General Premier League Thread 2025/2026

In terms of being the best in the world at any time, well it's subjective isn't it. Some people think Haaland should have won it 2 years ago and others (me included) think that Rodri was the best player in the world that year. I don't think Dembele or Modric were the best in the world in the years they won it either. I know Messi & Ronaldo basically won it every year for a decade but a lot of the time it felt like whoever won the Champions League dictated the winner of the individual award. Dembele winning it only heightens that thinking. Argentina winning the World Cup meaning that Messi won it another example.

Was Salah better than Modric in 2018? Could very well have been, but he didn't win any big team trophy so he didn't get the award. Was Salah better than Dembele in 2025? IMO, yes as he had a higher output in a tougher league. PSG won the Champions League so they had to have the winner.

It's mental to say that Salah never beat Ronaldo's best individual season (at Man Utd) when he literally did score more goals and got more assists. When comparing 2 forwards, the only thing that you can use to factually compare the 2 is output -goals and assists. Pressure, influence, presence, fear-factor etc are all things can we can't measure, and nearly 20 years later it can't be looked upon with varying degrees of over/under estimation. Just to compare the Ronaldo season vs Salah seasons (I personally think that his 24/25 season is a better overall season, even if the total goal contributions is lower).

I think it's only fair to let people come to their own conclusions on what season they think is the better from the 3 of these, and what they give more credence to - eg one has more goals, one has more big goals (first goal, equalizer, winners), one has more assists, one has more penalties scored, one has nearly all goals scored from open play, one has more goals against the teams that finished higher up the table, one has more weighting to combined PL goal contributions.

I'll not argue Salah was a stats machine. He was hugely effective and consistent across his 8 seasons (this is his first real downturn).

If football for you can be put down on a piece of paper and you think stats can be reliably compared against each other 15/20/25 years apart then have at it.

I think there's a bit more to it.

Like I said in my original post, I don't think I've seen any other player in the PL hit the same height that Henry and Ronaldo did. Those 2 are out on their own in terms of what they were doing on the pitch each week, often things that won't show up in the stats. A move, a turn, a play that didn't result in a goal. Making an opposition player look like an amateur footballer at times.

Salah is more… clinical, I suppose.

Suarez was pretty damn close to Henry/Ronaldo, certainly I think more so than Salah's best. Does the stats show that?

Even after all that I am looking at the stats and Ronaldo is within 2 goals of Salah's best return, I honestly thought the gap was wider given.

The assists I am not sure about, there have been changes I know on how assist's are counted now so I can't say if the data is good or not. I know assists pre 2008 are very difficult to find reliable data on and I know over the years OPTA have changed what qualifies a few times. So is that apples to apples?

Either way, you are comparing stats across different eras. Which is always an issue for me.

The players aren't competing in the same environment, under the same rules etc..
VAR for example has changed things in football. The sport itself has changed, attacking players are far more protected now than they were 20 years ago etc..

So I don't think it's as easy as saying X player scored 2 more goals than Y player so he has overtaken his best season.

It's the same reason I don't think point totals when you are comparing seasons for teams 10/20 years apart holds much weight either. Or you are comparing point totals to last season etc..

If it's players or teams are competing head to head in the same season - sure 100% the stats are comparable because they are gathered in the same circumstances and environment.

But the further apart you are comparing the less you can compare.

On the ballon d'or, yeah it is not a perfect measure of the best player in the world alright, fully agree.

Plenty of winners I wouldn't consider the best in the world at that time but they were seen as the "right" winner due to success that year, then some years where that logic is completely ignored.

But generally speaking if you are one of the worlds best you will be there or thereabouts in it.

I checked there and he doesn't have a top 3 finish ever which is odd given the numbers he has put up. It's not something I had noticed before to be honest.

I'm not sure that confirms anything or not but it is surprising because even if it was seen a popularity contest, Salah would be hugely popular. So why the lack of recognition?

I wouldn't describe Salah as clinical. He misses an awful lot it seems, he just takes a lot of shots and makes a lot of chances.

But when he does get it right it looks ridiculous

Like his goal at Brentford this season. One touch and bang. Very very few players can score that type of goal. He has an incredible range. He scored an indirect free kick this season, he scores one on ones, his goal away at Salzburg is one of his best ever and that was from a ridiculous angle with his bad foot. His long ranger v Chelsea in 2019. His messi-dribbles against City and Watford in consecutive weeks, scores penalties, cut inside and hit the top corner is his speciality.

I think he seems clinical just because of that sheer range of goals and ways he can hurt teams. But there's also many many times he should score or pass and doesn't.

v Stoke in the 0-0 draw in.....2018 was it? Where he scuffs the one on one - that one sticks out for me. There was another a few weeks back where he tries to go with outside of his foot and gets it wrong

But then he pops up like at Brentford and you just think WOW. Nobody scores from that situation.

I think the lack of recognition is partially political and partially the club that he's at. He's won 2 leagues and played in 3 CL finals but none of them were the same season as each other.

But is it more impressive to join Fergies United who've dominated for a decade and win more trophies they win anyway? Or joining a club who literally were getting laughed at for how long it had been since they'd won the league....and be instrumental in winning it for the first time in like 30 years.

That's worth more than getting a FIFA prize for winning with a team that dominate anyway. See Modric, Dembele, Rodri etc. Brilliant players, best in the world in those seasons, but I think you take them out of those teams and Real Madrid, PSG and City are still top 3 clubs in Europe that season, same with United in 2008 without Ronaldo.

But take Salah out of 2019, 2020 or last season's Liverpool and they're simply not winning what they won

Yeah that's fair. I just think of the likes of Kane/Haaland/van Nistelrooy/Owen with that term.

As you describe him, he is like Robben as a player.

The reason why people may prefer Henry or Ronaldo is because of the flair, the shrug of the shoulders, maybe even the charisma etc. It's a package, it's why some people rate Maradona ahead of Messi for Argentina.

Time to vote again?

Yeah that's a good comparison. Salah is a better goalscorer though but yeah direct maybe.

The Spurs squad need to be sacked as well. It looks like the players want to go down so their relegation sales clauses will be met to let them get out of the club on the cheap.

I was thinking the same thing. For all his faults he ran the place well.

No Daniel Levy is crying into his cornflakes. He was looking for 1 Billion for his 25% stake but due to his penny pinching in buying inferior players to replace Kane and Son and greedyness he will see that value half if the club are relegated.

They won a European trophy last season and qualified for the Champions League because of it while he was still there and he gave them one of the best stadiums in world football.

Arsenal getting unlucky with a few injuries this international break.

Spurs think they are a big club but in reality they haven't won much. Levy did well to keep them semi competitive.

Not a dig in all honestly but they're off field projects (stadium etc) doesnt translate to onfield success when talking about big dominant club.

Really missed a trick in not backing poch after the CL final imo. Now they want him to come back.

I've heard it said,and it's very true : Spurs are not a well run football team with a lovely new stadium,they are a well run lovely new stadium with a football team. The tail has been wagging the dog in recent years,too much focus on the shiny new thing and not on the bread and butter or the day to day business. Champion League over the last decade was very much hanging in Harry Kanes (and to some extent Son ) shoulders,rather than any proper planning or management by Levy &co . Given their traditionally a top ten team, and the fact that there are more European football than ever,they should be in a strong position but they are a mess,They are not producing enough talented players through their system, and their scouting and transfer business has been poor.

I used to get most of Football news from BBC Football, past few days looks like its got some kind of makeover- its shocking, pushing videos instead of news, the Tudor story buried beneath a lot of less news worthy info today, Hopefully a glitch, cause it used to be pretty good for free info.