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Post by Admin on Oct 14, 2005 8:54:19 GMT
name a footballing great, but one at a time please..
I'll start with my favorite..:
Stan Bowles.. one of the most gifted players I've seen..
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Post by toasted on Oct 14, 2005 13:02:17 GMT
Nice thread Greg.Gives me a chance to talk about something very close to my heart Malcolm Macdonald. An absolute Newcastle legend,I first went to see him play at St James' park when I was about 6 or 7. 1971/2 season I think,his first season with the Toon. Saw him score a hatrick against a Liverpool team who boasted a new wonderplayer called Kevin Keegan (another of my football heroes). My Dad took us all the way down to Wembley to see England play Cyprus ,England won 5 - 0 with Supermac scoring all 5 goals. Still to this day the only player to have done this. A true Legend .
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Post by Admin on Oct 14, 2005 14:20:05 GMT
nice choice there...
I supose I'll have to get the greatest natural footballer ever out of the way...one I never actually saw play in the flesh, so to speak...
George Best..
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Post by CmonYouSpurs on Oct 14, 2005 14:24:10 GMT
Dave Mackay..Spurs Legend The stature of Dave Mackay in Tottenham folklore is vast and indisputable; indeed, to imagine Spurs' great sixties side without the vibrant Scot is to picture the Huns without Attila or the Alamo without Davy Crockett. Yet while it is right that so much is made of Dave's dynamic, warrior-like qualities - many have written that if Blanchflower was the brains of the team, Mackay was its heart - there is a danger of under-selling his sheer, unadulterated all-round talent. In fact, his control was second to none, he was the cleanest striker of a ball at the club and he passed with the utmost precision. And how the mighty left-half reveled in his skill; in training he would astonish team-mates by volleying continuously against a wall from ten or even 15 yards - anyone who doubts the difficulty of this trick should attempt it for themselves - and later, as Spurs captain, he would run on to the pitch, kick the ball high in the air, then catch it infallibly on his instep, a subtle form of intimidation that demanded of his opponents. 'Can you do that?' All this is not to say, of course, that the traditional image of Dave Mackay is a myth. Despite standing just 5ft 8in, he exerted an awesome physical presence, muscular thighs and a barn-door of a chest topped by features that were positively piratical. The man tackled like a granite avalanche, exuding a passionate will to win and apparently consumed by a devilish, ruthless relish for his work. Colleagues leapt to do his bidding as he drove them on, invariably by stirring personal example, often by melodramatic gesture and abrasive Caledonian invective. Though lacking in outright pace, he bustled tirelessly between attack and defence, typically winning the ball, flicking a pass, then surging forward to receive the return. On reaching enemy territory, he could finish venomously - as he proved with a hat-trick against West Ham in 1962- and another potent weapon was a prodigiously long throw. Addicted as he was to winning at everything - Dave would pour his entire being into a casual game of snooker - it followed that he was devastated in defeat, a situation he strove so hard to avoid that in some 40 cup finals at all playing levels, he never finished on the losing side. Such unquenchable spirit was never more evident than in recovery from a twice-broken left leg -the first fracture came in a clash with Noel Cantwell in a European tie at Old Trafford in December 1963, the second nine months later on his comeback against Shrewsbury reserves. Such calamity would have ended the career of lesser men; in his case, it merely added to the aura of indestructibility that had enveloped him since his indomitable contribution to Tottenham's early-sixties triumphs. Yet, unthinkably now, the Scottish international might never have arrived at the Lane. In March 1959, Bill Nicholson had been making overtures to Swansea's Mel Charles, and had the Welshman not opted for a*senal he would almost certainly have joined Tottenham instead of Dave. Later Bill maintained that it was Mackay he wanted all along, and was delighted to pay Hearts £32,000 for his signature. Come the mid-sixties, Dave had taken over as skipper and, his mastery over ball and men undimmed, led Spurs to FA Cup Final victory in 1967. By then, he was operating in a mainly defensive role but the earlier years of midfield effort had exacted a toll and injuries became more frequent. Perhaps, too, he needed a new challenge and he found it at Derby, whom he joined for £5,000 {a reduced fee in recognition of his services) in July 1968. Under Brian Clough he played masterfully alongside centre-half Roy McFarland and in his first season helped the Rams lift the Second Division title, as well as sharing the Footballer of the Year award with Manchester City's Tony Book. Success in management followed, including a Championship at Derby, but it is to his fabulous achievements as a Spur that Dave owes his undying reputation. Nicholson called him his best signing, and he has been compared to the great Duncan Edwards. Nothing more need be said. and here he is sorting out Billy Bremner..
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Post by toasted on Oct 14, 2005 15:23:40 GMT
Nice one Kevin,a couple of my mates are lifelong yids and they have always told me that their hero is Dave Mackay,oh and Ardilles of course. And yes Greg, George Best,what a player a winger who scored 20 odd goals a season,we'll never see the likes of him again that's for sure.
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Post by reg on Oct 14, 2005 16:05:28 GMT
Stanley Mathews I signed as an apprentice for Stoke City when Stan was playing he gave me a pair of his boots I kept them for years but when we moved house they disappeared what would they be worth today I wonder.
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Post by toasted on Oct 14, 2005 16:31:29 GMT
Stanley Mathews I signed as an apprentice for Stoke City when Stan was playing he gave me a pair of his boots I kept them for years but when we moved house they disappeared what would they be worth today I wonder. WOW! Hey Reg I'm reading an autobiography by another Stoke City legend called Ray King(He's a geordie and lives in the same village as my mam and dad).He was the goalkeeper who played in the 40's and 50's when Stokes defence was so inpenetrable they called it the 'Iron Curtain'. It's a fantastic book written by man who played the game when people played for their shear love of it. It's called Hands,Feet and Balls,has a foreword by the legendary Tom Finney and is published by Rex Publications.It's probably the most interesting foota book I've ever read.
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Post by specialk on Oct 14, 2005 17:56:01 GMT
the first professional game I ever saw was a (forget what you call it but when a footballer retires) and it was believe it or not Spurs vs Bournemouth in a friendly (actually no I lie I did watch Plymouth argyl play when i was six - got hit by the ball it put me off for a few years) but anyway Steve Perryman and Glen Hoddle were playing - wow they had nice legs mmmmmmmm but wow Pele has to be up there with the greats x
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Post by Admin on Oct 14, 2005 21:06:46 GMT
best defender....EVER...
West ham and England star..
Bobby Moore
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Post by specialk on Oct 15, 2005 0:40:25 GMT
ohhhhhh and francis lee what a man
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Post by specialk on Oct 15, 2005 0:57:25 GMT
renowed for the most expletives in one match but he made me laugh Billy Bremner - Leeds I think?
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Post by toasted on Oct 16, 2005 16:39:12 GMT
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