Top 5 Players Of The Club You Support

[Dan+]

18 minutes ago, Cicero said:

He remains the level he is at, especially at a long duration with us, I can see him surpassing Makelele. 

Look how much of a shambles we are now with him injured. 

It's no co-incidence at all. One of the best readers of the game and tacklers I've ever seen.

[IgnisExcubitor]

Will choose the latter option which Balon mentioned. So the players in my list are from the time I started supporting Lfc. Therefore there will be no mention of Dalglish (No one comes close to him), Barnes(magic),  Rush,  Hughes(who I absolutely love after reading about him),  Callaghan,  Clemence,  Liddell, etc. 

I am even excluding the God,  because I didn't see the best of him in Red. 

Owen,  the player who was responsible for me becoming a Lfc fan,  also misses because I can't forgive him for joining Man Utd. 

So here goes, in no particular order. 

1) Xabi Alonso

My all time favourite footballer.  It was joy watching him,  even after he left.  If he had stayed back then things would have been different,  but it's a shame he burned his bridges with Rafa. 

2) Steven Gerrard

There were so many times when he has single handedly saved our arse. Just too many  matches.  There was nobody as inspiring as him.

3) Fernando Torres

Suarez was a better player than Torres,  but the Spaniard was so graceful. He glided on the turf. And unlike Suarez he wasn't a cunt. He could tear down defences,  but in his own way.

4) Pepe Reina

The club has a history of great keepers,  and he can be counted as one of them. Didn't achieve anywhere near the same number of trophies as Clemence or Grobbelaar but Pepe was brilliant for us. You don't win three consecutive Golden gloves without being good. 

5) Jamie Carragher

Just like how DMs do all the dirty work for the team,  well he did that with captaincy.  While Steven wore the armband, Carra did the dirty work of hounding his team mates & keeping  them on their toes,  leaving  Steven to inspire them with his feet.  And Carra was a really good defender to add to that. His partnership with Hyypia was one of the best. 

Near misses to my list Suarez(almost won us the league,  but also dragged the club's name through some shit), Hyypia (legend in his own way), Mascherano(we never replaced him,  like Xabi). 

 

[nudge+]

2 hours ago, Tsubasa said:

Toni Turek

Frank Mill 

Klaus Allofs

Paul Janes

Rainer Geye

No Gerd Zewe?  

Anyway, after reading your post I realised that I have absolutely no idea what Allofs is up to now.

[Tommy]

52 minutes ago, nudge said:

No Gerd Zewe?  

Anyway, after reading your post I realised that I have absolutely no idea what Allofs is up to now.

 

Hmm, Zewe instead of Mill would be better, I guess. Mill only played for Düsseldorf in the autumn of his career. 

 

Many people here wanted to see Allofs at Fortuna as a Manager or director of sports. He declined as far as I know, but didn't rule out to come back one day. 

[nudge+]

12 minutes ago, Tsubasa said:

Many people here wanted to see Allofs at Fortuna as a Manager or director of sports. He declined as far as I know, but didn't rule out to come back one day. 

And bring Thomas Schaaf in as a head coach 

This thread depresses me though, after realising what an incredible loss of quality we had in recent years.

[Lucas]

1 hour ago, IgnisExcubitor said:

Will choose the latter option which Balon mentioned. So the players in my list are from the time I started supporting Lfc. Therefore there will be no mention of Dalglish (No one comes close to him), Barnes(magic),  Rush,  Hughes(who I absolutely love after reading about him),  Callaghan,  Clemence,  Liddell, etc. 

I am even excluding the God,  because I didn't see the best of him in Red. 

Owen,  the player who was responsible for me becoming a Lfc fan,  also misses because I can't forgive him for joining Man Utd. 

So here goes, in no particular order. 

1) Xabi Alonso

My all time favourite footballer.  It was joy watching him,  even after he left.  If he had stayed back then things would have been different,  but it's a shame he burned his bridges with Rafa. 

2) Steven Gerrard

There were so many times when he has single handedly saved our arse. Just too many  matches.  There was nobody as inspiring as him.

3) Fernando Torres

Suarez was a better player than Torres,  but the Spaniard was so graceful. He glided on the turf. And unlike Suarez he wasn't a cunt. He could tear down defences,  but in his own way.

