It is so easy to bring the ball out from defence.

I actually think Barkley is more overrated than Stones. I rate Alli too tbh

Unpopular opinion but I'd have to say Smalling.
Good defender but not in the top bracket for me.

Oh God what have I done...

comment by merrysupersteve (U1132)
posted 1 minute ago
I actually think Barkley is more overrated than Stones. I rate Alli too tbh
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Alli does look promising but hand on heart, can you say he has displayed anything that will convince you he will be one of the leading players in his position in years to come?

Barkley is raw too, cracking long rage striker of the ball, can beat players and is powerful but needs to be less careless with the ball. He's the perfect counter attacking player but can he adapt to be successful in a set up that puts emphasis on controlling the tempo of the match and dominating possession.

Good choices, Marlo. Completely agree with both.

I think his pace and clever runs, coupled with finishing ability will see him become a very good player. He looks more in the Lampard mould than Gerrard, whom he's been compared to more, to me though. World class potential? Maybe not, but certainly could prove to be a top PL player for many years

Well said. Good old English hype in action.

There's always been criticism of Barkleys passing this season if you look at the stats he looks to have improved that a lot.

88% pass completion with 65% of passes going forward, looks good on the face of it. Added to what is clearly top class talent and athleticism then I'd say the hype for Barkley is well deserved.

For me one of the most overhyped players in prem history is Cesc Fabregas

Merry you are a decent poster and that's a fair comment but I think Alli's strength purely lies in what you've described. He's good at supporting attacks and arriving into the box ala Frank Lampard but I don't see him unlocking defences or dominating midfields on a regular basis in the future. He will be a solid player and not a special one, the same as what John Stones will be.

They're some of Englands better prospects but there's much better, and less hyped players on the continent.

comment by Bobby Dazzler (U1449)
posted 4 minutes ago
For me one of the most overhyped players in prem history is Cesc Fabregas
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YES.

No doubt he has fantastic vision and passing range, but never have I seen a player go into hiding in big games as much as this guy. He's a bottler of the highest order.

I never got why Jose sold Mata and bought Fabregas when they offer just about the same work rate and athleticism and they both can go missing in equal measure.

Depends what you mean by hype i guess.

All of the above will likely be good prem players but thats about it, they won't win anything outside of the UK and certainly nothing on the international stage.

Chelsea needed the money.

One of the most overhyped is your very own Januzai

Fair enough Dazza, they bought a version of Mata who could play deeper with about 7 or 8 million pound in change.

I'll never get why they felt the need to upgrade Ramires, a player who defines 'perfect' when talking about all round midfield play. Ramires is the black Keane.

He used to be. He's not hyped up now he can't get a game.

comment by Champers - Pow! Right in the kisser (U6859)
posted 1 minute ago
One of the most overhyped is your very own Januzai
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I think you must be stuck in 2013 fella.

Nobody rates Januzaj any more, least of all United fans. Though I think his problems are more due to attitude than talent and he may yet come good. I certainly haven't heard him being hyped up at all in the last year and a half. So that's unfounded nonsense really.

Because Ramires cannot play football.

I think selling Mata was more to do with them bringing in Matic that January.

When you've got Oscar and Matic as the legs in midfield and the opportunity to bring in Cesc (a more talented and creative player than Mata) arises you take it.

Don't think many could have predicted how badly his form would drop. Especially after his excellent start for them.

That's the thing with fabregas, when he's good he's very good but when he's bad he's completely anonymous

Used to love the Modric/Fabregas debates on here

I was being sarcastic re. Ramires Dazza, the guy has stamina and can run about a lot but has the technical ability of Skrtel and that's being generous. Imagine Usain Bolt playing football and that's Ramires.

Fabregas has excellent technical ability granted, but even before this dip in form, he's always found it in him to go missing when the going gets tough, way before he joined Chelsea.

I'd take Modric over Fabregas all day long.

I wasn't that bothered we didn't sign Fab back in the Moyes era, was much more gutted we missed out on Thiago who looked an exciting prospect.

It's a shame he's suffered a lot with injuries at Bayern, I have no idea whether he has played more regular this season.

Its not just the English hyping Stones. Gerard Pique did a world 11 and put Stones in it.

Add to that Jose going to war with Chelsea to sign Stones this summer and you have some of the biggest names in football believing in Stones and what he can bring to a side.

I rate the OP of this article a lot but these kind of articles are pointless because they are the flipside of what he's arguing. For everyone that over hypes a player there is someone wanting to bring them down a peg or two when in reality neither side is in any position to correctly tell the future regarding Stones.

I did actually mean to write 'was' and not 'is'

Also, I agree with Stones being overhyped but not Dele Alli. Think that lad could become something really special.