Austrian Gull
Well-known member
Until Vicente writes an autobiography with a flarier title than One Hump or Two, my vote's staying with Frank.
'Described by former manager Ian Greaves as "the working man's George Best", Frank Worthington made no secret of his taste for birds, booze and the beautiful game'
Who would you rather go out for a beer with? On the basis they may have been equals on the pitch then that is my guiding principle.
Vicente was the more technical footballer, but Frank gets my vote for being............Frank.
Failing a medical at Anfield due to excessive shagging giving him a blood pressure problem, trying to look like Elvis despite being born in Halifax, admitting on Come Dine With Me footballers special that he'd never cooked a meal before in his life, most difficult opponent 'My Ex-Wife', turning up for his England debut in high-heeled cowboy boots, a red silk shirt and a lime velvet jacket, threesomes with a Swedish mum and her daughter, the list of Franks antics causes hats to be DOFFED from all surely?
Frank was 35 when he signed for the Albion, never moved more than twenty yards either side of the penalty spot, but scored some great goals for us and is the personification of the word FLAIR in my opinion.
Anyone who saw Frankie play in the stripes will vote for him... sadly that means he is unlikely to win
Anyone who saw Frankie play in the stripes will vote for him... sadly that means he is unlikely to win
A once-great footballer, reaching the end of his top-flight career in 2011 has plenty of options. If he wishes, he can simply sit back and count his money. Those who find it too much of a wrench to lose contact with the game completely, travel the well trodden career path from professional footballer, to professional ex-footballer - put their name to a column in the Star, talk banalities with Talk Sport and yell "Unbelievable Jeff" down the phone line, from Edgeley Park on a match-day.
In that other era - before footballers interested gossip columnists, and when there were a total of a dozen sports broadcasting jobs available - the same footballer knew that once he hung up his boots, he could either open the obligatory pub or sports shop, drive a taxi, or 'coach' random children for the summer season at Butlins in Minehead.
With only such mundane inevitabilities awaiting them, the star player of yesteryear clung to his playing career for as long as his tired legs would carry him - dropping down the divisions, in search of an ever dwindling pay packet. As he descended to each subsequent level, the last lingering lustre of that stardom, raised a glimmer of excitement in his new club's fans, at least in the short term.
It was in such circumstances that Brighton fans greeted the arrival of 38 year old ex-international Frank Worthington, in 1984, with a sense of great anticipation...
Whenever we have these competitions the younger player almost always wins because of the people on here have no idea who the other player is or never saw him play. Vicente was flair for us but Frank was on another planet. Frank every single day of the week. However there really is no point doing this when people don't know one of the people they are voting for and don't know how different the game was then.
I wonder if Vicente could have done half the things he did on a seventies football pitch with absolutely no protection from refs.
Yes, he most definitely could have. Vicente was an absolute GENIUS.
Yes, he most definitely could have. Vicente was an absolute GENIUS.