Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
I can see two perspectives in play here, without it being made explicit. I suspect that a lot of people who would choose Yaya would choose him because of a conviction that the win against the rags in the semi-final, then winning the cup against Stoke, then the role he played in the 2011-12 season (huge — nobody forgets the Newcastle away game, to mention just one) actually turned everything around durably for this club; from that point on, both team and club (and fans) saw themselves as rightfully sitting at the top table. And therefore the success of the second half of the decade flows from all that. Fern's influence has been huge, but it doesn't come into play for those key seasons. You could also argue that Yaya was as hugely influential in that 2013-14 season as Fern. Fern has consistently turned into vital performance after vital performance since arriving. He hasn't scored many goals, but that's not the sole definition of ‘being influential’. I still choose Merlin overall, simply because his excellence encompasses the whole decade and, as for being the mind of a team, I've never seen a player like him. But I hope we can agree that these are very fine margins indeed. What I certainly believe is that without these three and Kev, we wouldn't have achieved half of what we have achieved. And that's not to belittle Kun or Vin in any way. Or Zab for that matter. Or Raz.
Edit: rereading this, too many ‘huges’. Trying to skirt round the word ‘massive’, but must edit my posts better before posting.
Edit: rereading this, too many ‘huges’. Trying to skirt round the word ‘massive’, but must edit my posts better before posting.
Last edited: