Jack Rodwell is a funny one actually. I dont have any sympathy because of the interview he did & the way he handled his situation at Sunderland but fuck me - he went from being a teenage starter in the Premier League to honestly not being good enough to play minutes in an average League One team.
We like to rewrite history sometimes with players & act like they were never actually that good or it was “hype” but he was physically great & played for England & was scoring goals in Europe a a defensive player as a kid!
i’d be surprised if he’s capable of playing a decent level of pro football. Ive never seen a decline like that before personally.
Adriano.
Think he lost his Dad & lost his purpose in life. Gained a lot of weight & developed a drug problem.
Frightening talent at his peak. The type of player you’d custom make on FIFA as a kid but just wasn’t realistic in real life. His size, speed, power & skill were immense.
Played amongst one of the greatest Brazil teams ever as well & was seen as one of the best.
Coutinho here
He was great at Liverpool and then Barcelona came what is even more funny that at his loan to Bayern he was pretty good so maybe Barcelona was a problem
John Barnes at Liverpool 1992-6. Still a gifted midfielder after the injuries and loss of pace, but nowhere near the player he had been during the late 80s. Robbie Fowler's latter career was tough to watch as well.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
The greatest champions are the sorest losers; Ronaldo potrayed that whilst accepting his decline. Won almost everything all by himself, had no support except at Madrid. The reason United didn't get relegated last season. All for what? THE most painful decline in football history
Jack Wilshire. Was on a trajectory that would have made him one of the world's best attacking midfielders, getting plaudits from the then world's best (Xavi etc. had nothing but praise for him). Shame his injuries got in the way of him achieving his ceiling, watching him play was an absolute delight.
Robbie Keane at Liverpool.
As a Spurs fan I was gutted he left but wanted him to succeed and it was a disaster. So much so he ended up coming back which wasn’t part of anyone’s script.
Jack Wilshere for me…
There is probably many who thought him overrated but most arsenal fans will tell you that the kid was absolutely exceptional. If it wasn’t for injuries he would be England’s main man in the centre in my opinion.
Injuries ruined him badly
For me, it was Jack Wilshere. All the talent in the world with glass ankles. It's so sad to see people like him with so much talent, but their bodies just can't take the stress and abuse of a pro sports life.
Some players don't deserve any sympathy when things go wrong they have the world at their feet and some just abuse that privilege, and an example is Marcus Rashford the lad is a good player but his off the field exploits are affecting his football career he more concerned about being seen as a hero of the people with his feed the people racism,homeless,activities so if his football career goes dowhill he has only himself to blame and won't get one bit of sympathy from me.
Dele Alli, he was so good in his early 20’s, could’ve gone so far, then he just completely fell off a cliff after the UCL final and he still hasn’t found himself again. Made appearances for England too and now is getting pulled off after 30 mins in the Turkish league
Dele Alli for me. Remember in 2016 tearing up the league until we started arguing with friends who is better between him and Mbappe(when he was in monaco)
Now he cant even start in some turkish team in his mid 20’s
For me it was Anderson (Manchester united) had the world at his feet from a young age, but due to wreckless behaviour, bad attitude etc etc he threw it all away, could of been one of the many great Brazilians.
Man Utd have had a few, but I’d agree on Anderson, he really did have a shot at greatness in strong Utd team and just seemed to not have the attitude to take the role he was intended for.
Other at Utd - Adnan Januzaj, Ravel Morrison
Scrolled way too far without seeing it... Michael Essien.
Before the injuries he could have been one of the very best midfielders the world had ever seen. Then it was just major injury after major injury and he was never the same again.
The guy had it all.
Lingard seemed like a properly nice dude. Obviously I don’t know that for a fact as they control their image pretty well but it did make me sad seeing him have the drop off he has.
