Topic: Sergio Ramos

[Billy The Kid]

I never understood what all the fuss was about with Ramos

Best in the world? Is he fuck. He is nowhere near the top 5

[Ecuared]

Johnson's better than Ramos.

Potentially, yes. Ramos is a player at the height of his powers, whereas Johnson has so much untapped talent. But if you had to choose a team today to play a final would you honestly choose Johnson over Ramos?

I was very encouraged by Johnson's performance against Spurs, and lets hope he can kick on from that. I don't think Maicon really blossomed until his mid twenties so hopefully Johnson can do the same, he certainly has all the tools, more raw talent than Ramos could dream of.

[BazC]

Honestly, yes. I would have said this last week, last month and last year; I wouldn't swap him for Ramos at all. If I was building a team from scratch, money no object etc, he's the one RB I'd buy as well. He's vastly underrated because he's not playing in a team which actually plays football. When we do, he'll show it.

[Ecuared]

Fair enough.

If I was building a team I'd have Johnson every day. If I was playing a final tomorrow I'd have Ramos.

If I could choose from any RB I'd have Alves, who I think has the ultimate combination of attacking and defending skill combined with a superior football brain.

I know you know your stuff though Baz, and I would be overjoyed if you prove me wrong in the future. 

[BazC]

One of the biggest travesties of the last couple of years has been Johnson not playing in a team with Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres at their peak. If we'd have signed him a year earlier even- we had the cash- we'd have walked the league.

I hope he stays here long enough so that he can play in a team which plays the type of football he (and all RBs like him) fits in with. I honestly think that if you stuck Alves, Maicon, Ramos or any other top class attacking fullback in our team, they'd look a lot worse than Johnson does. Of course, it's one of those hypothetical things we'll never know, but yeah, I hope we can start playing some attacking football, and I hope to see Johnson flourish in such a team.

[Ecuared]

I honestly think that if you stuck Alves, Maicon, Ramos or any other top class attacking fullback in our team, they'd look a lot worse than Johnson does.

I agree here completely. The only right back I could see doing really well for us at the moment is Lahm.

[rednich85]

I guess that's why Real fans want him dropped from RB then?

They do? All of them?

[arfy05]

Ramos just has a massive stinker in this match, he seems to get targetted and killed in this fixture. He's not a bad player and I do think he is a top 5 RB but he just struggles like any fullback at certain times.

Ronaldinho, Henry and now Villa have all directly murdered him in this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqAFg1WxG-k&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r4_2uMpzKI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnf-zlGDbAY

These videos show some amateurish defending, like the Pedro goal he puts so much emphasis on his hands behind his back he has no proper balance or proper body positioning, doesn't go tight on Villa or tries to isolate space and then tries his "hollywood style" slide tackle and is beaten all ends us. Then the 2nd Villa goal he doesn't see anything behind him, comes in narrow and doesn't keep a high line, totally shocking. But going forward he's strong and powerful. He just gets exposed by Barcelona, his kryptonite

[Roger Federer]

Top-5 in the world? Who knows - I don't watch enough football outside the English league and La Liga to rank all the world right backs, but he was excellent at the World Cup (in a team that didn't let in a single goal in the knock out stage), the best in the tournament for me along with Lahm, was a constant outlet on the right, defended well, has the stamina to get up and down all game, and almost all the time when I watch Madrid he does the same things.

Sure, I've seen him have a terrible game some times, and he does lose his concentration, but can't we say that about almost any attacking fullback in the world? I can about Johnson, and Maicon seems lost right now, I'm sure Lahm's been made to look a fool in the league a few times too (just a guess, I hardly ever watch Bundesliga). Of the ones I see regularly, I prefer Alves the most, but I still think Ramos is a very good player. I think it's difficult not to be when you're a certain starter for Real Madrid under loads of different coaches, and have 70+ caps for the current Euro- and World Cup champions.

[Roger Federer]

If I was building a team from scratch, money no object etc, he's the one RB I'd buy as well.

