Sky Sports - All-Time Greatest Leicester Players

[Profondo Rosso]

http://www.skysports.com/football/alltimegreats/results/0,26076,16105_5559583,00.html

SkySports were doing a poll for the clubs greatest ever players, on their website fans submitted their favourite players, then the top 10 were voted on.

The top 10 Leicester one's read like this:

1. Gary Lineker
2. Gordon Banks
3. Muzzy Izzet
4. Frank Worthington
5. Steve Walsh
6. Emile Heskey
7. Keith Weller
8. Matt Elliott
9. Steve Claridge
10. Junior Lewis :icon_lol:

All the polls are just popularity contests of course, but I'm sure it will start a discussion. i.e. who took a shat on SkySports with #10.

 

[Durham Fox]

For Steve Walsh not to be in the top 3 just about sums up the people who vote on these things.

 

[Fox From The Hudd]

For Steve Walsh not to be in the top 3 just about sums up the people who vote on these things.

I agree in terms of contribution to the club etc but you would have to agree that the four above him were all better players who achieved more in the game - all about definition of great I guess

 

[Durham Fox]

I agree in terms of contribution to the club etc but you would have to agree that the four above him were all better players who achieved more in the game - all about definition of great I guess

Possibly better players, yes but I don't think Izzet achieved anything more really.

 

[Fox From The Hudd]

Possibly better players, yes but I don't think Izzet achieved anything more really.

World Cup semi!

 

[manxfox]

World Cup semi!

I must admit I also get a strange sense of arousal when the world cup is on :icon_wink

Seriously tho Izzet was the best of an average bunch. Steve Walsh's commitment should have seen him in the top 3. Cant argue with Gary at the top, I wonder where he would end up if you ran the same poll for Spurs or Everton fans?

 

[Durham Fox]

World Cup semi!

Makes him better than Worthington and as good as Lineker then

 

[dpjfox]

For me David Nish (my first city hero)
then Matt Elliott ( who i named my son after)

 

[homer]

These things are always cobblers, as evidenced by Heskey being in this list at all

Now that's just plain silly

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Makes him better than Worthington and as good as Lineker then

Lineker reached a World Cup semi too, and he actually played in every game leading up to it, rather than just coming on as a bitpart substitute at the end.

 

[David Gwilliam]

These polls are interesting but always loaded against older players. I don't know how good Arthur Rowley was because I never saw him. Those people who did thought he was superb.
During my time there have been two great Leicester teams. The Bloomfield team had incomparably the best players but were too willing to let the other side play and underachieved. The players in the O'Neill team did not have the same talent but were much more of a team and over-achieved.

I doubt if many people who saw Frank Worthington or Keith Weller play would put Muzzy above them. The silly thing is leaving Peter Shilton out. For some years Shilton was arguably the best goalkeeper in the world.

If I was pedantic I would put Billy Wright as the best ever Leicester player since he played for Leicester during a wartime match.

The best player I ever saw play at Leicester was George Best. However, when I came to Leicester Matthews and Finney had retired and Duncan Edwards was long dead and I envy those who saw them. The greatest player I saw at Leicester was Ferencz Puskas who played in a charity match here but unlike Best was retired and long past his prime.

Gary Lineker perhaps deserves to be above Frank Worthington and Keith Weller but Frankie was more fun and Keith was the most exciting Leicester player I have ever seen.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

These polls are interesting but always loaded against older players. I don't know how good Arthur Rowley was because I never saw him. Those people who did thought he was superb.
During my time there have been two great Leicester teams. The Bloomfield team had incomparably the best players but were too willing to let the other side play and underachieved. The players in the O'Neill team did not have the same talent but were much more of a team and over-achieved.

I doubt if many people who saw Frank Worthington or Keith Weller play would put Muzzy above them. The silly thing is leaving Peter Shilton out. For some years Shilton was arguably the best goalkeeper in the world.

If I was pedantic I would put Billy Wright as the best ever Leicester player since he played for Leicester during a wartime match.

The best player I ever saw play at Leicester was George Best. However, when I came to Leicester Matthews and Finney had retired and Duncan Edwards was long dead and I envy those who saw them. The greatest player I saw at Leicester was Ferencz Puskas who played in a charity match here but unlike Best was retired and long past his prime.

Gary Lineker perhaps deserves to be above Frank Worthington and Keith Weller but Frankie was more fun and Keith was the most exciting Leicester player I have ever seen.

:icon_eek: Puskas played at Leicester?! Bloddy hell! Never knew that.

And I'm guessing you're not old enough to have seen Banks' play which is why you didn't mention him. For a player who is widely considered the second greatest in his position ever to play the sport (after Lev Yashin) and not just by the biased English media, but generally by the world, to have spent the majority or certaintly a large part of his career at Leicester, I've always found astounding.

Again, from the stories I've heard Rowley and Chandler, were also great players. My grandad actually saw Rowley play in his prime and reckons he was that good.

