[Archived] Rest in Peace Sir Tom Finney

[Tom]

An absolute legend of the game has sadly passed tonight

Rest in peace sir Tom

[Mike Graham]

Wonderful man. Last time I saw him was at the Royal Oak at Riley Green and previously at his celebration night at the Guild Hall in Preston.

Lovely man.....a true gentleman.

RIP Tom

[Proudtobeblue&white]

An absolute legend of the game has sadly passed tonight

Rest in peace sir Tom

Absolutely, RIP Sir Tom

[Proudtobeblue&white]

Can't see the news breaking anywhere Tom, not questioning, just you seem to be the first

[Tom]

Radio Lancashire tweeted it as did preston ladies FC

[ABBEY]

My nieces bf told me .. He was press officer at one point .

RIP

[Proudtobeblue&white]

Radio Lancashire tweeted it as did preston ladies FC

Sad, bygone age, one club man, gentleman.

[K-Hod]

RIP Tom, a legend of the game.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Fantastic player, I saw him once at the end of his career and he was a real handful for any defender. Fast, two footed and a great dribbler. If you've ever seen film of George Best, Tom Finney was as good.

Off the pitch a real gentleman, willing to chat and sign autographs for any fan what ever the club. Football has lost a shining light.

[somersetrover]

Rest In Peace Sir Tom, the man who I would say is the best footballer to come from the Northwest of England.

[Stuart]

A true legend of the game, RIP.

[Audax]

Sorry to hear this, I have his bio somewhere to read.

He is the one who was a plumber too?? Correct? Now it comes back to me.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

R.I.P Tom Finney...a true legend for Pne and England.

Had a soft spot for Rovers and nearly signed for us.

[Jock]

R.I.P Sir Tom

A True Gentleman.

[darrenrover]

Extremely sad news and the loss of a true footballing legend and gentleman.

I only met him once and unfortunately never saw him play. He made a point of warmly congratulating our table after our promotion night at Deepdale.

Condolences to his family and RIP Sir Tom.

[bob fleming]

He was in the same regiment as my wifes grandad. I hope there's a bar in heaven and he, Sir Tom and Ronnie are having a pint together. I was lucky enough to have known two of them, not Tom, but I just knew he was of the same class.

RIP Sir Tom.

[Willie Eckerslike]

R.I.P. Tom - you earned a fraction of what players with far less skill earn today but you will be remembered for far longer by many more football fans

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

R.I.P. Tom - you earned a fraction of what players with far less skill earn today but you will be remembered for far longer by many more football fans

Very true.

[tomphil]

R.I.P Sir Tom. Represented everything that was good about English football and people of that generation in general.

[only2garners]

He was a truly wonderful man. I was just too young to have seen him play but I met him a couple of times over the years. Tom would come to help out at any event if it was a good cause - you just had to ask him.

I'll settle for Bill Shankly's opinion of Tom as the greatest player to ever play the game.

Preston will come to a standstill for his funeral and there will no doubt be thousands at Deepdale tomorrow.

[Aberdeen Blue]

God bess Sir Tom. Had the absolute pleasure of meeting this great gentleman of the game once, simply wonderful man.

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

[steverovers]

R.I.P.

[AggyBlue]

Sad news indeed. RIP Sir Tom.

My ol' man rated him the best player he ever saw.

He often recalls the times when he'd join the queues around 12 ish outside Deepdale whenever Blackpool were the visitors for the Finney Mathews clash

[meerkat]

When football was of a better age.

[DannyKeg]

The term "Legend" is much overused, certainly in common parlance, but if anyone deserves the title then Finney must be one of them. I like to think that I might have seen him play at the end of his career, but it could be wishful thinking. I was eight going on nine in 1960 when he retired and my Dad had only just started to take me to watch the Rovers. But Finney may have been on the team sheet for the "All Stars" at Bill Eckersley's testimonial, so if he was then I did see him.

I grew up in Leyland, and if you were a Rovers fan then PNE was the great rival rather than Burnley. All you would ever hear was Finney, this and Finney that, every footballer was compared to him "not as good as Finney" they would say, and maybe they were right. From a Rovers perspective he was probably a combination of Douglas and Shearer rolled into one, but someone who really did see him play would need to confirm that, although it was a different game in those days with five forwards and only one centre half.

That he was a one club man (like Douglas & Clayton), who played for his home town team can't be denied, although it wasn't unusual at that time. But he also had a reputation as a gentleman who never refused an autograph, a man who wasn't particularly touched by his own fame.

Preston, the North West and football in general have lost a famous son, a true "Legend," one of the all time greats, I just wish I could say that I'd seen him play (and that I can remember it.)