Our greatest living player

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:34 am

I think its widely accepted that Jimmy Mc is our greatest ever player. Even by those of us who never saw him play.

The Robbie Blake thread made me think though. Since Jimmy sadly passed away, who would you say our greatest living player is? I suspect that isnt as resounding a choice as it was when he was around.

The best talent ive seen would probably be Defour. But I think it would no doubt be unfair to say he is our greatest living player. Perhaps Trippier? He has definitely hit heights higher than any player we have had in the last 30 years.

gandhisflipflop · Post by **gandhisflipflop** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:35 am

Colin McDonald or Robson? Far to young to have seen either just going off reputation.

Tall Paul · Post by **Tall Paul** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:39 am

Joe Hart

lakedistrictclaret · Post by **lakedistrictclaret** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:40 am

Brian O'Neil, or Willie Irvine (before he was injured ).

DomBFC1882 · Post by **DomBFC1882** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:42 am

Robbie Blake for me

Dyched · Post by **Dyched** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:43 am

Glen “The Lanky Messi” Little

Bosscat · Post by **Bosscat** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:56 am

Our multidimensional Graham De-Branchio....

I remember a night match at the old Rotherham Millmoor ground and the crowd had gone quiet(ish) and a lone voice shouted from the back "Ey'up Branchy Svens watching" total hilarity in the stands as everyone fell about laughing ... even Branchy thumbs up towards us in the crowd to even bigger cheers.....

Herts Clarets · Post by **Herts Clarets** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:02 pm

Trevor Steven

Dougall · Post by **Dougall** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:16 pm

Dave Thomas, Willie Morgan, Taffy, as well as Willie Irvine and Colin McDonald mentioned above.
I always felt that Doug Collins was pivotal in the team of the seventies (pretty hard and very skilful), Frank Casper was a genius at times.
Dobo.
There's loads !!!
(In fact, Doug Collins is so tough, he's even contemplating taking on a swan for his Christmas snack!!)

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:53 pm

greatest living player that I have seen so from 70s onwards would be Martin Dobson

Wile E Coyote · Post by **Wile E Coyote** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:57 pm

blatherwick

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:58 pm

Chris Waddle

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:01 pm

Seriously though, while the most talented is probably Robbie Blake, i think Mike Duff is more deserving of the "greatest" title. But i think it depends on your criteria for choosing.

claretspice · Post by **claretspice** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:20 pm

The likes of Waddle, Steven etc. maybe the greatest players who have played for the club at some point, but if we measure it on greatness whilst wearing a claret shirt, then presumably they'd not get the nod (certainly Waddle, not sure about Steven as before my time). You'd presumably be looking back at the likes of Dobson and others who played in the successful teams of the 60s and 70s in the top flight, and some of our more recent stars who have succeed in the top flight. You can certainly argue that some of Defour's performances last season should make him a contender, and the likes of JBG who have performed consistently over the last 2-3 years would also be contenders.

Robbie Blake was a very good, talented player in the Championship, as was Glen Little, but neither of them really pulled up trees in the Premier League - Glen had one good season with Reading, but that's it, and Blake flickered both with us and other clubs, but neither established themselves at this level in the way the likes of JBG has.

basil6345789 · Post by **basil6345789** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:26 pm

Jimmy Mac would've voted for his pal Jimmy Robson.

RingoMcCartney · Post by **RingoMcCartney** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:34 pm

Dyched wrote:Glen “The Lanky Messi” Little

Graham "the messy lancy" Lancashire

SGr · Post by **SGr** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:35 pm

Has to be one from the first division days, let’s have it right.

ClaretTony · Post by **ClaretTony** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:39 pm

Three candidates for me - McDonald, O'Neil & Irvine

NottsClaret · Post by **NottsClaret** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:39 pm

Trippier must be up there, whether it's how they played for us or what they did elsewhere.

RingoMcCartney · Post by **RingoMcCartney** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:41 pm

At the time, Neil Grewcock!

SGr · Post by **SGr** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:41 pm

claretspice wrote:The likes of Waddle, Steven etc. maybe the greatest players who have played for the club at some point, but if we measure it on greatness whilst wearing a claret shirt, then presumably they'd not get the nod (certainly Waddle, not sure about Steven as before my time). You'd presumably be looking back at the likes of Dobson and others who played in the successful teams of the 60s and 70s in the top flight, and some of our more recent stars who have succeed in the top flight. You can certainly argue that some of Defour's performances last season should make him a contender, and the likes of JBG who have performed consistently over the last 2-3 years would also be contenders.

Robbie Blake was a very good, talented player in the Championship, as was Glen Little, but neither of them really pulled up trees in the Premier League - Glen had one good season with Reading, but that's it, and Blake flickered both with us and other clubs, but neither established themselves at this level in the way the likes of JBG has.

