Most skillfull player ever to wear the stripes

[Del Boy]

Charlie Oatway

 

[Thimble Keegan]

I would have to say Steve Penny as he was the first person I ever saw live take on and beat players and being just a kid at the time I found it exciting...He would sometimes go round 2 or 3 players on a single run and it was great. Shame he could never play more than 3 games in a row without injuring his ankles.

The only other player who comes close to Penny is Sergei Gotsmanov who was so skillfull he was always 2 steps ahead of everyone else and not just at the Albion but the entire league!

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Littlehampton BHA

 

[getreal1]

Peter Ward & Mark Lawrenson by a country mile. No one else come close

Concur

 

[jharris]

Jeff Minton

 

[Teddy Maybank]

Mark Lawrenson And Jim McNulty.

 

[The Large One]

Frank Worthington

Got to be Frank Worthington.

I thought that, then I realised - he didn't wear the stripes...

Except for Huddersfield

 

[Golden Oldie]

Peter Ward & Mark Lawrenson by a country mile. No one else come close

I'd agree with both names, but another player who would come fairly close was Kit Napier. I remember him scoring at the South end at the Goldstone, having started a run near the half way line. The photo on the Argus showed 3 or 4 defenders sitting on their backsides in the area having all failed to get near him.

 

[repomanse25]

lombardo

 

[y2dave]

Worth a mention for Darren Currie. exceptional skill, technique and control. Sadly realised just how good he was when he was surrounded by a better calibre players at Ipswich.

 

[chidgull]

Peter Ward without doubt ! At least in the last 50 years .................

 

[Manthorpee]

Mine too.
I used to think of him as the Irish George Best.

George Best is Irish

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Black Dave

 

[Bakesy]

George Best is Irish

WAS....surely?

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

George Best is a dead Irishman

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Frank Worthington
Mark Lawrenson
Sergei Gotsmanov

but not necessarily in that order.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

George Best is Irish

I think you will find that Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland are different enitities.

 

[GT49er]

Peter Ward.

I'd seen players who could take the ball with their back to goal, and a defender on them, who could suddenly be goalside with the ball at their feet so fast you couln't see how they'd done it. The first time I saw it (or actually didn't see it) live was Peter Osgood at the Goldstone in a cup match.

Peter Ward was the only Albion player I ever saw who had the same uncanny skill.

 

[Was not Was]

Hard to argue with Gotsmanov on this.

He was so skillful that he was on a different wavelength to the rest of the team - he sometimes looked disappointed that they couldn't see the opportunities he could see, when he played the ball in to space for a teammate to run onto, only to watch them stand around gawping.

 

[chez]

Has to be Johnny Byrne for me, Could instantly control a ball coming to him

at any height or speed, his hold up play was brilliant & if he was in possesion

near the opposing goal, if he didn't score, you could more or less guarantee

he would win a corner. (why can't our strikers do that?)

Who's yours?

Dead right. Nobody even comes close to John Byrne. Brighton Legend.

 

[Manthorpee]

I think you will find that Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland are different enitities.

that would still make both of them Irish..