rooneypoo wrote: hemlock wrote: TeamRenzo wrote: rooneypoo wrote: Dash wrote:N4L
Neely's whole point is that scoring isn't everything, and that people who think Spezza is "elite" and "essential to this team" spend too much time reading stats and not enough time watching games.
Try again.
Really? So why is he fast to point out that Kelly has more goals than Spezza?
He very rarely points out the good things Spezza does in a game, but jumps all over his mistakes. He has personal issues with Spezza I am sure of it.
Try again
There's some truth to it. I pointed out to him the other day during a game, that he had Spezza under a microscope like noone else. Sure, Spezza is the highest paid player, but the amount of scrutiny he receives from N4L is way over the top. And N4L practically agreed.
No matter what though, despite winning a few converts over like the good Dr.,
he will never convince most people here that Spezza is as bad as he says he is, because, like you said, it almost seems personal.
The point is not that Spezza is a bad player. It's that he's not a $7 mil, highest-paid-player-on-your-team, contributing-in-all-situations, heir-to-Alfie kind of guy. There's a huge difference between not being bad and being great for your team -- therein lies the dilemma with Spezza.
Don't let 4 decent games and a 6-game goalscoring streak wipe out from your memories the years and years of bad turnovers and lazy, half-assed, poor-hearted play. Keep it all in mind.
Spezza has until this June to prove his worth to the Sens organization. Ball's in his court.
I agree with this, but like I said, N4L rarely (he does do it, I'm not suggesting otherwise) acknowledges the good things Spezza does. It's either he gives him props saying something like "well he's supposed to do that as the team's highest paid player" or it's the polar opposite, which is much more common. There is no in between. It's almost as if he actively looks for the smallest thing he can point out to us all. That's what I mean by he'll never convince people here to hate Spezza as much as he does. It looks, from the outside, like a personal vendetta against Spezza.
No one is suggesting he's a bad player, but 90% of the time, you'd sure think so by N4L's comments. It's that over the top.
When was Spezza ever annointed the heir to Alfie? When was he expected to play in all situations? Yes, he's the highest paid player, but that's not his fault. Why can we not look at Murray for not recognizing these flaws before handing him the keys to the castle? Of course he's going to accept a $50 million contract, who wouldn't?
Spezza is what he is, an overpaid player. We can all agree on that I think. But N4L's expectations of him are perhaps unrealistic. Thomas Vanek is the highest paid Sabre and he's not leading the team in points, doesn't provide massive doses of heart, doesn't fight etc. He's not criticized for this, because he's a scorer, plain and simple. Spezza doesn't have the luxury of this. When he's scoring, people whine about his defence, and when he's trying defensively and his offence suffers, he's crapped on for that too. I'll also point out that this criticism goes past before the $7 per year contract started. I distinctly remember the criticisms of his game going back to the year previous to that, at least, when he was a $4 million player. So the whole $7 million thing doesn't hold as much weight.
The general expectations of Spezza are unattainable imo.
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