[Albion] The Greatest Player to pull on an Albion shirt (to date)

[Gwylan]

Always a difficult question since if you put any PL player today in a time machine and send them to the 1980s, they would absolutely destroy any opponent. Makes it all a bit wonky to compare.

Why do people always do it this way round. If you took a skillful 70s/80s player and subjected him to a modern training regime/diet/preparation and put him on a modern pitch - he'd be a super-fit skillful player. And if Salah or Vardy had to cope with Chopper Harris or Norman Hunter kicking lumps out of them, they wouldn't be so effective.

The idea that Ashley Barnes, say, is a better player than George Best is ludicrous.

 

[Swansman]

Why do people always do it this way round. If you took a skillful 70s/80s player and subjected him to a modern training regime/diet/preparation and put him on a modern pitch - he'd be a super-fit skillful player. And if Salah or Vardy had to cope with Chopper Harris or Norman Hunter kicking lumps out of them, they wouldn't be so effective.

The idea that Ashley Barnes, say, is a better player than George Best is ludicrous.

Yes. But the whole "if" part makes the difference.

 

[herecomesaregular]

Can only comment on players I've watched regularly in person:

- Greatest players who came back: Foster and Case. I will never forget them strolling around Div 2 with us, looking absolute class. Did Jimmy Case ever leave the centre circle?!

- Greatest young player: Zamora. As soon as we signed him up after his loan spell I put £50 on us to win the league that season (and then again the season after).

- Greatest player with the most natural talent: Vicente. Yes it showed only in glimpses and yes he was unable to play a lot but the greatest technical player I have ever watched in the stripes.

- Greatest cult player: Peter Smith for those gangly legs and runs, Storer, Lua Lua or Knocky for greatest excitement when they were "on it".

 

[Baldseagull]

Why do people always do it this way round. If you took a skillful 70s/80s player and subjected him to a modern training regime/diet/preparation and put him on a modern pitch - he'd be a super-fit skillful player. And if Salah or Vardy had to cope with Chopper Harris or Norman Hunter kicking lumps out of them, they wouldn't be so effective.

The idea that Ashley Barnes, say, is a better player than George Best is ludicrous.

I get your point, but Ballon d'Or winner George Best, v Ashley Barnes, now a championship player again, is not really the comparison I would have made. The 1st Division was made up of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh footballers for the most part, the star players were mostly England internationals. World Cup Holders France have about a third of their squad playing in the PL, 4 or 5 the German squad, couple of the Italian squad, several of the Belgian squad etc. The Division as a whole has better players in it on average, to be above average is tougher today than it was then.

 

[Munkfish]

Difference for best player to play for the club and best player who has played at the club.

Played here. Vicente in his prime was wanted by most major clubs in Europe.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

For those of us old enough to have seen him ……Peter Ward .
His ball playing ability was a joy to watch . When he was dancing around the penalty area with the ball seemingly attached to his feet, surrounded by defenders , you just knew he was either to score or draw a penalty..
I have never seen the like.

 

[sydney]

Yes. But the whole "if" part makes the difference.

how would a Gentile or a Stielieke deal with a Sancho or Saka .....?? they'd be on a stretcher within 10 minutes of KO.

Does this virtual game have an 80's ref or a Mike Dean/Martin Atkinson type..?

 

[bobbysmith01]

Bobby Smith, initially as an impressed kid, ' he came from Spurs and was a England forward last year my grandad told me'.

Peter Ward in the 70/80's, his skill and goals took your breath away.

Vicente, was way above our level and did not Nigel Clough say after he destroyed his Derby team say, although tongue in cheek ' he should not be allowed to play in the championship'

Now would say Dunk, for his all round abilities, honourable mentions to Biss, Marc, Trossard.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gwylan]

Yes. But the whole "if" part makes the difference.

It was you who introduced the "if"

I get your point, but Ballon d'Or winner George Best, v Ashley Barnes, now a championship player again, is not really the comparison I would have made.

