Second midfielder

[NEARREY]

Just put my vote in for Forrest, and it looks like a very tight battle between him and Sherwood now.

All I can say is I voted for him as he is one of a few Rovers players from the pre war days that I have heard of before. Do we honestly think that over 100 years from now Blackburn fans will have heard as much about Sherwood as we do about Forrest? No, the story of how we won the League will centre around Jack Walker and Alan Shearer. Only the photos of Sherwood lifting the trophy will indicate he was in the team.

For me the best midfielder I've seen in my 25 years of watching Rovers is a man who is currently still playing for us but unfortunately the advancing years have reduced his stock with us, Tugay. In 2002/3 season he was magnificent with his best performance for me was how he ran the midfield in the League cup semi final at Old Trafford. A one man Hercules against (if my memory serves me right)Keane,Scholes, Beckham and Giggs. A man who CAN play the beautiful game. Put him with Batty and we have the best midfield in my lifetime.

[MCMC1875]

Forrest.

Those years as Champs of England (Cup) must have been like MU or Arsenal of recent years.

[mazarini]

My vote goes to Jimmy Forrest.

He was very famous in his day. As a student I spent some time researching the history of sport in Blackburn.

Reading through match reports from nineteenth century editions of the Blackburn Times it is very difficult to put forward a case for why he was such a great player. Journalists tended to write brief reports on the courage, tenacity, skill, cleverness of players but that doesn't really give us the detail we are looking for on Forrest when trying to put forward a case for his inclusion in the Greatest XI.

Plus the game, team formations, tactics were different back then. He was famous enough to have a popular football biography written about him entitled something like, Jimmy Forrest's Football Career with his Recollections and Opinions. (I read it and it wasn't any more literary than today's offerings). He was a working-class 'tape-sizer' in a cotton mill when he was discovered by Rovers and I believe he was the first professional to play for England. He was forced to wear a different style kit to distinguish him from his amateur team-mates.

Apart from his outstanding FA Cup achievements and the fact that he scored in some of those finals he went on to serve Blackburn Rovers as a director once his playing career finished. Is there a case to be made for Forrest influencing the club all the way up to the championship winning team of 1912?

[arrodblue]

I've just voted for Jimmy Forrest because, if it's going to come down to a two-horse race between Forrest and Sherwood I feel that, based on achievements and the meaning of the term 'Great' and/or 'Legend', there's no comparison.

I was a fan of Sherwood but, as has been pointed out by others, his contribution to Rovers history will not stand the test of time in the same way as Forrest.

[bazza]

Nah, Jimmy Forrest. C'mon 5 FA cup winners medals! No Rover will ever do that again.

No Rover will ever captain us to the Premiership title again either...

That's a very rash statement.

Before Uncle Jack took over I would have said," Rovers will never win the league title again".

Who knows when another rich person (be he Russian or other nationality) might fall in love with our club and pump his billions into us?

Haven't voted yet. I'm torn between Forrest and Latheron. My heart says Latheron but my head says Forrest.

I think I read somewhere that the player who influenced the 1912 and 14 champions was Danny Shea rather than Eddie Latheron.

Must go with the statistics

FORREST for me!

[Al]

Nah, Jimmy Forrest. C'mon 5 FA cup winners medals! No Rover will ever do that again.

No Rover will ever captain us to the Premiership title again either...

That's a very rash statement.

Before Uncle Jack took over I would have said," Rovers will never win the league title again".

Who knows when another rich person (be he Russian or other nationality) might fall in love with our club and pump his billions into us?

Haven't voted yet. I'm torn between Forrest and Latheron. My heart says Latheron but my head says Forrest.

I think I read somewhere that the player who influenced the 1912 and 14 champions was Danny Shea rather than Eddie Latheron.

Must go with the statistics

FORREST for me!

I came down to these two as my final pair and ended up voting for Latheron. However I would gladly switch my vote to Forrest rather than let Sherwood slip into the team because the opposition vote was split between those two greats.

[tcj_jones]

I have voted for Forrest. I know very little about many of these players and the only ones I have seen play are Sherwood and Batty. However, from the cases put forward by members of the MB I was able to reason that Forrest warranted the spot the most. I just hope that others in my position can make an informed decision as well...

Edited November 11, 2004 by tcj_jones

[1864roverite]

stu metcalfe for me just beating Howard Kendall

[Hanks]

Forrest for me over latheron, because of the uniqueness of his 5 medal haul. Sherwood was our most consistant performer in midfield in the 90's but it doesn't make him an all time great

[NEARREY]

This vote just proves you right Den in not taking the top two positions from a poll to put in our Rovers Greats Team.

