First centre half

[tonyoz]

Not quite true Glenn.........i saw Woods, Ehgland and Hendry play and for me it is simple.......its got to be Colin.

He was the rock on which our championship team was built and some of his performances that year were colossal. I remember Alan Hansen (after the away leeds fixture i think) saying that he would have been proud to have put in such a performance.

I've already mentioned the away game at everton.......that was the best for me. I will never forget that match!

England was a great player and i remember being gutted when he left but at the end of the day, Hendry made a difference...... without him i dont think we would have won the premiership.

There have been some good stories about England on here too and i would never run him down..........but I wouldnt swap the colin hendry of 1995 for anyone!

[McClarky]

Centre half is a position where we have had some great players over the years. In my era we've had Keeley, Fazackerley, Mail, Moran, Hendry, May, Berg & Henchoz...........and Peacock.

Its got to be Big Col for me but if I could pick 2 I would have Moran as Colin's partner. Keeley would be a good man to have on the bench in case the opposition were getting a bit physical. Remember some of those tackles, eg Bobby Davidson v Derby.

We could so do with 2 of these players now (not Peacock of course).

[92er]

Mike England was an excellent centre-half.

Manchester United were expected to sign him but it was in an era when they didn't always sign the best players. If he had gone to them, he presumably would have won one European championship-maybe more?And they would have gone on to dominate rather than into decline.

If Hendry is his main rival then I would have to go for England.

How to compare them?

I think England only played in the top division. Hendry was a reserve at Dundee and then went to a team in the second division where he had amazing success but at that stage was not a class defender.

Hendry did become a good defender under Harford. England was always a good defender.

They were both better centre halves than centre forwards but Hendry played in the second division, England in the top division.

[92er]

I wonder if we should consider Elvy and Pryde.

[bob fleming]

They were both better centre halves than centre forwards but Hendry played in the second division, England in the top division.

I'm sure Hendry played in the top division as well you know, helped us win some trophy or other.

I voted for Mike England, for two reasons: -

1. The powerful, educated, convincing and thoroughly mature arguments presented by Jim Mk2 in this thread. How anyone can not be moved by Jim's thoughts, well, you must have a heart of stone. In Jim’s words if you don’t vote for England then you are “pimple-faced oiks” and “the great unwashed”. Similarly you need to have “extracted your digit from your rectum” in order to vote for England. This is something I have done especially for you Jim as I’m typing using both hands.

2. I reckon Big Colin will win this vote by quite a distance. I just feel that I've read enough from other posters to convince me that Mike England should get the second Centre Half position. Call it a tactical vote.

[92er]

What a misquote!

I was making the point that England only played in the top division and Hendry had a much more checkered career.

[colin]

Similarly you need to have “extracted your digit from your rectum” in order to vote for England. This is something I have done especially for you Jim as I’m typing using both hands.

A good touch typist should be able to vote without removing said digit from rectum. A mirror may help a bit.

[Kennysuperbuyer]

Is David May's wife allowed to vote on this subject ?

[92er]

Very few people should vote for John Macnamee but very few people will know about him.

When he came to us from Newcastle "his legs had gone" and we were very close to the bottom of the old 3rd division.

He became an inspiration.It is said that before he arrived the defence were a soft touch and that the other teams could kick lumps out if Jones in the goal.No longer was this the case after he arrived-he made the penalty area his own and ensured the team were not victimised by the opposition.

One game I remember was against Brighton when he scored 2 goals. One appeared to be from around the half way line when he seemed to hit a shot in on the volley.Amazing.

He always excellent against Bournemouth. For 2 consecutive seasons they came up around Easter time and as quite an exciting side, under a young manager who later went to Norwich and Manchester City, they were confident of beating us and getting promoted to the old 2nd division. Each time their star striker, Ted MacDougall scored early on. Then Macnamee would go and have a"word with him" and he would do nothing else during the game.Each time we won 2-1 and John Bond eventually moved on.

[Alex Rover]

Alright own up, who voted for Stephane Henchoz

[Scotty]

I voted for England in the end. The old giffers ganged up and persuaded me.

Seriously though, thanks to those who actually shared their thoughts about Mike England and gave their opinions, rather than those who just spat their dummies out and moaned.

[RoverDrake]

No Darren Peacock on the option list?

For shame...

[bob fleming]

What a misquote!

No it wasn't, it was word for word! I take your point though

[sleepyjack]

Alright own up, who voted for Stephane Henchoz

I did. So there.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Bumley 'legend' Willie Irvine didn't have kind word's for England in a recent Radio Lancs interview!

[Al]

Bumley 'legend' Willie Irvine didn't have kind word's for England in a recent Radio Lancs interview!

Not surprised. Mike was feared by Burnley in every game he played against them.

They hated him because they had no answer to his heading ability in their area.

[jim mk2]

Bumley 'legend' Willie Irvine didn't have kind word's for England in a recent Radio Lancs interview!

That's because Mike England never game him a kick.

I see Hendry is ahead of England in the voting: look like the Rovers all-star team is going to have a headless chicken with blocks of concrete in his boots rather than a world class centre half.

[den]

Bumley 'legend' Willie Irvine didn't have  kind word's for England in a recent Radio Lancs interview!

That's because Mike England never game him a kick.

I see Hendry is ahead of England in the voting: look like the Rovers all-star team is going to have a headless chicken with blocks of concrete in his boots rather than a world class centre half.

It looks to me, as if they're both going to be in there.

Don't forget, we're going 4-4-2

[FourLaneBlue]

Bumley 'legend' Willie Irvine didn't have  kind word's for England in a recent Radio Lancs interview!

That's because Mike England never game him a kick.

I see Hendry is ahead of England in the voting: look like the Rovers all-star team is going to have a headless chicken with blocks of concrete in his boots rather than a world class centre half.

Jim - other than Bob Crompton can you name one other player who you have not seen play who you would like to see in the all-time 'Greatest Rovers XI'? Be fair...if you expect others to trust the opinions of people they do not know then will you? Or is your team just to be a mixture of your favourite ten players and Crompton who I think we can agree is a bit of a one-off?

For the record I voted Mike England against my original leanings. If I (or someone else) makes a case for a pre-war player then how much of a chance will he have? I'll listen to others before deciding (and so will some others) but is that enough for players that nobody on here has seen?

Edited October 2, 2004 by FourLaneBlue

[grizfoot]

Colin Hendry

[roversWASmylife]

Has to be Colin Hendry for me. Always gave his best, commited to the club, not only a great player but a fantastic person as well.

[Timmy]

what no Darren Peacock on the list?!!!!!

it's a disgrace!

[92er]

The disgrace was first in signing him and then playing him.

[RoverDrake]

what no Darren Peacock on the list?!!!!!

it's a disgrace!

Already done the joke mate..

Was Tony Gale ever any good for us?

[tcj_jones]

what no Darren Peacock on the list?!!!!!

it's a disgrace!

Already done the joke mate..

Was Tony Gale ever any good for us?

And what a joke it was, you should be proud...