The European football thread

[14232949]

he couldn't hold a candle to Robben or Muller though.

[Goofle]

He's easily better than both in my opinion. Football is about goals and assists.

[Cuthbert]

Originally Posted by Goofle11

He's easily better than both in my opinion. Football is about goals and assists.

OK - Arjen Robben - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Apps Goals
37 23
17 13
36 19
30 13

In 4 years at Bayern ^

Muller in 4 years:

Apps Goals
52 19
48 19
53 11
47 23

The sprinter in the last 4 years:

Apps Goals
30 4
38 13
46 11
43 21

Walcott has outscored Robben once in 4 years but he's played 13 games more to do it. Muller has outscored him every season apart from one where they were equal. Didn't 3 of Walcott's goals come against the titans of Reading as well? Compare his contributions this season to those of Robben and Muller (CL winning goal and the other has 8 in 13 in the Champions League) and it's a knockout blow as far as I'm concerned.

Statistics do not paint the full picture in football anyway (Bebe has a better strike rate in the CL than Messi, Ronaldo, Henry and Raul), assist stats are particularly flawed also. I can't be bothered to go looking for them but I'm sure you'll find this season they won't be that different and Robben will have assisted more over the last 4 years. So even if stats were the be all and end all, how can he be better than two players who have consistently got the better numbers?

This is the first season Walcott has been half decent, one season does not suddenly put him above consistent performers like Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller, the question is whether Walcott can push on and do this consistently in the league and in Europe. That's the difference, form is temporary, class is permanent. Just ask United fans about Nani.

Btw you should check their international records too.

Robben - 17 goals in 55 games
Muller - 13 goals in 41 games
Walcott - 4 goals in 33 games

EDIT - Assist stats for this season:

Muller - 17 assists in 41 games
Robben - 12 assists in 34 games
Walcott - 16 assists in 33 games

Hardly a gulf between them but if you look over a period of the last 3/4 years you'll see the others are more consistent.

[Goofle]

I am talking about now, this exact second. I don't care about four years ago. Walcott had a better combined goals and assists record this year playing for a much worse team in a much better League.

And International football is irrelevant.

[Cuthbert]

No it isn't, sure, it's no longer the highest level anymore but it's definitely relevant.

As I have already said, statistics do not paint the full picture in football. Walcott isn't better than Robben now and has never been better than Robben. He has merely had a sustained period of good form for pretty much the first time in his whole career.

[Goofle]

International football has never been the highest level, it's just been considered to be because of patriotism and a more global viewpoint.

He's better than Robben for sure. Muller is the only questionable one of the lot and I think h's a better right winger than him.

[Cuthbert]

I don't understand your logic tbh.

Walcott has a good season and is now better than players who've been consistently good for years but you say you don't care about past seasons. If Walcott has a crap season next year what happens then, will Robben and Muller be better than him again?

Seems a very knee-jerk way of judging a player. Surely if you just mean 'now', then that would just mean he's in better form than those two. That wouldn't make him a better player.

Stats aside (and they are only decent this season), Walcott isn't a great footballer whilst the others are all proven. Robben is a better footballer than Theo is. Theo is quick and a decent finisher and not much else.

[Goofle]

Robben hasn't been consistent at all over the years. It's reasonably easy to end up with a lot of goals for Bayern Munich, especially being such a selfish player, but Walcott has a very good record playing in a much tougher league.

[Cuthbert]

Originally Posted by Goofle11

Robben hasn't been consistent at all over the years. It's reasonably easy to end up with a lot of goals for Bayern Munich, especially being such a selfish player, but Walcott has a very good record playing in a much tougher league.

If we're talking about goals and assist returns then he's been consistently good. I'm using your logic and applying it to other players. You're judging Walcott based on numbers, cool, but these two have actually outdone him for numbers for the past four years.

So he isn't better whichever way you look at it. You can make the argument that the Prem is tougher (which I disagree with) but both of the other two have better records internationally too so it's not just because they play for Bayern at all.

[Cuthbert]

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