Absolutely spot on

JBG has played and performed with consistency at a higher level than anyone this century for Burnley.

Shappie · Post by **Shappie** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:04 pm

Paul Gascoigne

Buxtonclaret · Post by **Buxtonclaret** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:22 pm

My nominations.
O'Neil & Irvine, Dobson.
Trevor Steven was also a class act

Think Dobbo would win it for me.

claretspice · Post by **claretspice** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:33 pm

SGr wrote:Absolutely spot on

JBG has played and performed with consistency at a higher level than anyone this century for Burnley.

Personally, I think there's a danger of underestimating the relative quality of a few of our current/recent players - JBG, Cork, Tarkowski, Trippier, Brady, Vokes etc. to name just a few. They're all operating successfully at a far higher level than the likes of Blake did. There's a danger of fond memories from the Championship days, and the fact that as often as not these current players are having to grind out results, distorting perception.

The comparison between the last top flight sides of the 60s and 70s and the current crop is much trickier, because the game has changed so much (and with the influx of international superstars, arguably the top flight is a higher quality league these days so it's much harder for our players to stand out).

taio · Post by **taio** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:33 pm

In my life time Trippier.

Bfc · Post by **Bfc** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:05 pm

John Angus, a fine gentleman, except when playing against Terry Paine the Southampton winger, who he appeared to have a dislike against.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:36 pm

NottsClaret wrote:Trippier must be up there, whether it's how they played for us or what they did elsewhere.

Can't be many ex-Clarets who have scored in a World Cup semi-final,plus his PL and CL displays.

Marty Dobson · Post by **Marty Dobson** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:42 pm

Buxtonclaret wrote:My nominations.
O'Neil & Irvine, Dobson.
Trevor Steven was also a class act

Think Dobbo would win it for me.

For me as well. Great player at the heart of a fine team.

Bosscat · Post by **Bosscat** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:49 pm

Marty Dobson wrote:For me as well. Great player at the heart of a fine team.

Cannot for the life of me work out why Martin Dobson would be your greatest living BFC player

SGr · Post by **SGr** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:43 pm

claretspice wrote:Personally, I think there's a danger of underestimating the relative quality of a few of our current/recent players - JBG, Cork, Tarkowski, Trippier, Brady, Vokes etc. to name just a few. They're all operating successfully at a far higher level than the likes of Blake did. There's a danger of fond memories from the Championship days, and the fact that as often as not these current players are having to grind out results, distorting perception.

Agreed. Controversial on here to say so perhaps but I think there’s a big danger of overestimating the players we had pre 2010, etc. Seeing names from those days being mentioned a lot here.

As fond as memories of Glenn Little might be I don’t think for a moment he’d touch JBG if he were around today. Branch wouldn’t make the squad.

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:53 pm

Adrian Randall or Warren Joyce,I can't split them.

dsr · Post by **dsr** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:00 pm

SGr wrote:Agreed. Controversial on here to say so perhaps but I think there’s a big danger of overestimating the players we had pre 2010, etc. Seeing names from those days being mentioned a lot here.

As fond as memories of Glenn Little might be I don’t think for a moment he’d touch JBG if he were around today. Branch wouldn’t make the squad.

I agree. Robbie Blake was certainly entertaining, and possibly the best player of his era, but on the other hand we have 11 players in the current squad who have scored as many Premier League goals for Burnley as he did.

expoultryboy · Post by **expoultryboy** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:19 pm

Leighton James all day long .

JimMcDonald · Post by **JimMcDonald** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:29 pm

Lee Roche easily.

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:41 pm

NottsClaret wrote:Trippier must be up there, whether it's how they played for us or what they did elsewhere.

Agree. The difference withTrips and Waddle is that Trips was excellent for us then even better after. Waddle amazing before us and bang average here.

Aclaret · Post by **Aclaret** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:46 pm

ClaretTony wrote:Three candidates for me - McDonald, O'Neil & Irvine

I go along with O'Neil.

elwaclaret · Post by **elwaclaret** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:21 pm

In my time Martain Dobson Head and shoulders above any both as a player and a role model

Somethingfishy · Post by **Somethingfishy** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:25 pm

Dane Richards...cracking turn of pace that lad

ClaretAL · Post by **ClaretAL** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:28 pm

hard between Glen Little Robbie Blake and Keiran Trippier

Ashingtonclaret46 · Post by **Ashingtonclaret46** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:29 pm

Bfc wrote:John Angus, a fine gentleman, except when playing against Terry Paine the Southampton winger, who he appeared to have a dislike against.

John still laughs about his treatment of Terry Paine, it really revolved around Paine taking the mickey out of a very young Martin Dobson!!

I rated John --he was so steady and hard as nails, could tackle and also had good ball control and his partnership with Alex Elder was a real joy to behold in a team that achieved so much. Definitely up there as one of the greats in my book.

