Euro 2012 sweepstake anyone?

[OngBonga]

ALan Ball kept Soton up? Hahaha that's funny. Matt Le Tissier can easily take the credit for that, imo. Without him you guys would've been relegated years previously.

Le Tissier was one of my favourite players back in the day, respect to a man who puts his loyalty to his club before glory and money. He could easily have played for any Prem side. He made big sacrifices.

Nice to see you guys back in the Prem, fwiw.

Re Rooney... did anyone complain when Owen got dropped for not being good enough anymore? He's got 40 goals for England.

It's the manager's job to pick the best team, not the best players.

[kevster]

ALan Ball kept Soton up? Hahaha that's funny. Matt Le Tissier can easily take the credit for that, imo. Without him you guys would've been relegated years previously.

Thanks, I think I know my own team.

Re Rooney... did anyone complain when Owen got dropped for not being good enough anymore? He's got 40 goals for England.

Owen got injured at the 2006 world cup and never returned because of further injuries and his club form went down the drain - incomparable to Rooney.

It's the manager's job to pick the best team, not the best players.

You mean pick the best formation and then the players that best fit this? Some argue that this is a valid approach but either way, Rooney is still in.

[OngBonga]

Thanks, I think I know my own team.

Sweet. So you'll already know that Matt Le Tissier made his debut in 1986 and hit top form in 1989, while Alan Ball joined as manager in 1994. Also, I'm certain you'll know full well that Le Tissier's top scoring season was while Ball was in charge.

I mean really, Ball kept you up, not Le Tissier? He was a god, Ball was very lucky to have a player of that standard at a shitty club, no offense.

[kevster]

Thanks but, like I said, I think I know my own team. I don't need to defend anything I said - at no point did I say Le Tissier didn't keep us up. You've picked up on eight words from a long section that I was only using as an example of how/why managers pick their best players.

To then use this to suggest I don't know my own team (and perhaps anything about football as a result) seems kind of dumb to me.

This has nothing to do with the debate on Rooney. And there is no debate really.