Topical at the moment, with George's sad passing. One vote only.

I've thought a bit about this one.

'Greatest Ever Football Player' - what does that mean to me?

I decided that it would be the man who combines skill, grace, selfless teamwork, good nature, fair play and courage to the best effect. Someone who has put a huge amount of himself into the game. And going by this list, one man stands out a country mile in these attributes.

Bobby Charlton.

If anyone else has played the game at the top level, including winning a World Cup, a European Cup, scoring the most goals ever for his country, overcoming the dreadful injuries he sustained in Munich and becoming an ambassador for his sport, plus his help with children in football and a knighthood to boot, I'll be astonished.

The man's a national treasure. :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:

Very nice answer Cupid.

plus Bobby's always good for a cup final ticket.

I have great trouble telling Jack and Bobby Charlton apart. Which one used to have the TV programme 'killing things with...' OK, that wasn't the title, but that was the premise - Charlton goes out huntin' fishin' and shootin'. Apparently killed a deer on prime time TV.

Also which one is patron of the not-fascist at all English Democrat party? Hardly a very nice person, whichever. I'm assuming both of these are Jack from what Cupid's Bullet said.

Went for Pele, because, well, he is the greatest footballer ever. I wonder why this topic needs debating - it's bloody Pele, as sure as eggs is eggs. Now go ahead and debate who the second greatest footballer was - that is a tricky one. George Best or Cantona for me.

There's at least one bloke on the board who is interested in how any footballer at all could be described as "great".

Voted Best, but my Dad would be asking...What no Duncan Edwards :rollover:

Within their own field, Harry, which you've said before you care nothing for. I know (and care) nothing for opera, and you're always bigging up (sorry) Cecilia Bartoli (spelling?) Me asking you to explain what's so good about her is pointless - I don't understand the appeal of her chosen art form. So...you've no chance of understanding what makes Pele the greatest footballer ever, let alone Bobby Charlton or Gordon Strachan (what? was he missed out too?)

Well, Unitas had a haircut you could set your watch by.

I think my grandmother would have had a YA Tittle poster on her ceiling if they made those (posters, not ceilings) back in the 30s.

Namath was on the Brady Bunch one time, which introduced a whole generation of USian kids to what surreality is. I mean, c'mon, you have a stoned Greg swapping spit with Florence, which is weird enuf already, and who should stop by but a seemingly bi-curious* quarterbacking star with pantyhose ads and hippie hair. If, like me, you are too young to have caught Laugh In 1st time around, this was shocking humour.

Dick Butkus had a name you couldn't make up. (just when you thought YA Tittle was as, errr, titillating as a name could get!)

The guy who was the dad on Punky Brewster was an excellent father on Punky Brewster. On edit: whoops, I meant Webster.



Growing up in the mid 70s my fave always used to be Drew Pearson.

All that said, I will go with OJ Simpson.

My least liked is defo T. Bradshaw.

FOOTNOTE:

* actually, I don't think we even had that word back then, but it was the same unnameable feeling you got from watching Bugs Bunny dress in drag.

What a reply!!! One of the best I've read about any topic on this Forum.Really made me think about greatest ever player now. :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:

Appreciated. What I'm interested in is how is it that I can take naturally to a bit of classical singing, but how football has always left me completely cold? This obviously works the other way round too. Funny isn't it?

Garrincha. The 'songbird' with the weird legs was the best dribbler of his time, dribbled players just for the hell of it and enjoyed humiliating defenders. Of course, never seen him play a full match, but some video footage and various descriptions have me convinced. He was, if there ever was one, a football savant. Off the pitch, his life was a bit of a mess, well actually, quite a mess. The dames and the sauce got the better of him.

Cruyff and Maradona would give him a run for his money I think for tops. Wouldn't consider Pele to be in the same class, as he lacked the skills of Garrincha but made up for it with much more ambition and drive. I guess then the question hinges on talent versus ambition. Nevertheless, even Pele acknowledged Garrincha's genius, "Without Garrincha, I would never have been a three times world champion.".

I thought Garrincha was know as the "little sparrow"? & he had dodgy legs too.