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:49 pm

SGr wrote:Has to be one from the first division days, let’s have it right.

It's got to be a player who's played in the top division for Burnley - and was at his peak when playing for Burnley.

We've had a few in the team, Gascoigne, Ian Wright, Waddle and a few more, who've been top division and international "stars" while playing for other clubs. The 3 I've named didn't play for Burnley in the top division - or get any caps while playing for us.

Similarly, Joe Hart doesn't quite get there, because he was better at City and, I'm not seeing anything this season that will get him back to England squad.

Going back to "the team of the 70s" (who, unfortunately, didn't live up to that appellation), Martin Dobson, Dave Thomas, Trevor Steven, Frank Casper are all worth a shout.

Current squad, Nick Pope and James Tarkowski have both got the chance to improve and build on their England status - equally, it could go the other way for both of them.

UTC

claret59 · Post by **claret59** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:31 pm

Two who suffered career ending injuries were Colin McDonald and Willie Irvine. Had they been able to continue, (and the injuries not occurred,) then either would be a fantastic candidate and be of legendary status. Other then them I would go for the wingers, Willie Morgan and Leighton James with the latter just shading it for his goal scoring ability.

Bfc · Post by **Bfc** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:04 pm

Ashingtonclaret46, whenever I read your articles, you come across as someone like me, as far as having seen Burnley from the early fifties and having many fond memories to look back on.
John as you probably know was a very good golfer. Do you know if he still plays?.
I remember talking to him at one the re union dinners at the Turf and mentioned spending quite a bit of time bird watching around Northumberland. John said I was welcome to call in and have cup of tea anytime I was up there. I think he was living in Amble then.

tally · Post by **tally** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:20 pm

not the greatest but one who had genuine skill and all round vision .............Frank Casper

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:28 pm

Reading through this thread I had forgotten just how many very good players are still with us, my personal favourites O’Neil, Lochhead, Dobson and Irvine.

exilecanada · Post by **exilecanada** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:31 pm

Excellent thread, however I guess it depends on how one chooses to describe our greatest living player. For me, the late Jimmy Mac is head and shoulders above any other player as far as skill is concerned. The ball seemed to be tied to his boot laces, despite the opposing players attempts to hack it away. Next in line is Martin Dobson, such an elegant player, had the capability of controlling the game, not unlike Franz Beckenbauer . Brian O’Neil isn’t far behind, although for totally different reasons, a nasty little bugger who could make his mark on a game in a heartbeat. Colin McDonald deserves an honourable mention….what could have been if not for breaking his leg?

IMHO, today’s player can’t hold a candle to our heroes of the past………too much $$, inflated egos, fancy cars etc. I’d wager not many current players choose to quaff a pint or two at the Sparrow Hawk!

As a footnote, I missed the ‘dark days ‘ of BFC, due to being busy exploring the ‘new world’, so to speak, so I can’t comment on the guys some are mentioning, only got reintroduced to BFC due to the advent of the ‘net.

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:33 pm

Some fantastic players from the sixties To many to mention them all...Brian o Neil and Andy Lochead. From the seventies Martin Dobson and taffy for me. We've had some good uns the others did their Best.

Ashingtonclaret46 · Post by **Ashingtonclaret46** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:01 pm

Bfc wrote:Ashingtonclaret46, whenever I read your articles, you come across as someone like me, as far as having seen Burnley from the early fifties and having many fond memories to look back on.
John as you probably know was a very good golfer. Do you know if he still plays?.
I remember talking to him at one the re union dinners at the Turf and mentioned spending quite a bit of time bird watching around Northumberland. John said I was welcome to call in and have cup of tea anytime I was up there. I think he was living in Amble then.

Bfc-- yes, I first went on the Turf in August 1952 when we played Middlesbrough and lost --not that I can remember anything about the match ---except the result!
John has had a couple of knee operations but still manages to play golf and is a good player ---as I have been told.
He and his wife are smashing people and now live in Warkworth which is just up the road from Amble. They always make me very welcome when I call and I sometimes see them both in Ashington when they come to the local ASDA.
He never liked travelling and I have tried several times to get him down to the Turf, however, he is always busy!
He definitely didn't like travelling away into Europe when we were in the European Cup but he put up with it because he wanted to play.
Those days were halcyon days as far as I am concerned and Adam Blacklaw used to come along to Gisburn and coach us when we played in the Clitheroe and District League in 1964/5. Some really happy memories and still lovely to be able to talk to John about them.

HiroshimaClaret · Post by **HiroshimaClaret** » Fri Dec 14, 2018 4:12 am

Steve1956 wrote:Adrian Randall or Warren Joyce,I can't split them.

I challenge you sir, to a duel!

Cirrus_Minor · Post by **Cirrus_Minor** » Fri Dec 14, 2018 4:25 am

O’Nsil, Irvine, Dobson, James....