Messi the Greatest Footballer of All-Time?

Hi Everyone,

Today's blog I'm bringing you is on the debate that's raging after last night's performance, is Lionel Messi the greatest footballer of all-time? As I have been a football player all my life and hold some coaching badges I thought I might toss my point of view into the mixing pot.

First of all, in the Champions League last night Barcelona won 7-1 and Messi scored 5 goals, two of which were lobs from inside the box.  Now he is the first player in Champions League history to score 5 goals in one game, and he accounts for 15% of all goals Barcelona have scored in European Cup/Champions League history.  A pretty special player then to say the least!

If you take a look at Messi's club stats your mind will be blown away. In 24 games in La Liga this season he has scored 28 goals.  In all appearances for both club and country this season Messi has scored 53 goals in 49 appearances.  The list of unbelievable stats and ridiculous records already broken goes on.  What makes Messi so special is he has already done all of this and he is STILL ONLY 24!! Yes, he is all set to break Barcelona's all time goal-scoring record before he turns 25.  This is also only counting his GOALS. Messi is one of the most accurate passers in the game and has had 15+ assists every season in La Liga for the past 5 years.  Not only does he smash in the goals, but he lays them on for his teammates too. It's safe to say then that Messi is already up there with the greats. But is he the greatest?

Many brilliant players have graced football; from Pele to Maradona and from Cruyff to Best.  Let's not also forget Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 2 more goals than Messi in La Liga this season and is a pretty special talent himself.  But it's Messi's consistency of excellence over the last 5 years that has seen him propelled to be mentioned in such valor.  Can we compare players across eras? Would Messi be able to cope in the more physical eras of Pele or Maradona? Would Pele and Maradona be able to cope with the faster playing style and higher fitness demands needed in today's game?  All very good questions.

Some argue that Messi isn't the best as he is yet to win a World Cup.  I think this argument is a load of BOLLOCKS. In Pele's day and Maradona's day there was only ever 2 or 3 top international teams at the time and a load of very good ones.  In today's international football anyone from about 8 or 9 superb teams could win the World Cup, and often it goes down to luck on the day.  I fully expect Messi will win a World Cup in his already glittering career as he could play for at least another 3 World Cups.

What sets Messi apart from any footballer today, and certainly Maradona, is that Messi truly is a gentleman both on and off the pitch.  He never plays with a nasty streak in him, but always floats majestically around the pitch with a smile on his face, and off the pitch I hear he is an absolute gentleman to both fans and reporters.  You never hear about him in any controversies or he certainly isn't a druggy or an immature person.  Mario Balotelli take note on how to properly conduct yourself.

In my opinion, taking into account eras, tempo of play, opposition, statistics, records and Messi's current age, Messi is the greatest footballer ever to grace the game. If he carries on the way he is going I don't think we will ever see a player get anywhere near his records or class ever again. Messi is the King!

On a lighter note EA Sports should take note and improve Messi on FIFA as he is good but there are better players than him on the game which is just utter garbage. So come on EA give him a 97 rating, a turbo and strength boost and then it will be more realistic!

Hope you enjoyed my blog today and hopefully will see you soon! Follow me on twitter @rpenners1.

Regards

RPenners1

xxx

Behind every Average Man is a Great Woman.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you have enjoyed my blogs so far, and today I'm bringing you a more serious blog about love. Yes, love. This may make some of you leave this page immediately but it's a topic close to me and many people I know.

There is a great saying: Behind every great man is a greater woman. This can be taken in terms of a mother, a grandmother or girlfriend or wife.  In my opinion this is one of the most accurate sayings there are, and yes I think men would be nowhere in life without the presence of a good woman.  For me I have a great mother, I am indeed a very big mummy's boy and I wouldn't be the person I am today without my mother.

However more recently there has been a new woman in my life, a woman who has given me the confidence and belief in myself to keep pushing myself to achieve better.  This woman is my beautiful girlfriend Marianne.  Marianne, came into my life in September last year when she came from Norway to visit England for a week with some friends.  From the moment I first saw her I knew she was different and something special and well she has proven to be even more special than I could ever have imagined.  I know that I can rely on her for anything and everything I may need and that together no obstacle is too big to get past. I know I wouldn't be the person I am today without her, and I don't want to even picture my life if she wasn't in it. I have never been so happy and the love we share is the most amazing feeling in the entire world. I can't wait for the next 24 days to go by until I see her again. It will be a truly special 10 days with her. Marianne, I love you! <3

I firmly believe there is someone for everyone out there and that eventually destiny will always allow you to meet them.  I have met my perfect match and I know I will never let her go.  Everyone should get the chance to feel love with someone suited for them, as it is the best feeling in the world and those of you who already have that feeling will know what I'm talking about.

That's my blog for today. I hope to see you all next time.