I don't know what drugs you are on but this poll is about great football players.

You might be right Clasper. It's a bird reference nonetheless. Actually just read that a Garrincha is a type of wren. Wren? Sparrow? Who knows what's right.

Yeah, he had dodgy legs. One was shorter then the other and they both leaned in one direction. There's a biography of him by Ruy Castro. Lead a rather debauched life after football, womenizing and drinking. Fathered at least 14 children. I won't go into the rest.



The wonky legs probably helped more then hindered. I imagine it must have been difficult for defenders to figure out just where those crooked legs were going.

Everybody I said was a great football (or footie as we call it here in No. Am.) plyr.

Dave Mackay.

I set up this poll, yet I haven't decided who to vote for yet.

From what I've read Duncan Edwards would have been truly one of the greats if he had lived.

I've always had a soft spot for De Stefano. I quote:

"Alfredo di Stefano was considered by many the greatest player of all time. He was a player with extraordinary versatility and incredible stamina. Although generally referred to as a center-forward, he played in defence, midfield and the forward line. Di Stefano was the inspiration behind Real Madrid's five successive European Cups. He scored a goal in each of the first four finals and a hat-trick in the fifth, which resulted in a 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Di Stefano's amazing fitness allowed him to be defending one moment and pop up on the edge of the opposition's area to score a goal the next. "

Pele was off course a genius, some of the things he and Best tried on the field were just awe-inspiring.

Then you have someone like Cryuff, who could control the whole of the game.

I'm still thinking who to vote for. :confused:

A very hard footballer and a true leader. To come back and continue to play at the highest level was a mark of the man.

The best footballer i have ever seen 'live' at a game was Paul Gascogine. In his pomp he was soley responsible for outplaying the era's best teams. I remember him running the show playing for Spurs at Man Utd where the likes of Bryan Robson could not even get close enough to kick him. A true footballing genius just a shame his brain power did not quite match up.

However after due consideration i have voted for one Diego Armando Maradona.

the guy was a genius and there was no single weakness in his game, he could pass, dribble, shoot and score, tackle and header, he would track back and was an inspiration on the pitch to his colleagues.

Everyone remembers the ' hand of god' but what about the other goal - simply the best and thats coming from an Englishman!!

Pele never played for a club outside of Brazil and thats why Maradona nicks it for me - he played and suceeeded in Argentina, Italy and Spain against the most miserely defences in world football at the time.

Why is it all the best footballers have defects in their off the pitch lives though?

I think that in sheer talent then the winner is Maradona.

However in their impact on the game I voted for Johan Cruyff.

A man who helped change the game for ever in the way it could be played, Holland should have won the 1974 World Cup if only they didn't become complacent.

Also a player who achieved wonderful things at club level playing for the great Ajax side of the 70's as well as Barca.

Cruyff dazzled fans all over with his all round ability, but also proved to have a shrewd management head as well.

Kenny Dalglish.

It always amazes me when they talk about Britain's greatest players and overlook him...

The man is a genius.

All of the gentlemen mentioned in CT's reply were football players, My Balloon. And particularly good ones, at that -_-

If we are talking the American version of Football, I would, even without the bias of being a Broncos fan, choose John Elway.

Holder of countless records at his chosen sport, (he could have been a professional baseball player, too!) 2-time Superbowl winner, (ok, 3-time Superbowl runner-up, but let's not be churlish <_< ) one of the few Real living leg-ends I've seen in a lifetime of watching sport, people used to envy him the amount of talent he was blessed with. But, despite his unquestionable good fortune, he was never one to brag about it....He also had teeth that would make a racehorse feel like an under-achiever, but, once again, lets not go there.

No, I feel that his sheer determination to win was evident throughout his career and beyond. He overcame terrible injury and 'hits' from opposing linemen and kept getting back up. I'll give you an example of 'The Drive' - what Elway is about.

On his 40th birthday, 2 years after retiring from football, he played in a pro/celeb golf match - and hit a hole-in-one.

A true competitor.

Oh, and just one thing, CT.