I like Johnson, think we should set up the team to play to his strenghts (as I want at the very least one attacking fullback), but that is quite some claim. I think Alves is clearly a better attacker (haven't seen a fullback with his vision and dribbling ever before), and his stamina is second to none. He's also a much better defender than he gets credit for.

[bird_lfc]

He's decent going forward.

Shit at the back, though.

[BazC]

I like Johnson, think we should set up the team to play to his strenghts (as I want at the very least one attacking fullback), but that is quite some claim. I think Alves is clearly a better attacker (haven't seen a fullback with his vision and dribbling ever before), and his stamina is second to none. He's also a much better defender than he gets credit for.

I don't think he is clearly a better attacker. He gets to attack more because he plays for Barca, but I do think Johnson's a better RB. Johnson could be worth 10 goals a season if he was playing in a team that played some football (he got 3 last season I think and we were utterly dire as an attacking team). That's unheard of from a fullback isn't it (I think Alves and the like are lucky to get that many when their teams are purring- I might be mistaken though).

His ability on the ball in attack is as good as if not better than Alves (simply because he's got the quick feet and skill, but he's also built like a brick shithouse, which has helped him power down that right a lot more easily).

He has question marks over his defending for some reason, probably because it's his weakest area (as is always the case for any attacking RB), and he's always been forced to defend a lot more than attack- like I said, he's not playing in a team which plays football slanted towards that attacking style which favours attacking RBs.

And for me, it doesn't exactly help things if you've got players like Kuyt labouring around in front of you- you look at Ramos and Alves and they've got Messi or Ronaldo, Alonso or Xavi, Villa or Higuain... these are all players which are the cream of the cream at the moment.

Alves is a quasi-winger for Barca who plays with class attacking players- Johnson should be for us and should be supporting class attackers- not being the biggest threat down that right. When he's in that position, he'll flourish.

[scatman]

Anyone remember Ryan Babel 'merking' Ramos? Ryan fucking Babel!

[Roger Federer]

I can understand what you mean, and I agree with most of your points, but Alves isn't just better because of the way Barcelona play, or who he plays with - he probably had an even greater influence at Sevilla. Maybe he doesn't score as many goals as Johnson could in an ideal set-up with the same player around him, and Johnson is an excellent dribbler with the ball, but Alves is almost like a playmaker from his fullback position. His vision and passing is much greater than Johnson's, and his movement is too in my opinion (could be down to coaching that though).

It's hard to explain the difference between them in words, especially when it's not your first language you write in, but sometimes you just 'feel' that a player is a more natural footballer when you watch them, even if they have similar qualites and attributes. For example, there is nothing that Messi does that Ronaldo can't, they score an equal amount of goal/assists, the latter even has some qualites like pace, strenght and ability in the air, that Messi lacks in comparison, but Messi is by quite some distance still the greater player.

Maybe this compilation explains it better than I can:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-UjzeErAeSI?fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/-UjzeErAeSI?fs=1</a>

It just seem to me that his understanding of what's happening around him better than any other right back.

[Cusamano]

He's overrated and looks like a horse.

The c*nt.

[wardides]

Think hes overated meself, but certainly not a poor right back by any means. Loses his cool far too much but then again you have to wonder. If we went to old trafford and were 5 nil down,and Nani,Rooney,Scholes and Berbatov were just taking the piss out of us, I wonder how many of us would be laughing if Carra or Stevie gave Rooney a clatter has he ran across the halfway line.

[BazC]

Think hes overated meself, but certainly not a poor right back by any means. Loses his cool far too much but then again you have to wonder. If we went to old trafford and were 5 nil down,and Nani,Rooney,Scholes and Berbatov were just taking the piss out of us, I wonder how many of us would be laughing if Carra or Stevie gave Rooney a clatter has he ran across the halfway line.

I'd be even more embarrassed with them if that happened. Not only have you been humiliated but you've acted like a prize twat and shown yourself up in more ways than one.

[AriGold]

He's decent going forward.

Shit at the back, though.

Enough about Johnson, what do you think about Ramos?