4) Pepe Reina

The club has a history of great keepers,  and he can be counted as one of them. Didn't achieve anywhere near the same number of trophies as Clemence or Grobbelaar but Pepe was brilliant for us. You don't win three consecutive Golden gloves without being good. 

5) Jamie Carragher

Just like how DMs do all the dirty work for the team,  well he did that with captaincy.  While Steven wore the armband, Carra did the dirty work of hounding his team mates & keeping  them on their toes,  leaving  Steven to inspire them with his feet.  And Carra was a really good defender to add to that. His partnership with Hyypia was one of the best. 

Near misses to my list Suarez(almost won us the league,  but also dragged the club's name through some shit), Hyypia (legend in his own way), Mascherano(we never replaced him,  like Xabi). 

 

Wow, no Robbie Fowler? So surprised you've not picked him to be honest. I thought he was considered god up there, especially being Liverpool born and bred.

Over 120 odd PL goals for Liverpool too. Big call I guess, but each to their own.

[LFCMike]

Top 5 all time definitely sees Dalglish out on top. The next four could be in any order really. Gerrard, Liddell, Rush, Barnes. There really is so many that I've missed out here though, I'm sure someone else would disagree with those 5. Hansen, Hughes, Clemence and in particular Souness amongst others could make a case for being in there.

My lifetime: Gerrard, Suarez, Fowler, Carragher and Torres. Gerrard on top ahead of Suarez for his longevity. Suarez is the most talented player I've seen in a red shirt. Fowler, my first football hero. Carragher just edges out Hyypia. Torres makes it in for me. He was unreal between 07 and 09/10. 

[HK85]

12 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

Top 5 all time definitely sees Dalglish out on top. The next four could be in any order really. Gerrard, Liddell, Rush, Barnes. There really is so many that I've missed out here though, I'm sure someone else would disagree with those 5. Hansen, Hughes, Clemence and in particular Souness amongst others could make a case for being in there.

My lifetime: Gerrard, Suarez, Fowler, Carragher and Torres. Gerrard on top ahead of Suarez for his longevity. Suarez is the most talented player I've seen in a red shirt. Fowler, my first football hero. Carragher just edges out Hyypia. Torres makes it in for me. He was unreal between 07 and 09/10. 

Reckon you've got Carragher in above Hyypia because of where he's from there. Hyypia was outstanding, much better than Carragher and definitely your best PL defender. 

[LFCMike]

1 minute ago, HK85 said:

Reckon you've got Carragher in above Hyypia because of where he's from there. Hyypia was outstanding, much better than Carragher and definitely your best PL defender. 

Yeah maybe, it's difficult leaving one or the other out

[IgnisExcubitor]

1 hour ago, Lucas said:

Wow, no Robbie Fowler? So surprised you've not picked him to be honest. I thought he was considered god up there, especially being Liverpool born and bred.

Over 120 odd PL goals for Liverpool too. Big call I guess, but each to their own.

 

2 hours ago, IgnisExcubitor said:

Will choose the latter option which Balon mentioned. So the players in my list are from the time I started supporting Lfc. 

I am even excluding the God,  because I didn't see the best of him in Red. 

This is why. Having seen him in archives,  he was absolutely brilliant.  

He was at Leeds when I started  supporting Reds. 

[Cicero]

Gerrard is a Chelsea legend 

[Rucksackfranzose]

In cronological order:

1- Edmund Conen, first Saarbrücken player to earn a German cap

2- Wilhelm Sold, captain of the 50ér team, that Jules Rimet called the most interesting in Europe

3- Heinz Vollmer, last German international from FC Saarbrücken

4- Adolf Stegmayer, who scored 4 goals in that 6-1 Buli win over Bayern 1977

5-  Dieter Ferner, goalkeeper in the same match, who stayed at the club in different functions ever since

This FC Saarbrücken list is less glamarous than most of the others , but also less boring.

[Storts]

Will try and do two lists and avoid crossover although ultimately some of the more current crop, one in particular, will likely end up in the top 5 of all time.

This is going to be very difficult because we've had a lot of iconic players of the years, people that really epitomise this football club and it's going to be so hard to pick just 5. But I'll try.

#1: Sir Bill Nicholson 

Whilst this is about players and his biggest successes came as manager, there can be no list of Tottenham Hotspur without Mr Tottenham Hotspur himself. He spent 36 years at the club overall and is without doubt the greatest manager in our history. He played for us between 1938-1955 although of course the war prevented him from regular appearances for a number of years. However he went on to make over 300 appearances for the club and notoriously put us ahead of his England career. He was part of our 1950-51 famous push and run title winning side, the first in our history, and was a stalwart at the back.

