Ballon D'Or 2012

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

The shortlist has just been announced:


Sergio Agüero (Argentina), Xabi Alonso (Spain),Mario Balotelli (Italy), Karim Benzema (France), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Sergio Busquets (Spain), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire), Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Özil (Germany), Gerard Piqué (Spain), Andrea Pirlo (Italy),
Sergio Ramos (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire), Robin van Persie (Netherlands), Xavi (Spain).

Balotelli? :haha: :haha:

As always it will be between Messi, Ronaldo, Barcelona midfielder.

[Marc Overmars]

Ronaldo might have a chance but I still expect Messi to take it as usual.

[GP]

Should be Falcao's, tbh

[IBK]

I remember when this award used to mean something to us as a club, because there would be one of our players nominated. Those days are long gone now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Well it was only two years ago. Anyway, this award has never meant a huge amount for us (nor most clubs in England), Henry never won it, though he should have.

[Marc Overmars]

He certainly should have won it in 2003 and/or 2004 but of course us being shite in Europe didn't help. I also thought there was a strong case for him in 2006 but Cannavaro won it off the back of the World Cup alone.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

2004 he definitely should've won the WPotY, if not the Ballon D'or as it was seperate then. Milan cocked up against Deportivo that season (in terms of Shevchenko) but did win Serie A I suppose. However, Ronaldinho's Barcelona didn't win a thing.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Well we have

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I remember when this award used to mean something to us as a club, because there would be one of our players nominated. Those days are long gone now.

Not really, its not as if any of our boys stood a chance of winning it, it always went to the european based players.

[Syn]

Disgusting that Wilshere's not nominated.

[Letters]

Disgusting that Wilshere's not nominated.
He'd only have lost out to Giggs.

[IBK]

Not really, its not as if any of our boys stood a chance of winning it, it always went to the european based players.

Yes - probably should have said that the list had some interest to us, even if we were never going to have a player who won.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Well, Van Persie is on the list on the strength of his outstanding performances for us.

[hobson's choice]

Awards in any fields are just stupid and pointless, more about the people making the decision thinking they are important, and that actual contribute something worthwhile.

I wish players and performers would just stop caring about these things, but these idiots love to have their egos stroke. And there is some financial incentives tied to these things.

I loathe this world somtimes

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Awards in any fields are just stupid and pointless, more about the people making the decision thinking they are important, and that actual contribute something worthwhile.

I wish players and performers would just stop caring about these things, but these idiots love to have their egos stroke. And there is some financial incentives tied to these things.

I loathe this world somtimes

Especially when you know the winner will come from Real or Barca.

[Cripps_orig]

Ronaldo has to win

/thread

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Falcao should win.

[IBK]

Well, Van Persie is on the list on the strength of his outstanding performances for us.

Kind of says it all, really.

[LDG]

Rooney? ROONEY??

Are they having a bubble?

[Kano]

he scored 34 goals last season

[LDG]

he scored 34 goals last season

Giroud scored 33.

[Kano]

now look at him

[LDG]

I wouldn't look at Wayne Rooney through my fingers.


BTW, I made up the Giroud stat.

[Kano]

damn you

[Niall_Quinn]

Rooney? ROONEY??

Are they having a bubble?

He's easily in the top 10 world earners when you add endorsements etc. This is what this award is about, right?

[Ollie the Optimist]

van Persie's explosive final months at Arsenal contribute to his recognition.

not a bad wumming attempt from uniteds website

[Syn]

:lol:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

As always it will be between Messi, Ronaldo, Barcelona midfielder.

And shockingly the 3 man shortlist is Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta :faint:

[GP]

Luis Suarez is favourite for the Fallon D'floor

lulz

[Cripps_orig]

Iniesta? Wtf? :doh:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Iniesta? Wtf? :doh:

You should be happy. The Barca vote is split, leaving your boy a clear run.

Get your money on him.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Messi would win it I'd have thought, especially if he breaks Muller's record before then.

Wonder if Messi will look out for Ronaldo's face again should Iniesta win it.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

You should be happy. The Barca vote is split, leaving your boy a clear run.

Get your money on him.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

Nah Messi has it easy.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

This is on tonight, programme starts at 6pm on Eurosport.

[Ollie the Optimist]

as much as it pains me to say it, i still think the award should be given to van persie (i know he isnt nominated but still i feel he should have been)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He should only get an award for his trollface against the Barcodes.

