Cristiano Ronaldo - is it me or has he....

[Porter's Dad]

....lost a bit of pace? Honestly, everytime I have seen him this season, he doesn't look as quick as he used to be.

I think he's a dickhead but an amazing player, I've been raving about him since about 2004.

Still, this season, he doesn't look nearly as quick and dynamic on the ball. I've seen pedestrian players like Dawson and Wilkinson nail him with good challenges that they wouldn't have last season.

I know he didn't have a pre-season cos of injury, and he dicked about in Hollywood with Paris Hilton and all the other hoes, but something is definitely not right...

I think Man Utd should get rid while they can still get a ridiculous fee. I mean, he ain't gonna be Player of the Year next season (it's gonna be Messi), and if I'm right about him losing a bit of pace, his stock is gonna drop.

[Flawless.]

He bulked up too much IMO

[squealpiggy]

He is too temperamental to be a truly top player. He loses his temper, he pisses off referees and he acts petulant. He makes Wayne Rooney look calm and collected.

[Patty Tanager]

**** him, get him slung.

I cringe watching some off the faces he pulls on the pitch. It's obvious his heart isn't in it.

Let him go to Madrid and win **** all.

[squealpiggy]

**** him, get him slung.

I cringe watching some off the faces he pulls on the pitch. It's obvious his heart isn't in it.

Let him go to Madrid and win **** all.

Even the rags can't stand the oily fuckin bastard.

[Porter's Dad]

He is too temperamental to be a truly top player. He loses his temper, he pisses off referees and he acts petulant. He makes Wayne Rooney look calm and collected.

Petulance has no bearing on how talented he is, it only affects how popular he is. I mean, I think he's a complete ***** and this fall from grace is one I'm gonna enjoy, but he has been a truly top player for a while now.

I think Rooney is a much bigger liability than him, personally. Today Shrek's come out and said he's not gonna stop the tackling. Right...you're a centre forward who thinks tackling is a major part of your game.

FFS.

This is what is wrong with the English mentality - they enjoy a hard challenge more than an elaborate trick.

Hey Shrek......do Eto, Benzema, Van Persie, Ibrahimovic etc waste their talents on sliding in on the opposition full backs?

Such a thick ****.

[squealpiggy]

Petulance has no bearing on how talented he is, it only affects how popular he is.

It doesn't affect his talent but it does affect his effectiveness. He could have all the talent in the world but it's not going to come to much if he's sent off every five matches because he mouths off to the referee or responds to a challenge with a two footed knee high tackle. Add to that the ease with which he can be completely thrown out of a game by a bit of physical play and you have a player that can become a liability.

I think Rooney is a much bigger liability than him, personally. Today Shrek's come out and said he's not gonna stop the tackling. Right...you're a centre forward who thinks tackling is a major part of your game.

Rooney is often on his own goal line making a clearance or putting in a saving tackle on the edge of his box (which he wouldn't need to do if Jar Jar would do his job properly) but he's also effective at maintaining pressure on opposition defenses and at winning the ball in the opposition half and setting up attacks. Rooney has become more disciplined as he matured, but he retains his passion for the game and his robust physical play is a big part of his game. He has a good first touch, he has good goalscoring technique (though he isn't what you'd call a natural goalscorer, he needs a partner up front) and he's fast but he's also strong and tough and that's important.

This is what is wrong with the English mentality - they enjoy a hard challenge more than an elaborate trick.

I don't really like tricks too much unless they lead up to a good ball or a shot on goal. The only time I like tricks which do not lead to something direct is when they involve two or more players working in tandem. One of the reasons I hate Kirsty Ann so much is that he will start off doing stepovers and flicks on the halfway line with noone near him. RUN INTO SPACE DICKHEAD!

So yes, I prefer a robust (but fair) challenge because football is a physical game and I'm tired of it being played as though it isn't.

[Addition]

He was injured at the beginning of the season and lets be honest, there is no player in the world who can score 42 goals and repeat it the following season.

[Rocky.]

Man united should just punt him, as red army says let him go to madrid, madrid are **** and hell win **** all just like that other mug beckham.

[Porter's Dad]

It doesn't affect his talent but it does affect his effectiveness. He could have all the talent in the world but it's not going to come to much if he's sent off every five matches because he mouths off to the referee or responds to a challenge with a two footed knee high tackle. Add to that the ease with which he can be completely thrown out of a game by a bit of physical play and you have a player that can become a liability.



Rooney is often on his own goal line making a clearance or putting in a saving tackle on the edge of his box (which he wouldn't need to do if Jar Jar would do his job properly) but he's also effective at maintaining pressure on opposition defenses and at winning the ball in the opposition half and setting up attacks. Rooney has become more disciplined as he matured, but he retains his passion for the game and his robust physical play is a big part of his game. He has a good first touch, he has good goalscoring technique (though he isn't what you'd call a natural goalscorer, he needs a partner up front) and he's fast but he's also strong and tough and that's important.



I don't really like tricks too much unless they lead up to a good ball or a shot on goal. The only time I like tricks which do not lead to something direct is when they involve two or more players working in tandem. One of the reasons I hate Kirsty Ann so much is that he will start off doing stepovers and flicks on the halfway line with noone near him. RUN INTO SPACE DICKHEAD!

So yes, I prefer a robust (but fair) challenge because football is a physical game and I'm tired of it being played as though it isn't.

But does the petulance really affect his effectiveness? I mean, he's just won the Ballon d'Or and come off two seasons where's score about 70 goals in total, so how exactly has it affected his game?

Contrasted with Rooney, who, IMHO, has stagnated as a player since he has gone to Utd. I'm a huge fan of his, and there's been a revival of sorts this season from him, but for a few years, Ronaldo's magnificence has obscured the fact that Rooney regressed as a player at Man Utd. He's been better than Ronaldo this season, though.

My comparison of tricks vs tackles is based on the very English way we don't put enough of a premium of technique and skill. I don't just mean 'tricks', I mean technique, ingenuity, creativity, daring, cunning.

My problem is that the mentality of this country has made a player of such incredible attacking talent in Rooney regard tackling as part of his game. It took Capello to tell him to cut that **** out. If Rooney was Spanish or Italian, he wouldn't expend so much energy flying into full backs. I understand that his energy levels are a good method of pressuring defenders, but if he actually concentrated on being a pure attacker, a pure striker, I think he'd be one of the best in the world. As it is, he's one rung below the elite right now.

I actually happen to think he's a great finisher, because his natural talent is such, he will usually put chances away. He was a tremendous finisher when he was young too. It's only over the years that he's gone further away from the goal.

It's because I'm such a huge fan of his that I get so frustrated with him.