cash tours? the cheating? the racism?

lets not get drawn into this. he is a brilliant defender and captain, but IMO he is not world class. you think differently.