Ngolo Kante: An Extraordinary...

[Cally]

I love Ngolo Kante. He is an incredible football player. One of the best in the world at that position. Busquets is a cut above though.

[danfo driver]

I love Ngolo Kante. He is an incredible football player. One of the best in the world at that position. Busquets is a cut above though.

Kante is not even close to the level of Busquets' left leg. We all saw what Busquets did to him when france played spain.


Kante will have to adapt quite a lot in CL next season. Many teams will just pass the ball around him like Arsenal and Spain did.

[Coach]

Horses for courses. Busquets is indeed a player but to dismiss the going and the height of Becher's Brook is plain foolish. In as much as one enjoys sensible discourse with @Tx and debate on tactic and strategy, his fetish is to cause trouble like a hyperenergetic, insanely noisy afrobeat of the same persuasion.

[Comrade Machel]

Someone has to do the dirty work. Guys like Kante sniff out attacks and break them up in addition to being players who can distribute the ball well. These guys need a high football IQ to do all of this. Show me a great player and I'll show you a guy like Kante who did the dirty work that allowed them to shine.

Finish/klaar

Lets stop this over the top Busquests shrining. Pedro while ar Barcelona looked a potential world beater when he broke through the ranks yet we now know outside the Barca system is a donkey Bravo looked amazing because the opposition rarely have the ball never mind threaten he barcelona goal now we know he leaks like a sieve

[cic old boy]

To me Hazard and costa had more impact for chelsea compared to kante

All b/c Kante Conte sent Mikelele to China. Yeah, Hazard and Costa had more impact and that's why someone else is double player of the year.

[green4life]

water carrier...

A top player in his role, with incredible range of coverage of the field. But still a water carrier...

It doesn't make his contribution any less important; but what he is, is what he is...

The extraordinary coverage and ball winning ability, while by itself important, the greatest value of his contribution lies in what it allows his team to do.

That is by definition a water carrier!

The English have a rich history and well founded experience in hyping players beyond their abilities, going all the way back..."Super Mac", Terry Butcher, Terry McDermott, Bryan Robson, Ray "Squareball" Wilkins, Paul Scholes, etc, etc...

In the FA Cup final, which is not the primary basis for my reaching this conclusion (cus I've watched him all season and before then with France), AW's positioning of Ozil, relative to Ramsey, and the interplay with Xhaka in the 2nd build-up phase, enabled Arsenal repeatedly send Kante on a fools errand. Importantly, it enabled Ramsey to constantly attack the space between left CD of Chelski...

The only player currently who comes slightly close to Kante in coverage is Madrid's Casemiro. But while the Brazilian has the technical range to play for a Barcelona for instance, the Frenchman comes up short.

Let there be no misunderstanding. I like Ngolo Kante. I am happy for him that he has won such massive recognition in England.

But he is by function and definition a watercarrier. Not a world class player by any stretch of the imagination...

He's a lot more than a water carrier. He didn't get much help if any from Matic which wasn't surprising to me given Matic's overall limitations in football skill in context to requirements at the top level. If you watched CFC against top 6 opposition home and away, especially when the opposition uses 3 in the middle, it's been a recurring theme. The games against Spurs is are classic exhibits in this respect. This isn't new. They've just found other ways to cope in some of those games. Fabregas doesn't complement him either as a CM duo. I expect Conte to address this glaring issue this summer because it's that obvious. Too bad you couldn't figure that out though. A team went from 10th to 1st, won 30 out of 38 games and racked up 93pts with a starting Middle duo of Kante + Matic suggests that Kante is world class.

[oloye]

Busquet is a lecturer when it comes to football. He is the kind of lecturer you love to attend his classes because what he teaches is clear and he makes hard topics look so easy.

He makes playing football look like learning ABC....the simplicity of his game, the ease of execution and effotless yet effective covering of spaces and geez the intelligence in execution of his tasks on the field. Bisquest might have a flawed character in that he can be a dirty slime, but damn if i ever become a coach, i would sit my players down and force them to watch a compilation of Busquet display so that they can understand me when i say simple football is the best form of football. Busquet is a geniuse!

[green4life]

@Tx, nno! Biko, please list non-water carrying difference makers.

In his team, Hazard for a start...

Are you really serious? So you cannot be a non-creative player/ goal scorer and make a difference and/ or be a world class performer? Seriously?

[txj]

Someone has to do the dirty work. Guys like Kante sniff out attacks and break them up in addition to being players who can distribute the ball well. These guys need a high football IQ to do all of this. Show me a great player and I'll show you a guy like Kante who did the dirty work that allowed them to shine.

Nothing more to add...

[txj]

@Tx, nno! Biko, please list non-water carrying difference makers.

In his team, Hazard for a start...

Are you really serious? So you cannot be a non-creative player/ goal scorer and make a difference and/ or be a world class performer? Seriously?