Guys like Latheron and Forrest were nowhere near Sherwood in the original vote but some great delving into the history of all our players has made a lot of people vote for these two now.

I have my mind already made up for the two strikers but some carefully detailed career history of certain players ( I don't know a lot about Tommy Briggs but he must have been good to be our top goalscorer before Simon Garner appeared) could still sway my vote.

Anyway, any chance of closing this vote now as I don't want a late surge for Sherwood!!!

[speeeeeeedie]

Voted for Forrest. I was getting worried about Latheron splitting it and letting Sherwood in. This was a case of not wanting Sherwood, so I went with the toughest competition.

Forrest and Latheron were hard to split, but 5 cup winners medals and his professional status edged it for me. What would have happened if Latheron didn't go off to war? I view that fighting for your country as more important though than a few more medals.

Sherwood was not as good as Batty, but he's not getting a look in.

[Drummer Boy]

So Sherwood won't stand the test of time??

I pretty much guarantee that, in 80 years time, people will be talking about the last captain to lift the premiership trophy and not play for his country because he wasn't flash enough and played for an unglamorous club.

A vote for anyone else is to deny the obvious .......... Sherwood by a country mile has to not only be in our XI but he has to captain it.

I did a few words on why I rate Tim so much on the previous poll when we all voted through rose-tinted spectacles on our sepia screens but can't recover them - any chance of making this happen, mods as we seem to be doing the man a disservice at the moment?

[whittle blue]

Den,

Can't believe Mick McGrath isn't listed!!!!!!

He gets my vote because not only was he a top class player and loyal Rover, but if we're selecting a team with players in correct positions, then he's the man to complement Ronnie Clayton on the LH side of midfield.

For those who don't know McGrath here's a brief profile

Mick McGrath

Left half 1954-1966

Total Appearances;- 312

International honours with Rovers

Republic of Ireland :- 18 caps 1958-1965

Rep. of Ireland ‘B’ :- 1 cap 1957

Football League: - 1 appearance 1960

Mick McGrath was a quiet Irishman who, together with Ronnie Clayton and Matt Woods, formed one of the most formidable half back lines in the club’s history.

McGrath was one of a number of young Irish players brought to the club by Johnny Carey during the mid-fifties.

He established himself in the first team in the 1957-58 season as the Rovers won promotion to the First Division on the final day of the campaign.

A hard tackling, attacking half back, McGrath quickly became a regular in the Rep. of Ireland team.

A perfect clubman, McGrath retained his first team place until 1966 when he joined Bradford PA.

At Bradford he had the distinction of being the last Park Avenue player to win an international cap and, not surprisingly, was also made club captain.

In later years he helped out with Rovers youth teams and then became involved in local junior soccer.

[den]

Whittle Blue, he was on the original list, but was dropped because nobody put his case forward.

[Andy Kennedys Hairdo]

Voted for Meccy 'cause he grew up and played with my Dad at Rovers. Proper Blackburn lad.

[Brownie]

So Sherwood won't stand the test of time??

I pretty much guarantee that, in 80 years time, people will be talking about the last captain to lift the premiership trophy and not play for his country because he wasn't flash enough and played for an unglamorous club.

A vote for anyone else is to deny the obvious .......... Sherwood by a country mile has to not only be in our XI but he has to captain it.

I did a few words on why I rate Tim so much on the previous poll when we all voted through rose-tinted spectacles on our sepia screens but can't recover them - any chance of making this happen, mods as we seem to be doing the man a disservice at the moment?

Here Here.

Too much anti-Sherwood sentiment on this board for my liking.

The bloke played out of his skin and captained the side to it's greatest modern era achievment.

And all he gets is "Just make sure Sherwood doesn't get in " etc etc.

It's a disgrace.

Does anyone here hand on heart think Jimmy Forrest was a better footballer than Tim Sherwood ?

I think not.

[wicklowrover]

How can you compare Forrest and Sherwood (for example), the game is completely unrecognisable from when Forrest played, for good and bad reasons.

To be honest I find these greatest player/team things to be useless, its like comparing oranges and apples.

[LeChuck]

How can you compare Forrest and Sherwood (for example), the game is completely unrecognisable from when Forrest played, for good and bad reasons.

I'm asking myself the same, nobody knows a damn thing about Forrest other than he won some medals, we haven't the slightest clue what kind of player he was. My vote was torn between Sherwood and Latheron because there was an extremely good case for Latheron being a great player and not just a member of a succesful side.