 

[alex]

Yawn yawn tits...

 

[Redditch Fox]

Silly poll for stupid people.

It's not possible for the obvious reason for fans in 2009 to give a sensible view of "all time" greatest Leicester players.

Even if anyone ever tried to collect some evidence for measuring greatness it would be almost impossible to compare because the game's fitness levels, tactics, formations etc have changed so much.

One general point I would make is that the ball playing 'inside forward' e.g. Johnny Morris/ Davie Gibson and speedy tricky winger e.g. Mal Griffiths have all but disappeared from the game (particularly in England) to be replaced by the emphasis on physical strengths and attacking and defending as more of total unit.

I'm not saying it's any better or worse but its certainly very different.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Silly poll for stupid people.

It's not possible for the obvious reason for fans in 2009 to give a sensible view of "all time" greatest Leicester players.

Even if anyone ever tried to collect some evidence for measuring greatness it would be almost impossible to compare because the game's fitness levels, tactics, formations etc have changed so much.

One general point I would make is that the ball playing 'inside forward' e.g. Johnny Morris/ Davie Gibson and speedy tricky winger e.g. Mal Griffiths have all but disappeared from the game (particularly in England) to be replaced by the emphasis on physical strengths and attacking and defending as more of total unit.

I'm not saying it's any better or worse but its certainly very different.

I agree the game hass changed much, not just for the type of players but for the style of play too, and particuarly thee introduction of pressing. Could the great wing forwards such as Garrincha and Stanley Matthews have been effective in the modern game where they are not allowed nearly as much time on the ball thanks to pressing? Who knows.

Thought it woiuld create some debate though.

 

[Blue Maniac]

I agree the game hass changed much, not just for the type of players but for the style of play too, and particuarly thee introduction of pressing. Could the great wing forwards such as Garrincha and Stanley Matthews have been effective in the modern game where they are not allowed nearly as much time on the ball thanks to pressing? Who knows.

Thought it woiuld create some debate though.

Probably not. A large part of each of their games was dribbling, which almost doesn't exist these days; not for the reason you mention (not entirely at least), but because the emphasis of the game has changed. There's more pressure on teams - managers especially - to avoid defeat than there's ever been, which causes coaches to be defence-minded; rather a 0-0 draw than a 5-4 defeat, right?

 

[David Gwilliam]

:icon_eek: Puskas played at Leicester?! Bloddy hell! Never knew that.

And I'm guessing you're not old enough to have seen Banks' play which is why you didn't mention him. For a player who is widely considered the second greatest in his position ever to play the sport (after Lev Yashin) and not just by the biased English media, but generally by the world, to have spent the majority or certaintly a large part of his career at Leicester, I've always found astounding.

Again, from the stories I've heard Rowley and Chandler, were also great players. My grandad actually saw Rowley play in his prime and reckons he was that good.

Ferencz Puskas played at Filbert Street in the early 1970s in a charity game of Old England versus The Rest Of The World. He was probably the oldest player on the pitch and could hardly run but was given time to show off some ball skills and scored a penalty. I remember Jimmy Hill scoring for Old England.

It is also worth remembering that not long ago Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos played in an international for Brazil against Jamaica. Perhaps the two most gifted footballers to play at The Walkers.

I did see Gordon Banks play for Stoke but he had left Leicester when I arrived which is why I did not include him. Friends idolised Davie Gibson and Mike Stringfellow but they were well past their best when I saw them play for Leicester which is why I left them out.

Of course it is a fruitless game to pick from different eras but fun. The present day game is a lot faster but a less tough. They would have adapted. Any team today would love a Stanley Matthews though they would have used him differently just as any 1950s team would have loved a Wayne Rooney.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, when I said about Garrincha and Stanley Matthews, players like that could be as effective today, but not in the same way. You're maybe looking at people like Messi or Ronaldo are now, who like to cut inside and use their pace rather than hig the touchline.

From clips I have seen, I'd say Di Stefano was probably the most skilfull player ever, but when you watch clips from that era, the defence just stands off him and let him do a whole load of stepovers and tricks.

 

[David Gwilliam]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, when I said about Garrincha and Stanley Matthews, players like that could be as effective today, but not in the same way. You're maybe looking at people like Messi or Ronaldo are now, who like to cut inside and use their pace rather than hig the touchline.

From clips I have seen, I'd say Di Stefano was probably the most skilfull player ever, but when you watch clips from that era, the defence just stands off him and let him do a whole load of stepovers and tricks.

It is arguable that Di Stefano and Matthews would have been more effective today because they would have played on better pitches abd been better protected by referees. Matthews was subjected to brutal tackles that would have caused instant dismissal.

I remember Frank O'Farrell the Leicester manager before Jimmy Bloomfield saying that Davie Gibson's performance depended on the state of the pitch and he tried not to play him if the pitch was muddy. Gibson would have loved the pitch at the Walkers.

 

[Thrax]

Wheres Hume?







only joking