Having a chat this morning with a guy who's been around a while. He's old enough to have been at the 1947 cup final v Charlton.

And we got on to comparing today's players with those of the past.

Which lead to the comparison between Martin Dobson and Steven Defour.

After weighing up the different plus points for both, he concluded that the Belgium was the better player.

But, he said, with a bit of a knowing twinkle in his eye, " I doubt that if we sold Defour tomorrow, itd pay for a new stand!"

Id say after weighing up the pros and cons that it's Dobbo for me.. A class act who could perform on any type of pitch and weather.. D4 is quite a player though .

conyoviejo wrote:Id say after weighing up the pros and cons that it's Dobbo for me.. A class act who could perform on any type of pitch and weather.. D4 is quite a player though .

I agree with you for what it's worth.

Dobson easily.

100% Dobson. Prior to his move to Everton in 74 he was majestic in midfield. And he comes/came with the added bonus of not being out injured every other week.

Obviously different types of players and I can't imagine Steven playing centre half or centre forward like Martin has done, or score as many goals.
But in my humble opinion Steven has more vision and passing ability than Martin had.
You really couldn't get a cigarette paper between them.

Different eras, different demands on players.
Defour the most naturally skilled for me, but Dobson probably takes it for his all round play and work rate.

Very close call, though.

Juan Tanamera wrote:You really couldn't get a cigarette paper between them.

..and if you did Steven would roll one and smoke it!

Please god don't try. He will be out for weeks with a paper cut and you know how painful they can be.

Corky wrote:100% Dobson. Prior to his move to Everton in 74 he was majestic in midfield. And he comes/came with the added bonus of not being out injured every other week.

Remember the time he played on after getting a clout on the head, scored a goal and couldn't remember scoring it because he had concussion!

Juan Tanamera wrote:Obviously different types of players and I can't imagine Steven playing centre half or centre forward like Martin has done, or score as many goals.
But in my humble opinion Steven has more vision and passing ability than Martin had.
You really couldn't get a cigarette paper between them.

Oh, I think you could.

I go for Dobson for the reasons above - one thing is for sure Defour would have loved a player like Dobbo playing alongside him

Dobson well before my time, so I can't make the comparison. Obviously a top player, very consistent too looking at his appearances. So he'll definitely win on that score.

Before we're too dismissive of Defour while he's out injured (again), he has played in three countries, won some league titles, played loads of European football and racked up over 50 caps for a very good Belgian team.

Hopefully we're not waiting 40 years to make the next comparison.

Dobson

Defour. Not had the pleasure of seeing Dobson

its always difficult making comparisons with different times, I watched an old Granada match from 70's with a younger fan , he thought the standard was terrible back then, and ridiculed the fitness levels too. I did it myself from old clips of players like Finney and Mathews. There might not be many decent clips to view, but they look rubbish to me.

It's Stephen Defour as for me he is the best player we have ever had

Dobbo by a mile

Dobson on so many levels.

No comparison has to be Dobson!

Dobson was the most expensive player in the world for a short while.

He is a better defender, a better header of the ball and was fitter and stronger than Defour even without Sports Science. Dobbo’s Goals per game ratio even including his time st centre half is far superior to Defour’s

For me we’ve only seen a few glimpses of Defour’s class and this myth has grown up , usually during his injuries, about how good he actually is.

We have missed Defour but to me he’s a long way to go before he becomes a Legend . Let’s see the class he undoubtedly has performed on a regular basis

some of you were lucky enough to see Dobson. A fairer comparison for me would be Deary-Defour

Vegas Claret you jest sire. Deary in a comparison with Dobson...sheesh

Dobson was also an excellent Captain

Looks like it's Martin's to lose so far

Dobson, easily.

Wile E Coyote wrote:its always difficult making comparisons with different times, I watched an old Granada match from 70's with a younger fan , he thought the standard was terrible back then, and ridiculed the fitness levels too. I did it myself from old clips of players like Finney and Mathews. There might not be many decent clips to view, but they look rubbish to me.

I agree with this to a certain degree. I only started watching football properly in the late 80's but from bits that i have seen the standard of older football, ie 60's/70's/80's, looks quite poor when compared to today's game.

