Topic: -8 of Internationals draft - Sign up and discussion

[Crosby Nick]

Your laissez-faire approach will be your undoing.

I know. No one wins back to back though! And I’ve been busy so haven’t made any lists like I normally would. Going for the ‘wing it’ approach on this one which won’t end well.

[Crosby Nick]

People who don’t post a photo with their selection are the absolute worst.

[Linudden]

I felt like I needed to get the full backs done before the yield could turn embarrassing

Hakimi and Alaba are quite a catch in that department among these kinds of nations.

[Adz LFC]

People who don’t post a photo with their selection are the absolute worst.

[El Lobo]

Pathetic

[Drinks Sangria]

I felt like I needed to get the full backs done before the yield could turn embarrassing

Hakimi and Alaba are quite a catch in that department among these kinds of nations.

Blindly thought Hakimi would last for ages and I’d swoop him in about round or 7. Should have known!

[vivabobbygraham]

Blindly thought Hakimi would last for ages and I’d swoop him in about round or 7. Should have known!

You'd be correct, DS, because that's what he is; a 7th round pick. No great shakes. Far, far better still out there

[Linudden]

Blindly thought Hakimi would last for ages and I’d swoop him in about round or 7. Should have known!

Mate, there literally are no right backs left

Joking aside, there are, but most of them are no good. It's the blind spot of these nations.

[Crosby Nick]

Mate, there literally are no right backs left

Joking aside, there are, but most of them are no good. It's the blind spot of these nations.

There’s tons.

[Linudden]

You'd be correct, DS, because that's what he is; a 7th round pick. No great shakes. Far, far better still out there

I've great respect for your drafting pedigree Bobby, but there's no need to be salty over players young enough to be your grandkids getting picked over some Scottish gentleman who played for Blackpool in the 1950s

There’s tons.

There are but remains to be seen how many gems can be dug up. I'm able to think of some I'd be feeling comfortable with, although Hakimi and Nicol stood out for me. The latter was my plan B and I could've had him before Max got him. That being said, I want two properly athletic wing backs for the system I'll be pursuing so I think Hakimi and Alaba will very much fit those plans.

[El Lobo]

You'd be correct, DS, because that's what he is; a 7th round pick. No great shakes. Far, far better still out there

Yeah nothing more than an okay pick, certainly not worthy of 'oooh look who I got in round 4, when the likes of Hugo Sanchez, Zlatan, Brady, Gerets et al also are. Its a good 7/8th round pick like you say.

[vivabobbygraham]

I've great respect for your drafting pedigree Bobby, but there's no need to be salty over players young enough to be your grandkids getting picked over some Scottish gentleman who played for Blackpool in the 1950s

How did you know about that? 

[Elzar]

Just as a warning, I will be down to phone access only from 5pm today, and I'll be out most of the day tomorrow, so someone might want to pick up the player list in here until I can get it sorted.

[Elzar]

You'd be correct, DS, because that's what he is; a 7th round pick. No great shakes. Far, far better still out there

The balls of saying this and then picking Koulibaly.

[El Lobo]

I've PM'd DS

[Linudden]

Just as a warning, I will be down to phone access only from 5pm today, and I'll be out most of the day tomorrow, so someone might want to pick up the player list in here until I can get it sorted.

Will do, no worries

[Drinks Sangria]

Sorry, bad traffic on the way to work. Picking now.

[Drinks Sangria]

Absolutely paper thin selection left for good defensive midfielders, so had to use my pick from probably the strongest country I had left, Portugal. Paolo Sousa was class and heavily underrated. There’s a reason Juventus finally won the European Cup again after he was signed and BVB won it once Sousa joined.

Really calm shielding presence.

[Crosby Nick]

Absolutely paper thin selection left for good defensive midfielders, so had to use my pick from probably the strongest country I had left, Portugal. Paolo Sousa was class and heavily underrated. There’s a reason Juventus finally won the European Cup again after he was signed and BVB won it once Sousa joined.

Really calm shielding presence.

Don’t say that. I need one to do a lot of the running alongside Big Jan and behind Rui Costa.

Here’s bound to be a South American hatchet man lurking somewhere.

[El Lobo]

Cheap pick that. Cheap and shameful.

[vivabobbygraham]

The balls of saying this and then picking Koulibaly.

He’s a way behind Virgil but who isn’t. However, utilising the draft rules, it’s a damned good 5th round pick. Every time I see him play, particularly for Senegal, I have been impressed. He’s a proper lion. Up there with the best cb’s.

[Crosby Nick]

Cheap pick that. Cheap and shameful.

Good though, isn’t he?

[El Lobo]

Good though, isn’t he?

Yeah fucking class, he'll do Mo/Sadio levels for the next 4/5 years

[Betty Blue]

I like to think I know football pretty well, but I literally have no clue who you just picked Lobo 

[Crosby Nick]

I like to think I know football pretty well, but I literally have no clue who you just picked Lobo 

d

Going off the picture he used, he captained Belgium at France 98 but I’ve still never heard of the fucker.

