The Greatest Ever English Footballer!!!

Gazza was simply the best at Glasgow Rangers and world cup 90 and euro 96 awesome to watch .for me he is up there with pele maradonna zidane

reply to post by LiveForever8


Good call on Le Tissier- I was always a massive fan of his, one of the most underrated English players ever, for sure.

Chris Waddle is a name I'd throw out there, and as a proud Leicester fan- Emile Heskey

Can't really argue with all those who have said Gascoigne but for me Glen Hoddle at his best was simply second to none.

I have not sen much footage of the greasts such as Moore, Best, Charlton and the likes. But from going on mid 90's to now when I became totally enamored in the game I would have to give my vote to Alan Shearer.

P.S I'm american so please remember I probably know nowhere near a s much about the game as you Brits do. Even though I have consistently cheered for the English team since the 94' cup (Euros included) and the EPL is my favorite league.

Sorry for the double post but if I may also throw another name out there. Being a Manchester fan through the late 90's to early 2000's Andy Cole. By far not the best but man think about it second ranked EPL scorer (behind Shearer) and if he would have banged away half of his misses and there was almost as many as he had goals ......................... Man.

Actually I just wanted to mention him Because I think that he and Dwight Yorke we're a great tandem. Sorry off topic I apologize

reply to post by TrowaBarton

I love shearer,an absolute legend,and i used to love cole for newcastle till we sold him,two goal machines!!!

reply to post by LiveForever8

Gutted about Carroll,it may seem like a lot of money but trust me he will be worth every penny,an absolute powerhouse,at least we still got Shola lol

reply to post by lektrofellon


carroll could be or i should say have the ability to go all the way for Liverpool and England he has the potential if the manager picks him.


Icanseeatoms

reply to post by lektrofellon


Carroll has the ability to be a massive star.
But he has the potential to be a major screw up and unless someone takes a strong and guiding role in his life then his off field exploits could far outstrip his on field one's

The proverbial loose cannon is playing it down somewhat.

reply to post by Freeborn


I agree,he needs to kick the drink before he turns into another Barton(although Barton is playing like a m#therf#ckin superstar at the moment)until he retires,then he can get pissed as much as he wants!!!

I wish I knew who these older players were… thanks for the videos though. I only just found my love for the EPL 4-5 years ago. Basically, when we started getting EPL games on TV here in the states. I've always liked Beckham since I was little because I saw a highlight of him scoring a rocket over the GK from the halfway line.
www.youtube.com...

He also did it with the Galaxy not so long ago but the GK wasn't even on his half of the pitch and the ball bounced.

I've always heard good things about George Best, but if I had to pick the best current English player I'd have to go with Rooney or Lampard, even though they both are having down years. I am sure they are nowhere near the greatest ever either. I really like watching Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale (yes, I know he's not English but you guys should just claim him anyway). The English national team needs him!

I am super excited to watch the new Chelsea lineup with Torres and Luiz!! I can't believe the Blues got Torres. Drogba + Torres upfront = OMFG!

And one last thing, Andy Carroll is not worth 35 million pounds... are you kidding me? He's a good forward and has scored a lot of goals this season, but if Anelka is only valued at 10 million there is no way an unproven player such as Carroll is worth that much. 10-20 million yes, but 15 million less than Torres… common! Liverpool over paid.

Can't believe no-one has mentioned John Barnes - more skillfull than Gazza, with more pace and more discipline, not to mention nearly impossible to knock off the ball.

Just watch how many times he beats multiple players, including 2 with just a body swerve - simply a joy to watch, and should be ranked right up there with the greatest.

Plus he actually won trophies, and along with Beardsley was a part of probably the greatest ever team in England, playing with panache, style and real cold blooded intent to put every opponent to the sword.

reply to post by budski


Whilst I recognise John Barnes was a very good player I don' think he could ever be shortlisted as England's best ever player.

He was inconsistent; he'd have one good game then go missing for three or four.
Beardsley was a fantastic player and the model of consistency who brought the best out of so many players who played alongside him.

Barnes scored that brilliant goal for England against Brazil but had little real pride in playing for the national team, like far too many English footballers I'm afraid.

