The best and worst Claret CF

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:04 am

Following the best &worst goalkeeper thread time to move to the other end of the pitch.
Best. Rocket Ron Futcher
Worst.Where do we start?

whiffa · Post by **whiffa** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:05 am

Best: Danny Ings
Worst: Chris Iwelumo (I wasn't a fan ok... get over it)

(In my lifetime anyway)

box_of_frogs · Post by **box_of_frogs** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:09 am

Worst: Liam Robinson
Best: Mike Conroy

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:17 am

The first i vividly remember was mike conroy. And pound for pound he was good as any ive seen.

At each level we have played which is probably a fairer measurement id go, in reverse order.

Conroy
Payton
Austin
Vokes

DAVETHEVICAR · Post by **DAVETHEVICAR** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:18 am

Best Ray Pointer/Willie Irvine/Andy Lochhead
Worst Jones( the one from Stockport)

Quickenthetempo · Post by **Quickenthetempo** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:22 am

Worst Tony Philiskirk/GNW
Best Charlie Austin

Darthlaw · Post by **Darthlaw** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:27 am

Best - Austin
Worst - Philliskirk / Nimani / Facey

claretlife · Post by **claretlife** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:27 am

If it's centre forwards you can discount likes of Ings,
Best - Steve Kindon
Worst - David Jones (think Frank Casper signed him)

burnley007 · Post by **burnley007** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:32 am

Best has to be George Oghani!!

NL Claret · Post by **NL Claret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:32 am

Worst David Jones who I think came from Orient or Ian Helliwell who had a good game against us for Stockport so Mullen signed him. Special mention to Les Lawrence and Wayne Entwistle.

Best Charlie Austin

Paranoid · Post by **Paranoid** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:39 am

In my time watching:
Best - Paul Fletcher (remember the overhead kick at Weeds fondly)
Worst - Les Lawrence (Dark days!)

boiledclaret · Post by **boiledclaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:48 am

Best I've seen would be Chas Austin, Billy Hamilton, Kevin Reeves, Jay Rod and Payton. In future post retrospect it'll probably be Vokesy and hopefully Wood.

Worst: Anyone being unappreciative of our current strikers needs to remember Mark Caughy and Robert Regis.

claptrappers_union · Post by **claptrappers_union** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:56 am

Lee Howey

RocketLawnChair · Post by **RocketLawnChair** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:59 am

Paranoid wrote:In my time watching:
Best - Paul Fletcher (remember the overhead kick at Weeds fondly)
Worst - Les Lawrence (Dark days!)

Any minute now !!!

elwaclaret · Post by **elwaclaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:00 pm

boiledclaret wrote:Best I've seen would be Chas Austin, Billy Hamilton, Kevin Reeves, Jay Rod and Payton. In future post retrospect it'll probably be Vokesy and hopefully Wood.

Worst: Anyone being unappreciative of our current strikers needs to remember Mark Caughy and Robert Regis.

Agree with Regis.... though Les Lawrence has to be in the same sentence. But Caughy I think had everything needed for a striker, but never really got a run to grow into the team.

THEWELLERNUT70 · Post by **THEWELLERNUT70** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:14 pm

Best - Billy Hamilton

Worst- Robert Regis

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:23 pm

Putting everything in to some sort of context:

Worst - Nathan Delfouneso.

Best -Sam Vokes.

dermotdermot · Post by **dermotdermot** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:32 pm

The worst by far just has to be Fred Nimani.

Incidentally, could the OP correct the spelling error in the title. It's a little irritating.

Bcap1959 · Post by **Bcap1959** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:37 pm

Best - Ray Pointer

Worst probably Facey ...not sure if Sordell counts but he always looked hopeless

ExistentialWanderer · Post by **ExistentialWanderer** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:38 pm

claretlife wrote: Worst - David Jones (think Frank Casper signed him)

It's an affront to the football fraternity to even have called David Jones a 'footballer', let alone a centre forward.

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:40 pm

The best was Willie Irvine, by a country mile. His post-war record of league goals in a season is unlikely ever to be beaten.

Worst was probably Delfouneso, although there are plenty of candidates.