Following his football career he went on to manage us for 16 years, winning the first double in the 21st century in 1961. Under Sir Bill we became the first club to win a European trophy, winning the cup winners cup in 1963. Bill also oversaw our Uefa Cup win over Wolves in 1972. On top of this another two FA Cups and two League cups. Wherever you look at the club Bill stamped his mark upon it, trophies in the cabinet, famous images and nights, quotes and whatever more. He's a figure that doesn't always get the recognition from the wider football community that he possibly deserves,  but without doubt the greatest clubman we've ever seen.

 

#2: Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy is the undisputed number two on the list and the greatest goalscorer in English history. He scored 266 goals in 380 games for the club and is currently still the record holder for league goals in his career with 366.

He was signed by Bill Nicholson for £99,999 from AC Milan to avoid him becoming the first £100,000 player in 1961, and his signing was critical for our best ever side.His goalscoring record for both Tottenham and England is phenomenal and his strike partnerships with Bobby Smith and more latterly Alan Gilzean was as good as it gets for the club.

I could write more about Greaves but honestly his record speaks for itself.

 

#3: Dave Mackay

After Nicholson and Greaves it becomes very much a subjective choice – with a number of players easily being able to fill this slot. I’m going to go with the heartbeat of the double winning side and a custodian of the team for 9 years from 1959-1968, Dave Mackay. Mackay is probably best known for that photo of him with Billy Bremner at Leeds. However beyond that he is was one of the most successful and most influential players in our history.

With Dave leading the team we won the league, three FA cups and a European Cup. Unfortunately he had two leg breaks during his spell at the club, which is why he only made 260 odd league appearances. However it must be noted that the couple of years he spent out of the side were the years of Nicholson’s reign that we didn’t win anything. I hope that explains the sort of influence he had on the side. Whilst he was recognised and respected as being a hardman, he was also far more than that, a complete player, scoring 43 goals for us. He is very fondly remembered north of the border at Hearts as well as at Tottenham and later Derby County, where he took over from a certain Brian Clough, and won the title.

 

#4: Danny Blanchflower

Danny Blanchflower. I could write for hours about his importance to this football club. He could easily be number three and certainly as a player you can make the case for him being number two. The easiest way to go into Blanchflower’s influence is to repeat the quote that every Tottenham fan knows.

He said 'The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.'

That is the spirit that this club has adopted throughout our history. We’ve had some absolute awful sides, and we of course have not been as successful as we should be, but we have always had stars, we’ve tried to play football in an attractive manner, and Blanchflower understood that.

Danny made 384 appearances for the club in his ten years between 1954-1964. He was the captain of the aforementioned 1960/61 side and without a shadow of a doubt the greatest Northern Irish footballer not name George Best in history. Whilst at the club he won Footballer of the year twice. Blanchflower led the side in our most successful period in our history and whilst that has been the theme of the top 4 I’m going to move to a different era for the final player

 

#5: Glenn Hoddle

 Goddle. The King of White Hart Lane. The Tottenham product, through and through. The most gifted footballer to ever grace the White Hart Lane turf. Glenn Hoddle has to be in any Tottenham top 5. Hoddle signed for the club at the age of 12, but played professionally for us between 1975 and 1987. He also came back to manage us between 2001 and 2003.

 Hoddle made his debut for the club as a 17 year old in 1975, but it was our relegation to the second division, the last time we were out the top flight, that really put him on the map. In our instant promotion, Hoddle lit up the Lane. He came back to Division One, and won the PFA young player of the year. He was in the team of the year 5 times in the 1980’s.

 You speak to any Tottenham fan of that generation and they will talk to you about the special player he was. You look at a highlight reel of Hoddle goals and you will be in awe. His passing range was exceptional and he was the creative fulcrum of the side for a decade. He perhaps underachieved trophy wise, with two FA Cups and a Uefa Cup, but the homegrown Hoddle again epitomises everything sexy about Tottenham sides of old.

 When he became manager in 2001, one of the biggest problems he had was still being more talented than the players in our squad. He became frustrated that they were not able to replicate what he was doing on the training pitch. If that isn’t testament to the incredible gifts he had I don’t know what is.

 

I have to give some honourable mentions. I could have put about 5 or 6 of players in this list.