[Cripps_orig]

If Messi wins this and he probably will, it will be the end of football as we know it. This guy is at the fore front of everything wrong about football. Plus he was Ronaldos bitch for the first half of 2012 and more importantly Godfreys bitch in the latter half

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

got to agree with crisps.

ronaldo single handedly won madrid the title last year, had a great euro's, smashed pretty much all the madrid records and a lot of la liga records.

barca didnt win la liga or the european cup. had quite a bad year considering their standards.

it should be ronaldo.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Iniesta won more than Ronaldo though, therefore it should be him then, right?

[Ollie the Optimist]

got to agree with crisps.

ronaldo single handedly won madrid the title last year, had a great euro's, smashed pretty much all the madrid records and a lot of la liga records.

barca didnt win la liga or the european cup. had quite a bad year considering their standards.

it should be ronaldo.


madrid won the league last year with ronaldo doing well, however aren't they now 14 points or something behind barca already? so thats only rewarding ronaldo for half a season, yes he helped win the league, but messi has performed all year given he scored 91 goals.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

i know but isn't it a bit repetitive to keep giving it to messi or barca players? we know they're amazing but its getting boring now. do they get it every year until the day they retire? maybe we should broaden the horizon and reward other players even if it is for half a season. its getting tedious. and ronaldo had a monster season in a technically worse team, he was pretty much on his own and not surrounded by xavi, iniesta etc. i think that deserves more credit.

[GP]

got to agree with crisps.

ronaldo single handedly won madrid the title last year

No. They would have still won it without him.

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/la_liga/124415/stat-attack-how-the-la-liga-table-would-look-without-messi-and-ronaldos-96-goals.html

Messi deserves it.

[Ollie the Optimist]

i know but isn't it a bit repetitive to keep giving it to messi or barca players? we know they're amazing but its getting boring now. do they get it every year until the day they retire? maybe we should broaden the horizon and reward other players even if it is for half a season. its getting tedious. and ronaldo had a monster season in a technically worse team, he was pretty much on his own and not surrounded by xavi, iniesta etc. i think that deserves more credit.

i agree to some extent, it is boring how they always win it. which is why i believe it should have been van persie this year, sadly he is the best striker in the world, and what he has done for us and united in 2012 is just fantastic.

[Letters]

i know but isn't it a bit repetitive to keep giving it to messi or barca players? we know they're amazing but its getting boring now. do they get it every year until the day they retire?
They should surely get it while they're the best player in the world.
That's obviously subjective but Messi and Ronaldo are the top 2 by a distance so one of those should win it.
I don't see any sense in giving it to an inferior player just because they've not won it.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

how inferior is van persie though? he was able to bang goals in left right and centre with us and we were tosh. if he went barca maybe he'd match messi's record? he'd have messi, iniesta, xavi, cesc, villa, sanchez, alves etc to feed him the ball. its not a fantasy to suggest that.

i mean his goals to minute's ratio was better than both of theirs for a majority of last year. who did we have to feed him? ramsey? Lol

and barca create a hell of a lot more opportunities in front of goal than the average team. for that reason i think ronaldo's achievements were greater.

[Letters]

You can make a case for RvP but no, he wouldn't have Messi's record if he went to Barca.
He's good but he's not in the debate for 'best player ever' which Messi definitely is and Ronaldo would be were Messi not around.

[Cripps_orig]

In terms of importance to their respective teams, RVC is up there with Messi. Take both out of their teams and their teams finish mid table. Take Ronaldo out of Real and Real are still awesome, just not as much cos they have others who can take up the goal scoring. So on that basis, the **** deserves to be up there. **** being RVC, not the druggie

[Ollie the Optimist]

In terms of importance to their respective teams, RVC is up there with Messi. Take both out of their teams and their teams finish mid table. Take Ronaldo out of Real and Real are still awesome, just not as much cos they have others who can take up the goal scoring. So on that basis, the **** deserves to be up there. **** being RVC, not the druggie

havnt you just argued there, that it should be messi and rvp to win it and not ronaldo? or have i completely misread that. im only asking as i know you hate barca, but it seems you jsut made an argument for ronaldo not win?

[Marc Overmars]

RVC deserves an honourable mention for his year, incredible amount of game changing goals for us and now the Mancs.

It's a given that Messi and Ronaldo are the top 2, for me it's more interesting discussing who's 3rd and I reckon it's RVC.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

It was announced a few weeks ago that it would be between Messi, Ronaldo and Iniesta.

Probably in that order.

[GP]

Falcao is better.