TVC15 · Post by **TVC15** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:41 pm

If we are talking pure / natural goal scoring centre forward then for me has to be Andy Payton.

All round play - hold up, good in the air and goalscorer - i`d say Charlie Austin.

"Old fashioned" type target man - Sam Vokes (but Gareth Taylor was excellent for us)

No 10 - Danny Ings

Worst - David Jones old era (for me !) ; more recent times Delfouneso is a good shout !

I`m sure there may have been better players in the 60s - but I didn`t see them and even early 70s only seen bits of Paul Fletcher but believe from the way others talk he was top drawer.

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:46 pm

Payton was good but not even close to the level of Willie Irvine.

ŽižkovClaret · Post by **ŽižkovClaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:49 pm

Best: Jay Rod (Call me soft in the head but home grown always makes it sweeter)
Worst: Ryan Noble

TVC15 · Post by **TVC15** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:49 pm

I`ll take your word for it but never seen Willie Irvine kick a ball.

I played against Payton at school a few times and it was hard to believe he became the player he did. Wish he would have come to Burnley earlier in his career. When he did eventually come he was a long way ahead of every other play in our team in everything he did. Plus he won me and my mates a small fortune on first goal scorer !!

claretlife · Post by **claretlife** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:00 pm

ExistentialWanderer wrote:It's an affront to the football fraternity to even have called David Jones a 'footballer', let alone a centre forward.

Hope I'm not wrong in thinking it was Frank Casper who signed him - I could never understand why a striker as good as Casper was could sign someone as dire as David Jones........

HiroshimaClaret · Post by **HiroshimaClaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:04 pm

claretlife wrote:If it's centre forwards you can discount likes of Ings,
Best - Steve Kindon
Worst - David Jones (think Frank Casper signed him)

He could touch the Great Harwood Town crossbar so can`t have been that bad.

jlup1980 · Post by **jlup1980** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:04 pm

In my lifetime...

We've been spoilt in recent years!!

Best - Austin, Ings, Vokes, Payton, Conroy, Blake, Jay Rod and 8 goals in 10 games legend Gerry Creaney!!

Plenty of bad ones. Off the top of my head.

Worst - John Gayle, Andy Saville, David Jones, Liam Robinson, Kevin Henderson.

Claretforever · Post by **Claretforever** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:05 pm

We've had so many pound for pound decent forwards that I'm struggling to choose:

Best:
Oghani
O'Connell (for 1 season)
Rocket Rock (34/35 yr old when we had him)
Conroy
Nogan (Didn't he score about 20 one season?)
Payton
Andy Gray
Fletcher (amazing control of the ball)
Jay Rod
Austin
Vokes
Ings
Andre Gray

I'd have to go with Conroy I think pound for pound, and Ings as the most exciting and overall.

Worst:
Steve Jones (the black one)
Helliwell
Robinson
Philliskirk

Steve Jones hands down I think.

ExistentialWanderer · Post by **ExistentialWanderer** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:07 pm

claretlife wrote:Hope I'm not wrong in thinking it was Frank Casper who signed him - I could never understand why a striker as good as Casper was could sign someone as dire as David Jones........

Not sure if it was Miller or Casper but I think it was the latter.

CaptJohn · Post by **CaptJohn** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:11 pm

Best: Willie Irvine possibly because he was alongside Andy Lochead.

Worst: I'm sorry but "Big Bad John Gayle" has to be up there alongside Ian Helliwell.

Rowls · Post by **Rowls** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:15 pm

Best: Payton, Rodriguez, Austin, Ings

Worst: Ian Helliwell. Without doubt the worst I've ever seen.

50 shades of Grey · Post by **50 shades of Grey** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:31 pm

Best: Ings - moments of pure, 'unteachable' skill (tricks and flicks better than any I've seen). However, all time fave - Billy Hamilton (simply because he's Billy Hamilton, no other explanation necessary);

Worst: I've wiped my memory of the 80's dark days, but Ian Helliwell sticks in my mind, not for any good reasons.

