Which midfield is better

[Koke]

8 hours ago, SystonFox said:

So many fans have blue tinted specs over that late 90s side. Don’t get me wrong we were very good but let’s not kid ourselves if we think Lennon is even fit to lace Wilfs boots or if Izzet is even half the talent Maddison is. 

 

Again, I’m huge fans of the two mentioned 90s players but the talent we currently possess is huge. We are being spoken about as breaking into the top 6, possibly even 4 in English footballs most prominent time. 

 

I kind of agree. 

 

Also the MON aide were ugly and robust. They got the job done but this current side is much more technically gifted and talented.

[FoxyJim1987]

Different era, think the prem is quicker and better now, maybe Lennon and Sav would have struggled in today's game, or would they adapt? So hard to compare. 

 

Also we had a really settled midfield for a few years. Lennon Sav and Izzet were a trio for a good 4 years. Here we have Ndidi, Tielemans, Hamza and Madders who chop and change so again hard to compare.

 

I doubt there will be many midfielders in our history like Muzzy Izzet, who not only provided real class in the O Neill years, but also stayed through all the crap too until he literally had to be sold. If Madders ends up staying for nearly ten years even if we went down, only then he would end up in the same bracket which is nigh on 100% not going to happen. 

 

Consecutive top 10 finishes on a shoestring each year was a great achievement don't care what anyone says and I grew up with the likes of Elliott, taggart, lennon, claridge, Izzet etc who will always be heroes in my book, just like the recent batch of Vardy, Morgan, Kasper always will be. 

[FoxyJim1987]

9 hours ago, SystonFox said:

So many fans have blue tinted specs over that late 90s side. Don’t get me wrong we were very good but let’s not kid ourselves if we think Lennon is even fit to lace Wilfs boots or if Izzet is even half the talent Maddison is. 

 

Again, I’m huge fans of the two mentioned 90s players but the talent we currently possess is huge. We are being spoken about as breaking into the top 6, possibly even 4 in English footballs most prominent time. 

Cannot believe you said this. Maddison is a great talent, but Izzet only half his talent? Either you have a short memory or didn't see Muzzy play mate because in nearly 10 years at the club Izzet was a class above. In the late 90s he was one of the best goalscoring mids in the prem, then he was the best player by a million miles in div 1 in the administration season. He was a leader, loyal, and an incredibly gifted player. Maddison Can be better than him in the years to come but to say Izzet has half his talent is ridiculous. 

 

That o Neill team had guts and underrated ability. Heskey, Izzet, Lennon, Guppy were terrific players at the time, signed for peanuts by a genius who got us from 12th in div 1 to 9th in prem and Cup winners in 1 year. To stay in the prem top 10 on an absolute shoe string was a great achievement which shouldn't be understated. Just because we won the league in a miracle season doesn't mean the o Neill team was shite. 

 

Rant over. 

[Koke]

2 minutes ago, FoxyJim1987 said:

Cannot believe you said this. Maddison is a great talent, but Izzet only half his talent? Either you have a short memory or didn't see Muzzy play mate because in nearly 10 years at the club Izzet was a class above. In the late 90s he was one of the best goalscoring mids in the prem, then he was the best player by a million miles in div 1 in the administration season. He was a leader, loyal, and an incredibly gifted player. Maddison Can be better than him in the years to come but to say Izzet has half his talent is ridiculous. 

 

That o Neill team had guts and underrated ability. Heskey, Izzet, Lennon, Guppy were terrific players at the time, signed for peanuts by a genius who got us from 12th in div 1 to 9th in prem and Cup winners in 1 year. To stay in the prem top 10 on an absolute shoe string was a great achievement which shouldn't be understated. Just because we won the league in a miracle season doesn't mean the o Neill team was shite. 

 

Rant over. 

 

The O'Neil team wasn't shit  but they were technically limited. This is not to disparage those players, I love all of them, but talent wise they are not to the level of this current team. Walsh v .Maguire for example. You can't tell me Walsh is a better player. Lennon v Ndidi, Vardy  v Heskey etc. 

 

I do agree re: Izzett though. Harsh to say he's half as talented as Maddison. I will say though Maddison will go on to get dozens of England caps. Izzett switched nationality because he couldn't get an England cap. I love Izzett FTR, phenomenal player. I'm not hating on him.

[Izzy]

9 hours ago, SystonFox said:

let’s not kid ourselves if we think Lennon is even fit to lace Wilfs boots or if Izzet is even half the talent Maddison is. 

 

[The People's Hero]

10 hours ago, Fox92 said:

Fox992?

Its a bit like the 'second take' I made when someone turned up as Maidstone_Fox

[The People's Hero]

Izzet and Lennon in particular were superb.

[foxpleasure]

Love the clip of Robbie Savage describing that midfield as wasps all over the Arsenal side. He turns to Henry for agreement who smiles and says, "We managed."