[Letters]

Shocking the way Ramsey is treated by FIFA :sulk:

[Kano]

Falcao is better.
exactly. rvp was and still is great but this guy is even better, so rvp just makes 5th.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

You can make a case for RvP but no, he wouldn't have Messi's record if he went to Barca.
He's good but he's not in the debate for 'best player ever' which Messi definitely is and Ronaldo would be were Messi not around.

ballon d'or is not a case for the best player ever and should not even be mentioned in this debate. its a completely separate issue. the award is a case for the best player in the previous season.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Ballon_d'Or

van persie was voted the best player in the english premier league last season. so he deserves a shot.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

exactly. rvp was and still is great but this guy is even better, so rvp just makes 5th.

actually jason roberts gave us a hard time in the 7-5 at the madejski.

so rvp drops down to 6th.

:pal:

[Cripps_orig]

havnt you just argued there, that it should be messi and rvp to win it and not ronaldo? or have i completely misread that. im only asking as i know you hate barca, but it seems you jsut made an argument for ronaldo not win?

Only if the award was based on importance of their teams which it isn't.

[Letters]

the award is a case for the best player in the previous season.
A season, well OK a calendar year in which Messi broke the all time record for goals scored...

RvP certainly should be included in the debate but he's not at Messi or Ronaldo's ridiculous level.

[Boss]

He's not playing in a league as ridiculously weak as Messi/Ronaldo are tbf.

[Grebbo]

How can anyone other than Messi win this? He's just scored the most goals ever in a year. Surely no contest?

[Letters]

He's not playing in a league as ridiculously weak as Messi/Ronaldo are tbf.
Oh yeah, the PL is top, top quality :lol:

The Spanish league provided both finalists of the Europa League last year and 2 of the 4 semi-finalists of the CL.
#justsayin'

[Kano]

He's not playing in a league as ridiculously weak as Messi/Ronaldo are tbf.
which leagues are better?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

how inferior is van persie though? he was able to bang goals in left right and centre with us and we were tosh. if he went barca maybe he'd match messi's record? he'd have messi, iniesta, xavi, cesc, villa, sanchez, alves etc to feed him the ball. its not a fantasy to suggest that.

i mean his goals to minute's ratio was better than both of theirs for a majority of last year. who did we have to feed him? ramsey? Lol

and barca create a hell of a lot more opportunities in front of goal than the average team. for that reason i think ronaldo's achievements were greater.

It is pure fantasy. You haven't considered that Messi is King there, Zlatan and David Villa (two guys that have achieved a lot more than RVP has, even if I don't think they are neccesarily better) have found that out to ther cost, therefore Messi is going to be in his position and everyone else will have to work around that. That is not the case for RVP at Man Utd since they wised up and started playing it to him at every opportunity (quite rightly so) just like we did but he wouldn't be afforded that at Barcelona, nobody else will bar Messi.

Also, I'm fairly sure Real Madrid dominate in most games they play in, aside from the Barcelona games and even then they have had multiple games where they annihilated Barcelona at points. It didn't last of course but we're hardly talking about club paupers when it comes to Real Madrid, yet Ronaldo can't even keep up with that kind of scoring record.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Oh yeah, the PL is top, top quality :lol:

The Spanish league provided both finalists of the Europa League last year and 2 of the 4 semi-finalists of the CL.
#justsayin'

Whereas the Premier League has lost two teams in the group stage for two seasons in a row. I just don't understand why La Liga is considered so weak.

[Marc Overmars]

La Liga is not really weak, it's that Barca and Madrid are 2 of the strongest club sides ever and the spattering of decent sides that make up the top half of La Liga don't get a look in because of this.

[Letters]

The fact we were top 4 at Christmas tells you all you need to know about the 'strength' of the PL.

[GP]

The fact we were top 4 at Christmas tells you all you need to know about the 'strength' of the PL.

It's really, really strong?

[Letters]

:lol: Yeah, we're awlsome. So good we had to keep selling our best players to give other teams a chance.


Seems to be working :(

[GP]

It's only fair.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We've sold RVP to make sure all the other teams drop points when Man Utd play them. :bow:

Clever really.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

http://i45.tinypic.com/io1d1f.png

:haha:

Dear god.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

http://i45.tinypic.com/io1d1f.png

:haha:

Dear god.

Oh dear, that's terrible :haha:

What time are the formalities?

[Boss]

which leagues are better?

England, Italy and perhaps Germany as well.

[Letters]

How do you figure?
The PL is nowhere near as strong as the Spanish league right now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Oh dear, that's terrible :haha:

What time are the formalities?

Not sure, it starts at 6pm GMT but there are different awards to give out. Female Ballon D'or, Goal of the Year, Coach of the Year. Probably some others.