In no particular order:

 Cliff Jones: The original Welsh Wizard. Spent 10 years at the club in the 1950’s and 1960’s and still there on matchdays now. Considered to be the entertainer in the double winning side.

Steve Perryman: 861 appearances for the club. A number I don’t think will ever be beaten. My reliable

 Ossie Ardiles: Probably most famous for the cup final song Ossie’s going to Wembley and his compatriot Ricky Villa, but Ossie was a special player and a huge part of our history. Ossie spent ten years (give or take the Falklands War) entertaining the crowd at White Hart Lane, and his signing after the World Cup was a huge coup for the club and the country.

Paul Gascoigne: Thankfully I don’t need to say much about Gazza. Single handedly carried us to the FA Cup in 1991. One of the most gifted English players ever and probably had the best spell of his career at Tottenham.

Gareth Bale: As above don’t need to say much. Superstar – carried us for two seasons. Second best I’ve ever seen play for the club (Hi Harry <3)

Pat Jennings: Played 673 times for the club and the best goalkeeper in our history. So beloved that we ridiculously let him go, he went to Arsenal, and he’s still unanimously loved. Thankfully he’s Spurs through and through and another always there on matchdays.

 Will do the modern list at another point if there is any interest in me doing so. But if this is boring and too long read then I apologise.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Overall I'd say:

King Kenny - because he's regarded as our best player ever.

Ian Rush - our top goalscorer

Kevin Keegan - still my dad's favourite player for Liverpool, so he's got to be good if Kenny and Rush came after

Emlyn Hughes - 13 years our captain with an outrageous trophy haul

John Barnes - my dad says he's the second best after Kenny, so I'll throw him on the list too.

But in my lifetime I'll say:

Robbie Fowler - God, my favourite player of all time

Steven Gerrard - enough said really

Jamie Carragher - he and Gerrard were the heart of our team for the best spells of Liverpool in my lifetime

Sami Hyypia - the best defender I've ever seen at Liverpool in my lifetime

Xabi Alonso - an integral part of how we played during the part of my life where we were actually good for more than one season at a time & part of a truly fantastic midfield

 

[SirBalon]

This has turned into an amazing thread...  Thought people would just write lists but that's not the case which is great to see.  It makes me personally very happy to see how much many fans credit the history of the football club they support and how important that was to eventually 'capitalise' on the way football is now as a club with status.

I'll write mine in due course but I'm really really enjoying this.

[Stan]

7 hours ago, SirBalon said:

 

I'll write mine in due course but I'm really really enjoying this.

Let me know when so I can book a day off to read it all. 

[RandoEFC+]

Only going with Everton players in my lifetime- Duncan Ferguson and Tim Cahill easy top 2. Then it's hard to choose from Arteta, Osman, Jagielka, Baines. Of the four I'd probably have to exclude Arteta.

[Chaaay AFC]

I'll base it on the players I have watched in the time I can really remember. I know there are a tonne of legends from the past such as Liam Brady, Ian Wright, Cliff Bastin, David Rocastle, Frank McClintock etc. Unfortunately though I never saw them play.

1. Dennis Bergkamp - Pretty obvious one here. One of the biggest reasons for our success in the late 90s and early 00s. One of the most technical and skillfull players to have ever played the game. Had that toughness about him too. Absolute sensational player.

2. Thierry Henry - Easy, Arsenal's greatest ever goalscorer and the greatest striker in the club's history. So many sensational goals and should have been the first Arsenal player to win a Balon d'Or.

3. Patrick Vieira - Superb midfielder great captain and epitomized Wenger's brilliant first 10 years here. He'd back down to no-one and he is up there with the best captains in Arsenal's history.

4. Tony Adams - Our greatest ever captain, only man to captain any team to league titles in 3 different decades. Brilliant defender as well and lead us to many honours.

5. Francesc Fabregas - This is going to be a tad controversial in soe people minds but I genuinely believe he deserves to be here. He was astonishing when he first burst on the scene as a 17 year old. I dont think I will ever see a teenager as mature and good as him for a very long time. Wenger knew how good he was and built his team around him and they were a great footballing team. Arguably the best football the club ever played. 

Unfortunately though due to lack of investment we never got the team 100% right and it always fell short. In reality that team could have at least won a couple of titles, but it just wasn't to be sadly. 

