JohnMaddocksAxe
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 30 Apr 2008
- Messages
- 2,854
Just reading the thread about the best players seen in a City shirt and I am seething that his name comes up so often.
I cannot stand the bloke as a footballer. (I don't care if he is a nice bloke in person, I'm talking about what he did here).
The man was a shirker and, in my opinion, took the pi$$ out of this club (in a similar way to Fowler, funnily enough).
Yes, he is atalented player - although nowhere near what he could have become if he had carried on with the progress he was making at Arsenal - but he really didn't give a $hit during his time here.
He might have had a decent scoring record but so did The Goat and when you consider the natural talent of the two then it is pretty obvious who was putting in the most effort to acheive their record.
For me, Anelka's game when he was here was the definition of selfish. Millions of long range shots that rarely troubled the keeper, - the dribbled shot wide and along the ground a speciality - and loads of running down blinds alleys and holding up a move just so he could stop for 5 seconds, face a player up and then try to jink past him in an effort to look like it was all dead easy to him (never mind that the break had just stalled because of this).
I was also constantly seething at him for the following. He loved to pretend that he was closing a defender down. And it convinced a lot of people that he did. However, if you watched him carefully you would soon catch on that he intentionally timed his pace when 'closing down' to coincide his arrival near the player with the defender releasing the ball - meaning he didn't really pressure them at all.
Now, I'm not one for wanting every striker to be like Dickov or Tevez, but this was typical of the bloke.
We all know the golf buggy stories and the like too.
For me, the bloke's time at City is summed up by the comeback at Spurs. He chucked the towel in and didn't even wait to be substituted, preferring to just wander off whilst play was going on. Then the players who really wanted to play for the club did something about it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if him leaving the pitch inspired them.
As you might be able to tell, I did not like him. Yes, I would have him in my team ahead of RSC, Big Phil, Mpenza, etc. But that isn't the point.
Please tell me that all the people who rate Anelka as a City hero were kids at the time he played here and are therefore blinded by misguided childhood hero worshiping of someone because he was a glamouress name. I can get that. I can't get more seasoned observers praising this guy to high heaven.
Yours apoplectically
I cannot stand the bloke as a footballer. (I don't care if he is a nice bloke in person, I'm talking about what he did here).
The man was a shirker and, in my opinion, took the pi$$ out of this club (in a similar way to Fowler, funnily enough).
Yes, he is atalented player - although nowhere near what he could have become if he had carried on with the progress he was making at Arsenal - but he really didn't give a $hit during his time here.
He might have had a decent scoring record but so did The Goat and when you consider the natural talent of the two then it is pretty obvious who was putting in the most effort to acheive their record.
For me, Anelka's game when he was here was the definition of selfish. Millions of long range shots that rarely troubled the keeper, - the dribbled shot wide and along the ground a speciality - and loads of running down blinds alleys and holding up a move just so he could stop for 5 seconds, face a player up and then try to jink past him in an effort to look like it was all dead easy to him (never mind that the break had just stalled because of this).
I was also constantly seething at him for the following. He loved to pretend that he was closing a defender down. And it convinced a lot of people that he did. However, if you watched him carefully you would soon catch on that he intentionally timed his pace when 'closing down' to coincide his arrival near the player with the defender releasing the ball - meaning he didn't really pressure them at all.
Now, I'm not one for wanting every striker to be like Dickov or Tevez, but this was typical of the bloke.
We all know the golf buggy stories and the like too.
For me, the bloke's time at City is summed up by the comeback at Spurs. He chucked the towel in and didn't even wait to be substituted, preferring to just wander off whilst play was going on. Then the players who really wanted to play for the club did something about it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if him leaving the pitch inspired them.
As you might be able to tell, I did not like him. Yes, I would have him in my team ahead of RSC, Big Phil, Mpenza, etc. But that isn't the point.
Please tell me that all the people who rate Anelka as a City hero were kids at the time he played here and are therefore blinded by misguided childhood hero worshiping of someone because he was a glamouress name. I can get that. I can't get more seasoned observers praising this guy to high heaven.
Yours apoplectically