Sepp Blatter award for being Sepp Blatter probably.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

At the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter has praised Kevin Prince Boateng's recent actions for walking off the pitch after encountering racism. He said: "It was a strong and courageous signal. A way of saying: this has gone this far, but it goes no further. That is praiseworthy. But we have to find other sustainable solutions to tackle the problem at its roots. Football must connect people."

:lol:

I am sure Sepp really wanted to say 'he should shake the supporters hands'.


Also, Eurosport's programme is on now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ruud Gullit is presenting along with Kay Murray. Bring back Melanie Vinegar!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

http://estaticos01.marca.com/eventos/directo/2013/01/07/6811/images/finalistas_300x199.jpg

Messi. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ronaldo, Iniesta and Messi are out on stage, just to plonk them down in their seats. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Falcao's goal. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Team of the year:

Casillas, Dani Alves, Pique, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Falcao, Ronaldo.

Premier League. :lol:

Serie A. :lol:

Any other league. :lol:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Hard to argue with that team, really.

Real Barcelona + Falcao.

[Globalgunner]

team of the year are all from la liga ......wot no Chelsea...dont they know they won the CL last year

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ronaldo is so humble. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/live/index.html

Live stream.

Also, Coach of the Year for Women's football now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Cristiano Ronaldo was asked by one of the mascots, 'how can I become such a great player like you?'

He replied: " Well...It's not got to be easy! Just be yourself, work hard and be humble."

:haha:

[Globalgunner]

Pia Sundaghe is a dead ringer for Wumger. Maybe we could have her instead.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Drunk winner singing. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Del Bosque, Mourinho or Guardiola...

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Del Bosque wins Coach of the Year. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Video about Ronaldo now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Time for Blatter. :rolleyes:

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Pique :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

No ideea what he is talking about, I think all in the auditorium are thinking the same.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Valderrama still has the hair!

:haha:

[Globalgunner]

Even Beckanbaeur had no idea who he was rattling on about.......
Old boys clique TBF. Dont know what De Kaiser fid last year to merit an award.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He complained about Citeh I think, that should be enough.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Video on Iniesta now, think it's the first time I have ever seen a historical video on him. Shows how overshadowed he gets.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

FIFA are all about fair play, apparently.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Uzbekistan win the Fair Play award. :bow:

All they ever dreamt about I am sure.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Stoch wins Goal of the Year. :bow:

Never would've won it had he stayed at Chelsea.

Also, Falcao. :lol:

[Globalgunner]

Stoch: didnt he used to play for Chelsea?. If so thats the closest they are getting to winning anything

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Lionel has a brother? He must be little bit jealous.

[GP]

Is Big Man there to collect someone's award?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Amy Macdonald now. The closest any Scot is going to come to the Ballon d'Or for quite a long time.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Is Big Man there to collect someone's award?

He'll take Ronaldo's second place if he doesn't want it.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

I think Messi 44%, Ronaldo 26% and Iniesta 13%.

*it won't equal 100% because of the other 20 or so who will get about 1% each.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Alex Morgan. :bow:

And Messi, 55%, Ronaldo 25%, Iniesta 20%. WUMger 2%.

[Globalgunner]

Has anyone actually checked if Abby Wambach is actualy a she. Could be Nick Bendtner in disguise

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Hope Solo. :bow:

Even if she is 8ft.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Hope Solo isn't very good at speeches.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Abby Wombat wins it.

[Globalgunner]

Nick wins. GSTEL I knew he could do it.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It's time for the final award.

:popcorn:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Messi wins it!

:bow:

First player to win four of them.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Shock horror.

Ronaldo just shot himself.

[GP]

GOAT.

[Marc Overmars]

:faint:

[Ollie the Optimist]

ronaldo :haha:


messi's bitch tbh

[Globalgunner]

Messi wins it.No one else comes close. He should be made President of the US or UK prime minister at least. Change the world that kid

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ronaldo lets out a smile. Well, a smirk.

[GP]

Ronaldo :haha:

Does his face look bovvered?

Yep.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Standing ovation for Messi.

Ronaldo the only person sat down, probably.

[Cripps_orig]

What a farce this award has become.

[Ollie the Optimist]

What a farce this award has become.


its been a farce ever since they didnt give it to henry in 2003/4

[McNamara That Ghost...]

The voting breakdown

Messi: 41.6%

Ronaldo: 23.7%

Iniesta: 10.9%

Poor old Iniesta. I'm not sure where the other percentages went though, maybe the Guardian are just little bit dim.

