The best footballer ever?

[edwardd67]

Kenny Dogleash?

As a young Bhoy King Kenny was my hero. He came back as Manager----- Major -disaster.
The King is dead Long live King Henrik.

 

[DavieB]

Diego Maradona without a doubt imho. Easier to pick the top 5 than pick just 1 though hard to separate at that level

Maradonna
Zidane
Pele
Puskas
Best

ps
Id say Laudrup was another world class player to grace Scotland. (and he wasn't even the best player in his hoose growing up, his brother was amazing)

 

[Herbie]

For me Jinky Jimmy Johnstone was the best...wonder how much he would fetch in todays transfer market...none of todays players could lace his boots,
Worth a shout also are Kenny Dalglish and the late great Davie Cooper

 

[Glow worm]

I agree with mangaman.......got to be Grant Holt

+ 1

OTBC!!

 

[mangaman]

+ 1

OTBC!!

Hey GW - I didn't realise you were another city fan.

Citybabe is too obviously.

Maybe we should form a club and cycle to games! There's a big game a few weeks before the end of the season at Portsmouth - could be a decider. I live a 15 minute train ride away - and citybabe may be interested in coming down - if you fancy it I have plenty of spare room in my house for Canaries! A Norwich cycling possie would be cool!

Bit disappointed we didn't beat Palace today - but still amazed by our overall performance. Lambert really is a great manager and I hope he stays until we get back to the Prem.

OTBC!

 

[Hacienda71]

Right a couple of curve balls. Gordon Banks and Peter Schmeical. Both outstanding players who altered the outcomes of major games by making saves that were almost unbelievable.
Also I agree with Garincha, in Brazil considered by many to be the equal of Pele despite a deformity. Not regarded as highly as a personality due to indiscretion in his private life.

 

[rich p]

Right a couple of curve balls. Gordon Banks and Peter Schmeical. Both outstanding players who altered the outcomes of major games by making saves that were almost unbelievable.
Also I agree with Garincha, in Brazil considered by many to be the equal of Pele despite a deformity. Not regarded as highly as a personality due to indiscretion in his private life.

Good point.

A better question might be best goalkeeper, best central defender etc as it's difficult to compare Dino Zoff with Roberto Bettega's sublime talents.

Georgi Hagi - some player! Surely much better than Stoichkov in Eastern European influence, non?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I'm surprised no-one's put you forward yet rich, I was told you were quite a dribbler in your heyday!

 

[alecstilleyedye]

seth johnson. why? he was at crewe (who were struggling with relegation from the championship) and was offered a january transfer window move to the premier league derby county. he decided to stay at crewe to help them stay up and went to derby at the end of the season. he felt honour bound to help the club that had supported him from his teenage years; letting them have him as a player, but then letting them sell him on.

not a lot of that sort of thing in the game these days is there?

 

[pubrunner]

The utter parochialism of some of the posts on here beggars belief. Yes, the UK has produced some good footballs, a number of whom never had the chance to show themselves fully on the world stage, e.g John Charles

The utter ignorance of some of the posts on here beggars belief.

Check the facts, John Charles played (and scored) for Wales in the 1958 World Cup - when they lost in the Quarter Finals to Brazil - who went on to win the World Cup.

"Where was he in the world's pecking order? He was right up there with the very, very best. Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Di Stephano, Best. but how many of them were world class in two positions? The answer to that is easy. None of them."

Sir Bobby Robson.​

 

[pubrunner]

The utter parochialism of some of the posts on here beggars belief. Yes, the UK has produced some good footballs, a number of whom never had the chance to show themselves fully on the world stage. However for all round greatness , you have to look at a hand full of players headed by Pele, Cruyff, Maradona and Best.

Hmm, which World Cup did George Best play in ?

 

[Hacienda71]

Hmm, which World Cup did George Best play in ?

To be fair if you put Pele or Maradonna in the Northern Ireland team of the time they still would not qualify for the World Cup final. Pele claimed "Best was the greatest fotballer in the world"
He got to the highest level of the pro game winning the European Cup.

 

[Hacienda71]

He was still a thug though.

More a p*ss head

 

[pubrunner]

To be fair if you put Pele or Maradonna in the Northern Ireland team of the time they still would not qualify for the World Cup final. Pele claimed "Best was the greatest fotballer in the world"
He got to the highest level of the pro game winning the European Cup.

If you took John Charles out of the Wales team of the time, they would not not have qualified for the World Cup Quarter finals.

 

[Hacienda71]

Ask Ian Evans or Glyn Pardoe

Both indefensible tackles but he was still one of the most gifted footballers ever before his slide into alcoholism which ultimately cost him his life. I would not put him in the same thugish bracket as the likes of Barton on and off the pitch or Ron Harris on it.