The question at the start is kinda ambiguous… Because when I think about the best player who had a serious injury that affected his career it’s surely R9. But he already managed to get to beast level before that, won a couple of ballon d or’s… was the best player in the world. Obviously if he didn’t had that big knee injury he’d have more years on that level, but I don’t think he’d get better as a player.
I’m more concerned about players who didn’t even had a chance to properly develop their full potential… and I think Jack is surely up there, looking at the recent era. Was fucking cutting through the midfield like a hot knife through butter… Can’t believe how many people, after all his years struggling with injuries, after more than a whole calendar year out of training (that’s the biggest injury break I can remember since I started taking football seriously) after the initial injury, how they all forgot about that SEASON he had as 18-19 year old, and say thing like he only had that one barca game… I don’t know how he managed to get in the team of the year in the PL based on one CL game? And was a firm starter for national team at that age. For me he’s the best player robbed of a huge career because of the injury. I think he at least had the potential to be up there with Laps, Gerrard and Scholes, and I think he even had the potential to rise above them.
His injuries and van Persie’s had such a major impact on this club between 07 - 09. The trajectory of this club could have been completely different if we could have had both healthy.
I’m sure I remember him doing an interview where he said the ankle never moved as freely as it did pre-injury. It really was such a needless challenge by Dan Smith.
I think with Kaka it was also that his style of play that wasn’t really sustainable with the progression of his career. In his Milan days he was a one man army who could take the ball from his own box to the opponents and score. It’s hard to keep that pace and quickness he had in/after his 30s. In that sense you got everything out of him you possibly could.
I think Ronaldo OG did well for himself. I believe Wilshere and Abou from our standpoint as gooners really were a big shame as in hindsight their career wasn’t that noteworthy.
van Persie for me. Still a fabulous striker for his two season long pomp, but he should have gone down as one of the most talented and lethal strikers of his generation. I guess he kind of is regarded as such in England, to an extent, but I think he’d be thought of as being Henry’s equal in reputation if he’d had a similar injury record to him throughout his career.
If he stays fit consistently I can see us winning a league in something like 07/08, maybe one or two other things, before van Persie moves to Barcelona and wins several La Ligas and a CL or two alongside Messi, Xavi, Iniesta etc. That’s the kind of career he should have had, one unsullied by playing for that red nosed fucker and his merry band of cunts. Instead he missed so much of his career that he basically had no choice but to betray us so he could win a big trophy in what turned out to be his last reliable season at the top level in terms of his health. I’ll call him a cunt but I do understand the decision, just as I’m sure that he understands that we can’t forgive him even if we do understand why he did what he did. Just the silly tribal nature of football I guess.
Still makes me sad to think about it though…
Van Persie aside, Paul McGrath is one that springs to mind, he had absolutely awful knee injuries that stopped him being as good as he truly could have been (as did the booze). But he was better on one leg than any centre half England have on the books (yes he’s Irish, but I didn’t see the point comparing him to Irish centre backs as I couldn’t name a current one lol). Not slating Villa, but he was better than them, such a classy defender, would have been good to see what he could have achieved without his fitness and drink issues.