[Cripps_orig]

its been a farce ever since they didnt give it to henry in 2003/4

Even before, since 2002

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

I guess the only way Ronaldo is going to win it, providing Messi carries on in the same way, is to win the WC.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

And hope Messi doesn't win anything else. Or take Argentina to the final. And score 200 goals in a season.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

its been a farce ever since they didnt give it to henry in 2003/4

Well, the Ballon d'Or was won by Shevchenko in 2004, which I can't really argue with. The other one, which Ronaldinho won, yeah I didn't understand that one but then, this one (and back then) is voted for by coaches and players, I think.

[Cripps_orig]

So let me get this straight, when Barca win trophies and Ronaldo has a better season but Messi wins the award, it's cos Barca won stuff. When Real win stuff and break all kind of records doing so with Ronaldo at the fore front of arguably the greatest club side ever and Messi scores more goals and he still wins the award, it's cos he had the better individual season. The criteria for this joke award changes all the time to suit Messi.

Oh well, Ronaldo will have to be content with being the Best in the world at what he does and Messi can keep the laughable accolade of being the best in the world despite not deserving it

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Cripps :haha:

Meltdown :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

When has Ronaldo won less important stuff than Messi but had the better season (though remember it's judged over a celendar year)? :lol:

[Globalgunner]

Messi is the best player, end of. Cripps you`ll do yourself some harm batting Ronnies corner. Leave that to Mourinho, hes an expert in the field. Just wait and see what pearlers he comes out with 2mrw.

[GP]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/kjek1/00000000000BADDFD9-8A15-436A-BBB2-E74B2B6CE945-131-00000001EBC34138_zps8285f5a6.jpg

:haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Lolaldo. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Independent journalist Sam Wallace on Twitter: "Roy Hodgson's Ballon D'Or vote (he gets one as a national team manager): 1) Messi; 2) Ronaldo; 3) Falcao"


He voted for Falcao based on the performance he put in against Pirlo and Ambrosini.

[Kano]

He voted for Falcao based on the performance he put in against Pirlo and Ambrosini.
Lolando :lol:

Not even the second highest scorer in La Liga at the moment

Let's just call it five in a row for next year eh?

:lol:

[Globalgunner]

captain of Georgia voted for Wayne Rooney. WTF!. EPL and SKY have caused quite a few to lose their minds.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Lolando :lol:

Not even the second highest scorer in La Liga at the moment

Let's just call it five in a row for next year eh?

:lol:

I think six in a row.

[Cripps_orig]

captain of Georgia voted for Wayne Rooney. WTF!. EPL and SKY have caused quite a few to lose their minds.

Hence the reason this award is a joke

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/ballond'or/playeroftheyear(men)/01/98/07/84/fboawardmenplayer2012-bycountry.pdf

:popcorn:

Does Casillas vote for Ramos just because they're mates, or for a laugh?

Some of the votes are blatantly piss takes :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Stevie Me went for Xabi Alonso in third? I'd like to laugh at that but it's not quite so stupid as it would seem.

I would imagine Casillas did it for a laugh, or just to cause trouble for Mourinlol, in the same way Casillas didn't accept the armband from Ronaldo last night when he offered it to him.



1) Lionel Messi (ARG), 41,60%
2) Cristiano Ronaldo (POR), 23,68%
3) Andrés Iniesta (ESP), 10,91%
4) Xavi (ESP), 4,08%
5) Radamel Falcao Garcia (COL), 3,67%
6) Iker Casillas (ESP), 3,18%
7) Andrea Pirlo (ITA), 2,66%
8) Didier Drogba (CDM), 2,60%
9) Robin van Persie (HOL), 1,45%
10) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SUE), 1,24%
11) Xabi Alonso (ESP), 1,09%
12) Yaya Touré (CDM), 0,76%
13) Neymar (BRA), 0,61%
14) Mesut Ozil (ALE), 0,41%
15) Wayne Rooney (ING), 0,39%
16) Gianluigi Buffon (ITA), 0,35%
17) Sergio Aguero (ARG), 0,30%
18) Sergio Ramos (ESP), 0,22%
19) Manuel Neuer (ALE), 0,21%
20) Sergio Busquets (ESP), 0,20%
21) Gerard Piqué (ESP), 0,11%
22) Karim Benzema (FRA), 0,11%
23) Mario Balotelli (ITA), 0,07%

Balotelli? :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/kjek1/00000000000BADDFD9-8A15-436A-BBB2-E74B2B6CE945-131-00000001EBC34138_zps8285f5a6.jpg

:haha:

http://www.reactionface.info/sites/default/files/images/1310650820313.jpg

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Thomas Danilevicius of Lithuania's choices:

Zlatan, Wazza and Pique. :haha:

What a maverick.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

I'm sure some are told to vote for complete randomers just to spread out the votes, and make sure everyone gets at least one.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It's great reading the full list, it reminds me of countries I never knew existed during the Olympic Parade.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I don't care and don't understand why anyone else would. All that matters is what happens on the pitch, awards like this are akin to judging in figure skating.