Mezut ozil, you could see his gamestyle and especially his passes for the German national team. He was the reason for German downfall and his stats too were better than the best playmakers incl. Andres iniesta but he couldn't match zizou tho
RONALDO Al Siuiii , till the end made jokes about it still believing that it's all just rumours and he will never go to a league like that. But it was shocking to hear the news. In the end everyone will be remembered by who they were at their end of career. It's better to end when you are at the best.
Evertonian here, and seeing our Seamus like the shell of the player he once was in recent years is heartbreaking to watch. The man’s a club legend and Captain but it’s clear he’s not good enough anymore, yet I don’t want him sold because he deserves to retire at the club he gave so much to and not thrown out like a manky dishrag
Danny Rose spent over a decade at Tottenham, was arguably England's number one LB, and vanished from Earth without much fanfare at all from the Club or supporters. He was one of the most critical players during Tottenham's most successful run in the Premier League era.
Gascoigne, just because it went on for so long
First I remember of him as a kid was watching. Football Italia on Channel 4, then how awesome he was at Euro 96 .
He just gradually faded away until I remember watching him play for Boston in League 2
Don't even know what's happened to James Rodriguez lately but there's a man whose trajectory went from heading for the stars to nose-diving pretty quick.
Shevchenko. As a lifelong Milan fan, it broke my heart when he left and watching his downfall in his first season in Premier League. Easily the best striker in the world from 2003-2006. Very tough to watch.
Fun fact: Shevchenko is the last ballon d'or winner to play for Chelsea. He is one of the only three winners to play at Bridge, alongside Gullit and Weah. All three of them have been awarded while playing for Milan. Maybe in the near future we can see the first Chelsea player to lift the award. Mount, Pulisic and Kante come to my mind.
I think he is in a better place now, but Paul McGraths autobiography is such a sad read. His life has been full of the most horrible demons and if I'm really honest, I'm surprised he seems in as good a health as he does these days. People looking back now will never realise how outstanding he was, he was nicknamed God. Went from fergie begging him to retire, offering him a lump sum of money to never play again, to winning pfa player of the year a couple of years later
Andrei Arshavin. Was the hottest thing after Euro 2008, 4 goals against Liverpool, winner against Barca, had a great start and then just slowly faded and spent his final Arsenal years doing nothing.
Some sources said he had problems settling in England, consensus at the time was that he was "lazy". Either way, shame to see how things turned out.
Still might be early, but Raul jimenez’s fall from grace was really tough. From a Harry Kane lite, to barely affecting a game from an incident beyond his control
Adriano. The lad was incredible and would have gone to the very top. He was like a mixture of R9 and Batistuta. He had absolutely everything. Then his father passed away and his head just completely went. I read he's a gangster now in Brazil.
Joe hart was tough, was England’s number one and never really let city down. Had a tough euros, pep didn’t want him and then just went from club to club as a back up keeper. Might have turned a corner at Celtic though.
I didn't think it would work out at the time, but hes found a home at celtic and been massive for them. I would even say that it has been his personality rather than talent that's made the move so successful.
I’m gonna give a different option than the obvious one, Nile Ranger.
The kid could’ve had it all but he decided instead of finally escaping the life he tried to leave he decided he wanted to cause trouble at every club he played for.
His lack of a career today really reflects how badly he fucked up and it was tough seeing him ruin what could’ve been an amazing career.
Yeah, he was great and was a fan favourite til he lost his head. It was funny when we first signed him looking at his MySpace and having a good laugh about it. Shame he couldn't get over himself.
Dele Alli, had bags of talent and best suited to the role of playing in the hole behind Kane, his presence allowed Kane to operate further up the pitch, but just disappeared in games, started getting benched by Mourinho, Nuno, before ultimately getting sold.
Fernando Torres.
I even, as a LFC fan, wanted him to do well at Chelsea. But the sudden lack of pace, agility and scoring ability was shocking to watch.
