inspirational figure. he really is.

 

looking at the way he talks to our players throughout the game.

 

the way he barracks the opposition

 

the way he generally just struts about with his chest out, its great to see.

 

HOWEVER...i think weve been so starved of proper professionals over the years that its actually a little sad how we - i included - have latched onto this guy as being some kind of messiah

 

i want to hammer home that im happy hes at our club and that hes our captain, but...im sorry to say, he looks like a shadow of a player out on the park

 

the game seems to continually pass him by and my question is....can we afford that?

and does consistent for a team outwith the old firm constitute "brilliance" these days?

 

That's Zerouali out the running then.

I wouldn't say so.  He was very hit or miss at Aberdeen.  In the end he left Aberdeen after a very up and down spell, had a brief stint in Saudi Arabia and then ended up back in Morocco.

 

If he'd been as good as some folk used to say, he'd have got a gig in Spain or England, or somewhere like that, after leaving Aberdeen.

 

With Zerouali, there were occassional flashes of brilliance... but that's all they ever were.  There was never a sustained spell of good form.  If he was any better than average, he'd have dominated the SPL.  In reality, he was nowhere near that level.

 

im not touching this post with a barge pole

 

i like you SOTR, a lot as it happens so im leaving this be

 

my love for Zerouali, my ill-feeling towards speaking ill of the dead and my general acceptance that i sometimes let my passion for circumstances close to my heart, take over my brain and result in a vitriolic spiel towards the OP, leads me to my conclusion

That's Zerouali out the running then.

 

i quite clearly was intimating that consistence for a non-old firm team does NOT constitute brilliance

 

so what you on about?

 

Zerouali was NOT consistent

 

no flair players bar Messi and Ronaldo are

 

he was however absolutely fucking brilliant sometimes

and does consistent for a team outwith the old firm constitute "brilliance" these days?

 

He was talismanic there, so yes, he was a brilliant player for Hearts who have come the closest to breaking Old Firm dominance in recent years.  In addition, he played a decent amount of Champions League games and games for Scotland.  If we are talking about brilliant players in the SPL, then I think most rational thinkers would have have Hartley up there...

im not touching this post with a barge pole

 

i like you SOTR, a lot as it happens so im leaving this be

 

my love for Zerouali, my ill-feeling towards speaking ill of the dead and my general acceptance that i sometimes let my passion for circumstances close to my heart, take over my brain and result in a vitriolic spiel towards the OP, leads me to my conclusion

 

Since when did giving a reasoned argument constitute speaking ill of the dead.

 

I think you summed up everything about your arguments about this and other threads there though.  You let your feelings for a player cloud your judgement.  To the point you can't even give a reasoned argument back to someone who has offered one against you.

He was talismanic there, so yes, he was a brilliant player for Hearts who have come the closest to breaking Old Firm dominance in recent years.  In addition, he played a decent amount of Champions League games and games for Scotland.  If we are talking about brilliant players in the SPL, then I think most rational thinkers would have have Hartley up there...

 

"up there"...

 

if you mean in the running for "brilliant", then i dont agree

 

theres WAY better players than him who have played in the SPL

 

its all academic though anyway, as we're talking about him 5,6 years ago and whats the point in that?

 

 

He was talismanic there, so yes, he was a brilliant player for Hearts who have come the closest to breaking Old Firm dominance in recent years.  In addition, he played a decent amount of Champions League games and games for Scotland.  If we are talking about brilliant players in the SPL, then I think most rational thinkers would have have Hartley up there...

Exactly.

 

im not touching this post with a barge pole

 

i like you SOTR, a lot as it happens so im leaving this be

 

my love for Zerouali, my ill-feeling towards speaking ill of the dead and my general acceptance that i sometimes let my passion for circumstances close to my heart, take over my brain and result in a vitriolic spiel towards the OP, leads me to my conclusion

Eh? Saying that someone was an average footballer is hardly speaking ill of the dead? It's like going to a funeral and being told that a half decent sparkie was fantastic at his job because he's no longer here.

he was however absolutely fucking brilliant sometimes

 

Awesome. A wonderfully skillful passenger.

 

And as for speaking ill of the dead? Fuck sake grow up.

Since when did giving a reasoned argument constitute speaking ill of the dead.

 

I think you summed up everything about your arguments about this and other threads there though.  You let your feelings for a player cloud your judgement.  To the point you can't even give a reasoned argument back to someone who has offered one against you.