[GP]

I don't care and don't understand why anyone else would. All that matters is what happens on the pitch, awards like this are akin to judging in figure skating.

I only care because it's funny to see Ronaldo crying about it.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Well, there is that.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I don't care and don't understand why anyone else would. All that matters is what happens on the pitch, awards like this are akin to judging in figure skating.

It gives us something to talk about.

[Xhaka Can’t]

It gives us something to talk about.

5.7

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Only .3 away from domination.

[Injury Time]

It's great reading the full list, it reminds me of countries I never knew existed during the Olympic Parade.
We literally little bit nearly signed that entire list

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I want us to sign the media voter for Georgia.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

It is pure fantasy. You haven't considered that Messi is King there, Zlatan and David Villa (two guys that have achieved a lot more than RVP has, even if I don't think they are neccesarily better) have found that out to ther cost, therefore Messi is going to be in his position and everyone else will have to work around that. That is not the case for RVP at Man Utd since they wised up and started playing it to him at every opportunity (quite rightly so) just like we did but he wouldn't be afforded that at Barcelona, nobody else will bar Messi.

Also, I'm fairly sure Real Madrid dominate in most games they play in, aside from the Barcelona games and even then they have had multiple games where they annihilated Barcelona at points. It didn't last of course but we're hardly talking about club paupers when it comes to Real Madrid, yet Ronaldo can't even keep up with that kind of scoring record.

i was referring to messi's record in the league. i dont think it's fantasy to suggest that if rvp was in that barca team either with or without messi, that he could score 50 league goals in a season. he scored 30 in a team filled with no hopers and very little service, with less technically gifted players, and on top of that he done it in a more physical league. put him in a team where he has a lot more goal scoring opportunities every game, top quality service, and the luxury of the best players in the world with him and he could quite easily notch another 15-20 goals.

any your last point is irrelevant because my post had nothing to do with domination, i specifically spoke about goal scoring opportunities. domination and goal scoring opportunities are two completely different things. you can dominate games but create nothing in front of goal. look at the arsenal teams prior to last season.

barca create a lot more opportunities in front of goal than madrid. its wave of attack after attack. hence messi has more goal scoring opportunities to convert.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

i was referring to messi's record in the league. i dont think it's fantasy to suggest that if rvp was in that barca team either with or without messi, that he could score 50 league goals in a season. he scored 30 in a team filled with no hopers and very little service, with less technically gifted players, and on top of that he done it in a more physical league. put him in a team where he has a lot more goal scoring opportunities every game, top quality service, and the luxury of the best players in the world with him and he could quite easily notch another 15-20 goals.

any your last point is irrelevant because my post had nothing to do with domination, i specifically spoke about goal scoring opportunities. domination and goal scoring opportunities are two completely different things. you can dominate games but create nothing in front of goal. look at the arsenal teams prior to last season.

barca create a lot more opportunities in front of goal than madrid. its wave of attack after attack. hence messi has more goal scoring opportunities to convert.

To say he had very little service here is just not true, regardless of what shitkickers we might have in the team. Everything went towards him (and the right choice it often was) - think of the goal against Norwich where Song could've played it to Gervinho but waited for longer and eventually played it to RVP, who then chipped it in. That's just a snippet of what happens when you know the best option is the same guy you always try and find.

He wouldn't get the amount of goals you assert he could get at the same time Messi gets his amount because he wouldn't be afforded the same amount of time on the ball and also he would have to be mainly on the outside of Messi, it was the same for David Villa, it would be the same for RVP. Messi's influence over the rest of the team now will mean he receives the ball more than any other and again, rightly so.

If you're going to assert that he would score the amount (you're saying 45-50) without Messi but still at Barcelona, then again I would have to disagree but with obviously less evidence to back it up with - however, Messi is able to score so many more goals than anybody else (aside from Ronaldo) because he has the attributes to create space in tight areas (which is an inevitability for Barcelona) much faster and with much greater regularity than anybody else. Plus his finishing is often crazily good. I don't know how good RVP's was last season but I know Messi's has been somewhere around 35% in the last year.