I was so gutted we turned him down though and allowed him to go to Chelsea. Always felt that was a big mistake and now he has gone and one two leagues titles with them...

[HK85]

22 hours ago, HK85 said:

I'll add them later. 

Gonna have to be one at a time because I can't be arsed doing them all at once. 

Next one is Howard Kendall. Easy, again. 

The greatest individual in our entire history as a player and a manager. I know it specifies players but I don't care, everything is going in. 

Won the league with us in 1970 as part of an apparently superb midfield of Kendall-Harvey-Ball, the Holy Trinity. After success in the early-to-mid 60's that midfield pushed us to another title. Supremely talented player who should have won more and possibly would have had it not been for the declining health of Harry Catterick.  

He'd be part of our next title winning side over 20 years later as a manager as well. His 80's side the best we've ever had. Most of those players have said they owe everything they've achieved to Kendall. It's brilliant listening to the likes of Peter Reid, Neville Southall, Graeme Sharp, Andy Gray et al talk about how good he and we were. He put us back at the top after he got us there as a player. 

I fucking love Howard Kendall. 

[Harry]

Zenden

Voronin

Aquilani

Konchesky

Dossena

[Lucas]

We have had some truly great players play for us in our history.

Billy Bremner, John Charles, Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer, Allan Clarke, Norman Hunter, Johnny Giles, Jack Charlton...the list is endless of legends. But I can only judge players since I've been following Leeds United.

We've also had several players who have left their mark because of what they gave to this club. Like Lee Bowyer, Gary Speed, Gary McAllistair, Gordon Strachan, David Batty, Gary Kelly, Nigel Martyn, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Jermaine Beckford etc But I cannot pick them all.

So this is my personal Top 5 that were influential to our club.

1) Lucas Radebe

One of the most underated footballers I know and forever a legend at our club. Not to mention the ultimate gentleman to boot.

Interesting fact about Lucas. Leeds signed a South African player in 1994 from Kaizer Chiefs by the name of Phil Masinga. Lucas Radebe was included in the deal to keep Masinga happy but little did we know the latter would turn out to be the better investment. Whilst initially struggling to adapt, it wasn't till George Graham came to the club that he transformed Radebe. Made him the club captain and saw him improve season upon season as part of the foundations for O'Leary's side.

Radebe turned down moves to Man Utd, Milan and Roma to stay with us during his time. Fergie was a great admirer of him. Unfortunately serious injuries cut short his career but the guy is an ambassador of our club. His smile lights up a room and he's never got a bad word to say about anyone. He's a brilliant role model and the reason why so many young lads are called Lucas in the Yorkshire region, not to mention yours truly's forum name. An true inspiration.

2) Harry Kewell

 

First thing about Kewell is this. I despise the man with a passion. He's really let us down bad, not once, but twice. Moving to Galatasaray was what really tipped the scales.

But, I have to take the rose tinted spectacles off and admit that he is one of the best talents to come out of our academy and whilst his career really tailed off, he was absolutely brilliant for us and one of the best players I've seen live. A genius, he would do something special out of nowhere and was a key player for us during the O'Leary days when we played arguably the best attacking football in the league.

3) Tony Yeboah

When I started watching Leeds, I was used to strikers like Rod Wallace, Brian Deane, Noel Whelen. So when big Tone rocked up in Yorkshire, there was a lot of hype. He came with a good reputation and scored on his debut at Old Trafford. Thighs like treetrunks, he had the most powerful shot I've seen, typified by the two famous goals he scored against Liverpool and Wimbledon.

Whilst it ended sour for him after he fell out with George Graham, who promptly brought in an unknown player from Portugal by the name of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, he will forever be a cult hero at Leeds.

4) Mark Viduka

I loved Viduka. Being an Aussie, he had a bit of grit about him which adhered him to the people of Yorkshire. A classic centre forward. Big, strong, held the ball up, brought others into play, incredibly skilful for a big lad, bullied defenders and had a brilliant finish on him. The outstanding memory of Viduka will always be the 4-3 game with Liverpool when he scored all four but there were many, many more moments, from scoring a last minute winner at Highbury to keep us up, to terrorising European defences in that one off Champions League season run to the semi's. Another cult hero for Leeds.

5) Eric Cantona

This will haunt us Leeds fans forever. What he did for Man Utd he should have done for us. He should have left his legacy here but Howard Wilkinson and our board royally fucked up. The rest is history.