[Anywhichwayicant]

Top centre half and a sexy sonofagun.

[HighSix]

Massive goals, top class defender, great hair, matador skills & now undoubtedly one of the very highest of Madrid legends. What a guy.

[Anywhichwayicant]

Brilliant defender, and yes, very attractive.

[tonysleft]

He's an absolute prick. This CL should be remembered mostly as being about him though, in the Madrid history books.

[Kopenhagen]

He amuses me, pantomime villainy and all.

[Xxavi]

He's an absolute prick. This CL should be remembered mostly as being about him though, in the Madrid history books.

I wanted to see a fight between Pepe and Ramos in one team, and Simeone and Burgos in another. It almost kicked off when Simeone was running at Varane at the end.

[Anywhichwayicant]

It's a shame Pepe wasn't playing and Costa didn't stay on.

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

He'll go down as one of the best of this era

Also, lol at the OP

[RideTheWalrus]

Not in the top four or five in the world, always liable for a mistake. Huge goal, biggest he'll ever score

[Xxavi]

Not in the top four or five in the world, always liable for a mistake. Huge goal, biggest he'll ever score

Not many top defenders in the world these days, since Puyol retired

What would be your top 5? I cannot really think of 4 other than Pique

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

Not many top defenders in the world these days, since Puyol retired

What would be your top 5? I cannot really think of 4 other than Pique

Thiago Silva?!

[Anywhichwayicant]

Skrtel?

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

Skrtel?

lol

[Xxavi]

Thiago Silva?!

All of top 5. I really don't know if there are top 5 defenders in the world right now. Miranda and Godin?

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

All of top 5. I really don't know if there are top 5 defenders in the world right now. Miranda and Godin?

Barzagli, Silva, Pique, Benatia, Cahill, Hummels, Ramos, Kompany, Chiellini ... plenty of decent centre backs

[Xxavi]

Barzagli, Silva, Pique, Benatia, Cahill, Hummels, Ramos, Kompany, Chiellini ... plenty of decent centre backs

None of them world class in recent times. Barzagli, Benatia, Chiellini (read Serie A) defenders are playing at a low level, so difficult to judge. They have to do well at a big stage before they claim they are good let alone world class.

Thiago Silva, similarly, has had a lot of hype surrounding him, but shat his pants vs Chelsea. Diabolical stuff.

Hummels is decent, he had a terrific game vs Madrid in the second leg. But first leg? Dear God, they could have conceded 10 goals. It was similar last year as well, they were extremely lucky to knock Madrid out.

Cahill and Kompany are solid. I like them. Ramos can be good and can be a disaster. Pique can be world class, when he is interested. Which is very rare these days.

The conclusion? I cannot think of 5 world class defenders right now. At a stretch, you can label Kompany, Thiago Silva and Cahill world class, though at a big stretch. Then there are defenders in with a shout like Pique, Ramos, Miranda, Godin and Hummels.

[child-in-time]

Starting to like him more and more. Had his best season by a mile and more importantly, had his revenge on Dortmund, Bayern and Atletico and won the cup. Just 28 now with plenty of time to catch up with Hierro 

[Igor Tripod Biscan]

He looks like Kerry Von Erich

[Severely]

Still undecided on him. As a player, I like him much of the time. However, he seems an absolute liability at times - how many red cards has he received throughout his career, and how many of them were avoidable?

[AB LFC]

He looks like Kerry Von Erich

I think he looks a bit like Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels. Completely forgot he used to have long hair aswell, used to look like a rockstar back then

[RedSince86]

I think he looks a bit like Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels. Completely forgot he used to have long hair aswell, used to look like a rockstar back then

Nah he looks like val kilmer post top gun.

[Po The Panda]

Remember his penalty against Bayern two years ago in the shootout that went well over the bar  , He made up for that big time in this season in the Champions League scoring some vital goals and none more than last night. He's cemented himself as Real legend and has proved the critics wrong big time this season, he's going into the World Cup on a high and a darkhorse for top goalscorer at this rate worth a punt.