 

maybe youre right

 

in fact, no, you are right

 

so theres next to no point in talking to me about Zerouali as i list him on a par with Larsson and Laudrup as the greatest players to play in the SPL, there will be no convincing me otherwise

 

i dont give 2 shits about paul hartley however so my views on him can be heard fine

Awesome. A wonderfully skillful passenger.

 

And as for speaking ill of the dead? Fuck sake grow up.

 

passenger?

 

shut your fucking mouth, clown.

 

noone in our current team could come close to replicating some of the absolute genius that little man conjured up

 

Zerouali doesn't even make it into the top fuck knows how many AFC players, that's just the truth MT, never mind the SPL.

 

To be considered on a par with Larsson and Laudrup, MT, gies a pint of what you're drinking.

 

Actually, no, I don't want any of that gear.

passenger?

 

shut your fucking mouth, clown.

 

noone in our current team could come close to replicating some of the absolute genius that little man conjured up

 

 

Yes, passenger. Not good enough, blessed with lovely skill but not good enough often enough.

 

Yes, passenger. Not good enough, blessed with lovely skill but not good enough often enough.

 

mate i will rip your willy open with my bare hands

mate i will rip your willy open with my bare hands

 

And I shall allow you to do just that.

And I shall allow you to do just that.

 

its an argument thats been done to death already, but ill re-iterate

 

flair players do NOT produce every game, they cant

 

the ones who do, ie ronaldo and messi, they are worth circa 100m

 

the lower echelon, ie Nani, Zerouali, Arshavin and such like dont, but you have them in your team because theyre capable of something noone else in your team is

"up there"...

 

if you mean in the running for "brilliant", then i dont agree

 

theres WAY better players than him who have played in the SPL

 

its all academic though anyway, as we're talking about him 5,6 years ago and whats the point in that?

 

He was brilliant at what he did.  It is that simple...

 

He may not have had flair, but if you wanted to have a box to box midfielder, there was no better at the time in the SPL.

its an argument thats been done to death already, but ill re-iterate

 

flair players do NOT produce every game, they cant

 

the ones who do, ie ronaldo and messi, they are worth circa 100m

 

the lower echelon, ie Nani, Zerouali, Arshavin and such like dont, but you have them in your team because theyre capable of something noone else in your team is

Why didn't Zero make it then? Why was he consistently a sub and why did he consistently fail to deliver while players like Laudrup, Jess and even Neil fucking McCann produced it nearly every week.

the lower echelon, ie Nani, Zerouali, Arshavin and such like dont, but you have them in your team because theyre capable of something noone else in your team is

 

Jesus. I think there may be a few more echelons to go before you reach the one Zerouali was in.

he didnt make it?

 

17 caps for Morocco by the age of 27 is no mean feat

 

his countrys hero and second only to his predecessor, Mustapha Hadji

 

id say thats not bad going

he didnt make it?

 

17 caps for Morocco by the age of 27 is no mean feat

 

his countrys hero and second only to his predecessor, Mustapha Hadji

 

id say thats not bad going

:lolabove: :lolabove:

:lolabove: :lolabove:

 

i know this as fact you de-generate, so care to try and explain yourself?

i know this as fact you de-generate, so care to try and explain yourself?

Go on then, send me a link proving he's a footballing hero in Morocco.

 

I loved Zero when I was little. then I grew up, understood the game and realised he was average at best.

 

Winters > Zero. Sad truth.

Go on then, send me a link proving he's a footballing hero in Morocco.

 

I loved Zero when I was little. then I grew up, understood the game and realised he was average at best.

 

Winters > Zero. Sad truth.

 

walking through morocco, spending a full day there and having line after line of people come up and shake my hand and ask how he's doing?

 

that good enough?

 

or how about the scores of little kids that ran away and came back with some form of Zerouali memorabilia?

walking through morocco, spending a full day there and having line after line of people come up and shake my hand and ask how he's doing?

 

that good enough?

 

or how about the scores of little kids that ran away and came back with some form of Zerouali memorabilia?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

And some tidy Bulgarian 20 year old offered to suck me off because I used to have a Kiriakov shirt.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

And some tidy Bulgarian 20 year old offered to suck me off because I used to have a Kiriakov shirt.

 

somehow, bearing in mind you most likely look like your typical geeky aberdeen fan, ie greasy hair, spotty complexion and a general air of insecurity, then i refuse to believe that