In contrast to the underrated player thread.
I’ll start with my nomination in recent times.. Nigel De Jong.
Everyone loved him when he came in, because we were bang average and like Zabaleta, he threw his body into everything.
The main difference between those two being, one improved their footballing ability and nous to match their dedication.
De Jong left ground too often, mainly because his positional sense was shit, and he was covering his own arse. I used to cringe when he would go crunching in, sometimes with unnecessary force, and he cost a few players a few years of their careers. If he had played for anyone else, we’d have bemoaned what a dirty player he was.
Oh and his chant was absolutely awful.
I’ll start with my nomination in recent times.. Nigel De Jong.
Everyone loved him when he came in, because we were bang average and like Zabaleta, he threw his body into everything.
The main difference between those two being, one improved their footballing ability and nous to match their dedication.
De Jong left ground too often, mainly because his positional sense was shit, and he was covering his own arse. I used to cringe when he would go crunching in, sometimes with unnecessary force, and he cost a few players a few years of their careers. If he had played for anyone else, we’d have bemoaned what a dirty player he was.
Oh and his chant was absolutely awful.