Scotlands last genuine world class player?

[King Kebab]

How were you going to say it, through your expertise in the art of mime or something equally expressive???

[Monkey Tennis]

How were you going to say it, through your expertise in the art of mime or something equally expressive???

How were you going to say it, through your expertise in the art of mime or something equally expressive???

Contemporary dance.

[King Kebab]

Would watch...

[YassinMoutaouakil]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Fletcher

[The Chlamydia Kid]

R

[The Chlamydia Kid]

I'm sure this has already been addressed but this thread is just going round in circles. 'World Class' is a totally arbitrary term that can mean whatever you want it to mean, so this all seems a bit pointless.

If you want to describe world class as consistently excelling in their position, at the highest level, throughout the majority of their career then that refers to only a handful of elite players. In the modern game that's guys like Messi, Ronaldo, Pirlo, Xavi, etc. and certainly not any Scottish player after Kenny Dalglish.

Plenty of players have periods of 'world class' form. Torres looked like one of the best strikers in the world for about 5 years and then looked like a total donkey for the next 5 years. Even Ronaldinho and Fat Ronaldo were practically finished by the time they hit 30.

For 2 or 3 seasons Darren Fletcher was undoubtedly, at the time, one the best, if not the best ball winning midfielders in the world. To a lesser extent, you could make less convincing arguments for Craig Gordon, Barry Ferguson and even (don't laugh) Alan Hutton who all went through brief periods of looking as good as any other player in their position at the time.

Anyway, point is this is a stupid thread

Craig Gordon, Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton! 😂😂😂😂

[MarkoRaj]

RImageUploadedByPie & Bovril1465131677.919917.jpg

Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Peter Schmeichel all in the top 5 or 10 in their position in the world at certain times imo. So he's using a different definition from me anyway

[haggisbeastie]

You folk seriously need to get a grip! a world class player is a player who would walk into any side in the world, would be a contender for a world XI and would be revered the world over. You seriously think a couple of bog standard midfielders like Lambert and Fletcher fit that criteria??? do you think ANYONE outside of Scotland or hardcore Dortmund fans remember Lambert? You reckon ANYONE outside of Scotland (even Man U fans) will remember Darren Fletcher??? get real.

 

Dagleish and Souness were our last 2 world class players.

Agree with this.

[banana]

Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Peter Schmeichel all in the top 5 or 10 in their position in the world at certain times imo. So he's using a different definition from me anyway

 

No mention for Ruud VN either Still the most unplayable striker I've seen in the Premiership.

[G-MAN]

I'm sure this has already been addressed but this thread is just going round in circles. 'World Class' is a totally arbitrary term that can mean whatever you want it to mean, so this all seems a bit pointless.

If you want to describe world class as consistently excelling in their position, at the highest level, throughout the majority of their career then that refers to only a handful of elite players. In the modern game that's guys like Messi, Ronaldo, Pirlo, Xavi, etc. and certainly not any Scottish player after Kenny Dalglish.

Plenty of players have periods of 'world class' form. Torres looked like one of the best strikers in the world for about 5 years and then looked like a total donkey for the next 5 years. Even Ronaldinho and Fat Ronaldo were practically finished by the time they hit 30.

For 2 or 3 seasons Darren Fletcher was undoubtedly, at the time, one the best, if not the best ball winning midfielders in the world. To a lesser extent, you could make less convincing arguments for Craig Gordon, Barry Ferguson and even (don't laugh) Alan Hutton who all went through brief periods of looking as good as any other player in their position at the time.

Anyway, point is this is a stupid thread

What age are you btw ?

Were you around in the 80s ?

Dalglish was our last ever world class player. Noone even comes remotely close. End of.

Fletcher, Hutton good grief.

[Officer Barbrady]

No one?? Not even Danny McGrain?? I never saw either in a Scotland shirt, except KD in his commemorative game v Romania, but not one single negative review have i heard of The Beard from many who witnessed many of his caps. Of his era, only Ruud Krol and Paul Breitner have gotten worldwide recognition, and certainly very few other UK full-backs of his time are even quoted in the same breath.

[Officer Barbrady]

As for Darren Fletcher, quite simply the rhetoric surrounding Fergie's regret over dropping him for the CL final is the sort of lamentable pish which too many Scots find comfort in, far too readily.

Ottmar Hitzfeld didn't go dropping Jeremies or Hargreaves, nor Hector Cuper with the likes of Farinos or a much-younger and inexperienced Gerard Lopez, in CL finals, as they were vital to their teams, despite being far from world class individuals. Certainly, far more vital than Fletcher really was for United, ever, because it's arguably the easiest position on the field to train a player to do.

He was lucky he lasted so long at OT. On the whole, Nicky Butt was a better player for f**k's sake. Even arguably Phil Neville, also.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Officer Barbrady

[Deeboy]

Fergie doesn't regret dropping Fletcher, as Fergie never dropped Fletcher. Whatever Scotland fans think that are idiots.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Steven Fletcher.

[PrestersKTID]

Fergie doesn't regret dropping Fletcher, as Fergie never dropped Fletcher. Whatever Scotland fans think that are idiots.

Agreed, he was very harshly sent off in the semi final. And to be fair, the way he played that season, may just have made a difference in the final. 

[haggisbeastie]

No one?? Not even Danny McGrain?? I never saw either in a Scotland shirt, except KD in his commemorative game v Romania, but not one single negative review have i heard of The Beard from many who witnessed many of his caps. Of his era, only Ruud Krol and Paul Breitner have gotten worldwide recognition, and certainly very few other UK full-backs of his time are even quoted in the same breath.

Forgot about Danny McGrain. He was a bit special.

In recent years, I think Barry Ferguson was "European" class in his pomp..but not world class.

ironically, Strachan himself was voted as one of the players of the 86 World Cup, but that was a long time ago.....

[Officer Barbrady]

The term 'World-class' cannot be transferable to simply 'Continental-class', as he only faced a handful of non-European teams, and none whatsoever when it mattered. 'International-class', i'll give you, as he was certainly our last optimum footballer, to the degree other, more significant nations recognised him as such.

In a transferable flip-side, would you label him 'Champions' League-class'? With very, very few exceptions, like the PSV wins, or Parma at Ibrox, he was nowhere near the radar of the likes of Van Bronckhorst or Mols in CL terms, which further diminishes the standard of our overall belief in 'world-class' befitting any Scotsman to have played at least since the millenium.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Officer Barbrady

[haggisbeastie]

The term 'World-class' cannot be transferable to simply 'Continental-class', as he only faced a handful of non-European teams, and none whatsoever when it mattered. 'International-class', i'll give you, as he was certainly our last optimum footballer, to the degree other, more significant nations recognised him as such.

In a transferable flip-side, would you label him 'Champions' League-class'? With very, very few exceptions, like the PSV wins, or Parma at Ibrox, he was nowhere near the radar of the likes of Van Bronckhorst or Mols in CL terms, which further diminishes the standard of our overall belief in 'world-class' befitting any Scotsman to have played at least since the millenium.

From what I remember of Ferguson, he almost never gave the ball away, even under pressure.

He did not get many goals, but he had that "Souness" confidence on the ball that separated him from those playing in that position now.

[kenny131]

Richard Gough was a world class defender.

[The Chlamydia Kid]

From what I remember of Ferguson, he almost never gave the ball away, even under pressure.

He did not get many goals, but he had that "Souness" confidence on the ball that separated him from those playing in that position now.

There was never any pressure on him because he passed it sideways and backward. If the mark of a "world class" player is someone who doesn't give the ball away then the games a bogey.