Goalkeeper.

[whittle blue]

At first my heart said Jones or Gennoe. But if they were that good they would have played regular football in the top flight.

I was always nervous with Flowers & crosses.

Seen Fred Else. I was only young but he seemed a good un.

Jim Arnold was good at the lower level.

Friedel is rock solid in the top flight.

Therefore it's FRIEDEL.

P.S. John Barton, remember him anyone?

[BRFC4EVA]

I voted for Brad, but for me it was only between him and Flowers because of the generation i am ( i've been a Rovers fan since 93 when i was 6/7 yrs old). Although i have heard of the famous Rovers goalie's in the past i can't say i can fairly judge, having never seen them play. So modern day Brad for me.

Edited August 20, 2004 by BRFC4EVA

[tonyoz]

great thread. its made me realise how fortunate we have been with the no 1 position. many of the goalies i have seen have been heroes......even during the dark days.

I saw Harry Leyland but I was too young to make a judgement. Fred Else was something special, even when the team were poor......very fond memories.

Roger Jones......I always had the feeling that we were very fortunate to have such an outstanding keeper. Pity the rest of the team were not of the same quality.

Tim Flowers....came over as a really good guy and was as important as anyone during the championship year.

Brad.........I wondered why the hell Souness bought him at the time.....but he soon showed his quality. the season before last, he was flawless. he seems to have found his niche at rovers and he is destined to be remembered with affection for a long long time.

Else, Jones, Flowers and Friedel...........I loved them all and I hope that one of them wins but my vote will go to Brad........a true rover.

Hey.........i know one guy who has not yet been mentioned. Does anyone remember this ditty:

Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye.

Barton is better than Yashin

and Douglas is better than Eusebio

and Carlisle are in for a thrashing!

[den]

I remember that little ditty. Welcome to the board tonyoz. Maybe, when we get further into this "best ever team" thing, you can enlighten some of the fans who haven't seen the players from the 50's and 60's?

[blackburnrvs]

I will vote for brad closely followed by tim.

[dave birch]

I've been thinking about replying to this thread for a while.

I've seen Harry Leyland and Fred Else, I've seen Flowers and Freidel on tv.

There is one thing that people have not considered, and that is the change in the laws of the game .

Keepers in the 50/60's were not as agile as the modern day counterparts, their kit consisted of woollen roll neck jumpers and linen shorts, both heavy when wet

When Leyland and Else were keeping, it was legitimate to tackle the keeper, it was necessary for the keeper to be of a robust stature. It was not unknown for keepers to be bundled over the line even when they had the ball in their arms. If I remember correctly Bert Trautmann had this done to him in a Cup Final in the 50/60's.

The other thing that comes to mind is that keepers didn't have gloves, they also had to put up with leather balls. Now, anyone who has played with a leather ball, especially in wet weather, will understand how difficult the game can get. The ball picks up water and gets very heavy; difficult to kick and difficult to stop if hit well. (On the downside as an outfield player, if you headed the ball, you'd always want the lace and the valve to be away from your head. It would leave an imprint on your forhead.)

Finally, a few years back, I went to a mates 50th birthday, to a club just south of Sydney. Pete had asked us to wear a football jersey. Of course I went in my Rovers gear.

I walked through the door and this broad Lanky accent said, "I 'aven't sen one ah them fer yers"

It turned out that this late70 year old was an ex Rovers player, and an ex goalie at that. His name was Wilf Billington, played in the reserves in the late 40's early 50's. A big bloke, he would have been 6 foot or so, and he still liked an ale.....

So, who would I put as my preferred keeper?

In the old days, it would have to be Harry, after all, any player that could get a fan club from other teams supporters had to be good.

Modern times, it would have to be Brad, he's done it at all levels.

[Timmy]

I've gone for big brad, just edging out flowers

[Jordan]

What about Filan?

Gone for Flowers myself.

[Jim Royle]

I'll be the one that has gone for Jim Arnold, then.

He certainly seemed like the best goalkeeper in the world at the time, mind that was probably because he was taking over from John Butcher.

Out of all those listed he certainly had the biggest stepped improvement on the overall team in relation to his predecessor.

