World Class Rangers

[Gribz 743]

Is there much of a difference between top European class and world class. Out with S America and the odd African player etc you don't get many other elite players. Even more so if you talk about players plying their trade inEurope as opposed to representing a European country.

 

This was going to be my next post, if you are a top European player you are pretty much world class as its the Europeans and South Americans who have mainly graced the game and have the top leagues and standard of player. I think another way to split it is whether you play at top club level (European competition) or on the World Stage. Because 'world class' players such as Giggs and Best never got to do it on the international stage so that makes them certainly top European quality.

 

Re-reading Gribz and BHs recent post threw up a question for me.

 

From previous interaction and looking at Gribz XI I know we have watched Rangers through a similar number of years.

 

Gribz names Gio in his XI. Now taking out the fact that many people don't like Barry Ferguson personally, but who was the most effective performer for Rangers at their peak? My memory would say Barry. What is also not obvious from Gribz post is whether Gio is selected as a CM or LM? Many of his midfield can play in different positions across the engine room. If it's as LM of course it's Gio. At CM I would say Barry.

 

Further still, did Gio get greater acclaim away from Scotland as a LB for Holland, Arsenal, Barca etc? If so, for me Numan is better there.

 

Edit: really interesting back and forth between the two of you.

 

I take your point on Ferguson and he did do more for Rangers but if we are talking quality overall then Gio did it at higher levels. A good question would be, if they were both at their pomp right now who would you take in the team first?

 

Gio did also play a lot on the left side of midfield (more an inside left) but he isn't going to be able to shift Laudrup or Cooper from the wide slots.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Gribz

[BrahimHemdani 1]

This was going to be my next post, if you are a top European player you are pretty much world class as its the Europeans and South Americans who have mainly graced the game and have the top leagues and standard of player. I think another way to split it is whether you play at top club level (European competition) or on the World Stage. Because 'world class' players such as Giggs and Best never got to do it on the international stage so that makes them certainly top European quality.

 

 

Despite the dominance of non-Europeans in terms of WINNING World/European Player of the Year, overall between 1995 when they became eligible and 2009 when the European Player of the Year ceased to be awarded, only 20 out of 75 [27%] top 5 places went to non-Europeans. Messi has won World Player of the Year (FIFA Ballon d'Or) each year since then but the other paces in the top 3 have all gone to European players.

 

So the influence of African/South American players has ben significant but perhaps not quite as much as might be inferred from looking at the Winners.

[andy steel 0]

You wouldn't include Denis Law or Kenny Dalglish?

 

I was only thinking of Bears, BH. I never saw Law and Dalglish, well I only saw him for Scotland and he wasn't brilliant in my time (maybe 85 onwards).

[andy steel 0]

The first non-Ranger I really took notice of was the floppy haired attacking midfielder for Milan during their late 80's pomp; I think it was Roberto Donadoni but the memory is not what it was.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

I was only thinking of Bears, BH. I never saw Law and Dalglish, well I only saw him for Scotland and he wasn't brilliant in my time (maybe 85 onwards).

 

OK thanks for clarifying. I assumed that when you said

The great lost Scottish player, I think, and the only one of two who would be called World Class

you were referring to Scottish players in general.

 

So you are putting Cooper and Durrant ahead of the likes of Laudrup, Gascoigne, the de Boers and even dare I mention him again, Mikhailichenko. Interesting point of view.

 

Sorry how silly of me; what you are saying is that they are the best SCOTTISH players to have played for Rangers and therefore rating them ahead of Baxter, Henderson and Wilson, Barry Ferguson, Graham Souness to name but a few, for example. I don't think that was really the OP's idea but still interesting nonetheless.

 

BTW where have you been for the last 3 days?

[BrahimHemdani 1]

The first non-Ranger I really took notice of was the floppy haired attacking midfielder for Milan during their late 80's pomp; I think it was Roberto Donadoni but the memory is not what it was.

 

Sounds right

[andy steel 0]

OK thanks for clarifying. I assumed that when you said you were referring to Scottish players in general.

 

So you are putting Cooper and Durrant ahead of the likes of Laudrup, Gascoigne, the de Boers and even dare I mention him again, Mikhailichenko. Interesting point of view.

 

Sorry how silly of me; what you are saying is that they are the best SCOTTISH players to have played for Rangers and therefore rating them ahead of Baxter, Henderson and Wilson, Barry Ferguson, Graham Souness to name but a few, for example. I don't think that was really the OP's idea but still interesting nonetheless.

 

BTW where have you been for the last 3 days?

 

I was just thinking of Rangers players in general, and I was a bit dismayed that I could only really honestly hold up those two. I mean they really were world class to me, capable of doing something that only the smallest fraction of players could: certainly the others you mention were excellent, some brilliant, but I don't put them so high as world class.

 

I tell you a player I thought could be world class, was Oleg Salenko. I base that on a backheel pass he played to himself on the edge of the box, attacking the Broomloan end. Plainly he never achieved it but it's as good a single piece of skill as I have ever seen at Ibrox.

 

I have been golfing at Troon, and writing essays. 18 holes in the mostly dry over that weekend, that took some doing! I did put the radio on for the game after my round but quickly put it off again.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

I was just thinking of Rangers players in general, and I was a bit dismayed that I could only really honestly hold up those two. I mean they really were world class to me, capable of doing something that only the smallest fraction of players could: certainly the others you mention were excellent, some brilliant, but I don't put them so high as world class.

 

I tell you a player I thought could be world class, was Oleg Salenko. I base that on a backheel pass he played to himself on the edge of the box, attacking the Broomloan end. Plainly he never achieved it but it's as good a single piece of skill as I have ever seen at Ibrox.

 

I have been golfing at Troon, and writing essays. 18 holes in the mostly dry over that weekend, that took some doing! I did put the radio on for the game after my round but quickly put it off again.

 

Wow, you dug one out there, Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko, had to look him up on Wiki 16 games and 7 goals in 1995.

 

Oleg Salenko, best footballer in history

 

Enjoy!

 

Time you were standing getting soaked with the rest of us at Brechin etc!

[Tumshie RFC 0]

A question here for the older bears following on from the discussion about Ian Durrant's world class potential. What about big Oleg Kuznetsov?

 

By all accounts he was a stand-out of the Dynamo Kiev and USSR team before he came to us and got injured straight away.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

A question here for the older bears following on from the discussion about Ian Durrant's world class potential. What about big Oleg Kuznetsov?

 

By all accounts he was a stand-out of the Dynamo Kiev and USSR team before he came to us and got injured straight away.

 

By all accounts an outstanding player who was in 11th place in the European Footballer of the Year award in 1988, and in 17th place in 1989.

 

Unfortunately we didn't get to see him at his best and I must admit I was always very suspicious of that second game injury; if I recall it was early in the match too.

 

Sorry don't get the connection with Durrant; Kuznetsov was a CB?