Unlike the Fink Tank list of the Premiership’s best players in 2006/2007, Gabriele Marcotti’s list of top 50 footballers has two advantages:
One, its personal opinion and as such you are not going to get something that’s 100% concurrent with your own. With the Fink Tank list, we expected the statistics to confirm what our eyes and minds told us. There are no such misconceptions now.
Two, and this is the clincher, the man knows his football and footballers for their ability on the pitch. When you read his list you get a clear feeling that he has seen these players in action AND you feel that you can trust his ability to judge football.
Sure, he doesn’t have Rio on the list. Or Giggsy. Or Carvalho. Or that the list is too Europe-heavy.
But before you criticise him read the criteria he’s used:
Imagine you are the manager of a totally new team. You have a certain budget to spend, but first you get one freebie, one guy to build your team around. You get him only for one season, the 2007-08 campaign, so you want to go for who can do the best job for you here and now, without worrying how good he can be down the line. Who would you choose? Who would your “ringer” be?
I went through the list thinking about whether I’d want these players in my squad for the 2007/2008 season and apart from a few of them, I had to agree, Marcotti’s picked the right ones.
So yes, I disagree with him on a few things, but bashing him is daft – the man’s got an opinion couched in knowledge and experience (although he is a bit biased).
Props to you, Marcotti, for getting it mostly right. Of course, he could be a complete cunt for all I know and I’m being unnecessarily generous with him, but for now he’s OK.
For the record, here’s the list. Make sure you read ALL of it before criticising it 🙂
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