You can. Issue is already addressed...

[danfo driver]

Horses for courses. Busquets is indeed a player but to dismiss the going and the height of Becher's Brook is plain foolish. In as much as one enjoys sensible discourse with @Tx and debate on tactic and strategy, his fetish is to cause trouble like a hyperenergetic, insanely noisy afrobeat of the same persuasion.

Thats why i was shocked anyone took this thread seriously

[txj]

Someone has to do the dirty work. Guys like Kante sniff out attacks and break them up in addition to being players who can distribute the ball well. These guys need a high football IQ to do all of this. Show me a great player and I'll show you a guy like Kante who did the dirty work that allowed them to shine.

Finish/klaar

Lets stop this over the top Busquests shrining. Pedro while ar Barcelona looked a potential world beater when he broke through the ranks yet we now know outside the Barca system is a donkey Bravo looked amazing because the opposition rarely have the ball never mind threaten he barcelona goal now we know he leaks like a sieve

Leaked all the way to two Copa America titles...What a sieve!

[txj]

Horses for courses. Busquets is indeed a player but to dismiss the going and the height of Becher's Brook is plain foolish. In as much as one enjoys sensible discourse with @Tx and debate on tactic and strategy, his fetish is to cause trouble like a hyperenergetic, insanely noisy afrobeat of the same persuasion.

Na shakara....

Never put a man beyond his station; that's all I'm saying bro...

Too many in the game today have been brainwashed by the English. Its important that someone pushes back...

Kante brings something extraordinary to his role. But a water carrier he remains.

Its like the Oriental Brothers said it years ago:

If you are a frog eater....

[txj]

[anointed]

So what happened to Busquet since Xavi left and Iniesta waned? Oga Oloye, is he still a 'lecturer'?In the logic of txj, Xavi and Iniesta allowed Busquet to shine so Busquet is the star.

[1naija]

Is the picture of him selling pure water before moving to Europe true? I have only seen it posted on Facebook by Nigerians like anointed wanting you to type Amen and share.

[airwolex]

If Busquets is so great why hasn't there been one Club that has sniffed around him all these years? Even Ngolo Kante has rumors swirling all around him. I guess it's inevitable that the likes of Busquets, Pique, Valdes, Pedro will be regarded as top class because they happened to be in the right place at the right time but for me, they are all average. I have seen Barca play hundreds of times and at no point have I ever thought "Wow, great play by Busquets." And don't give me the old Mikel "He's the kind of player that's only appreciated by Coaches and team-mates" spiel. How many of you truly believe that if the dude spent his whole career at Espanyol, he'd had been little more than an average DM.

[Cito]

Horses for courses. Busquets is indeed a player but to dismiss the going and the height of Becher's Brook is plain foolish. In as much as one enjoys sensible discourse with @Tx and debate on tactic and strategy, his fetish is to cause trouble like a hyperenergetic, insanely noisy afrobeat of the same persuasion.

Na shakara....

Never put a man beyond his station; that's all I'm saying bro...

Too many in the game today have been brainwashed by the English. Its important that someone pushes back...

Kante brings something extraordinary to his role. But a water carrier he remains.

Its like the Oriental Brothers said it years ago:

If you are a frog eater....

...Riekwe nke nti vuru evu.(Chop one wey get fat cheeks).

Busquet is good but guys tone down the hype. When you have great players around you that puts the other team on the defense most of the game, of course your skills will seem magnified. Reasons being the other team will stay in more of a defensive mindset to explore your weaknesses.

[Comrade Machel]

If Busquets is so great why hasn't there been one Club that has sniffed around him all these years? Even Ngolo Kante has rumors swirling all around him. I guess it's inevitable that the likes of Busquets, Pique, Valdes, Pedro will be regarded as top class because they happened to be in the right place at the right time but for me, they are all average. I have seen Barca play hundreds of times and at no point have I ever thought "Wow, great play by Busquets." And don't give me the old Mikel "He's the kind of player that's only appreciated by Coaches and team-mates" spiel. How many of you truly believe that if the dude spent his whole career at Espanyol, he'd had been little more than an average DM.

Thank you sir. I used to be a die hard Barcelona fan and watched many of their games to this day I can't think of a single move by Busquests that's stuck in my mind. None but we are told he is excellent. Pirlo played the same position for Italy as busquets plays for Barcelona and we have all seen pirlo boss the game not just midfield but the whole game at around 34 years old. I have never seen biscuits do that. Never.

[cic old boy]

If Busquets is so great why hasn't there been one Club that has sniffed around him all these years? Even Ngolo Kante has rumors swirling all around him. I guess it's inevitable that the likes of Busquets, Pique, Valdes, Pedro will be regarded as top class because they happened to be in the right place at the right time but for me, they are all average. I have seen Barca play hundreds of times and at no point have I ever thought "Wow, great play by Busquets." And don't give me the old Mikel "He's the kind of player that's only appreciated by Coaches and team-mates" spiel. How many of you truly believe that if the dude spent his whole career at Espanyol, he'd had been little more than an average DM.