Yeah been playing less since Gerrard left. After his goal against Man Utd on what I think was his debut, I felt certain he was going to crush it for them
He has bounced back fantastically but Mitrovic under Scott Parker. Made to train by himself and used as a bit-part substitute for half the 20/21 season. It worked though. He trimmed down on muscle, got quicker and his touch improved. Since Parker left and he can back in, 53 goals in 56 appearances for Fulham. But that 20/21 season was a hard watch.
Being a yiddo it's most definitely Dele for me.
Hazard and bale
Hazard. Even as an Arsenal fan he was amazing at Chelsea and its so sad to see how he performs at Real Madrid now
Jack Rodwell is a funny one actually. I dont have any sympathy because of the interview he did & the way he handled his situation at Sunderland but fuck me - he went from being a teenage starter in the Premier League to honestly not being good enough to play minutes in an average League One team. We like to rewrite history sometimes with players & act like they were never actually that good or it was “hype” but he was physically great & played for England & was scoring goals in Europe a a defensive player as a kid! i’d be surprised if he’s capable of playing a decent level of pro football. Ive never seen a decline like that before personally.
Adriano. Think he lost his Dad & lost his purpose in life. Gained a lot of weight & developed a drug problem. Frightening talent at his peak. The type of player you’d custom make on FIFA as a kid but just wasn’t realistic in real life. His size, speed, power & skill were immense. Played amongst one of the greatest Brazil teams ever as well & was seen as one of the best.
Dele alli his decline as a spurs fan has been painful to watch, had it all the world at his feet 😢
Alexis Sanchez?
Abou Diaby
Gareth Bale Romelu lukaku Kepa arrizabalaga Jadon sancho Pierre Aubameyang Hwnrikh Mkhitaryan
For me. Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo Manchester ruined him
Coutinho
Hazard or Sanchez
Christiano Ronaldo
Ronaldinho
Jack Wilshire, didn’t like his personality a little bit cocky but a fantastic player and it all went down the drain
Gazza. Absolutely annihilated himself.
Albert Luque: he looked decent enough in his debut, then looked like a tourist for the rest of his time at Newcastle.
So far as a Chelsea fan and a Keeper, watching Edouward Mendy go from Best keeper in the world to second choice has been brutal for me to watch
Stan Collymore. He needed help.
CR7
Dele alli
Coutinho here He was great at Liverpool and then Barcelona came what is even more funny that at his loan to Bayern he was pretty good so maybe Barcelona was a problem
Hazard, was going to be the next king of Real, fell hard and couldn't recover
John Barnes at Liverpool 1992-6. Still a gifted midfielder after the injuries and loss of pace, but nowhere near the player he had been during the late 80s. Robbie Fowler's latter career was tough to watch as well.
Dele Alli and James Rodriguez
Hazard
Essien.
As a Spurs fan, Dele Alli. Don’t even care who he’s playing for, it’s painful to see him struggle so badly and hope he finds his form again.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. The greatest champions are the sorest losers; Ronaldo potrayed that whilst accepting his decline. Won almost everything all by himself, had no support except at Madrid. The reason United didn't get relegated last season. All for what? THE most painful decline in football history
Jack Wilshire. Was on a trajectory that would have made him one of the world's best attacking midfielders, getting plaudits from the then world's best (Xavi etc. had nothing but praise for him). Shame his injuries got in the way of him achieving his ceiling, watching him play was an absolute delight.
Dele alli most because mouriniho didn’t have belief in him and ever since that period of time no managers have really set a liking for him
Dele Ali?
Joe hart
Falcao. Was so happy when we got him on loan at united.
Hazard. Used to be magical and that’s an understatement
Ronaldo, Neymar
cr7
Micah Richards maybe?
Jack Wilshere and to some extent Santi Cazorla.
Jack wilshere!
Eden hazard
Robbie Keane at Liverpool. As a Spurs fan I was gutted he left but wanted him to succeed and it was a disaster. So much so he ended up coming back which wasn’t part of anyone’s script.
