Greatest player for a Lancashire club.

[AllRoverAsia]

This is especially for @Mike E 

Bob Crompton looking down his nose at the Spurs captain at WHL, 9th February 1911, FA Cup replay, second round I think, Rovers won away 0-2

 

 

[ossyian]

I think you need to look at the Brazil side of 1970 before you say that todays footballers are technically superior. IMO todays footballers are not more technically gifted at all. Fitter? yes.  Better diets? Yes. Previous generations of footballers would have been brought up on the same if they were around today. You can't coach that level of skill. You either have it or you dont

[Mike E]

1 minute ago, AllRoverAsia said:

This is especially for @Mike E 

Bob Crompton looking down his nose at the Spurs captain at WHL, 9th February 1911, FA Cup replay, second round I think, Rovers won away 0-2

 

 

Look at that moustache! Practically dripping in testosterone!

[AllRoverAsia]

Just now, ossyian said:

I think you need to look at the Brazil side of 1970 before you say that todays footballers are technically superior. IMO todays footballers are not more technically gifted at all. Fitter? yes.  Better diets? Yes. Previous generations of footballers would have been brought up on the same if they were around today. You can't coach that level of skill. You either have it or you dont

And we almost beat them! England 1970 were a bloody good team.

[joey_big_nose]

Just now, ossyian said:

I think you need to look at the Brazil side of 1970 before you say that todays footballers are technically superior. IMO todays footballers are not more technically gifted at all. Fitter? yes.  Better diets? Yes. Previous generations of footballers would have been brought up on the same if they were around today. You can't coach that level of skill. You either have it or you dont

Fair play, went back and watched Brazil 1970. Very very good. Much higher standard than the 68 european cup final going on the clips.

However I would still say the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic etc are operating at a higher level, but it's not possible to definitively prove. 

Anyway I'll stop pi**ing on people's chips and shut up!

[Brigger68]

Not after a bite on here but seriously taking the blinkers off was Douglas really in the same league as Finney? 

 

[Brigger68]

Just now, renrag said:

Not taking anything away from Matthews, but in the cup final he had a brilliant 10 to 15 minutes against a makeshift  defence. The left half had been a passenger for much of the game (no subs) and Langton had to drop back to fill in, taking away a huge Bolton threat up front. Mortenson scored a hat trick.

Matthews was arguably the best right winger of all time, but not as good an all round footballer as Douglas, Finney is another story.

Sorry I misread your post mate. 

[TonyM]

Another vote for Finney - my dad always said he was the best player he ever saw.

[Brigger68]

50 minutes ago, renrag said:

No probs. There’s certainly no British player comes anywhere near comparison with Finney. What would his price be today?

Gotta be Messi region. 

Best I've seen live. Him and Maradona. Maradona just edge's it with his success with Argentina. 

Another shout out for the real Ronaldo. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

14 hours ago, ossyian said:

Best footballer I have seen live in Lancashire was Best closely followed by Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. All different types I know. England have been shite since Charlton was subbed at half time against W Germany Mexico 70 to save him for the semi final! That went swimmingly well ??. He was that important to us at age 32. He was my hero though as a kid so could do no wrong in my eyes

Denis Law was a terrific player. He was the one I really feared when we played Utd. He rarely had a bad game and he was very aggressive for a small guy. A bit like a quick David Speedie but miles better. Charlton I could take or leave. A pal of mine used to say " A team of Bobby Charlton's would never win anything because they'd never have the ball. " He blew a bit hot and cold for me. Charlton wasn't subbed at half time against Germany he was subbed about 10 minutes from the end because he was shattered, He'd just let the guy he should have been marking ( Franz Beckenbauer ) run from the centre circle to the edge of our box to score their first goal. It's amazing how these myths persist. I had to correct the " Daily Fail " once when they repeated the myth that Charlton was subbed at 2-0. The score was 2-1.

I must be one of the last lucky ones who saw Bryan Douglas run Law, Charlton, Stiles etc ragged at Old Trafford when we won 3-0 there years ago. " The Manchester Evening News " published a match report with a cartoon strip that showed a really good caricature of Dougie weaving his way in and out of about 6 Utd defenders who were all busy falling over as he went past them. The little fella beat them on his own that day ! I still have the cartoon but I don't know how to up load it.

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, Brigger68 said:

Not after a bite on here but seriously taking the blinkers off was Douglas really in the same league as Finney? 

 

I saw them both, did you ?  Douglas was definitely in the Tom Finney league but I'd say Tom was just that little bit better. Finney was a better attacking player up front, Douglas was a better playmaker coming from midfield. When he was running the midfield for us in the No10 shirt in the 1963 to 65 period there was nobody better in the old Div 1 but Sir Alf wanted Bobby Charlton instead.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

13 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

And we almost beat them! England 1970 were a bloody good team.

That's the best performance by any England team I've ever seen.

[Mattyblue]

My dad always says we had a better side in ‘70. Alas an injury to Gordon Banks and the rest is history...

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

My dad always says we had a better side in ‘70. Alas an injury to Gordon Banks and the rest is history...

Banks had the runs apparently. Peter Bonnetti was a really good keeper but hadn't played enough games for England because Banks was so good. The bloke just froze on the day, he let a really soft goal in for their first and his head went after that. The great Keith Newton's last game in an England shirt also.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Brigger68]

16 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I saw them both, did you ?  Douglas was definitely in the Tom Finney league but I'd say Tom was just that little bit better. Finney was a better attacking player up front, Douglas was a better playmaker coming from midfield. When he was running the midfield for us in the No10 shirt in the 1963 to 65 period there was nobody better in the old Div 1 but Sir Alf wanted Bobby Charlton instead.

