Your favourite non-Boro player of all-time, with one caveat

[mercury_redstone7]

The best I've seen in person, well that could be a list as long as your arm, 55 years of watching footer.

Probably Georgie Best, breath taking skill, fought the birds off, more style than James Dean.

What kid didnt want to be Georgie. If you do have time, which you should make- watch the video, on ploughed fields (which at times suited the skilled player more) I go to the game to watch a deft touch, the drop of a shoulder, a dummy sold bought and paid for. But I've seen all this from playing local football to the pros and the greatest. I've seen a few too.

Best I've haven't seen who wasn't Boro and I never seen live was Fat Ronaldo, nobody as good, perhaps Maradona or Ronaldinho.

 

[viv_andersons_nana]

That Arsenal team from around 1997 to 2005ish was just ridiculous. I maintain that watching that team taught me to respect the quality of the opposition and to enjoy the game as a spectacle. I’d been getting quite angry at Boro matches as a 14, 15, 16 year old and thought the refs were all corrupt, the opposition were cheats all conning Boro out of points and wins and that we were the possibly best team around if only things weren’t rigged against us.

I went to art college at 16 and started to grow up, which included watching football differently. I remember they were the first opposition to score a goal I applauded. I just sat back and watched this absolute machine playing scintillating football instead of getting angry and abusing players and referees.

In fact Arsenal are the first opposition team I can remember seeing a Boro supporter applaud. It was at Ayresome Park in 1993, George Graham’s Arsenal played about 7 short one-touch passes between a triangle of Adams, Bould and Winterburn and completely bypassed the front-end of our team and turned us around within seconds. I can still picture it. It’s amazing what sticks with you. I was 10 when that happened.

 

[atypical_boro]

It was at Ayresome Park in 1993, George Graham’s Arsenal played about 7 short one-touch passes between a triangle of Adams, Bould and Winterburn and completely bypassed the front-end of our team and turned us around within seconds. I can still picture it. It’s amazing what sticks with you. I was 10 when that happened.

Better than anything Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Vieira could come up with....

 

[atypical_boro]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Tim Sherwood yet.

Interesting no one has said Pele, and Maradona only mentioned tentatively.

 

[wilkos_perm]

I think probably Lineker, just because of the memories and drama of Mexico '86 and Italia '90 that I associate him with.
My son will probably think the same about Harry Kane in the future.

 

[Frankie Lee]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Tim Sherwood yet.

Interesting no one has said Pele, and Maradona only mentioned tentatively.

Maradona is by far my fave, but it is from clips mainly or from the memory of a very small child so didn’t seem right.

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

Maradona too.

That was easy

 

[MichaelDebeve]

As a failed defender I have to mention Paolo Maldini

I was always in awe of him defending. He blew my mind how effortless he made it look. More often than not he could keep the best attackers in the world quiet without breaking a sweat.

Positioning was flawless.

He once said "If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake!"

 

[atypical_boro]

Maradona is by far my fave, but it is from clips mainly or from the memory of a very small child so didn’t seem right.

I am fascinated by Diego (Maradona, not the fmttm poster, who is also a great lad btw). But the thing is no one really saw him play outside World Cups, Serie A wasn’t on UK TV in the 80s. Same goes for Pele, who most people really only saw in one World Cup.

So I think it’s easier to build a “rapport” with players who played in England (pre-90s) like George Best, or foreign players who played in the post-90s era where La Liga and Serie A were broadcast live.

Not a single German or Italian mentioned on this thread, mind. I should give an honourable mention to Beppe Signori.

 

[atypical_boro]

He blew my mind how effortless he made it look.

You were fooled by the free-flowing locks mate. If he’d shaved his head he’d have looked exactly like Danny Mills bringing the ball over the halfway line.

 

[Muttley]

Gerd Muller for ze Germanz

 

[Frankie Lee]

I am fascinated by Diego (Maradona, not the fmttm poster, who is also a great lad btw). But the thing is no one really saw him play outside World Cups, Serie A wasn’t on UK TV in the 80s. Same goes for Pele, who most people really only saw in one Word Cup.

So I think it’s easier to build a “rapport” with players who played in England (pre-90s) like George Best, or foreign players who played in the post-90s era where La Liga and Serie A were broadcast live.

Not a single German or Italian mentioned on this thread, mind. I should give an honourable mention to Beppe Signori.

Yeah I’m the same with Maradona. I know Messi is phenomenal, but Maradona just fascinates me and he blows my mind when I see what he could do.

 

[MichaelDebeve]

You were fooled by the free-flowing locks mate. If he’d shaved his head he’d have looked exactly like Danny Mills bringing the ball over the halfway line.

I dunno - I had a soft spot for Cannavaro, even with the skin head

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

Gerd Muller for ze Germanz

Gunther Netzer for me but didn't see him that often.

We didn't see a great deal of George Best, Bobby Charlton etc either. Football didn't have the coverage that we have today. We see more of non league and foreign games nowadays.

 

[Muttley]

Any keepers yet?

Dino Zoff or Lev Yashin

 

[atypical_boro]

Gunther Netzer for me but didn't see him that often.

We didn't see a great deal of George Best, Bobby Charlton etc either. Football didn't have the coverage that we have today. We see more of non league and foreign games nowadays.

I guess you had MOTD, and lots of England/Home Championships and a few United European games (in 1968 anyway)?

 

[atypical_boro]

Any keepers yet?

Dino Zoff or Lev Yashin

Schmeichel has been mentioned.

 

[Marvanelli]

What about outside the PL though?

Ah yeah, sorry. Henry overall (outside of Messi).

If having to pick a player outside of PL, I'd probably go with Iniesta - with Xavi close behind.

The way Iniesta manipulated the ball and had it on a string was ridiculous. It was a magnet to his boot. Loved watching him play and taking on players with sheer skill & ease.

 

[Redlips]

Paul Scholes!

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

I guess you had MOTD, and lots of England/Home Championships and a few United European games (in 1968 anyway)?

We did but MOTD didn't have division wide coverage, one game then leapt to two games covered later on, and like the ITV Sunday programmes you could have a lower league match, particularly in the north east with Shoot.