Lineker - you total clown.

Couldn't agree more. Linekar not fit to polish his boots

I thought the response on the forum might have been better than it was but maybe many never saw him play .

there's no goal in European cup final,6 at Northampton, etc so he,ll never get coverage best,Charlton  etc got

No question, Lineker should be sacked immediately if he said of Law: "Phuking rrssh-ole of the first order.Good riddance to the khount." Completely unacceptable!

First off most, under 40 will have never heard of him let alone think he was a 'great'. What was he supposed to do/say to keep you lot happy? He smiles, you moan, he speaks monotone you moan, whatever he does some of you lot will moan.
And that is where we are with you lot, you just moan about everything  vaguely not 'aligned' with you whether its needs moaning not. This will come as huge shock to most of you but people die every day. Let Man Utd lead the tributes as they obv will.

When Huddersfield sold law to man c in 1960 they used the 50k fee to buy floodlights so they could hold night matches.
Great player,box office,always intrigues me how these players would get on in modern football& how much they’d be worth

I saw Brian Kidd play in a legends match few years back and I thought he would be fantastic in the modern game (Even accounting for the fitness difference of players in the match.) .

The only player from previous generations I've looked at even though he was before my time, and thought he'd be even ahead of today's players, is Maradonna, his ball control looked different level, better than Messi. Watching him in old footage is weird, looks like someone has taken Messi and put him 80's football only he's better. With conditions today, more protection from the refs and better surfaces, managers, recovery techniques, games management and nutritional specialist, he's of had a much longer and even better career at the top.

In general football from a few decades ago looks really slow, the 1970 final in particular with the Italians just standing off the Brazilians allowing them to pass it around making them look good, today they'd be pressed far too often and far quicker for them to be allowed to have that passing game.

Kind Regards.

that's true about pressing but that's helped by todays players,their wouldn't be a queue of players volunteering to run and press George best for example but next to no dribblers/ball carriers  in the game today, Barnes,waddle couple more who wouldn't mind you pressing them

Good players, in the main, always worked hard to retrieve the ball because good players want to have the ball, Rush was best presser I seen, long before sky pundit pish.
George Best was very  hard worker at retrieving ball, apart from when he played against Jimmy Jinky Johnstone for Celtic, Jimmy says " Come and get it George" George retorts " **** off Jimmy"

It's silly to compare players/teams from decades ago to the modern day. They did what they had to back then to be the best. If they played today they'd have to be better in terms of looking after themselves off the pitch, being fitter, stronger, better tactically etc but they'd do it and still be up there with the best. Much better protected from the media and drink/drugs by their clubs, encouraged to settle down etc. They learned all this, how not to manage a top talent, from the likes of Best/Maradona but they didn't have a clue back then.

If you look closely at Maradona's goal v England in 86, the ball didn't roll along the surface, it bounced. The pitches were awful back then and you could hack players down at will and be unlucky to get even a yellow. The English players were far too honest in not just taking him out. In 1990 everyone hacked Maradona down at the first opportunity. It was after this that they started outlawing tackles from behind and other negative aspects like the backpass. They have been changing the rules regularly ever since.

There are very few dribblers today because the top managers don't want players to take anyone on, it's all about timely movement off the ball into space and passing it into the space.

I agree with you Lurka in some ways I think Reid had an opportunity to take Maradona out before he got his momentum up, but who could have anticipated what was coming next ? Incredible goal on a poor pitch, what we have been like on the bowling greens now ? Magnificent player undoubtedly the best.

Reid himself says the same.

i never knew reid said that, but having watched the goal a few times, i did think that, but as i posted, reid would not be anticipating what was coming next, england had plenty bodies behind the ball

Gentile fouled Maradona 23 times in 1982 world cup

Apparently no other player has fouled a single opponent
more than 7 times in a game... Ha ha ha

Gentile was punished merely with a yellow card and, post-match, said immortally: “Football is not for ballerinas.”

Reid was flat out five mins into the second half, he didn't take him out for either goal because he would have kicked thin air.

mesmerised
In general football from a few decades ago looks really slow, the 1970 final in particular with the Italians just standing off the Brazilians allowing them
to pass it around  making them look good, today they'd be pressed far too often and far quicker for them to be allowed to have that passing game.
Kind Regards.


This is where a little football knowledge helps.
All four of the semi-finalists were former world champions, with the line-up guaranteeing a final between Europe and South America. In the all-South American tie,
controversially switched from the capital to the lower altitude of Guadalajara (5,100 feet), Brazil came from behind to defeat Uruguay 3–1 and earn the right to contest their fourth World Cup Final.

The all-European meeting between Italy and West Germany produced a match regarded by many as one of the greatest World Cup games of all time. Having led from the eighth
minute through Roberto Boninsegna's strike, Italy were pegged back in injury time when sweeper Karl-Heinz Schnellinger scored his only international goal.
Extra-time brought five more goals as the lead swung between the two sides until Gianni Rivera gave the Azzurri a decisive 4–3 lead.
The match subsequently became known as the "Game of the Century", and today has a plaque outside the Estadio Azteca to commemorate it.
It was 90 minutes and extra time played at Mexico City (7,350 feet altitude).

Brazxil v Italy final: I think it had rained heavily on the morning of the final and the pitch was heavy, which suited the team (Brazil) that had the easier semi-final.
Maximum two substitutions each team.

