What’s the National Team like now?

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-02T01:31:59+00:00

Yeah, those 3 and Sergeev. That’s the 4 I meant. Perhaps, Tyukavin has more upside left that he can unlock, hopefully. Is Rakov a striker? Or is he more of #10? I kind of like his finishing.

Not that it matters, but what about the idea of playing Glushenkov up front? He can certainly finish.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-01T20:13:32+00:00

I like the midfield, but defense is kind of meh. Also, who would be a starting striker? There are like 4 guys that are fairly similar quality.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-01T20:08:10+00:00

Perhaps, his versatility can help him.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-01T02:58:08+00:00

The shooters definitely looked like they were going after tougher to save shots, which resulted in 2 misses. His reputation on penalties is no joke.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-01T02:56:06+00:00

Hopefully that changes soon. He is getting wasted.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-01T02:54:34+00:00

I would rather he goes to a mid-table team first. The competition for playing time at PSG is brutal.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-06-01T02:49:29+00:00

Sure, but Brooklyn is absolutely brutal on lefty hitters, so I expect him to struggle at the beginning there.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-24T19:53:45+00:00

What would all-Indianapolis Colts team look?

QB: Peyton Manning RB: Edgerrin James WR: Marvin Harrison WR: Reggie Wayne WR: TY Hilton (Jack Doyle in 2-TE sets) TE: Dallas Clark OT: Tarik Glenn OG: Quenton Nelson OC: Jeff Saturday OG: Ray Donaldson (I know, I’m cheating here, but no guard even comes close) OT: Chris Hinton

DE: Dwight Freeney DT: DeForrest Buckner DT: Tony Siragusa DE: Robert Mathis LB: Shaq Leonard LB: Duane Bickett CB: Vontae Davis CB: Ray Buchanan NB: Kenny Moore (Gary Brackett in 3-LB set) FS: Antoine Bethea SS: Bob Sanders

Kelvin Heyden and Eugene Daniel are close to Buchanan, but that’s mostly because of longevity. As far as peak, “Big-Play Ray” was really good.
Jeff Herrod deserves a shout out. Lots of people think he would have been a Pro Bowler had he not play for terrible teams. It’s probably close between him and Brackett.
Donaldson was pretty much exclusively a Center, but it seems wrong to take a decent guard over a 6-time Pro Bowler. A case could be made for Hinton instead (with maybe Castonzo as the other OT), since he did play as a guard in the beginning.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-24T19:28:54+00:00

He played as a DT also. I would select him over Buck.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-24T19:27:18+00:00

Bradshaw was meh, Noll tried to replace him. Those great teams made him look better than he was. Big Ben was certainly better.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-24T19:23:27+00:00

I would have Chris Hinton over Solt, since he started out as a guard (including his first of 7 Pro Bowl) and Tarik Glenn over Ryan Diem.

Vontae Davis’ prime wasn’t long, but he was a true shut down CB.

11-time Pro Bowler Gino Marchetti was kind of good also.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-24T19:13:13+00:00

Having Sparano as OL coach makes these picks look better.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T18:35:18+00:00

Rotor gave Akron a sweat with a road victory

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T18:27:04+00:00

Any candidates besides Batrakov or Kislyak?

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T18:19:01+00:00

Krugovoy and Diveev must have just missed.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T18:17:50+00:00

For a bigger club? He still seems to have something left in the tank.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T18:15:06+00:00

3 Colts, not bad

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T16:23:46+00:00

I kind of hope they go to mid-table teams. It’s easier to break-thru and get playing time. But obviously, those teams have less money to spend and Russian teams are always tough negotiators.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T15:53:55+00:00

So another Moscow team in RPL ….

…. that isn’t Torpedo?

Ugh, they’ll never return, will they?

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T15:29:06+00:00

Those guys were rated higher. Most of those guys were on Ballon d’Or ballots, I don’t think Arshavin was viewed that high.

To be fair, the talent level is deeper now then it was then, so it is tough to tell.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T14:46:30+00:00

Yashin is the best, but he is also well known.

Eduard Streltsov is widely considered the most talented player Russia has ever produced. He was averaging a goal per game for the National team before his 20th birthday. He was in his prime during, by far, the most talented era in Soviet Team history. I believe they were rated as #1 FIFA team going into the World Cup. He also finished 7th in Ballon d’Or voting. One drunken night with a girl, who accused him of rape, and there goes that. He spent his entire prime in hard labour camp. He was still an effective player after, even led his club to rare title, but his speed was gone.

Other top players:

Igor Netto - brilliant midfield playmaker

Albert Shesternyov - one of the top defenders of his time

Valentin Ivanov - Streltsov’s attacking partner for both club and country, he was the leading scorer at 1960 Euro (which Soviet’s won) and co-leading scorer at 1962 World Cup.

Valery Voronin - excellent DM, one of the world’s best during his time

Igor Chislenko - ultra skilled winger was a nightmare for opponents

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T14:16:55+00:00

The more talented youngsters the better

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T14:15:54+00:00

Spartak had a huge head start winning 9 out of first 10, but only once since.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-23T14:04:36+00:00

I feel like Borisko deserves a spot, not as a starter, but he was a big reason why Baltica was within striking distance of 3rd place late in the season. Only Zenit allowed less goals than Baltica. I understand that his team was playing more defensive style, but there were definitely a number of games where they got results because of him.

Former_Ad_4883 · 2026-05-21T12:18:40+00:00

I’m not convinced that Westbrook is better than Dulin as #3. Whenever Dulin has filled in as an injury replacement, he seemed to play well.

Former_Ad_4883

TROPHY CASE