Culmclaret · Post by **Culmclaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:46 pm

No contest on the worst. Has to be David Jones. The worst touch I have ever seen from a professional footballer. Big but rheumatically slow. He genuinely looked like he had never played the game before.

NRC · Post by **NRC** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:47 pm

if we're considering most of us never saw Willie Irvine play, and Danny Ings is being discounted as he's not a "center forward" then I can't see how it can be anyone other than Charlie Austin, Billy Hamilton, or Vokes. None of the others played at a level that compares with those three, and out of it I would pick Austin

For worst I agree David Jones - he was the proverbial bag of cement that Andre could not trap

NL Claret · Post by **NL Claret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:17 pm

David Jones once scored a hat trick for Doncaster. He ran like his legs were on the wrong way round

Philiskirk and Facey both scored hat tricks for the Clarets. Phyllis was actually booed off the field after being subbed after his against Barnet.

Paul Barnes and his massive backside had a good season, great business swapping him for Payton.

Rowls · Post by **Rowls** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:24 pm

Paul Barnes had an excellent career but despite his goalscoring exploits he shouldn't trouble either end of this thread.

Bordeauxclaret · Post by **Bordeauxclaret** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:36 pm

Austin

Paul Stewart worst by quite a distance on his Burnley showings alone.

piston broke · Post by **piston broke** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:39 pm

Blessed to have seen Pointer, Irvine, Lochhead. Close thread.
Worst: Philliskirk or Hancock.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:40 pm

Hard to argue against helliwell as the worst.

Of the good ones I've seen, struggling to separate Hamilton, Payton and Austin.

claretlife · Post by **claretlife** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:47 pm

NL Claret wrote:David Jones once scored a hat trick for Doncaster. He ran like his legs were on the wrong way round

Philiskirk and Facey both scored hat tricks for the Clarets. Phyllis was actually booed off the field after being subbed after his against Barnet.

Paul Barnes and his massive backside had a good season, great business swapping him for Payton.

Bringing Payton back in exchange for Barnes was the best thing Waddle ever did that season, otherwise we'd have gone down

Shappie · Post by **Shappie** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:00 pm

Tony Hancock surely

ClaretTony · Post by **ClaretTony** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:03 pm

Best: Willie Irvine, just the finest goalscorer I've seen in a Burnley shirt

Worst: David Jones, signed from Leyton Orient in 1989. Looked the part until the game kicked off.

Now I've read the thread and seen all the references to Jones. One poster said he was from Stockport, another called him Steve, but definitely David Jones, definitely from Leyton Orient and definitely signed by Frank Casper. Played twice and was promptly dropped but brought back for another two games when Oghani was sacked. About 6ft 3ins until he went up for a ball then went down to around 5ft 6ins. Absolutely dreadful.

claretblue · Post by **claretblue** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:07 pm

number 1 number 9

Ray Pointer

UTC

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:21 pm

dermotdermot wrote:The worst by far just has to be Fred Nimani.

Incidentally, could the OP correct the spelling error in the title. It's a little irritating.

Done Dermot.. that's twice Ive edited that title its probably still wrong in some way specially to the punctuation police

I blame my phone!

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:23 pm

Shappie wrote:Tony Hancock surely

Didn't he cost about £100,000

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:26 pm

boiledclaret wrote:Best I've seen would be Chas Austin, Billy Hamilton, Kevin Reeves, Jay Rod and Payton. In future post retrospect it'll probably be Vokesy and hopefully Wood.

Worst: Anyone being unappreciative of our current strikers needs to remember Mark Caughy and Robert Regis.

Kevin Reeves forgot about him great player, Bond's best signing by miles, pity injury ruined his Career:(

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:28 pm

Best: Austin (as an out an out goal poacher)

when he missed any one on ones

Worst Juke (Purely for the level we signed him at and money paid out)

LoveCurryPies · Post by **LoveCurryPies** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:39 pm

Don't know why people rate Ings so highly, think they likes his tattoos. I'm another Austin fan.

Mala591 · Post by **Mala591** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:53 pm

Got to be Wayne Biggins for me. The rest of the Burnley team (at the time) made him look like a world beater!

'Darkest days' is a phrase which comes to mind.