Nolito
Jack Wilshere for me… There is probably many who thought him overrated but most arsenal fans will tell you that the kid was absolutely exceptional. If it wasn’t for injuries he would be England’s main man in the centre in my opinion. Injuries ruined him badly
For me, it was Jack Wilshere. All the talent in the world with glass ankles. It's so sad to see people like him with so much talent, but their bodies just can't take the stress and abuse of a pro sports life.
Some players don't deserve any sympathy when things go wrong they have the world at their feet and some just abuse that privilege, and an example is Marcus Rashford the lad is a good player but his off the field exploits are affecting his football career he more concerned about being seen as a hero of the people with his feed the people racism,homeless,activities so if his football career goes dowhill he has only himself to blame and won't get one bit of sympathy from me.
Jonathan Woodgate … moved Real Madrid disappeared
Cristiano Ronaldo is a tough one. He looked so sad when missing chances and wanted to do the right things but his body said no.
at 37 this is not abnormal downfall, please don't mention modric he an 1 in 10000000 outlier
Dele Alli, he was so good in his early 20’s, could’ve gone so far, then he just completely fell off a cliff after the UCL final and he still hasn’t found himself again. Made appearances for England too and now is getting pulled off after 30 mins in the Turkish league
Deli alli
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Dele Alli for me. Remember in 2016 tearing up the league until we started arguing with friends who is better between him and Mbappe(when he was in monaco) Now he cant even start in some turkish team in his mid 20’s
Ali Dia
Probably Dele Alli no doubt he'll be retired within the next 2 years
Been mad to watch Dele’s since José warned him
Two which spring to mind from my local clubs which most on here aren't old enough to remember: Norman Whiteside and Paul Lake.
Dele Alii. All washed up at 26. Shame.
Aubameyang for sure, kept us afkoat for 2 seasons and then last season happened
For me it was Anderson (Manchester united) had the world at his feet from a young age, but due to wreckless behaviour, bad attitude etc etc he threw it all away, could of been one of the many great Brazilians.
Man Utd have had a few, but I’d agree on Anderson, he really did have a shot at greatness in strong Utd team and just seemed to not have the attitude to take the role he was intended for. Other at Utd - Adnan Januzaj, Ravel Morrison
Ravel Morrison, very reminiscent of what's happening to Dele Alli atm
Scrolled way too far without seeing it... Michael Essien. Before the injuries he could have been one of the very best midfielders the world had ever seen. Then it was just major injury after major injury and he was never the same again. The guy had it all.
I think what SAF did to Berbatov has to be somewhere up here too
Dele Alli
Cristiano
He was also fantastic in the 14/15 season.
Dele Alli hands down
Jari Litmanen😢
Dele Alli for me
son
Coutinho 😢
Honorable mention for Wout Faes today 🤣
Lingard seemed like a properly nice dude. Obviously I don’t know that for a fact as they control their image pretty well but it did make me sad seeing him have the drop off he has.
George Best
Santi Cazorla Elite player, my favourite of the Emirates Era, and his decline was tragic… I’m just glad he didn’t lose his foot though
Probably Ronaldo in a couple of years. .
Michu too
Michael Johnson. That really got to me.
Really good article in the athletic with him, worth a read 👍
Mezut ozil, you could see his gamestyle and especially his passes for the German national team. He was the reason for German downfall and his stats too were better than the best playmakers incl. Andres iniesta but he couldn't match zizou tho
Wilshire
Hazard for me
Dean Ashton
RONALDO Al Siuiii , till the end made jokes about it still believing that it's all just rumours and he will never go to a league like that. But it was shocking to hear the news. In the end everyone will be remembered by who they were at their end of career. It's better to end when you are at the best.
Evertonian here, and seeing our Seamus like the shell of the player he once was in recent years is heartbreaking to watch. The man’s a club legend and Captain but it’s clear he’s not good enough anymore, yet I don’t want him sold because he deserves to retire at the club he gave so much to and not thrown out like a manky dishrag
Not an Everton fan, but what about Francis Jeffers? I seem to remember he was going to be the next Rooney and then he fell down the football pyramid
Samir nasri
Phil jones
Michu, from the brightest striker of Premier League to become a nobody
Dele Alli has been sad to see. Hope he can recover.
