Greatest Leicester Player

[Blue Maniac]

Certainly Colleymore was brilliant that day. However, I cannot forget his performances under Peter Taylor. If my memory serves me he had demanded a rise and been turned down. Colleymore then gave a performance in which he became the only Leicester player I believe was deliberately playing badly. Peter Taylor described his performance as "unacceptable."

It is sometimes claimed that Colleymore's failure should be blamed on Peter Taylor. However, Colleymore managed to clash with manager after manager. If my memory serves me right he got on with Barry Fry as a youngster and Martin O'Neill. Whether he would have continued getting on with O'Neill if Martin had stayed we will never know.

In Colleymore's book he gives the impression that his problems with Leicester came from the clash he had with Trevor Benjamin in a reserve match. This was nonsense. he was playing in the reserves because of his attitude in the first team.

There are players who are dragged down by their demons. If Colleymore had had a different personality he could have been as great as Shearer. On a higher level I believe it was character that IMO stopped George Best being as great as Matthews or Maradona as great as Pele or Di Stefano.

Collymore.

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

We played 3 up front with Collymore, Heskey & Cottee up front in that game. I think Mike meant the only game they played solely as a front two.

I don't see how what he said can be interpreted that way.

Yes it can! The clue was "the dream team of Heskey and Collymore", i.e. the two of them together, not just up front with maybe others there as well who might interchange positions. Like Shearer and Sheringham, or Cole and Yorke were.

By the way, is this the 5 minute argument or the full half hour? :icon_bigg

 

[Blue Maniac]

Banks games for Leicester were before I arrived. The Shilton match was the first semi-final at Old Trafford and ended in 0-0 despite Liverpool completely outplaying us.

Two years ago I was in Liverpool and when the person I was talking to found I was a Leicester season ticket holder a conversation that should have been on architecture took a lighter turn. He had been at the first semi final and remembered how frustrating Shilton had been for them. There was a feeling that whatever Keegan and Toshack did Shilton would stop them. Sinced Liverpool in those days had a great goalkeeper in Ray Clemence I felt this was praise indeed.

One nice story about Shilton. I used to know a man called Peter Williams who had taught Shilton at King Richard III Boys School. At a time when Shilton was playing for Leicester schoolboys in goal and England schoolboys in goal he was playing for King Richard III at right half or as a striker. Mr Williams had a good goalkeeper (not as good as Shilton) and needed Peter on the pitch because he was so strong and so athletic. The FA sctually contacted the school to ask them to play Shilton in goal but mr Williams was not going to have them the FA pick his team.
I remember him saying Shilton could have been a professional on the pitch, a top cricketer, rugby player or boxer and was the strongest youngster he ever taught.

On the subject of Shilton, can anyone claim to have read a more tediously-written book than his autobiography?

 

[alex]

WTF? No Arnur Gunlaugsson? (sp)

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Banks games for Leicester were before I arrived. The Shilton match was the first semi-final at Old Trafford and ended in 0-0 despite Liverpool completely outplaying us.

Two years ago I was in Liverpool and when the person I was talking to found I was a Leicester season ticket holder a conversation that should have been on architecture took a lighter turn. He had been at the first semi final and remembered how frustrating Shilton had been for them. There was a feeling that whatever Keegan and Toshack did Shilton would stop them. Sinced Liverpool in those days had a great goalkeeper in Ray Clemence I felt this was praise indeed.

One nice story about Shilton. I used to know a man called Peter Williams who had taught Shilton at King Richard III Boys School. At a time when Shilton was playing for Leicester schoolboys in goal and England schoolboys in goal he was playing for King Richard III at right half or as a striker. Mr Williams had a good goalkeeper (not as good as Shilton) and needed Peter on the pitch because he was so strong and so athletic. The FA sctually contacted the school to ask them to play Shilton in goal but mr Williams was not going to have them the FA pick his team.
I remember him saying Shilton could have been a professional on the pitch, a top cricketer, rugby player or boxer and was the strongest youngster he ever taught.

Ah yes, I hae heard the same about Banks. It was my granddad who told me about that 63 FA Cup semi final, he said Banks was unbelievable in that match, made 6 or 7 match-winning saves.

