Nine while nine
Undead
- Jan 28, 2011
- 5,682
- 79,239
It's standard practice these days to look back a few years to when we weren't that good and call out ex-players for their deficiencies, whether real or perceived, but I'd like to redress the balance.
So this thread is basically an opportunity for any of you to find something positive to say about any player from the past who generally gets a bit of a slagging and tell us why you love them.
And I'm going to kick off in praise of Didier Zokora.
Zokora got a lot of stick for not being Carrick, but that wasn't his fault. Nor was it his fault that he played under three different managers in three years and was played in CM, at CB, at RB because the squad was so unbalanced. He never complained and generally gave his all. And I also love Didier Zokora because
1) He used to stand on the half-way line looking away when we had a penalty and his smile as the crowd roared the goal was one of the most beautiful things in football.
2) He got sent off for protecting a 19-year-old Aaron Lennon in a fight when we played Middlesbrough (and somehow managed to get the Boro' player sent off too).
3) He was renowned for not being able to score for us in a game, yet still had the balls to take a (successful) penalty in a shoot-out against PSV.
And I know he took that dive against Portsmouth but, for me, it was such a blatantly rubbish attempt at a dive that, at one level, you sensed that he'd never tried to do it before and probably wouldn't again. A footballing Cameron Bancroft, if you will. And if you somehow doubt that Zokora genuinely lacked subtlety when it came to cheating, then here's the 'disguised foul' he inflicted on Emre in response to a previous racist comment by the latter. Subtle it's not and it's another reason why I love Didier.
Anyway. Enough Zokora. Who else do you think deserves to have their reputation salvaged and why? It doesn't have to be war and peace. It might just be one great bit of play you remember by Gilberto or that Paolo Tramezzani once gave his seat up on the bus for your aged auntie but, whatever, let's hear some good things about otherwise maligned players.
So this thread is basically an opportunity for any of you to find something positive to say about any player from the past who generally gets a bit of a slagging and tell us why you love them.
And I'm going to kick off in praise of Didier Zokora.
Zokora got a lot of stick for not being Carrick, but that wasn't his fault. Nor was it his fault that he played under three different managers in three years and was played in CM, at CB, at RB because the squad was so unbalanced. He never complained and generally gave his all. And I also love Didier Zokora because
1) He used to stand on the half-way line looking away when we had a penalty and his smile as the crowd roared the goal was one of the most beautiful things in football.
2) He got sent off for protecting a 19-year-old Aaron Lennon in a fight when we played Middlesbrough (and somehow managed to get the Boro' player sent off too).
3) He was renowned for not being able to score for us in a game, yet still had the balls to take a (successful) penalty in a shoot-out against PSV.
And I know he took that dive against Portsmouth but, for me, it was such a blatantly rubbish attempt at a dive that, at one level, you sensed that he'd never tried to do it before and probably wouldn't again. A footballing Cameron Bancroft, if you will. And if you somehow doubt that Zokora genuinely lacked subtlety when it came to cheating, then here's the 'disguised foul' he inflicted on Emre in response to a previous racist comment by the latter. Subtle it's not and it's another reason why I love Didier.
Anyway. Enough Zokora. Who else do you think deserves to have their reputation salvaged and why? It doesn't have to be war and peace. It might just be one great bit of play you remember by Gilberto or that Paolo Tramezzani once gave his seat up on the bus for your aged auntie but, whatever, let's hear some good things about otherwise maligned players.