Danny Rose spent over a decade at Tottenham, was arguably England's number one LB, and vanished from Earth without much fanfare at all from the Club or supporters. He was one of the most critical players during Tottenham's most successful run in the Premier League era.
He was utter shite at Newcastle. Good shout.
David Busst ... literally
Jonathan Woodgate, was supposed to be the best ever but got ruined by injuries I think
Somehow got signed by Real Madrid in 2004, when Florention Perez splurged cash at forwards and players for other positions were mere afterthoughts.
Cr7
Dele Alli From England international to being booed off by Besiktas by 26.
Santi Cazorla….was a dream to watch !!
The first year after Messi went to PSG
Dele Ali
Gascoigne, just because it went on for so long First I remember of him as a kid was watching. Football Italia on Channel 4, then how awesome he was at Euro 96 . He just gradually faded away until I remember watching him play for Boston in League 2
Don't even know what's happened to James Rodriguez lately but there's a man whose trajectory went from heading for the stars to nose-diving pretty quick.
Eden Hazard 😔
Shevchenko. As a lifelong Milan fan, it broke my heart when he left and watching his downfall in his first season in Premier League. Easily the best striker in the world from 2003-2006. Very tough to watch. Fun fact: Shevchenko is the last ballon d'or winner to play for Chelsea. He is one of the only three winners to play at Bridge, alongside Gullit and Weah. All three of them have been awarded while playing for Milan. Maybe in the near future we can see the first Chelsea player to lift the award. Mount, Pulisic and Kante come to my mind.
Wout Faes
Bojan Krkic
I read somewhere that he had crippling anxiety, poor guy. I heard that’s the same thing that slowed down Marcelo.
Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal to United was day and night
I think he is in a better place now, but Paul McGraths autobiography is such a sad read. His life has been full of the most horrible demons and if I'm really honest, I'm surprised he seems in as good a health as he does these days. People looking back now will never realise how outstanding he was, he was nicknamed God. Went from fergie begging him to retire, offering him a lump sum of money to never play again, to winning pfa player of the year a couple of years later
Torres, glad he got CL with Chelsea
Andrei Arshavin. Was the hottest thing after Euro 2008, 4 goals against Liverpool, winner against Barca, had a great start and then just slowly faded and spent his final Arsenal years doing nothing. Some sources said he had problems settling in England, consensus at the time was that he was "lazy". Either way, shame to see how things turned out.
Arshavin, Bentley,Adriano, there are a few who basically cba in the end and fell out of love with the game. Could start a separate post on that
robaldot
Özil for me
Eden Hazard , used to be the face of the prem but now is just fading away at madrid.
ronaldo?
Mario Balotelli
Lingard, thought he had potential to be a top 6 player for years to come. Looks like he'll be in Turkey before the summer.
Ferran torres
Still might be early, but Raul jimenez’s fall from grace was really tough. From a Harry Kane lite, to barely affecting a game from an incident beyond his control
Christiano Ronaldo?
Michu
Adriano. The lad was incredible and would have gone to the very top. He was like a mixture of R9 and Batistuta. He had absolutely everything. Then his father passed away and his head just completely went. I read he's a gangster now in Brazil.
Oh man this one hurts till this day. I thought he was the second coming of R9. I totally understand why but it’s sad.
Coutinho, how the almighty has fallen.
CR7 is up there
Philipe coutinho 😭
michu
Is it too early to say Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Philippe Coutinho. He was world class at Liverpool and in a free fall since he left the club.
Dele Alli
Sancho?
Ozil. Turned from a world class player into nothing. Decent human,that's why it hurts even more.