Germany Italy was epic and likely caused Italy to be tired for final

Although that was a special Brazil team anyway.

Not much love for either Italy or Germany in uk back then, so brazil
were more or less everybody's chosen team for final back home.

fair enough if that's the case, watched 22 or so minutes of highlights and they looked like at times they couldn't run 5 yards to close down, not the best example either using a match at the end of season in the height of summer. But in general from all the hours of Maradonna footage I've seen over the years, as good as what he was, it is noticeable how much slower players in general look when comparing to day, though it could also play into what Michael Owen recently said, something along the lines of you don't need to be a good player to be a Premier League footballer these days, you just need to be really fit and athletic, and that is true, a lot athletic players and not much skill, in part because Managers are deliberately recruiting these types as dribbling have pretty much been outlawed, Hazard the last player I saw in the league that drew any real resemblance to a player that could dribble a bit and do it well.

Kind Regards.

Owen has got a bit of a cheek, if he couldn't run fast he would never have earned money playing football, the whole modern game thing is a bit of a myth, strength and speed have always been important in any good team, and obviously skill and reading of the game.
Tackling traditional style has basically been outlawed because of diving and VAR, you need to be much cuter now in making a tackle.

Saint maximim could dribble a bit
I'm sure his performance v man citeh encouraged pep to buy doku.

(unless he's a secret star wars fan)

https://youtu.be/UAumK46xQYw?

..

Owen wasn't just pace, he was a top class finisher who even after he lost pace and would have been very productive if he could have just stayed fit for a while...there's a reason Fergie still took him late in his injury ravaged career..

Apart from shared love of horse racing?

He was shot at Newcastle but certainly well rested when he left us.

Always worth the risk but don't think he scored many at OT.

Owen scored one of greatest goals I've ever seen, and I'm not an England supporter, I still remember were I was watching it. You will know the goal.

Agree with you're points but that came through experience at top level which he would have never gathered if he hadn't been aeroplane at 16, if he had not serious pace at 16 Liverpool would never have signed him.

just kept getting injured and was mainly used as a sub when fit as he was purely a finisher by then but scored a few handy ones..

didn't Keegan re-invent him a bit at one point with N'castle as something other than an out and out striker..?

btw it's a magnificent wee pass from beckham, better than any of lauded crosses

yep, lovely ball Malay.

I think by time Keegan got to manage Owen he was pished off by failed foot operation and
the comments of freddy shepherd. Alladyce as manager meant I stopped going... Not
just for football reasons, and so didn't see the end of his Newcastle career.

I went back when they signed ba and cabaye.

Keegan would try anything to get a player onside, although I know from a few players
he was not universally liked. (Keegan not Owen)

Owen wasn't fit to play for Shearer, when the club just disintegrated, I could tell
a few stories but I'm sworn not to, but...

yep some tough times ..must feel like Christmas at the moment though !

people have said on here to myself years ago, it's not as good as you think, the argentinians backed off, but see when you are faced with real pace it's a natural reaction to drop off as defenders.
In the context of match one of best goals I've seen.

Yep a great goal, and bang, arrived at top level for sure.


Christmas, indeed, but we've had a few smatterings of brighter days amongst the dross.
I've certainly witnessed a few more downs than ups, but we go again...

Owen wouldn't have been as good without pace but he was a still a top finisher, FA Cup final 2001, we were the better team for most of the match but Owen was the difference, they'd never have won without him, first goal no pace needed just good finishing, 2nd goal was both and was just a great goal. Some irony in Henry being denied a goal by Henchoz handling inside the box and Henry complaining about it for ages after, then years later doing the same to Ireland. Thought Fowler was bitter by saying he was better than Owen and Owen was only ahead because of pace, as good as what Fowler was, he was never number 1 choice or even close for England, England manager one after another always selected a fit Owen as a starter.

Kind Regards

England manager one after another always selected a fit Owen as a starter


Fowler got bad knee injury just as Owen emerged and time showed he'd already had his best yrs prior to that, so they were never competing directly when at their peak. Was more Shearer/Sheringham that stood in RF's way for England.

and ferdinand

Fowler was a great finnisher/striker, but rather like Ian Wright never got a proper crack at England in which team was set up to maximise his ability.

Best finisher without a doubt and the records prove it was Jimmy Greaves.Anyone who never saw him play watch the sky documentary on him

I wasn't overlaying their careers and comparing, I was talking about them separately, when Fowler was a player and fully fit, he was always overlooked, with Ian Wright he came into the Pro game quite late and was handicapped a bit. Shearer was top drawer and I would have had him starting as well but Fowler, again as good as he was, winning nothing with Liverpool in the 90's, didn't even win a Golden Boot and didn't have a top European club come in for him like Owen did. Owen won the Balloon Door without winning a league title or the Champions League or anything for England.

People wont have it up there because they hate Owen for leaving and then playing for Man United. They also love Fowler more because he made his name in a Liverpool shirt, Owen made it in an England shirt at the World Cup and apparently, with all that we're Scouse not English bollox factored in, means Fowler will always come out on top in any debate with Owen regardless.

Both great players in their day though, but I don't see Fowler as being better as a neutral.

Kind Regards.

I think fowler was a much better finisher than Owen, but Owen had other stuff
on top. No doubt, to me, both would have enjoyed playing alongside beardsley over each other.