My last point is not irrelevant at all, if I wanted to say dominate by having the ball, I'd say dominate possession. I'd have thought it's fairly obvious by how many points Real Madrid did get that I am not talking about some kind of alternative universe where they might not have converted chances, I am talking about what did happen, where they dominated matches. And that includes creating bucketloads of chances, hence the 120+ goals they scored, in the league.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

To say he had very little service here is just not true, regardless of what shitkickers we might have in the team. Everything went towards him (and the right choice it often was) - think of the goal against Norwich where Song could've played it to Gervinho but waited for longer and eventually played it to RVP, who then chipped it in. That's just a snippet of what happens when you know the best option is the same guy you always try and find.

He wouldn't get the amount of goals you assert he could get at the same time Messi gets his amount because he wouldn't be afforded the same amount of time on the ball and also he would have to be mainly on the outside of Messi, it was the same for David Villa, it would be the same for RVP. Messi's influence over the rest of the team now will mean he receives the ball more than any other and again, rightly so.

If you're going to assert that he would score the amount (you're saying 45-50) without Messi but still at Barcelona, then again I would have to disagree but with obviously less evidence to back it up with - however, Messi is able to score so many more goals than anybody else (aside from Ronaldo) because he has the attributes to create space in tight areas (which is an inevitability for Barcelona) much faster and with much greater regularity than anybody else. Plus his finishing is often crazily good. I don't know how good RVP's was last season but I know Messi's has been somewhere around 35% in the last year.

My last point is not irrelevant at all, if I wanted to say dominate by having the ball, I'd say dominate possession. I'd have thought it's fairly obvious by how many points Real Madrid did get that I am not talking about some kind of alternative universe where they might not have converted chances, I am talking about what did happen, where they dominated matches. And that includes creating bucketloads of chances, hence the 120+ goals they scored, in the league.

van persie hardly had much service last season. everything went through him yes, but little went to him in the first place. hence why him bagging 30 was a remarkable achievement. he was very clinical and made the best of scraps he was fed. the amount of times i used to sit there in front of the tv and just get completely bored and dumbstruck at the continuous sideways passing and lack of creativity in our team last season. our creativity was poor and we often relied on our DM to bail us out with some incredible through balls. apart from that, we were shocking at opening up space. i remember liverpool away when we had that smash and grab. we had 2 decent passes up to van persie all game, the cross from sagna and the through ball by song. he ended up scoring both. apart from that nothing. hence the wild celebrations.

countless times we used to berate the lack of creativity in the final third and wonder why van persie was left so isolated up top, so i dont know why you're suggesting otherwise all of a sudden. in fact going into the summer most arsenal fans agreed that an attacking midfielder was a priority which highlights the problems we had.

and surely you're not denying van persie can create space out of nothing? when he was actually given the ball he was the only player in our team that could create something out of nothing. the amount of times i used to sit there and applaud him for scoring the most unthinkable of goals. volleys, headers, twists and turns, whatever, he scored them.

im not sure how messi and van persie would fit in a team because as you say there's a lot of politics involved. but my point was purely hypothetical; its not fantasy to suggest that van persie could score 50 goals in that barca team. he scored 30 in a crap arsenal team. one of the best finishers ive seen and im more than happy to admit it, regardless of my ill-feeling towards him.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

van persie hardly had much service last season. everything went through him yes, but little went to him in the first place. hence why him bagging 30 was a remarkable achievement. he was very clinical and made the best of scraps he was fed. the amount of times i used to sit there in front of the tv and just get completely bored and dumbstruck at the continuous sideways passing and lack of creativity in our team last season. our creativity was poor and we often relied on our DM to bail us out with some incredible through balls. apart from that, we were shocking at opening up space. i remember liverpool away when we had that smash and grab. we had 2 decent passes up to van persie all game, the cross from sagna and the through ball by song. he ended up scoring both. apart from that nothing. hence the wild celebrations.

countless times we used to berate the lack of creativity in the final third and wonder why van persie was left so isolated up top, so i dont know why you're suggesting otherwise all of a sudden. in fact going into the summer most arsenal fans agreed that an attacking midfielder was a priority which highlights the problems we had.

and surely you're not denying van persie can create space out of nothing? when he was actually given the ball he was the only player in our team that could create something out of nothing. the amount of times i used to sit there and applaud him for scoring the most unthinkable of goals. volleys, headers, twists and turns, whatever, he scored them.

im not sure how messi and van persie would fit in a team because as you say there's a lot of politics involved. but my point was purely hypothetical; its not fantasy to suggest that van persie could score 50 goals in that barca team. he scored 30 in a crap arsenal team. one of the best finishers ive seen and im more than happy to admit it, regardless of my ill-feeling towards him.

http://i50.tinypic.com/35iok84.png

http://www.eplindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/RvP-v-ARS-11-12.jpg

http://www.eplindex.com/15004/robin-van-persie-the-best-of-the-best-opta-stats.html

I'm not saying things because there is no degree of truth to them. Sure we had poor games where we didn't create much and you're right to cite the Anfield game but that is no surprise, that's how it often is for us at Anfield, yet we don't lose anyway. There were wild celebrations because it was a last minute winner, surely?