Regards

RPenners1

xxx

The RPenners1 Diet and Fitness Struggle throughout University.

Hello everyone,

After getting good responses from my blog yesterday I am back writing today. Today's topic for discussion is my experiences of dieting and fitness during University years.

I had always been a very highly trained and physically fit athlete throughout my first 18 years of my life.  I played football for a club, college and my county training 5-6 times a week.  My diet was never that amazing.   Like Usain Bolt and the infamous chicken nuggets before the Olympic 100m final, I had figured that as I did horrendous amounts of training a week my body could pretty much handle anything.  My mates can tell you I like to dabble in a variety of different combinations ranging from Quavers and Salad Cream, to even once having single cream on coco pops as the milk had run out! However my very good physical condition went tits up when I went to university.

University certainly had a big impact on my life in my first year. I pretty much stopped training everything except my arm for moving food and beer to one's mouth.  Also the loss of my mother's cooking meant that pretty much everything that passed through my system was at least 87% processed and came from either a tin or from a takeaway menu.  These shoddy food sources combined with many a beer and vodka coke meant that in my first year alone I put on a staggering 3 stone of weight! I lost 2 of these stone when I suffered from glandular fever for 6 weeks, mainly down to the fact that my throat had closed up so much that even oxygen molecules were having a tough time getting down my neck.  The second year followed the same pattern and I put back on the 2 stone.

Over the summer of last year after spending many a night scoffing £6 worth of pick a mix and grease covered meat I decided to lose the weight and I did this by running everyday and cutting my calories down from 5879 calories (probably a good estimate) down to a mere 500-700. This worked and although it was dangerous due to the lack of calories I lost all the weight and got back really fit. Since the summer I have gradually put on 1 stone and am working away at losing it by doing my summer routine.  It's fair to say that my weight has always been a problem and will always be due to the fact that God gave me this innate desire to stuff my face until my stomach is on the verge of rupturing.

My only true aim for all of this is to be a weight that I am comfortable with so I do not feel guilty when I run a train on a large bag of sugar coated jam donuts.  As I have always been a competitive athlete and plan on being one for many a year yet, I need to be able play my sport without having a spare Pirelli tyre around my waist. I know that his battle with my weight will be a life long one, however with my good motivational friends around me and my beautiful girlfriend always inspiring me to train harder I know it is one I can stick my middle finger up to and conquer.  In the words of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, JUST BRING IT!

I hope you have enjoyed my blog and if you have any questions for me about my struggles during university or about diet and fitness then please fire away by @ me on twitter: @rpenners1.

Regards

RPenners1

xxx

Introduction to the world of RPenners1

Hello everyone,

RPenners1 here, bringing you my first ever blog. I will start by giving an introduction into myself, which I hope will not send you all to the point of unconsciousness.

I'm a 3rd year university student at UCP Marjon in Plymouth, where I study Sports Science. This obviously means I will be enjoying writing a dissertation for the next few months. Yes, I used the words Enjoy and Dissertation together in the same sentence. I may not be the brightest spark in the world but I rubbed the two brain cells I have together and decided to pick a subject to study that genuinely interests me and I want to do. Therefore there will not be 87 twitter or facebook updates from me a day bemoaning how terrible the whole project is and how depressing my life has become.  People who do that sort of thing only have themselves to blame for their so called 'depression' and deserve more than just an unfollow or an unfriend. A firm back-hand slap springs to mind.

Moving on, I am also a very big sports fan, hence my choice of degree.  Apparently loving sports automatically means that you lack any form of intelligence, but I hope to prove otherwise.  My love covers many a sport including football, rugby and the WWE (the thing everyone grew out of when they were 12, yet somehow still has a hold over me). I'd like to think I'm a handy athlete however the world seems to dictate that you must have the body of a cast member of 300 and the fitness of Marathon runner to be successful, and I lack both of these so called requirements. However, I have played many a sport competitively so expect to see some views and opinions from me about many a different sport.

I also love to do a bit of gaming, mainly Call of Duty, Battlefield and FIFA. My mates always tell me I am an avid rage quitter, however I would like a game to be enjoyable as I spent 40 of my finest British Sterling on it and therefore would not like to be stressed out by the copious amounts of degenerates who play these games as if they were real life.  Quite frankly the ability to respawn should send a message to these people that the game is in fact a GAME, however they still choose to play it as if 1 death means you also die in real life.  I commend the players who go 2-9 yet still actually run around and play the games like what it is.

That's enough of an introduction into me. I do hope you enjoyed my blog and it bought a smile to your faces, and should I get good feedback, I will blog on a regular basis.. If you want to chat more to me then feel free to follow me on Twitter: @rpenners1.

Regards

RPenners1

xxx

P.S Happy St Piran's Day to all my Cornish comrades. Have a pasty (or 3) and a pint of ale to celebrate the day.