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Ex-Gunner Watch

Is it wrong to still love Giroud

  • Yes he’s no longer a gooner

  • No he will always be a top man


Results are only viewable after voting.

Uncle Mike

Established Member
JoeyGooner said:
Nice list, but I think I'm going to be mainstream and put Henry on top, but this list is pretty spot on, but even though Cesc didn't win anything we can't downplay his ability and commitment whilst he was still OUR player (would say until 2010-11) so I would probably rank him a bit higher.
Well, as I said, I would have preferred to put Henry at Number 1, as the 50 Greatest Gunners poll did in 2008. But the long-term accomplishments of Adams, and the fact that Bergkamp was also around longer (both Wenger doubles), put "Mr. Arsenal" and "God" ahead of "Superman" (or, at least, that's what I like to call Henry) on my list, which was (mostly) based on stats rather than sentiment.

If I'd totally based it on sentiment, the guys for whom we simply don't have enough footage (i.e. the pre-1971 guys) wouldn't have had a chance.

To be brutally honest, some of the footage I have seen of the 1930s Gunners, and the 1950 FA Cup Final, shows some pretty weak defending. Not a lot of "British steel" in those days. Suffice it to say that, while Ted Drake could certainly be a scoring threat today, he wouldn't be making Arsenal fans ask, "Oi, Ted, what time is it? Seven past Villa!"
 

Accomplished

Established Member
Uncle Mike said:
illmatik said:
Fabregas should be higher than Lauren
Yes, because he started in a Double winner and the Invincibles.

Oh, no, wait -- Lauren did that, not Fabregas.

Liam Brady is significantly higher on that list than Fabregas (and Lauren). Given the fact you seem to care more about trophies than ability, please explain this.
 

Uncle Mike

Established Member
Accomplished said:
Liam Brady is significantly higher on that list than Fabregas (and Lauren). Given the fact you seem to care more about trophies than ability, please explain this.
Better defender. Better passer. Better dribbler (than all but a few players who ever lived). Could score with both feet, too, although mainly did so with his left. Except maybe for Robert Pires (for whom we have plenty of footage to judge) and Cliff Bastin (for whom we don't), there was no better left foot in Arsenal history.

I also used the aforementioned "50 Greatest Gunners" poll as a template for how Gooners tend to think of said players. This last factor worked against Fabregas and a few others, because current players were exempted; had they been allowed, this would have been factored in and Fabregas might have ranked a bit higher.

The fact that Brady returned to Arsenal and, arguably, has done far more as youth development director than as player has no bearing on my list. Nor does Graham's managing, nor does the assistance he got from Bob Wilson and Pat Rice, nor does the assistance Wenger has gotten from Rice. Nor did the assistance Bertie Mee or Terry Neill got from Don Howe (who only played for Arsenal briefly before a career-ending injury and thus I didn't look at his numbers at all).
 

FunGun

Active Member
Brady = legend. When he got the ball it seemed like the whole game went into slow motion like Neo from The Matrix. He had everything Fabregas has plus he could carve his way through a defense like butter dribbling with his close ball control and had an air that nothing ruffled him, unlike Febregas.
 

illmatik

Established Member
Well, Fabregas has amassed more apps than Lauren and has captained the side, as well as playing in our only CL final. Silly thinking Lauren will go down higher in the list than Fabregas
 

outlaw_member

Established Member
FunGun said:
Brady = legend. When he got the ball it seemed like the whole game went into slow motion like Neo from The Matrix. He had everything Fabregas has plus he could carve his way through a defense like butter dribbling with his close ball control and had an air that nothing ruffled him, unlike Febregas.

Already forgot his goal against Tottenham, eh?

How in the name of the lord can Lauren, Kanu and Wiltord be greater legends than Fabregas? Not a bad list, though, it has to be said.
 

GDeep™

League is very weak
Mike, explain Perry Groves to me, how have you got him ahead of some key invincibles. Props on the list though, good effort :wink:
 

Uncle Mike

Established Member
illmatik said:
Well, Fabregas has amassed more apps than Lauren and has captained the side, as well as playing in our only CL final. Silly thinking Lauren will go down higher in the list than Fabregas
Yes, Fabregas captained the side. So did Gallas. It's not the boost you think it is unless you captain the side to trophies.
GDeep said:
Mike, explain Perry Groves to me, how have you got him ahead of some key invincibles. Props on the list though, good effort :wink:
Perry Groves is rather difficult to explain... Oh, you meant his ranking?

He did get onto the top 40 list for Arsenal 501 Goals, and he was a part, if a minor part, of some winning teams. He was as much a part of the 1989 & '91 Champions as, say, Gilberto was of the '04 Invincibles.

Also, there is some sentiment in the rankings, although that's hard to quantify. It is the sort of thing that makes "greatest" not quite the same thing as "best." For example, when I first saw the stats for the 1971 Double side, I was shocked to see that John Radford, Ray Kennedy and George Graham had all scored more goals than Charlie George, the iconic player of that team. So, I asked to no one in particular, why was Charlie thought of as so great? Part of it was personality, part of it was image, part of it was that he was, literally, the proverbial "local boy who made good": Not just from London or even North London, but Islington.