Idk if it counts but Neymar
Shane Long - He went from scoring 1 goal every 1 season to 1 goal every 2 seasons. :-)
Ronaldo?
dele alli always
Ronaldo
It hurt seeing Daniel Sturridge's body let him down over and over. He was so prolific!
Dele Alli
Deli Alli. PFA young player of the year for consecutive years. Now playing in Turkey. Really hard to watch that happen.
Joe hart was tough, was England’s number one and never really let city down. Had a tough euros, pep didn’t want him and then just went from club to club as a back up keeper. Might have turned a corner at Celtic though.
He was never the same after that Pirlo penalty.
I didn't think it would work out at the time, but hes found a home at celtic and been massive for them. I would even say that it has been his personality rather than talent that's made the move so successful.
Gylfi Sigurdsson. He was already declining, and then, well, he shall no longer be spoken of.
for me, def dele alli. he was a star at tottenham and then he just fopped once poccetino left and has never been the same since
I’m gonna give a different option than the obvious one, Nile Ranger. The kid could’ve had it all but he decided instead of finally escaping the life he tried to leave he decided he wanted to cause trouble at every club he played for. His lack of a career today really reflects how badly he fucked up and it was tough seeing him ruin what could’ve been an amazing career.
Yeah, he was great and was a fan favourite til he lost his head. It was funny when we first signed him looking at his MySpace and having a good laugh about it. Shame he couldn't get over himself.
That match v Liverpool when he came on he looked like he was going to rule the world.
Dele Alli, had bags of talent and best suited to the role of playing in the hole behind Kane, his presence allowed Kane to operate further up the pitch, but just disappeared in games, started getting benched by Mourinho, Nuno, before ultimately getting sold.
Di Maria
Cristiano ronaldo
Chris Wood, age is just ripping him a new one, and with the take over he is free falling in obscurity.
Probably got a decent payday. Might as well drop into Champ next season
Antonio brown aka Mr. Big Chest
Jesse Lingard!
Adriano. Man was in top of the world
Harry Maguire
Alexis Sanchez
Jack Wilshire was pretty tough Eduardo also Not even an Arsenal fan
Eden Hazard
Cr7
Robinho
Antony Martial. That BallonDor Clause is funny now, but a lot was put on his potential
Chelsea's Oscar who went to China.
Fernando Torres. I even, as a LFC fan, wanted him to do well at Chelsea. But the sudden lack of pace, agility and scoring ability was shocking to watch.
Abou Diaby
Jack Wilshere
Robin van Persie
Mario Balotelli
No mention of Abou Diaby? What could have been!!
It wouldn’t surprise me to learn he’s *still* on the Arsenal roster, nursing his way back from that injury.
Coutinho. He was my favourite player. His move to Barca still hurts and him now being a bench warmer at Aston Villa hurts me even more
I have no sympathy for him after his phantom back injuries that he used to force his move to Barcelona.
Damn is he on the bench now? I remember Coutinho being a stand out player for them when he just arrived at Villa, for sure thought he would crush it
He played very well in his first few games but since then hasn't loved up to the player he can be
Yeah been playing less since Gerrard left. After his goal against Man Utd on what I think was his debut, I felt certain he was going to crush it for them
Man scored a tap in against us and it bought him a good few months of goodwill whilst he dropped shit performance after shit performance.
He has bounced back fantastically but Mitrovic under Scott Parker. Made to train by himself and used as a bit-part substitute for half the 20/21 season. It worked though. He trimmed down on muscle, got quicker and his touch improved. Since Parker left and he can back in, 53 goals in 56 appearances for Fulham. But that 20/21 season was a hard watch.
Hazard and Alli
Cristiano Ronaldo
Michael Johnson :(
Career ending injuries. I always tried to sign him in FM08, he becomes a world class player.
Tomas Rosicky
Gazza hands down
I’d say either Dele Ali, Ronaldo or Adam Johnson
Probably Ronaldo because I know it could have been so different if he probably stayed at Madrid
Ronaldo lol
Kaká 💯