safest player

Samsonov...very consistent, he's a wall.

safe player??  unforced error?? 

you guys are dealing in bogus concepts here!!  there is NO SUCH THING as an unforced error!!  all errors are "forced!!" 

well, actually, the closest thing to an "unforced error" would be in the case where somebody was intentionally throwing a point.  but that's not really an "error" cuz in that case that person intended to lose the point.

and as for the "safest player (??)," it would have to be the guy (or gal) who's no. 1.  how can you possibly win and get to no. 1 by missing more than everybody else???

the better player misses less.  so if no. 1 plays against no. 1000, who will miss the most??  no. 1000, of course!! 

if no. 1 plays no. 20, chances are no. 20 is gonna miss the most!! 

if no. 1 plays no. 10, who's gonna miss the most??  yep, you guessed it--chances are it'll be no. 10!!  it's just basic common sense!!

ttman wrote: he's too soft and too large he gets caught in his body and doesnt put the ball away well enough

agree exactly. Just because he is safe doesnt mean that he is the best. As i said earlier on, he plays percentage shots, he doesnt play extravagent shots say like a liqin or ryu seung min. However, he is still one of the best players in the world as his ranking suggests.

extravagant shots??  percentage shots??  those are still all very dicey concepts!!

wlq doesn't do anything in the game that he hasn't already mastered, so all his shots are "percentage" shots, except when he's given up on a point (or game) or, of course, when he's throwing a point (or game).

if samsonov considers the shots "extravagant," that, say, wlq or ma or the other 2 players above him do, then that, in a nutshell, explains why he's been stuck at no. 5 for quite some time--his unwillingness to improve his skill set.

it's actually quite frustrating for me to watch him play.  he's been one of my favorite players for a while, but i don't see him improving.  the 4 players above him have been getting better and incorporating new shots and new strategies into their games, but, from where i'm standing, samsonov pretty much plays the same game he played 5 yrs. ago (or longer)...

well, i hate to admit it (cuz i'm one, too), but i heard a few years back that he's a vegetarian, so that might explain the lack of body fat.

but he is also married and has kids and that, i feel, would explain the apparent lack of desire or fight that i thought he used to have before. 

you (and others) might think this is stupid, but i strongly believe that you cannot be no. 1 now if you are married and, on top of that,  have kids.  it's impossible!!

so, unless the chinese team just totally self-destructs (like if coach liu lets them all go out and get married!!), timo boll is not going to get back to no. 1, for that fact alone.

some have wondered why the chinese male and female players are not allowed to get involved "romantically."  well, i think this is at least one of the reasons:  for sure, the relationship is gonna get in the way of the job...

anyway, i've always felt that samsonov is the type of guy that could easily be no. 1 if he just changed a coupla things and would actually make more of an effort, but that is really tough to do when you have a wife and kids to think about...