The Liverpool side he played in was definately one of the best, but the best?
Now that would be quite a debate as well.

reply to post by Freeborn


Well, he was better than both beckham and gazza - and inconsistent? I don't think so, far more consistent than gazza and over a much longer period, until injury forced a switch in his style of play.

I saw Barnes play many times, and he never went missing, although like all players he did have a couple of dips in form.

As good as Beardsley was, he was nowhere near Barnes's level, as the guy had everything - pace power, control, vision, passing, shooting with either foot, pretty good in the air and some amazing trickery including an unreadable body swerve.

Put it this way - he was better than Giggs by a country mile, and giggs is widely considered the best of his generation in his position.
Everyone raves about giggs beating a couple or 3 players in classic goals, but Barnes did it on a regular basis and did it better.

Then again, aren't you the person who was saying hodgson was a great manager?
Well he's not - he got found out yet again playing his anti-football and stone age tactics, so forgive me if I doubt your judgement.

reply to post by budski


Thing is Bud, I'm not blinded by a blind loyalty to Liverpool F.C., although I think they are a massive club and deserve a tremendous amount of respect.

Yeah, I was wrong about Hodgson, I don't mind admitting that, so what, I wasn't alone there.
You however are the font of all knowledge football and have never made an error of judgement.

Barnes did absolutely nothing for the England national team bar score one great goal, granted one of the best goals ever by an English international, and frequently went missing and I saw him play all over Europe and at Wembley for England on many an occassion.

The beauty of football, it's all about opinion's.

reply to post by budski


If beardsley looked like beckham, you would all call him englands best player, lol.

So I had my joke player on the last page.... now for (one of) my real One's.



And yes, he's still playing and it will a few years until he really gets the recognition he deserves (not that he doesn't anyway) and is on most people's list of all-time greats.



Steven Gerrard.

The guy can play... I mean really play.
He he pick a pass out as good as Beckham or anyone else..... he can tackle as well as any player ever could, he can shoot as well as any striker and can play almost anywhere on the pitch.

His passion, commitment and love for the beautiful game is an inspiration.


And he's as hard as nails too

reply to post by Freeborn


Who cares what he did for England?

I don't.

Best never played in a world cup, and neither did giggs - does that make them bad players?
I think not.

He was also woefully misused by a succession of England managers, and even then, against the argies in the "hand of god" game, he came on, and singlehandedly got us back in the game - indeed, if Linekar had been able to convert the chances the Barnes created, we would have won that game, instead, he missed 2 relatively easy chances.

He deserves his place in the top 10 at least.

Like I said, I knew enough about football to state without question that Hodgson was worse than useless - but I think YOU got your opinions from the xenophobic english press and the equally biased sly sports, which says it all really.

I'm not going to bite at your thinly disguised attempt to belittle me - suffice to say I have forgotten more about football than you will ever know, as has been proven time and time again.

reply to post by blupblup


An interesting quote from the legendary Arrigo Sacchi:

“When I was director of football at Real Madrid I had to evaluate the players coming through the youth ranks. We had some who were very good footballers. They had technique, they had athleticism, they had drive, they were hungry.

"But they lacked what I call knowing-how-to-play-football. They lacked decision making. They lacked positioning. They didn't have the subtle sensitivity of football: how a player should move within the collective. And for many, I wasn't sure they were going to learn".

“You see, strength, passion, technique, athleticism, all of these are very important. But they are a means to an end, not an end in itself. They help you reach your goal, which is putting your talent at the service of the team and, by doing this, making both of you and the team greater.

"In situations like that, I just have to say, Gerrard's a great footballer, but perhaps not a great player."

An instinctive player, who IMO borders on genius at times - but who also lacks discipline.

Rafa Benitez recognised this, and that is why he gave him a free role which has shown his outstanding talent, whilst taking away the less effective parts of his game.

reply to post by budski


Grow up Bud, I'm not trying to belittle anyone, quite the opposite methinks, but you really hate it when someone has a different opinion to you don't you.

It's a discussion about football, which is all about different opinions and is no different to the millions of similar one's that happen up and down the country every single day.

Xenophobia?

Get off your high horse and stop being so supercilious, it doesn't become you and I honestly thought you were better than that.