OK fair enough. Let's consider Best up against Junior Firpo or AWB - do you really think that they'd have the better of a player as skillful as Best? And to say it's not a fair comparison, I'd point out that Swanny said any current player against any player from the past

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

It was you who introduced the "if"



OK fair enough. Let's consider Best up against Junior Firpo or AWB - do you really think that they'd have the better of a player as skillful as Best? And to say it's not a fair comparison, I'd point out that Swanny said any current player against any player from the past

I think the issue is that in the 1960s defenders in England's top division came up against players as good as Best... well once a season.
Today's PL defenders are having to cope with attackers not as good as Best, but considerably better than the 60s and 70s equivalents every game.

 

[Giraffe]

It may well end up being Bissouma. He could be world class if he can keep his head straight. That may be a BIG if though.

 

[Robinjakarta]

Does this virtual game have an 80's ref or a Mike Dean/Martin Atkinson type..?

Roger Kirkpatrick? The word on the terraces was: Don't watch the match. Just watch him.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Lots of mentions for Lawrenson, which is entirely undertsandable.

But hs he ever said why he elected to represent the RoI instead of England? He was born and raised in England to English parents but qualified to play for RoI via his Irish grandfather. There's no doubt he was good enough to play for England so it's not as if the RoI route represented his only opportunity to play at International level.

 

[arfer guinness]

Out of the options listed Lawrenson, but the successes of most players named came at other clubs. Bobby Smith deserves a mention, ex Spurs not ginger. To me our greatest player without a doubt has to be Brian Horton.

 

[Mellotron]

In terms of number of top quality performances in the shirt, it’s got to be Lewis Dunk for me.

Change the England manager and we’re looking at a top class CH with 20-30 England caps to their name by now.

 

[Baldseagull]

It was you who introduced the "if"



OK fair enough. Let's consider Best up against Junior Firpo or AWB - do you really think that they'd have the better of a player as skillful as Best? And to say it's not a fair comparison, I'd point out that Swanny said any current player against any player from the past

I honestly believe George Best would have found it tougher coming up against Bissouma, or Kante, or Rodri, or Hojberg, or Norgaard, or Doucoure, or Fabinho, or Partey, or Luiz, or Neves, or Ndidi almost every week, than he would have found playing against that sort of quality, 6 times a season.
George Best was one the best footballers in the world at that time, and one of the best ever, he happened to be Northern Irish and could play in the UK. He is not representative of the standard of 70's Div 1. If he had been Portuguese, Egyptian, Swedish, Dutch, Ghanaian, Congolese, Iranian, Turkish etc. he probably would not have played in England in the 70's, but today there is good chance he would, regardless of nationality.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Always a difficult question since if you put any PL player today in a time machine and send them to the 1980s, they would absolutely destroy any opponent. Makes it all a bit wonky to compare.

Aaron Connolly (when he was a PL player) up against Mark Lawrenson, I’ve seen both play and AC definitely wouldn’t have destroyed ML.

 

[We're the Stripes]

- “best” player in terms of performance whilst playing for us - all opinion / I’d say Lawrenson - but you need start to consider Bissouma here from modern era . Vicente was playing in the Championship and too patchy.
- or just “great” in terms of high performance over long period. At high level . - Lewis Dunk , Brian Horton probably fighting it out.

I'm fairly aligned with the above.

As someone who can only really vouch for the post-Goldstone era, Dunk is an obvious shout for consistent level of performance at the highest level and sheer longevity + the legend status that goes with that. However, in my time watching the Albion, I would say Bissouma is the only player I've seen in the stripes who, when performing at his very best, I struggle to see a club side on the planet that he wouldn't improve (or at least look at home in). I'm sure there will be more of those in the future, but right now he's the only player I can say that for.

 

[wilf tranter]

Barry Rees.

 

[goldstone]

Out of the options listed Lawrenson, but the successes of most players named came at other clubs. Bobby Smith deserves a mention, ex Spurs not ginger. To me our greatest player without a doubt has to be Brian Horton.

My vote is for Bobby Smith. He was without doubt the greatest player to pull on an Albion shirt. Played for England 15 times, the most recent in the season before he joined Brighton.