Nilsson or Sterland?

[dorian gray]

zico was a very decent full back...very, very decent...but nilsson was the very best....

[Guest York-owl]

nilsson all the way

zico was a hero to me untill he sign for them scum fookers l***s utd

[Lawrie Madden]

Nillson better defender Zico better attacking defender.

Hope i get to see the likes of either player in Wednesday blue and white again TBH.

Nillson as has been said is definitely one of the best players iv had the privilege of supporting and Zico is one of my all time favourite Owls so simply couldn't choose between them.

[peggyowl]

Chuffing hard question that.

As a kid I grew up watching zico. He will always be a Childs hero. As I got older I appreciated the pure class of Roland. Score draw in my book.

But I'll tell you one thing as a keeper you made sure you dived out the way if a zico penalty otherwise broken bones were the order of the day. Wallop. Bang boom.

[Goatboy]

Good question.

Absolutely loved Zico. Lot of heart and a true Wednesday legend.

But Roland was just a class act all the way through. Possibly the best defender we've ever had. That Lee Sharp reference is spot on. When he broke into the Man Utd side he was awesome. He tore defences apart all through the top flight. Roland completely took him out of the game.

Just feel lucky to have seen both of em play in the blue and white.

[Owl_80]

Tough one, loved Mel Sterland for all he did but head ruling heart I have to say Roland Nilsson.

[since59owe]

That's a close one, both legends for me but i'd have to choose....Roland

Both had the heart, committment and talent we could do with right now.

Very true.

[Jennz]

Mel is & probably always will be my all time favourite player.......however as most have already said, Roland is the better player, a true world class fullback & I feel honoured to have seen him play.

If I had to pick one to play in the team right now though I would pick Zico.......he's exactly the type of player we need to get out of this division.

[Ash77]

as i remember it nilsson was awesome before a bead knee injury and very good after it.

he was a better pro, more intelligent & consistent so a john higgins/hendry type full back.

zico had the flair and the excitement tho, (white,higgins/sullivan etc) and the way he bombed

up the touchline could make your hair stand up. he scored 49 goals for us and in the season

we fininished 5th, bagged 8 goals. both legends but zico for me

[hirstysboots]

This is a bit of a no brainer really. Sterland was a 'decent' full back who loved to make those surging forward runs but was never the most gifted of players.

Nilsson, however, was simply class, the best defender we've ever had at the club. Number one is Rolan Nilsson, Number two is Roland Nilsson.......................

[damianb1]

I'm afraid this isn't even a debate. Its like comaring a ferrari to a volkswagen passat. Roland as others have stated was without doubt pure class. Virtually never made a mistake/. Sterland was a good full back but not even in the same league as Roly. Roly earnt more than 100 caps played in world cups, euros for a good ( at the time) Sweden, Zico managed 1 cap (IIRC in a friendly againbst Saudi Arabia). Earlier this year Roly was voted as the best right back of the premiership era by fans on an independant pole. If manutd had signed him (they went for Paul Parker instead) Roly would be rightly acknowledged as the best defender the premiership has seen, instead he played for us and therefore went widely unrecognised.

No arguement.

UTO & WTID

[the gaffer]

Im not on about their respective international careers, because Nilsson wins hands down, just their contribution in a Wednesday shirt.

I was lucky enough to see Nilsson play, but didnt see Mel play ( other than vids ) so couldnt make a fair comparison.

The only blooper i recall Nilsson making was against Man Utd when he sold a back pass short to Pressman @ OT, we lost the game 1-0 and the return leg 4-1 if memory serves me correct?

But im suprised so many have swayed in favour of Nilsson, as I think 49 goals ( Mel's record) from a full back is an incredible achievement, and 11 years service, local boy and all that?

My friend's dad Used to play in the same side as Mel, and there are some great references to him in Mel's book, which is a great read, picked it up for a fiver from Crystal Peaks- good stocking filler for any Wednesdayite!