[El Lobo]

I like to think I know football pretty well, but I literally have no clue who you just picked Lobo 

More fool you my learned friend, one of Belgiums greatest ever players

(I also had to google him, but he's on loads of 'best ever defensive midfielder' lists so fuck it and looks great on youtube)

[Betty Blue]

More fool you my learned friend, one of Belgiums greatest ever players

(I also had to google him, but he's on loads of 'best ever defensive midfielder' lists so fuck it and looks great on youtube)

Better than Fellaini?

Time to upgrade his wiki page. Long ago in yonder when I used to watch drafts from afar (and had too much time on my hands) I used to edit wiki pages to shine a light players who were a bit forgotten. Does he have a nickname? That always gives the illusion of being better than they were 

[Linudden]

It looks like Van Der Elst's love for Club Brugge held back his international reputation a bit. Also the Belgian league was quite competitive back then. Mechelen won the 1988 Cup Winners' Cup for example.

Back then the threshold for moving abroad was higher because of the domestic player regulations, hence Zico ended up at Udinese and Caniggia played for Atalanta. Maybe then he decided the alternatives weren't that exciting.

[El Lobo]

Ahhh there he goes, was wondering how long he'd last

[Crosby Nick]

Better than Fellaini?

Time to upgrade his wiki page. Long ago in yonder when I used to watch drafts from afar (and had too much time on my hands) I used to edit wiki pages to shine a light players who were a bit forgotten. Does he have a nickname? That always gives the illusion of being better than they were 

If Pele didn’t name them as one of his 125 best players of the 20th Century I’m just not interested.

[Betty Blue]

It looks like Van Der Elst's love for Club Brugge held back his international reputation a bit. Also the Belgian league was quite competitive back then. Mechelen won the 1988 Cup Winners' Cup for example.

Back then the threshold for moving abroad was higher because of the domestic player regulations, hence Zico ended up at Udinese and Caniggia played for Atalanta. Maybe then he decided the alternatives weren't that exciting.

Yep, players moved around a lot less back then. There was also a lot less money in football to take players abroad and we didn't hit the 'foreigner' revolution across European leagues until the 90s. Hagi, for example, didn't leave Romanian football until he was 25. That is incredibly rare today where you get 17 year olds being snapped up and taken across the world the moment they show a flash of talent. Mores the pity too, so many young talents have had their development stunted by moving too soon. Both in playing time and simply in growing up as adults before taking the leap to a new country away from family/friends and to a bigger club with heavier expectations.

That could be an interesting idea for a draft actually. The 'home draft' - only players who spent X number of years in their own league/country.

[Max_powers]

Ahhh there he goes, was wondering how long he'd last

I was worried when Hyppia went early that Jari will follow, as I wanted him in the #10 role behind Puskas. But I am guessing people don't wanna rule out Jussi Jaaskelainen. Still there are plenty of good attacking midfield options available.

[Crosby Nick]

Litmanen and Son both excellent picks. Thought about Son, then forgot all about him when picking Diaz.

[El Lobo]

Yeah Sons a class pick, was thinking about him but he plays off the left as well so would have ended up shunted to the right

[Crosby Nick]

Yeah Sons a class pick, was thinking about him but he plays off the left as well so would have ended up shunted to the right

He’ll play wherever your midfield general big Franky tells him. No one questions one of Belgium’s greatest players.

[Linudden]

Bremner deep and then Yaya as box to box and Luka as playmaker for the midfield three now. Feels quite solid.

That could be an interesting idea for a draft actually. The 'home draft' - only players who spent X number of years in their own league/country.

More than that, a 'Decade at one club draft' would really play to the Van Der Elst type of player if we're talking about players remaining for long Can't find many decade stayers today. Henderson just made it at LFC, but besides that no-one around when he showed up was left for the CL final in Kyiv. Skrtel was the last to go in 2016 I think.

In fact, to my knowledge, the only players who have stayed a decade at Liverpool who joined the first team during the Premier League era were Carragher, Gerrard and Henderson.

[Drinks Sangria]

Yeah Sons a class pick, was thinking about him but he plays off the left as well so would have ended up shunted to the right

I agonised over Son and decided Bale in the end - higher peak for longer and the better player when you measure their best over time. Excellent pick though, had he played off the right instead he’d have been my pick after Bale.

[AndyMuller]

Didn't know John C. Reilly was Scottish.

[Betty Blue]

Here come the Portu-geese. Liked the Paulo Sousa earlier. Had a fairly short career, but certainly one of the best DMs in the draft. Had I not blocked myself with Eusebio I'd have been all over him.

[vivabobbygraham]

Here come the Portu-geese. Liked the Paulo Sousa earlier. Had a fairly short career, but certainly one of the best DMs in the draft. Had I not blocked myself with Eusebio I'd have been all over him.

Keeping my Portugal pick back. There's going to be big holes for selection at pick 9-10. I'm sure they'll have someone notable to fill it