GREATEST EVER...uncapped players

[Sampson]

1 hour ago, StriderHiryu said:

This. Yes I guess he technically was capped and played in a World Cup semi final no less, it’s criminal a player of his talent was capped when players like Guppy, Gray and Drinkwater got at least one cap. In fact it’s more criminal that players like Chilwell and Maguire became mainstays! Those guys are good but Muzzy was consistently excellent. 

Gray never got capped.

 

Izzet was excellent for us of course, but never understood the clamour by Leicester fans that he should’ve got called up for England. He was maybe worth a couple of friendly caps but I don’t think he was ever good enough for a World Cup squad or anything really.

 

Think at the time he was behind the likes of Scholes, Merson and Lee who were the playmakers of the top 3 sides in the country. And then around 1999 when he was probably most talked about was when Lampard and Gerrard broke through after Merson and Lee declined. And this was a time when you’d only really need 2 attacking midfielders in a squad really as everyone played either 4-4-2 or 5-3-2.

Edited 30 June 2022 by Sampson

[The Horse's Mouth]

Not really greatest, but I'm amazed naughton never managed to get capped, was convinced he was going to be top class 

[HankMarvin]

9 minutes ago, Sampson said:

Gray never got capped.

 

Izzet was excellent for us of course, but never understood the clamour by Leicester fans that he should’ve got called up for England. He was maybe worth a couple of friendly caps but I don’t think he was ever good enough for a World Cup squad or anything really.

 

Think at the time he was behind the likes of Scholes, Merson and Lee who were the playmakers of the top 3 sides in the country. And then around 1999 when he was probably most talked about was when Lampard and Gerrard broke through after Merson and Lee declined. And this was a time when you’d only really need 2 attacking midfielders in a squad really as everyone played either 4-4-2 or 5-3-2.

Stats don’t lie as they say 
 

Kevin Keegan`s thoughts will be turning towards the summer and Euro 2000.

Apart from the left side, the biggest problem he seems to have is who to play in the centre of midfield. After trying several combinations, the England coach seems no nearer to finding the right blend.

This means that forthcoming friendlies will be a vital time in which Keegan can experiment to discover the best combination.

Veterans Dennis Wise, Paul Ince, David Batty and Tim Sherwood will all be pressing their claims, while Jamie Redknapp, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will all be hopeful of earning a place in the squad.

 

 

Veterans Dennis Wise, Paul Ince, David Batty and Tim Sherwood will all be pressing their claims, while Jamie Redknapp, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will all be hopeful of earning a place in the squad.

On the fringes Lee Bowyer and Frank Lampard will be pressing for inclusion, but according to Carling Opta`s statistics Muzzy Izzet has the best claim of all.

The Leicester midfield player has scored more goals than all of his rivals apart from Tim Sherwood, who has matched the Fox`s seven strikes. And, Izzet has the most accurate shooting, with 65% of all his efforts hitting the target.

The former Chelsea player also offers defensive options. He has won more tackles than any of his rivals and has been successful with a higher proportion of his challenges too, winning the ball on 65% of occasions. In addition, Izzet has made 54 defensive clearances and 18 blocks - both figures higher than any of his competitors for the midfield berth.

And given the amount of work he has put in to help his defence, the feisty midfield man has a better disciplinary record than all of the other main contenders. He has been booked just three times this season and only Nicky Butt can match his low total of 15 fouls, despite having played around twice as much Premiership football as the United man.

Kevin Keegan has so far resisted the clamour for Izzet`s inclusion in the squad, but if Muzzy keeps up his form in the second half of the season, the England boss would be foolish to ignore the Leicester man`s claims.

 

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/2178092/izzet-muzzy-for-england
 

 

[Leicesterpool]

I suppose if Muzzy was part of that England Euro 2000 squad then I think he would have probably have left Leicester early than 2004. If he had became regular he would have been snapped up by the big four.

[Bert]

29 minutes ago, Sampson said:

Gray never got capped.

 

Izzet was excellent for us of course, but never understood the clamour by Leicester fans that he should’ve got called up for England. He was maybe worth a couple of friendly caps but I don’t think he was ever good enough for a World Cup squad or anything really.

 

Think at the time he was behind the likes of Scholes, Merson and Lee who were the playmakers of the top 3 sides in the country. And then around 1999 when he was probably most talked about was when Lampard and Gerrard broke through after Merson and Lee declined. And this was a time when you’d only really need 2 attacking midfielders in a squad really as everyone played either 4-4-2 or 5-3-2.

Yet apart from Scholes, I’d have Muzzy over the other two any day. 