[FoxyJim1987]

52 minutes ago, Koke said:

 

The O'Neil team wasn't shit  but they were technically limited. This is not to disparage those players, I love all of them, but talent wise they are not to the level of this current team. Walsh v .Maguire for example. You can't tell me Walsh is a better player. Lennon v Ndidi, Vardy  v Heskey etc. 

 

I do agree re: Izzett though. Harsh to say he's half as talented as Maddison. I will say though Maddison will go on to get dozens of England caps. Izzett switched nationality because he couldn't get an England cap. I love Izzett FTR, phenomenal player. I'm not hating on him.

Keegan ignored izzet for over a year, in another era izzet would have played for England. Also we had Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham etc at the time. Can't help but think Maddison will jump ship to united city or Liverpool given half a chance, he loves himself. No doubting a great talent but izzet was aswell. 

[foxinsocks]

11 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

Which is better Fox92 or Fox992?

Only one way to find out....

[Guest An Sionnach]

10 hours ago, SystonFox said:

So many fans have blue tinted specs over that late 90s side. Don’t get me wrong we were very good but let’s not kid ourselves if we think Lennon is even fit to lace Wilfs boots or if Izzet is even half the talent Maddison is. 

 

Again, I’m huge fans of the two mentioned 90s players but the talent we currently possess is huge. We are being spoken about as breaking into the top 6, possibly even 4 in English footballs most prominent time. 

Have to laugh at this , if they lose two matches in a row you will be calling them utter shit ,at the moment this team has potential that's all and are not as good as the premiership winning team. Steve Walsh remains this clubs best ever central defender and if his disciplinary record had been better could have played for anybody. Oh by the way Wenger's 2002 Arsenal team would beat Liverpool....easily !

[SystonFox]

I’m not saying my opinion is that Izzet is half the player but I get the feeling he is talked about as if he is twice the player any of our current lot ever will be. It’s all nostalgic and blue tinted specs 

[Samilktray]

Well this thread went exactly as anyone would have predicted didn’t it. The old boys getting pissy about the younger generations opinions 

[Trelleh]

12 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

Which is better Fox92 or Fox992?

 

 

[Ian S]

14 hours ago, SystonFox said:

So many fans have blue tinted specs over that late 90s side. Don’t get me wrong we were very good but let’s not kid ourselves if we think Lennon is even fit to lace Wilfs boots or if Izzet is even half the talent Maddison is. 

 

Again, I’m huge fans of the two mentioned 90s players but the talent we currently possess is huge. We are being spoken about as breaking into the top 6, possibly even 4 in English footballs most prominent time. 

Did you actually watch Izzy?, genuine quality.To suggest he is not half the player of Maddison is really doing him a disservice.

[Ian S]

3 hours ago, SystonFox said:

I’m not saying my opinion is that Izzet is half the player but I get the feeling he is talked about as if he is twice the player any of our current lot ever will be. It’s all nostalgic and blue tinted specs 

Sorry I think that is exactly what you are saying,seems pretty clear.

[FoxyJim1987]

3 hours ago, SystonFox said:

I’m not saying my opinion is that Izzet is half the player but I get the feeling he is talked about as if he is twice the player any of our current lot ever will be. It’s all nostalgic and blue tinted specs 

No its not mate it's just 10 years service as a class goal scoring midfielder, a leader and all round legend. Like I said if Maddison stays anywhere near that long and has the same impact on the club then he can be talked about in the same breath. Izzet is a club legend, its not blue tinted specs to realise that. Did you watch the late 90s team at all? Genuine question. 

[kyleolly]

14 hours ago, SystonFox said:

So many fans have blue tinted specs over that late 90s side. Don’t get me wrong we were very good but let’s not kid ourselves if we think Lennon is even fit to lace Wilfs boots or if Izzet is even half the talent Maddison is. 

 

Again, I’m huge fans of the two mentioned 90s players but the talent we currently possess is huge. We are being spoken about as breaking into the top 6, possibly even 4 in English footballs most prominent time. 

It’s a close call between Savage and Tielemans though!

[Sampson]

I was a grown adult in the 90s as opposed to a starry-eyed child and I can assure you the current midfield is comfortably better.

 

Using "4 consecutive top 10 finishes" is a bit daft when the only season we didn't finish top 10 in the past 4 years we still finished 12th and reached the Champions League quarter final, which is a much bigger achievement than finishing 2 places higher in mid-table.

[FoxyJim1987]

2 minutes ago, Sampson said:

I was a grown adult in the 90s as opposed to a starry-eyed child and I can assure you the current midfield is comfortably better.

 

Using "4 consecutive top 10 finishes" is a bit daft when the only season we didn't finish top 10 in the past 4 years we still finished 12th and reached the Champions League quarter final, which is a much bigger achievement than finishing 2 places higher in mid-table.