Brad though has to be the best in global terms, when he can kick the ball that is.

[den]

I'll be the one that has gone for Jim Arnold, then.

He certainly seemed like the best goalkeeper in the world at the time, mind that was probably because he was taking over from John Butcher.

Out of all those listed he certainly had the biggest stepped improvement on the overall team in relation to his predecessor.

Brad though has to be the best in global terms, when he can kick the ball that is.

Arnold came from non-league, I think. Stafford Rangers? He was a fantastic keeper at the time he played for rovers, one of the most agile I've ever seen.

[AlanSheppard]

I've gone for Jones even though I never saw him. From what people have said it sounds like he was a cut above the quality of the rest of the side and performed over a long period of time. He just edges Brad who has been good for us and while he may have achieved a lot on the world stage that doesn't affect his career at Blackburn.

[baldybobbo]

Jones or Gennoe? what a decision,I have gone for Gennoe because he made it look so easy at times,positioning etc ,no flying saves he was just there.

[MCMC1875]

Gennoe.

What about all those penalty saves - Oxford (a) etc.

[92er]

Wasn't Butcher also a good penalty stopper?

[den]

I remember watching John Butcher, didn't really rate him as a top keeper. As for a penalty stopper-I don't remember that.

[TROOPER]

After the United game I think we should just all accept that it IS Brad, close this thread & move on to the defenders...

[den]

Well at the moment, there's only 4% between the top two.

Opinions chaps - do you think 2 weeks is too long to run each position for. Would, say 10 days be better? Votes are still coming, although slowly at the moment.

I thought about 1 week at first, but thought that might exclude some of the folks on holiday.

The keeper, full backs and wingers will pretty much sort a short list out for themselves, but I'll say this-I didn't realise how many class strikers and midfielders rovers have had over the years.

[Philly Rover ®]

I'm not going to vote in this because I've not seen anyone but Friedel play for the club... but I think Bid Brad proved once again today that he is truly a world-class keeper. I'm sure the others were excellent keepers as well, but after watching Friedel play for both Rovers and the U.S. national side for the past couple of years, I'd be shocked if Flowers even in his prime was as remarkable as Friedel.

[den]

I'm not going to vote in this because I've not seen anyone but Friedel play for the club... but I think Bid Brad proved once again today that he is truly a world-class keeper. I'm sure the others were excellent keepers as well, but after watching Friedel play for both Rovers and the U.S. national side for the past couple of years, I'd be shocked if Flowers even in his prime was as remarkable as Friedel.

You should vote Philly. The idea is to assess what some of the others, who have seen them, have said about past players.

There aren't many on this site who have seen everyone on the shortlist, but they can still listen to those who have and cast a vote. The more votes there are, the more likely we are to get the right players in.

[Blue blood]

It has to be Brad. Never have I seen a more reliable consistent keeper for Rovers. For me Flowers was a bit too error prone on occassions - the worst being his juggling effort against Crystal Palace. Also Tim was dropped during the relegation season to Filan, which to me further indicates that he was not quite top notch.

Brad's reflexes are amazing, and some of the saves he has pulled off are truely amongst the best in the game. He has been an integral part of our success ever since he joined the club, and has always contributed well. Even in our first season in the Prem I thought he more than any other player was responsible for our success. Last season he was one of the few who performed well, and it was only his world class form the season before that made him look average. The guy's saved quite a few penalties, was man of the match in the cup final and even scored for us. Friedel's well on the way to becoming a Rover's legend.

[Scotty]

Flowers only had one game like Friedel did today (the famous VE game). Friedel does it two or three times a season at least.

[92er]

John Butcher was one of the worst keepers we had- but he was a good penalty stopper from what I can remember.Gennoe was a steady eddy 2nd Division keeper-not as good as Arnold who he replaced.

[92er]

I've seen them all and I've just voted.

It was sad to see Arnold get only 1 vote-he was very good.

Had to vote for Friedel as he was the best. So far.

[92er]

Den-I would suggest that keeper is one of the weakest areas for star players because I think we've had quite a few good defenders as well.

[philipl]

I am still sitting on the fence although Brad's superstar show yesterday nearly got me to vote for him.

When does the voting close?