Post by MHPost by milivellaPost by MHPost by milivellaRaphael Varane announced his retirement from professional football.
Seven 2nd cycle players have a higher Fantasy Scout score than him.
Fantasy Scout score is a good assessment of skills, but it is not perfect.
One could argue that is is a much better assessment of longevity and
the ability to avoid injury than of skill. Viz. Olivier Giroud, top
player in 2nd cycle, though Griezmann could pass him.
(I may have a chance to confute MH! :) Even though I have to take his
words literally, which is probably cheating...)
Well like "Blessed are the cheesemakers" statement, it was not meant to
be taken literally.
The best cites the best. :)
Post by MHClearly some level of skill (whether amazing technique or just doing
one's job really well) is required to get picked for a FS nation's
national team at all. To stay in there long enough to accumulate more
1) Who else is competing for the same job(s) ?
2) Staying injury free at key times (especially during the big
tournaments, where, including warm-ups, players can get 10-15 points in
a month, perhaps more.
3) Luck in the sense that competitors can go down injured at key times
(eg. watch Martin Zubimendi finally get an extended run with Spain right
now)
I totally agree (how could I not agree? Marcelo only got 61 points,
FFS!). [this is the important thing]
The hope is that, in the long run, if Scout A always picks players who
are more skilled than the players picked by Scout D, A will have more
success. Law of large numbers and all that.
Post by MHPost by milivellaCounter-examples, even limiting myself to players picked in FS.
Players with low LAATAI (=longevity and ability to avoid injury) but
- Neymar
Bad example. First capped in 2010 as a teenager.
Because he was very skilled...
Post by MH Over 100 caps and
over 200 FS points. That points to a great deal of longevity and being
free from injury. During his prime at Barca he played 41-51 games a
season, so no extended injuries really.
By 2018 he already had 96 caps and 60 goals. So probably missed very
few games 2012-2018. I would call that longevity.
When he got his metatarsal fracture (February 26, 2018), he had just
turned 26 (February 5). I would not call that longevity.
(But I understand what you are saying, and of course there have been
very promising players who got injured at 18 or 19 and got 0 points.)
Post by MHDid not miss all that many club games during 2014 to 2021, which is the
period where most of his numerous caps came from. Given the number of
strong central defenders France has had, his longevity and FS points
totals are pretty good
Again, being a starter at 21 at the World Cup as a central defender is a
sign of skill, not of longevity.
Post by MH2013-2014 with Real are bad, but was it injury or just not getting in
the team ?
Transfermarkt says injuries:
https://www.transfermarkt.com/sami-khedira/verletzungen/spieler/29401
Post by MHNext three years with Juve pretty good. Did manage to
participate in 3 WCs and 2 Euros, is that not longevity of a kind.
Getting back to the NT after serious injuries is a sign of skill, not of
being able to avoid injuries. :)
Post by MH492 league games for top clubs, 114 caps - pull the other one !
I meant Reus, but he got only 63 points, so he would not be a good
example either way.
Post by MHBetter examples might be Ross Barkley, career blighted by injuries among
other things. or maybe Jack Wilshere (never liked him much but he was
highly hyped), or the allegedly phenomenally talented Wolfram Wuttke.
Cassano, perhaps ? (not all about injuries in his case, perhaps).
Barkley: 39 points
Wilshere: 36
Wuttke: 5
Cassano: 49
These are _not_ examples of player with high FS scores. :)
I guess we got in some kind of misunderstanding about my examples. We
could try to understand each other better, but we agree on the most
important thing (the one I tagged as such above!), so maybe that's all
that matters.
--
Cheers
milivel