You're missing the point completely. The question was about a midfield which played together for a number of years in the Premier league, Lennon, Izzet, Savage and Guppy. It was a different era for starters but we've not had a midfield play at the top level together for 4 or 5 years. The midfield now is largely young players at the beginning of their careers, so how there can be people saying they are better than legends like Izzet or lennon I don't know. 

 

A lot of people seem to think because we had one miracle season that staying consistently in the top 10 (top 8 1 season) is somehow much less of a feat. We had literally no money, a ramshackle small ground and yet for 5 years upset the big boys won 2 cups, it was brilliant. To disregard these legends for the current crop is naive and very hasty. Morgan, Kasper, Vardy, Fuchs etc will go down in folklore for their service through ups and downs, but to say 21 year old midfielders in their 2nd or 3rd seasons are better than Izzet lennon etc is daft. 

[urban fox]

Garry Parker was not too shabby either. One of the best dead ball exponents we have ever had.

trying to compare teams from different eras never works, as circumstances were different. Different styles, opposition tactics, pitches and even the rules of the game have changed.  We all have our formative years, personally whilst MON side were fantastic and we actually won silverware, for me the Bloomfield era was our best side, despite the fact we won nothing. The majority on here probably never saw that side play, and plenty never saw the likes of Izzett and Lennon either. All said, how can the likes of Worthington be compared to Vardy?  Totally different skill sets, about the only thing the same was the number on the back of their shirt.  It makes me laugh when i hear people say that "Elvis" was a show pony who would be kicked off the park these days and in the same breath spout that Walsh would never stay on the filed in these days of VAR and red cards for just looking at a forward. You cant have it both ways and therefore comparisons between different eras just don't work.

You can only judge on achievements of the time.

 

For what its worth I think Muzzy really is a legend. Not only was he pure class but his loyalty puts him right up there. MON pulled him from Chelsea reserves gave him his chance and he repaid it several times over.  How many of the current crop will be able to say that about in ten years time? These days, the likes of Vardy and King are the exceptions rather than the rule.

[FoxyJim1987]

1 minute ago, urban fox said:

Garry Parker was not too shabby either. One of the best dead ball exponents we have ever had.

trying to compare teams from different eras never works, as circumstances were different. Different styles, opposition tactics, pitches and even the rules of the game have changed.  We all have our formative years, personally whilst MON side were fantastic and we actually won silverware, for me the Bloomfield era was our best side, despite the fact we won nothing. The majority on here probably never saw that side play, and plenty never saw the likes of Izzett and Lennon either. All said, how can the likes of Worthington be compared to Vardy?  Totally different skill sets, about the only thing the same was the number on the back of their shirt.  It makes me laugh when i hear people say that "Elvis" was a show pony who would be kicked off the park these days and in the same breath spout that Walsh would never stay on the filed in these days of VAR and red cards for just looking at a forward. You cant have it both ways and therefore comparisons between different eras just don't work.

You can only judge on achievements of the time.

 

For what its worth I think Muzzy really is a legend. Not only was he pure class but his loyalty puts him right up there. MON pulled him from Chelsea reserves gave him his chance and he repaid it several times over.  How many of the current crop will be able to say that about in ten years time? These days, the likes of Vardy and King are the exceptions rather than the rule.

Completely agree, you have to say that at that time with our budget and sqaud, to win 2 cups, get to 3 finals and finish too 10 in the prem every season, and win at Anfield, old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, maine Road etc was punching well above our weight. We had grafters but we had quality too which was under rated, Izzet, Lennon and Guppy were fantastic players and can't believe some are dismissing them for the current crop. 

[SystonFox]

1 hour ago, FoxyJim1987 said:

No its not mate it's just 10 years service as a class goal scoring midfielder, a leader and all round legend. Like I said if Maddison stays anywhere near that long and has the same impact on the club then he can be talked about in the same breath. Izzet is a club legend, its not blue tinted specs to realise that. Did you watch the late 90s team at all? Genuine question. 

Of course I watched them. I grew up idolising that side. People look back fondly on those days and rightly so yet they don’t appreciate what we have now. Maddison is super talented and will likely go far with his career. With or without us. It doesn’t matter how long he stays for in my opinion.

[FoxyJim1987]

1 minute ago, SystonFox said:

Of course I watched them. I grew up idolising that side. People look back fondly on those days and rightly so yet they don’t appreciate what we have now. Maddison is super talented and will likely go far with his career. With or without us. It doesn’t matter how long he stays for in my opinion.

How though can you argue Izzet has half the talent of a guy in his 2nd season in the prem? That was a stupid comment and I think you must know that. 

[FoxyJim1987]

2 minutes ago, SystonFox said:

Of course I watched them. I grew up idolising that side. People look back fondly on those days and rightly so yet they don’t appreciate what we have now. Maddison is super talented and will likely go far with his career. With or without us. It doesn’t matter how long he stays for in my opinion.

And I actually get an opposite vibe to this aswell, I think it's often the current crop that get over hyped and the late 90s guys get under appreciated and under rated.