Why did you thumbs down Zuco's comment?
Tis true, Rio has had the better oif Vida in the past 2 seasons especially last season he was immense in a class of his own whereas this year Vida is in a class of his own.
Thumbs down cos' I disagree. I didn't stick an essay up because I've given these reasons so many times, everyone who has read them must get bored of it. But here goes.
For starters, Vidic has only got the praise this season because the English Ferdinand hasn't been playing anywhere near as much. What I'm saying is, if Ferdinand played as many games as Vidic this season, yet Vidic's performances were the same, all of the praise for the clean sheets etc. would go to Ferdinand simply because he's English.
When Vidic joined us, he completed Ferdinand. I don't believe it's coincidence that when Vidic joined, Ferdinand suddenly became one of the best defenders in the world. Also, he doesn't look anywhere near as comfortable without his partner in crime beside him.
The 2006/07 season, Vidic was better. Nevermind his flawless defending, remember all the important goals he scored. Ferguson himself described Vidic as the best center half in the league.
In 07/08, overall Ferdinand was the best defender, but not by a long way at all. He erased his lapses in concentration and was pretty flawless himself, despite his reputation for being prone to mistakes. However, I still remember a fair amount of the big games where Vidic was king, see the champions league final for example - I'll also mention that I never heard any non-united supporter, pundit etc. speak about or remember that performance.
This season, I see it as just another typical Vidic season, it's slightly better because he's scored more goals than he did in 07/08 (and 1 more than in 06/07 i think) and hasn't been accompanied by another world class defender. But still his performances have been more or less the same for 2 years. Although Ferdinand hasn't played as consistently as before (and this is perhaps the reason for it) he has recaptured some of his bad mistakes, loss of concentration etc.
Also, I think Vidic is a better leader, I spoke to a bunch of OT regulars and they were saying how Vidic was just as loud as Ferdinand and they thought he's a better leader in general - I started to take notice at that and I agree now and heres why; Vidic is braver, much more willing to stick his head in, risk injury etc. than Ferdinand is - people say Terry would jump infront of a train for Chelsea, Vidic is the same. Ferdinand, also tends to scream and shout at his teammates for a lot of his own mistakes - trying to cover himself up - and that is not a sign of a leader. Let's not forget Ferdinand's contract saga and that's not leadership/loyalty. Not to mention his drugs saga which isn't exactly showing the way for the younger ones. I'd add though, that I'm not against Ferdinand getting the captaincy over Vidic - because I think an English club should have an English captain (or atleast someone from the UK/I).
Overall, Vidic has been the best defender over the past 2 years for us and if we talk about individual defenders qualities alone, then the only attributes Ferdinand has over Vidic is his pace and possibly intercepting. And even then, I saw a pure sprint race box-to-box against Newcastle I think it was, where Vidic was just as quick as Ferdinand getting back - Ferdinand is just quicker off the mark.
Back to the overrated English players debate, how come Jonny Evans is unheard of by non-united supporters? How come he rarely gets the plaudits that he should have this season - how often does he get mentioned on MOTD or Sky Sports or in the papers? You bet your ass that if he was English, he would be considered by most as the next best thing. This is why Ferdinand is rated more than Vidic - because he gets all the mentions and hype - it's natural for most people to believe it without seeing it for themselves.
Anyway, we should count ourselves lucky for having the best 2 defenders in the world individually and having them compliment eachother perfectly.