The reason people wanted an attacking midfielder is to make our attacking play better but also in the hope it wouldn't mean we'd be needing to find RVP all the time and hope he can finish things.

I don't think you read what I said, I said that Messi can do it, with greater regularity than anyone (based on the attributes he has and uses more than anyone else). Watch a video compilation of all his goals, some are absolute tap-ins but a great deal are from picking up the ball and running, then chipping without breaking stride, multiple times.

You're making a 2+2=4 assumption in your hypothetical scenario and of course we're talking about a Barcelona team without Messi in it, therefore it's going to be a team that is a lot less great than it is in any other circumstance. Iniesta and Xavi do not lay chance-after-chance for him without needing to do anything, Xavi hasn't assisted him more than twice in about two years. I'm not going to doubt his finishing ability which is about clean striking, now with either foot but the likelihood of doing that 50 times in a season? I don't think it'll happen. I'm not sure he'll even beat his total from last season by much with Man Utd.

Also, with regards to Real Madrid against Barcelona in chance creation, in their most recent matches, the shots on target/off target stats are very even. Real Madrid just create theirs through going for the throat.

[-Xs-]

Messi? What a farce! Ramsey was a shoe in for this years balloon door. Unbelievable case of favouritism!

[GP]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BAFJoLkCcAAQI3J.jpg:large

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

http://i50.tinypic.com/35iok84.png

http://www.eplindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/RvP-v-ARS-11-12.jpg

http://www.eplindex.com/15004/robin-van-persie-the-best-of-the-best-opta-stats.html

I'm not saying things because there is no degree of truth to them. Sure we had poor games where we didn't create much and you're right to cite the Anfield game but that is no surprise, that's how it often is for us at Anfield, yet we don't lose anyway. There were wild celebrations because it was a last minute winner, surely?

The reason people wanted an attacking midfielder is to make our attacking play better but also in the hope it wouldn't mean we'd be needing to find RVP all the time and hope he can finish things.

I don't think you read what I said, I said that Messi can do it, with greater regularity than anyone (based on the attributes he has and uses more than anyone else). Watch a video compilation of all his goals, some are absolute tap-ins but a great deal are from picking up the ball and running, then chipping without breaking stride, multiple times.

You're making a 2+2=4 assumption in your hypothetical scenario and of course we're talking about a Barcelona team without Messi in it, therefore it's going to be a team that is a lot less great than it is in any other circumstance. Iniesta and Xavi do not lay chance-after-chance for him without needing to do anything, Xavi hasn't assisted him more than twice in about two years. I'm not going to doubt his finishing ability which is about clean striking, now with either foot but the likelihood of doing that 50 times in a season? I don't think it'll happen. I'm not sure he'll even beat his total from last season by much with Man Utd.

Also, with regards to Real Madrid against Barcelona in chance creation, in their most recent matches, the shots on target/off target stats are very even. Real Madrid just create theirs through going for the throat.

christ those stats are ridiculous. i mean according to those numbers we were one of the best attacking teams in the league but they hardly reflect the team we saw on the pitch season. id say last season was our worst in terms of creating chances over the past few seasons and thats purely from an observational point of view, going to the matches and seeing us on tv. completely diluted of any attacking creative players like nasri, cesc etc who had all been sold previously, cazorla wasnt here back then. what are the chances those numbers are highly skewed? e.g. 5-3 vs chelsea, 5-2 vs spurs, 7-1 vs blackburn, 4-0 vs wigan, 3-3 vs norwich all inflating the stats and giving a false representation? it was a pretty weird season, lengthy periods of dross followed by a goals galore game.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

They're season long stats, dismissing the 'freak' results (although this is how the Premier League is) would mean you take away about 10 of RVP's goals, therefore you can't really just toss them aside in this conversation.

I'm not sure what you mean by it suggesting we're 'one of the best' attacking teams in the league, that's rather wooly because obviously we are 'one of the best', when that suggests multiple teams. Best of the rest I would've said but not near enough to get close enough to win a league.

[-Xs-]

Considering we finished 3rd place behind those teams, I'd say they're a fair reflection