Only born in 68 mate so no but both parents were/are massive football people. 

My mum was a regular at Ewood from the mid 50s till the mid 00s. (Riverside) 

My Dad was a regular at Deepdale from the late 40s until Tom Finney finished around 1960 then just went now and then. In fact both my parents were at Finneys last ever game at Deepdale against Luton Town. 

Both say Douglas was a great player but never in the same league as Tom Finney. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 hours ago, Brigger68 said:

Only born in 68 mate so no but both parents were/are massive football people. 

My mum was a regular at Ewood from the mid 50s till the mid 00s. (Riverside) 

My Dad was a regular at Deepdale from the late 40s until Tom Finney finished around 1960 then just went now and then. In fact both my parents were at Finneys last ever game at Deepdale against Luton Town. 

Both say Douglas was a great player but never in the same league as Tom Finney. 

Tell 'em from me - they're wrong.

[Tom]

Great discussion here 

One more for the mix. My 2002 hat trick for Langho reserves against Blue Star was a performance for the ages.

Whilst some of these players are legendary in stature could they have done it on a pleasant Tuesday evening at Pleasy in September?

Edited August 5, 2019 by Tom

[MCMC1875]

On 04/08/2019 at 22:49, AllRoverAsia said:

This is especially for @Mike E 

Bob Crompton looking down his nose at the Spurs captain at WHL, 9th February 1911, FA Cup replay, second round I think, Rovers won away 0-2

 

 

Madon, can you post this photo to WMC group.

[47er]

On 06/08/2019 at 06:00, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Tell 'em from me - they're wrong.

Douglas and Finney were in a league of their own.

[sympatheticclaret]

Just now, 47er said:

Douglas and Finney were in a league of their own.

In peace, as ever ...

It's very difficult to judge players from across the generations ... but you can only view them against their peers, and the game as it was then. How good would Matthews, Finney, Douglas and McIlroy be today with modern preparation, better medical treatment, lighter kit & balls, the protection from bad fouls, and playing on pitches that they would regard as " bowling greens " in comparison to what they played on after November each year ?  

I enjoy reading about the games' history .... A lot has been posted about Tom Finney, who I had the privilege of meeting a couple of times, and Brian Douglas ( understandably feted on this  Forum ) . Jimmy McIlroy, who passed away just over a year ago, was a gentle modest man, who received accolades late on in his life, ( MBE, Freedom of the Borough, National Football Hall of Fame and a stand named after him ) . He always said these were not just for him, but for " my  lovely lads I played with ", particularly the title winning side of 1959-60. In his last auto-biography, Stan Matthews said of Ilroy, " Some players could make the ball talk, McIlroy could make it recite Shakespeare " !  

Stan Mortenson was always sanguine when his FA Cup final hat-trick was often overlooked when the 1953 final became known as the " Matthews final " . He would often joke that ," When I eventually pop my clogs, they'll probably call it the " Matthews funeral " ! 

 

[LWX]

On 05/08/2019 at 13:22, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

 " The Manchester Evening News " published a match report with a cartoon strip that showed a really good caricature of Dougie weaving his way in and out of about 6 Utd defenders who were all busy falling over as he went past them. The little fella beat them on his own that day ! I still have the cartoon but I don't know how to up load it.

 

I'd love to see that. You could find someone to scan it for you, or just take a photo of it.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

8 hours ago, sympatheticclaret said:

In peace, as ever ...

It's very difficult to judge players from across the generations ... but you can only view them against their peers, and the game as it was then. How good would Matthews, Finney, Douglas and McIlroy be today with modern preparation, better medical treatment, lighter kit & balls, the protection from bad fouls, and playing on pitches that they would regard as " bowling greens " in comparison to what they played on after November each year ?  

I enjoy reading about the games' history .... A lot has been posted about Tom Finney, who I had the privilege of meeting a couple of times, and Brian Douglas ( understandably feted on this  Forum ) . Jimmy McIlroy, who passed away just over a year ago, was a gentle modest man, who received accolades late on in his life, ( MBE, Freedom of the Borough, National Football Hall of Fame and a stand named after him ) . He always said these were not just for him, but for " my  lovely lads I played with ", particularly the title winning side of 1959-60. In his last auto-biography, Stan Matthews said of Ilroy, " Some players could make the ball talk, McIlroy could make it recite Shakespeare " !  

Stan Mortenson was always sanguine when his FA Cup final hat-trick was often overlooked when the 1953 final became known as the " Matthews final " . He would often joke that ," When I eventually pop my clogs, they'll probably call it the " Matthews funeral " ! 

 

One thing all those players had in common was their modesty. They weren't great " I am's " like a lot of today's players. I only saw Mac at the end of his career but he was up there with those we've already mentioned. You don't get picked to play for " The Rest Of Europe " for nothing,

Edited September 2, 2019 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 hours ago, elwaxo said:

I'd love to see that. You could find someone to scan it for you, or just take a photo of it.

I'm out in Spain at the moment so I can't do it now. I'm a klutz with computers but No 2 son is pretty good. I'll see what he can do when I get back. It really is a great little series of drawings, the caricature is Dougie to a tee.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

On 04/08/2019 at 22:41, DeeCee said:

The fitness level difference is incredible

So's the skill level. You have top players today who can only pass and shoot with one foot and they can only tackle on their good side. Lots of them are extremely poor in the air also.

[MCMC1875]

On 04/08/2019 at 22:49, AllRoverAsia said:

This is especially for @Mike E 

Bob Crompton looking down his nose at the Spurs captain at WHL, 9th February 1911, FA Cup replay, second round I think, Rovers won away 0-2

 

 

What is the trophy pictured?