Busquets is not a great player, but he has been linked to Manure and Chelski.


I've had this argument with Txj b/4. The guy is only good in the sense that he knows the Barca system, gets the ball and releases it quickly to those capable of doing damage. He does the simple things well, and Barca has been put in trouble several times when he got ideas beyond his station and tried to over-complicate stuff.

That said, Pique is a very good player, not just a defender. Pedro is a headless chicken.

[cic old boy]

Thank you sir. I used to be a die hard Barcelona fan and watched many of their games to this day I can't think of a single move by Busquests that's stuck in my mind. None but we are told he is excellent. Pirlo played the same position for Italy as busquets plays for Barcelona and we have all seen pirlo boss the game not just midfield but the whole game at around 34 years old. I have never seen biscuits do that. Never.

Pirlo is a different player from Busquets and more talented. Pirlo was a playmaker withdrawn to the DM role, but as a deep-lying playmaker. Another similar player is Xabi Alonso. Both are far more talented than Busquets.

[txj]

If Busquets is so great why hasn't there been one Club that has sniffed around him all these years? Even Ngolo Kante has rumors swirling all around him. I guess it's inevitable that the likes of Busquets, Pique, Valdes, Pedro will be regarded as top class because they happened to be in the right place at the right time but for me, they are all average. I have seen Barca play hundreds of times and at no point have I ever thought "Wow, great play by Busquets." And don't give me the old Mikel "He's the kind of player that's only appreciated by Coaches and team-mates" spiel. How many of you truly believe that if the dude spent his whole career at Espanyol, he'd had been little more than an average DM.

Thank you sir. I used to be a die hard Barcelona fan and watched many of their games to this day I can't think of a single move by Busquests that's stuck in my mind. None but we are told he is excellent. Pirlo played the same position for Italy as busquets plays for Barcelona and we have all seen pirlo boss the game not just midfield but the whole game at around 34 years old. I have never seen biscuits do that. Never.

As the great 'Cassius' once said, 'you can't hit what your eyes can't see'!!!

[airwolex]

If Busquets is so great why hasn't there been one Club that has sniffed around him all these years? Even Ngolo Kante has rumors swirling all around him. I guess it's inevitable that the likes of Busquets, Pique, Valdes, Pedro will be regarded as top class because they happened to be in the right place at the right time but for me, they are all average. I have seen Barca play hundreds of times and at no point have I ever thought "Wow, great play by Busquets." And don't give me the old Mikel "He's the kind of player that's only appreciated by Coaches and team-mates" spiel. How many of you truly believe that if the dude spent his whole career at Espanyol, he'd had been little more than an average DM.

Busquets is not a great player, but he has been linked to Manure and Chelski.


I've had this argument with Txj b/4. The guy is only good in the sense that he knows the Barca system, gets the ball and releases it quickly to those capable of doing damage. He does the simple things well, and Barca has been put in trouble several times when he got ideas beyond his station and tried to over-complicate stuff.

That said, Pique is a very good player, not just a defender. Pedro is a headless chicken.

They were great...probably the greatest Clubside ever but that does not mean that all their players were great or even WC.

Pedro is just a speedy winger in the mold of Marc Overmars and Walcott. They are a dime a dozen. Good to have but not exceptional.

Pique grew in stature and I eventually came to see him for what he was - a good ball playing defender who would do well in a team with 60% plus possession in every game and alongside a warrior (Puyol /Mascherano/ Ramos for Spain). I would count 10 other defenders before I counted him as one of the best in his generation. He fitted the Barca mold perfectly but give me the likes of Canavarro, Stam, Ferdinand, Gallas, Thuram anyday.

Busquets...well I think I said it when I said I can't think of a single remarkable play he made. I'm sure there are, but I can't think of any. I don't care what people say, this is a perfect example of a player who gets lucky and does exactly what is required of him. He is not even a donkey because he doesn't work hard enough. One of the most replaceable players in that Barca squad and one of the most unremarkable and forgettable. Some so called purists would like us to think that there's some sort of invincible job he does that nobody else can do but that's rubbish, anyone of a number of players at the time could do what he did.

Victor Valdes I think pound for pound was the worst starter on that Barca team. Not that he's a terrible Goalkeeper; he's a good shot stopper and he is brave and decent with the ball at his feet but that's where it ends. One of the few Barca starters that could never really get games for Spain and that says it all.

All the other starters were superb - Messi, xavi, Iniesta, Alves, Mascerano, Etoo - those guys I agree were top notch and all were, at one point in their Barca careers, the best in their position in the World.