Raich Carter Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 (edited) Not sure why this occurred to me in the shower this AM but what is it with some players and their 'time in the sun' then they just lose form? Daniel Sturridge and Balottelli are the two that spring to mind but you could throw in James and Saido Berahino. They seem to go from being top (the varying degrees) to just nowhere. Previous examples that spring to mind are Ricketts and currently perhaps Timo Werner - will he ever recover....? In their case it could be that the style of play, etc just doesn't suit but surely a good player comes out of it eventually by adapting or moving on and then getting their career back on track. I'm not talking where players have had career-hampering injuries like Wilshire or Andy Carrol but what has actually happened to these guys that turned them into Serie B strugglers? We all know that Mario is a bit bonkers but he's a quality player so what the actual 'eff is he doing in Serie B? Surely he's getting less bonkers as he gets older...? Edited February 28, 2022 by Raich Carter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 (edited) With Sturridge it's injuries. His game relied massively on pace and he's been unable or unwilling to reinvent himself as something other than a speed merchant. I think it's in his genes. His dad and uncle both had similar issues, but they had more incentive to play on and adapt their games because they didn't have the kind of money that Daniel does in the bank. With Berahino it's because he's a dhead. He decided to play billy big baalocks and piss his career up the wall. In case you can't tell, I'm not exactly overflowing with sympathy on this one. Balotelli is partly a victim of the "wonderkid" curse, and partly a victim of his own personality/hype machine. He was overrated, in retrospect I think he's done ok for himself and forged a good career. I'll always back a player who is prepared to drop a level and actually play, rather than sit in the reserves for a big club. Edited February 28, 2022 by Anon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkFruitsRam7 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 (edited) Benteke is another one. And Ravel Morrison, though I thought he played well against Millwall. Edited February 28, 2022 by DarkFruitsRam7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimmu Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Class is permanent, but permanent is not class. - Middlesbroughian proverb and paradox Raich Carter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWC1983 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Ricketts at Bolton. Didn't he get an England cap? Micah Richards as well. He was going to be the next best thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duracell Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Balotelli was born in the wrong era. When players were less fit, the game was slower and the pitches were terrible, raw natural talent got you a lot further and the game would have masked his shortcomings. Similar story with Taraabt - offered nowhere near enough of the ball to become an elite player. Bris Vegas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bris Vegas Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Duracell said: Balotelli was born in the wrong era. When players were less fit, the game was slower and the pitches were terrible, raw natural talent got you a lot further and the game would have masked his shortcomings. Similar story with Taraabt - offered nowhere near enough of the ball to become an elite player. This. Balotelli just doesn’t fit in the high press era. That was evident and led to Brendan Rodgers’ downfall at Liverpool as he was signed to replace Luis Suarez who in contrast was a dog without the ball. Danny Drinkwater had a huge fall. Also what happened to Jon Flanagan? He looked decent in Liverpool’s title challenging season and even played for England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Fernando Torres Taribo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWC1983 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Bris Vegas said: Danny Drinkwater had a huge fall. Also what happened to Jon Flanagan? He looked decent in Liverpool’s title challenging season and even played for England. Flanagan was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend in 2017. He's not played a lot of 1st team games since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkFruitsRam7 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Most of these people have had really bad injury problems! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hintonsboots Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Derek Hales ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raich Carter Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 14 hours ago, CWC1983 said: Ricketts at Bolton. Didn't he get an England cap? Micah Richards as well. He was going to be the next best thing. Ricketts did get a cap as did our Seth! Richards was defo injury. I didn't realise Sturridge had an injury so the few players this can be aimed at are our Ravel and Balotelli. And Rickets. Oh and didn't Gazza used to say that Bogie at Port Vale was the most naturally talented player he ever knew but the guy liked his pies more than football. For me, Suarez was utter class. A combination of talent and absolute graft. If you look at grafters like Ian Wright and Becks, both were really good but Suarez had that extra level of ability for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdave85 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 On 28/02/2022 at 20:08, G STAR RAM said: Fernando Torres Late to this but not having that! World Cup winner, 2x EUROs winner, Champions league, 2 x Europa league multiple team of the season, player of the tournament awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannable Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 2 minutes ago, mrdave85 said: Late to this but not having that! World Cup winner, 2x EUROs winner, Champions league, 2 x Europa league multiple team of the season, player of the tournament awards. Just the reverse Harry Kane argument that though, innit. From post-2010 World Cup onwards he only scored 99 goals in 403 appearances. The hamstring injury at Liverpool killed him. Lost all of his explosiveness. mrdave85 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdave85 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 3 minutes ago, cannable said: Just the reverse Harry Kane argument that though, innit. From post-2010 World Cup onwards he only scored 99 goals in 403 appearances. The hamstring injury at Liverpool killed him. Lost all of his explosiveness. True but it still didn’t stop him winning after leaving Liverpool with Chelsea & Atletico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 4 hours ago, mrdave85 said: Late to this but not having that! World Cup winner, 2x EUROs winner, Champions league, 2 x Europa league multiple team of the season, player of the tournament awards. Was an absolute shadow of his former self after leaving Liverpool. Career stats before leaving Liverpool:- 147 goals in 316 games (goal every 2.14 games) Career stats after leaving Liverpool:- 53 goals in 262 games (goal every 4.94 games) Think he very much epitomises what the OP was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uttoxram75 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Kieran Dowell looked awesome for several minutes when he came on for Norwich at Liverpool tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdave85 Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 7 hours ago, G STAR RAM said: Was an absolute shadow of his former self after leaving Liverpool. Career stats before leaving Liverpool:- 147 goals in 316 games (goal every 2.14 games) Career stats after leaving Liverpool:- 53 goals in 262 games (goal every 4.94 games) Think he very much epitomises what the OP was talking about. Still disagree, the others listed have accomplished fairly little after losing their step etc. Torres still won team/personal honours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 1 hour ago, mrdave85 said: Still disagree, the others listed have accomplished fairly little after losing their step etc. Torres still won team/personal honours To be honest didn't follow his career that closely but think the stats are an indicator of the trajectory of his career, just remember him being awful at Chelsea. Out of interest what personal honours did he go on to win after Liverpool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scout's dad Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Claude Davis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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