He also saw Arthur Rowley in his prime including having a ST the season he scored 44 goals and he reckons that Rowley was that good. Considering he is the top scorer in the history of the Football League it's quite sad that he isn't known outside Leicester or Shrewsbury in the way players like Johnny Haynes, Nat Lofthouse, Len Shackleton, Tommy Lawton or other players from that era are. I suppose you are right about a lot of his goals being in the Second Division with Leicester and Third Division for Shrewsbury, but in his 2 seasons Leicester were in the First Division when he was playing he scored 23 goals in 36 games, and 20 goals in 25 games so it was still a very respectable ratio.

 

[Motown Fox]

On the subject of Shilton, can anyone claim to have read a more tediously-written book than his autobiography?

No but I can claim to having scored a penalty against him having sent him the wrong way

 

[fox58]

No but I can claim to having scored a penalty against him having sent him the wrong way

was he blindfolded:icon_bigg

 

[David Gwilliam]

Ah yes, I hae heard the same about Banks. It was my granddad who told me about that 63 FA Cup semi final, he said Banks was unbelievable in that match, made 6 or 7 match-winning saves.

He also saw Arthur Rowley in his prime including having a ST the season he scored 44 goals and he reckons that Rowley was that good. Considering he is the top scorer in the history of the Football League it's quite sad that he isn't known outside Leicester or Shrewsbury in the way players like Johnny Haynes, Nat Lofthouse, Len Shackleton, Tommy Lawton or other players from that era are. I suppose you are right about a lot of his goals being in the Second Division with Leicester and Third Division for Shrewsbury, but in his 2 seasons Leicester were in the First Division when he was playing he scored 23 goals in 36 games, and 20 goals in 25 games so it was still a very respectable ratio.

It was a very different game then with terrible pitches, heavy balls and heavy boots. Nat Lofthouse was the first great player I ever saw and the word that describes him was "warrior". He played football as a blood sport and it is said that he scored a goal against Austria while unconscious having smashed through two Austrian defenders - he was woken up with the words "Nat lad tha's scored and tha will never score a better one". He would find it difficult to stay on the field with modern referees.

For Arthur Rowley to be a centreforward in the days of Lofthouse and Milburn he had to be totally fearless and as hard as nails.

When I arrived in Leicester Davie Gibson was past his best but people still spoke of him with reverence. Like Johnny Haynes he would have loved todays pitches and the protection given by modern referees.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

One of my dad's mates who I've spoken too occassionaly reckons Dave Gibson was the best player to play he's ever seen in a City shirt too, often seems to get forgotten when talking about Leicester greats nowadays, quite sadly.

From what I've heard about Rowley, he was a very strong and fearless player as you say strikers had to be in them days, with a bullet left foot shot and was a brilliant header of the ball too, but he was also quite skilful and could dribble past defenders as well.

 

[Motown Fox]

was he blindfolded:icon_bigg

No!!!!!!!

I know it was only last year but Shilts had all his faculties as you can see:icon_wink

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

Was he litter picking at Mablethorpe?

 

[Motown Fox]

The only thing he was picking up was the ball, from the back of the net:icon_wink

It was all for Charity in any case and Shilts was happy to chat about when he was a youngster in his mum and dad's cafe that my dad used to go into in the early 60's as it was near where he worked.

 

[homer]

The only thing he was picking up was the ball, from the back of the net:icon_wink

It was all for Charity in any case and Shilts was happy to chat about when he was a youngster in his mum and dad's cafe that my dad used to go into in the early 60's as it was near where he worked.

Can I just take the opportunity to congratulate you on a wonderful beer belly

It is a thing of real beauty

 

[FOX Franks]

What about Ade Akinbiyi?

He was much better than that lot!



:icon_lol:

 

[Steven]

As Frank Worthington is my favourite I would like to point out that it is his birthday today. Happy 61st birthday Frank. :icon_razz :icon_bigg :icon_bigg

On This Day In History: November 23 1948
Frank Worthington, flamboyant much-travelled forward, is born in Halifax.