Dobo and not even close.
He had the lot. Started with us as a CF, went on to his best as a CM with everything and ended up as a CH. A true Captain Fantastic.
D4 is OK.

Looks like I am on my own
I am really going on pure talent and how Defour can affect a game
The negative of course is his injury record

Having watched Dobson for many seasons playing in heavy football boots with a heavy ball on heavy pitches, watching the skill, stamina and class, on boggy pitches, ice and snow, he played, as he was, the most expensive, and best player in his era.
Dobson by a long way.

Dobo was a star in a good Burnley side in a good 1st division, and won a smattering of caps when England were a goodish side.

Defour is a very good player in a very good Burnley side, in a Premier League that attracts top class players from around the world, and has won lots of caps in a Belgian side that are and have been decent.

Of course it's difficult to compare players across generations, but I'm of the view that football has progressed, due in part to better pitches and increased fitness levels, which leads me to conclude Defour is the better player.

However I do believe that Dobo contributed more to the Burnley team of that era than Defour has contributed to the Burnley team of this era.

Just my view, of course, and I've enjoyed watching them both.

Also, if Defour had been fortunate enough to avoid the awful injuries he's had, he'd be at the very top of the Clarets Hall of Fame. Right up there with Jimmy Mac.

In that (admittedly academic) scenario, I think Dobbo would be trailing in his wake.

Having said that, City would probably have got him now.

Yeah, a lot of us won't have seen Dobson. So you can only look at stats really, which is never ideal. Defour's won more silverware, won more caps for a better national team, played more European football.

As ever, there's a rush to say it's this player 'by a mile', 'it's not even close'. When, although as impossible as any other comparison, the truth when looking at the level both of these played at, there probably isn't a huge amount between them. The area where Dobson would genuinely be streets ahead is he made a ridiculous number of appearances so was obviously the more robust athlete.

Bit of an unfair comparison, like comparing Bobby Moore and Martin Peters.

Dobson was a wonderful footballer and capable of adapting to several positions, but I have Defour as second only to Jimmy Mac in my all-time list of great Burnley players.

Steven or Defour might be a better comparison and a very tight call but i’d still go against defour purely because of injuries

Spike wrote:Dobson was the most expensive player in the world for a short while.

Really? Don't forget I'm nearly 21,000 days old.

Dobson was the most complete Burnley player I've seen so no real contest as far as I'm concerned.
Billy Ingham v Defour, now that's a comparison worth making....

It's Dobson for me too.

I was born in the early 90's so didn't see Dobson. As others have said above though I've watched a ton of highlights, documentaries, even the odd old game and to me the standard looks worse the further you go back.

Take Pele for example, when I watch some of the stuff from that time period it seems defending didn't exist, the further back the worse it gets.

I suppose the argument is that in those days balls were worse, pitches worse, defenders could assault you and Keepers had no gloves.

For me modern day players are far superior, but they have it a lot lot better than the older ones did.

Dobo

Unfortunately for me there is no comparison, as good as Defour is Dobbo was way above him on every level.

Both class acts - at the moment Dobbo shades it through his longevity though, unless Defour becomes our new Alexander

Always difficult, with the different times.
Both ooze class.
Think you try to imagine each of them playing in the others era.

I was a huge Dobo fan, so risking that bias, I'm going for him.
Martin Dobson was good enough to cut it in any era.

Dobo by a country mile for me.

Sir Martin Dobson has it then (by my estimation).

DOBO on so many levels.

Burnleybabe wrote:DOBO on so many levels.

Is that Martin Dobson in a lift!?

Hroogar wrote:Having watched Dobson for many seasons playing in heavy football boots with a heavy ball on heavy pitches, watching the skill, stamina and class, on boggy pitches, ice and snow, he played, as he was, the most expensive, and best player in his era.
Dobson by a long way.

I totally agree..well I would wouldn't I.

The early 70s team he played in will always be my favourite

Depite all the difficulties in such comparison....Dobson.
I’ve never really paid any attention to bars, media centres and food stalls etc - but do we have something named after this absolute legend in or around the ground? Other than His stand?

Defour a great player but will never touch the quality of Dobbo.