Name-check 'The Simpsons' when you pinch one of their lines, please ;)

ME DAD HAS ALWAYS TOLD ME THE GREATEST WAS JOHN CHARLES.
COULD PLAY HIM ANYWHERE AND HE WAS SUPERB.
OBVIOUSLY I NEVER SAW HIM.
KEVIN HIRD GETS MY VOTE :lol:

I thought he was just talking about 'american' football just to be awkward.

I used to like that wide reciever fir the 49's, Jerry Rice? And that guy with the starring eyes for the 49's, but I've forgotton his name.

My Balloon, do you mean Joe Montana? Or is it Steve Young you're thinking of?

Anyway, I did abit more reading on Garrincha. Apparently, he lost his virginity to a goat. Wonderful.
Makes me want to switch my vote to Cruyff, but meh, we all have our flaws.

Paragraph 7:
Garrincha book review

:o Blimey, a goat :o

No, the bloke I was thinking off was I think leader of the 49's defence. He was black, had these amazing eyes, always sacking the quarterback.

I can only really comment on those I've seen in the flesh a few times, therefore it'd be a toss-up between Platini and Van Basten.

From my experience, most Mancs (Red or Blue) old enough to remember, will say that Duncan Edwards was probably on track to be the greatest.

1. For some excellent John Elway referencing lyrics, I recommend "the Blackness" by Little Fyodor (and, of course, Babushka). The song has been known to pop into my radio show.

2. I was kind of hoping the Simpsons (the cartoon, not the OJ one) reference would subtly prevent any confusion about what sport I was talking about. What was that thing Henrietta Collins warned about leaving things unsaid?

George Best. He made a very boring game watchable.

true as a club player for celtic and liverpool, but on the international stage I don't think he fired on all cylinders, unfortunately.

Peter Beardsley held a door open for me today in Eldon Square Shopping Centre, Newcastle. He then helped a woman who was struggling with a push chair to carry it up some steps. Apart from being a super nice bloke he was also a brilliantly gifted footballer - the best of a generation.

However, my vote went for Maradona. Any player who can carry an otherwise turgid bunch of cloggers to a World Cup win is immense - unique even. It is also amazing how many, many English people cannot bring themselves to admit this. It was even audacious genius to even think of trying that handball. Then he goes and skins the whole team 5 minutes later to show he can do it by fair means or foul. Class on every footy level.

Robin Friday, as any Reading F.C. fan will tell yer.

Jerry Rice is probably the greatest wide receiver to grace the Gridiron and also the brother of Condoleezza Rice, Dubya's right-hand woman.

Don't know about the member of the 'Niners 'D' you're thinking of MB, but Joe Montana had the closest-together eyes this side of Bjorn Borg I've ever seen ;)

I went for Maradona as he's the greatest player I've ever seen play. Can George Best lay claim to be the greatest player when he never played in a World Cup? Surely the claim to greatness must be based on performances on the highest stage?

is that jocky wilson ?

best player i have ever seen was denis mcquade who played on the wing for partick thistle

you might need ptfc glasses to see his genious

Jimmy Johnstone is the most naturally gifted footballer I have ever seen. Ronaldinho must come close though.

My mate is always singing the praises of Chic Charnley.
Then I remind him about being relegated twice in the last two seasons! :devil:

I'm not best qualified to give an opinion on this as I only watch a limited amount of football, but I went for Ruud Gullitt. Pundits seem to go on about Beckham's skill at passing when only a few of his passes and shots find the target. Gullitt just seemed to put the ball exactly where he wanted all of the time. He also had a good brain and imagination. Not only could he pass the ball to another player, but he often placed the ball to where it best suited that other player.

I thought his treatment at Newcastle was atrocious. It seemed that Shearer had a grudge against him and put the pressure on for him to leave. Well, the wrong person left. Gullitt was far better than Shearer ever was, and I feel that had Shearer walked instead, Newcastle would have been a far more successful team in recent years.

I was tempted to vote for that great ex-Leeds player, Eric Cantona, but figured that he would have other people to speak up for him. Ah well. My own personal favourite, who is not on the list, is the versatile Paul Madeley, the unung hero of Don Revie's glorious Leeds squad.

I've got a Pele autographed football somewhere, so he's also my hero.

I agree