With sentiment in mind, I figured that contributions to "special teams" (not to be confused with "special teams" in American football, although Thierry Henry would have been one hell of a kick returner, a Gallic Gale Sayers) mattered a little more. That's why I gave a few more "points" to players from the early 1930s (who established Arsenal as a championship team), 1971 (the first Double), 1989 (the team that ended the drought of "18 ****ing years"), and 1998 (the team that effectively launched the Wenger era). Perhaps that gave guys like Groves, Martin Hayes and Brian Marwood more than they should have gotten. Although I didn't give Michael Thomas (or Charlie George, or Alan Sunderland, or Marc Overmars, or Sylvain Wiltord) bonus points for one particularly important goal.

As I said, even I was mystified and not completely pleased with how my list turned out. It's not completely scientific, not completely based in facts, and I'm not going to pretend it's definitive. If anyone thinks they have a better "formula," feel free to post it. Just don't put Fabregas in your Top 20.
 

Cudareli

Antonio Valencia stan
Thierry Henry has to be number one on any list created. Failure to do so, deems the list invalid.
 

Uncle Mike

Established Member
Cudareli said:
Thierry Henry has to be number one on any list created. Failure to do so, deems the list invalid.
As I said a few posts ago, if it was solely based on my opinion, he would have been Number 1, but his comparative lack of longevity (8 seasons) is a factor.
 

Cudareli

Antonio Valencia stan
Uncle Mike said:
Cudareli said:
Thierry Henry has to be number one on any list created. Failure to do so, deems the list invalid.
As I said a few posts ago, if it was solely based on my opinion, he would have been Number 1, but his comparative lack of longevity (8 seasons) is a factor.

I understand and I didn't make the rule.

That's just how it is. If Henry isn't topping the list, then it can't be taken to hold any substance :wink:
 

Uncle Mike

Established Member
DJ_Markstar said:
Cudareli said:
Thierry Henry has to be number one on any list created. Failure to do so, deems the list invalid.

Any list created?
Well, he's definitely not Number 1 on the list of reasons why Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are no longer married.

Seriously, Elizabeth Hurley, Dayanara Torres, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, Elin Nordegren, Cheryl Tweedy, Stacey Cooke, Abbey Clancy, Eva Longoria... I don't care how hot the women the guys cheated WITH are, just how horny a bastard do you have to be to cheat on these women?
 

DJ_Markstar

Based and Artetapilled

Player:Martinelli
Uncle Mike said:
DJ_Markstar said:
Cudareli said:
Thierry Henry has to be number one on any list created. Failure to do so, deems the list invalid.

Any list created?
Well, he's definitely not Number 1 on the list of reasons why Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are no longer married.

Seriously, Elizabeth Hurley, Dayanara Torres, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, Elin Nordegren, Cheryl Tweedy, Stacey Cooke, Abbey Clancy, Eva Longoria... I don't care how hot the women the guys cheated WITH are, just how horny a bastard do you have to be to cheat on these women?

Are you sure? Have you seen the pictures of the basketball? :lol:
 

Uncle Mike

Established Member
DJ_Markstar said:
Uncle Mike said:
Well, he's definitely not Number 1 on the list of reasons why Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are no longer married.

Seriously, Elizabeth Hurley, Dayanara Torres, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, Elin Nordegren, Cheryl Tweedy, Stacey Cooke, Abbey Clancy, Eva Longoria... I don't care how hot the women the guys cheated WITH are, just how horny a bastard do you have to be to cheat on these women?

Are you sure? Have you seen the pictures of the basketball? :lol:
Yes, I have. I think Henry was simply surprised: "Look at that, a pair of legs more impressive than my own."

Tony cheated on Eva, not the other way around. And she was a San Antonio fan long before he got there, and even before they started winning titles. It's her local side. (I'd rather not say the club's full name, and I think you can guess why.)
 

GDeep™

League is very weak
Nordviet on Bendtner - <a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2034291/Arsenal-flop-Nicklas-Bendtner-blame-says-Nordtveit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... tveit.html</a>
 

Y va marquer

Established Member
Reports that Nasri broke a finger whilst on International duty.

<a class="postlink" href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/sep/07/samir-nasri-breaks-hand-france?cat=football&type=article" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/s ... pe=article</a>
 

ibby

Established Member
I seen Clichy at the AMC today the cheap bastard. His girlfriend didn't look that nice in person. :(

He was going in to watch The Art of Getting By.
 

outlaw_member

Established Member
I was in Manchester last week, several days after our mauling. Suffice to say, I felt absolutely sick whilst being there. It's usually nothing seeing a United top, but to see Manchester kids wearing United tops just sent me over the edge. I also went to to see the new media city where one of my cousin now works as a BBC sports journalist. The bastards a United fan with an office near the top overlooking Old Trafford.
 

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