Again, not saying Forrest wasn't great, but we don't know...people who are 'tactical voting' to keep Sherwood out are making a mockery of this entire thing. How can the captain of the greatest Rovers side in this generation, and for one year the whole country, at a time the league is at a far higher standard be so unworthy of a place in the team that tactical voting is required to keep him out?

[American]

How can really, the only remembered player (so he must have been pretty darn good for his time) of a FIVE time championship team be left out? Sherwood has 4 to go.

[LeChuck]

How many players were around for all 5 of those conquests though? At first I didn't have a problem with Forrest winning it but the fact that some of his votes are tactical has made me not want him to win.

Medals aside, there isn't a good case for putting Forrest forward as our second greatest midfielder of all time. Sherwood just happens to be my personal choice but I think some of the others who have had personal qualities put forward should be ahead of him too.

[FourLaneBlue]

So Sherwood won't stand the test of time??

I pretty much guarantee that, in 80 years time, people will be talking about the last captain to lift the premiership trophy and not play for his country because he wasn't flash enough and played for an unglamorous club.

A vote for anyone else is to deny the obvious .......... Sherwood by a country mile has to not only be in our XI but he has to captain it.

I did a few words on why I rate Tim so much on the previous poll when we all voted through rose-tinted spectacles on our sepia screens but can't recover them - any chance of making this happen, mods as we seem to be doing the man a disservice at the moment?

Don't be daft....you obviously cannot guarantee that at all though can you? Apart from anything else Sherwood did go on to play for his country and the reason he didn't play for England when at Rovers was because there were a number of better England midfielders, bugger all to do with being at an 'unglamorous' club. If it was so 'unglamorous' what were the likes of Le Saux, Ripley and Wilcox doing getting caps, not mention Shearer, Flowers and Batty. Besides, Sherwood wasn't even the best central midfielder at the club...Batty was.

Sherwood has a huge advantage over other players in that he is remembered. If he had been good enough for the team he'd have walked it, just like Hendry did and Shearer will. Le Saux kept a Rovers legend in Bill Eckersley out the team. If Sherwood was so great we wouldn't even have the discussion. Having said all that I'd like to contradict myself by saying he was still a damn good player for the club and I certainly wouldn't mind him being him in, just that it doesn't make a 'mockery' of the vote just because some people do not want him in.

The only thing making a 'mockery' of this vote is the whingeing from people because their own personal favourite didn't get in. Now I didn't vote Le Saux or Freidel (and I really do think Le Saux is a t1t) but so what? Why can't people just vote without others throwing their toys out the pram? Nothing wrong with tactical voting- people want their vote to count. It's their vote after all, heaven forbid they use it as they wish! As for Forrest...he is a representative of the great sides, the only Rovers player to win five FA Cup medals, captained the team twice when becoming champions of the land. We are still talking about him now. That says a lot. Not a mockery at all I'm afraid. It wasn't when Le Saux won either but some people are still unhappy about that even now!!!

EDIT - I still would expect a late surge for Sherwood to make it in. Is it too much to ask for everyone to say 'fair enough' whoever makes it in? It isn't a personal greatest team after all, it's the votes of the entire messageboard, whatever their reasons for voting.

Edited November 13, 2004 by FourLaneBlue

[Hasta]

Sherwood was a very important cog in an effective machine in the mid-90's but he was far from the greatest midfielder. I don't think people are knocking his contribution to Rovers but just that if he is the best (or 2nd best) we've got then we've had a bad bunch for 125+ years. Viera, Keane and Gerrard are world class midfielders. Clayton was a world class midfielder. Sherwood was not.

Besides, in 94 when Batty won player of the year he performed to a level that IMO Sherwood never achieved.

[whittle blue]

Whittle Blue, he was on the original list, but was dropped because nobody put his case forward.

Doh!

[thenodrog]

Voted for Sherwood not just for his technical ability but rather for his superb ability to run the midfield, as well as read and control the pace and direction of a game. Also for him hardly ever being injured (until he went to spuds that is ) and an ever present in the Championship winning season, and being one of only 3 captains (?) to have lifted the Prem trophy.

I would loved to have voted for Mekky though. Blackburn born and bred, played loads of games for us, a real 'character' and one hell of player with superb ability and a first touch made in heaven who really should have left BRFC early in his career to play at a higher level. His only weakness being far too reliant on his right foot.

[skip24]

my vote would be mark atkins cos he got forward and got some vital goals. he always seemed to be in the right positon at the right time especially lurking at the back post for vital tap ins i.e. against sheffield wed at ewood. he was always a grafter, not a well gifted player but he would always give 110% for rovers since he was a local lad. what a pity it was when he left us for wolves.