[Sampson]

15 minutes ago, HankMarvin said:

Stats don’t lie as they say 
 

Kevin Keegan`s thoughts will be turning towards the summer and Euro 2000.

Apart from the left side, the biggest problem he seems to have is who to play in the centre of midfield. After trying several combinations, the England coach seems no nearer to finding the right blend.

This means that forthcoming friendlies will be a vital time in which Keegan can experiment to discover the best combination.

Veterans Dennis Wise, Paul Ince, David Batty and Tim Sherwood will all be pressing their claims, while Jamie Redknapp, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will all be hopeful of earning a place in the squad.

 

 

Veterans Dennis Wise, Paul Ince, David Batty and Tim Sherwood will all be pressing their claims, while Jamie Redknapp, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will all be hopeful of earning a place in the squad.

On the fringes Lee Bowyer and Frank Lampard will be pressing for inclusion, but according to Carling Opta`s statistics Muzzy Izzet has the best claim of all.

The Leicester midfield player has scored more goals than all of his rivals apart from Tim Sherwood, who has matched the Fox`s seven strikes. And, Izzet has the most accurate shooting, with 65% of all his efforts hitting the target.

The former Chelsea player also offers defensive options. He has won more tackles than any of his rivals and has been successful with a higher proportion of his challenges too, winning the ball on 65% of occasions. In addition, Izzet has made 54 defensive clearances and 18 blocks - both figures higher than any of his competitors for the midfield berth.

And given the amount of work he has put in to help his defence, the feisty midfield man has a better disciplinary record than all of the other main contenders. He has been booked just three times this season and only Nicky Butt can match his low total of 15 fouls, despite having played around twice as much Premiership football as the United man.

Kevin Keegan has so far resisted the clamour for Izzet`s inclusion in the squad, but if Muzzy keeps up his form in the second half of the season, the England boss would be foolish to ignore the Leicester man`s claims.

 

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/2178092/izzet-muzzy-for-england
 

 

Maybe for that half a season Izzet was better but Keegan obviously made the right choice in going for youth and blooding Lampard and Gerrard instead in the build up to Euro 2000.

[Sampson]

12 minutes ago, Bert said:

Yet apart from Scholes, I’d have Muzzy over the other two any day. 

That’s just utterly ridiculous, blue tinted specs though.

 

Izzet was quite obviously and catagorically not a better player than Merson or Lee. They were the playmakers for title winning and titke challenging sides and both clearly more talented players as individuals than Izzet. Izzet was a great player for us, but let’s not be silly. He was playmaker for a side that finished 9th and 10th at that point.

Edited 30 June 2022 by Sampson

[Bert]

5 minutes ago, Sampson said:

That’s just utterly ridiculous, blue tinted specs though.

 

Izzet was quite obviously and catagorically not a better player than Merson or Lee. They were the playmakers for title winning and titke challenging sides. Izzet was a playmaker for a side that finished 9th and 10th at that point.

It’s not utterly ridiculous at all. Two said players were surrounded by better players. Muzzy was absolute magic. Could do everything. “He did things in training that no-one could quite believe”. 

[Leicesterpool]

I always roll my eyes when people describe the golden generation for England, good players as they were, they certainly were not good team as a whole. Too many just allowed the rivalry from their club sides to carry on to the national side.

[Sampson]

21 minutes ago, Bert said:

It’s not utterly ridiculous at all. Two said players were surrounded by better players. Muzzy was absolute magic. Could do everything. “He did things in training that no-one could quite believe”. 

It absolutely is utterly ridiculous and blue tinted specs. Mate you find quotes about that about most players. I’m sure you’ll find plenty about Lee or Merson by their teammates as well about how good they were.
 

Honestly, the way some talk about the O’Neill players on here you’d think we’d won the league 5 years running. Not doubting they were great players for us, but jeez, get some perspective about where we were in comparison to the likes of ManUtd, Arsenal and Newcastle at the time.

 

Izzet was a very good player for us as a mid table side, not talking him down. But saying Merson and Lee weren’t as good as him because “they were surrounded by better players” absolutely is utterly ridiculous. Lee and Merson were the creative outlet and heartbeat of their sides abd were as good as creative midfielders as there were in the country at their respective peaks. They were quite clearly both better players than Izzet, as much as I enjoyed watching him for Leicester at the time.

Edited 30 June 2022 by Sampson

[SpacedX]

8 hours ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

Not really greatest, but I'm amazed naughton never managed to get capped, was convinced he was going to be top class 

He was only here on loan though. Haven't looked at the thread in detail, but I'm assuming that we're talking about our own players. I do agree, he seemed to have huge potential at the time.