Cantona joined us in February '92 and whilst he only had 15 games of the season left, he was instrumental in winning the league title for us from our arch rivals. We were not a team of skilled defenders or strikers but we had a shit hot midfield and a tremendous team spirit. Cantona was the icing on the cake. Goals but more crucially, several assists for Lee Chapman proved pivotal. Before long, "Ooh Aah Can-tona said Ooh Aah Cantona" was being belted out from the stands.

Although joined the scum tainted his short time at Leeds, his signing was the crucial factor that made us Champions of England, our last ever trophy and deserves respect.

[Guest]

On 20/10/2017 at 0:23 PM, Stan said:

my lifetime - it just won't be the title-winning squad but spanning from 1996/97 which is when I first started supporting the club. We had mild levels of success in the late 90s/early 00s where we reached play-off finals and League Cup finals which, at the time for our standard of club, was a great achievement. 

Muzzy Izzet - for me, he was one of my favourite players to watch because of how creative and dynamic he could be. You had the rugged, aggressive nature of Lennon and Savage in a midfield 3, the wingers in Guppy and Impey on either side and Izzet seemed to be the perfect player to compliment that combination and the way we played. He was the lynch-pin that would bring it altogether. Not only that, but he was a goal-scoring midfielder and he scored some belters. Funnily enough, this goal below was 19 years ago today against Spurs

 

Emile Heskey - people seem to remember his time at Liverpool and dodgy England performances more than where he actually came from and had already made his name. As described in how we used to play in the late 90s above, Heskey was further proof of just how effective he could be and how that formation was. He was physical, pacy, bustly and clinical in front of goal with us. Got us so many goals. The first striker I properly grew to love watching in that side.

Riyad Mahrez - By far and away the most skilful, creative and mind-blowingly exciting player we've ever had. The ability to turn a game on its head by doing something eccentric or downright absurd. That title-winning season he was extremely pivotal to our success and counter-attacking play. Sensational skill and quick feet. Was terrified we'd lose him both before/after the Premier League winning season as we'd seen how amazing he could be in the Championship-winning season. He can have his off days where he tries too hard but for us, he was certainly a player you'd want to have in your team than outside it. Genuinely surprised he's still wearing our colours.

Jamie Vardy - Similar to Mahrez, he was unbelievably important to our success. He reminded me of Paul Dickov - that incessantly annoying twat of a player for defences, the ultimate nuisance. He may be a bit of a twat sometimes but you take comfort in knowing he's your twat! But not only that, you have the finishing quality in addition to the gritty side. Insane sense of pride and achievement when he broke the record for most goals scored in consecutive matches. 

Andy King - bit of a left-field choice here but it's his 10th year with the club now and he's literally been through it all. The lows and relegation to League One, the success of returning to the Championship at first time of asking, the play-off heart-break against Cardiff (penalty shootout) and Watford (semi-final drama in 12/13), winning the Championship with ease a year later, the great escape in 13/14 winning 7 of last 9 games to survive, winning the Premier League, playing in the Champions League. The roller-coaster of it all and he's now the one constant remaining after Shakespeare's sacking. He is the epitome of Leicester City. It's never an easy ride but his attitude is of the highest calibre. Such a professional player and not the greatest of talent, but the old phrase 'does the job required' can be applied to him. He encapsulates everything about Leicester for me. 

I think heskey was underatated. He had loads of England caps. People use to make out he was some  terrible championship player

[SirBalon]

As I said in my presentation post for this thread, it's important for a football fan to know the club's history.  Obviously when you first start supporting a football club as a child there can be various reasons as to how this occurs ranging from the club being in the limelight at the time, your father, grandfather or people in the family traditionally supporting the club and you follow suit...  Be it for whatever reason it may be, it shouldn't take long for a young fan to want to know the history of the club they've chosen to support and this adds an even stronger bond to something that can only be described as being similar to belonging to a family.

The hard part is knowing how to mix these things with such meaningless things such as lists, even more so a list only consisting of 5 names which leaves you feeling like you're showing some sort of disrespect to others you may want to mention and we've already seen this in some of the posts here so far.  But for me at least, it's important to bring everything into one single picture and not separate as many football fans do these days.  It should be enough to rely on opinions of those from the past to understand the importance players may have had in the evolution of the club.  There's a reason your club is positioned as it is today because of the past and that consisted of players and those uncharge of running the club in the past, pioneers of the game that worked hard to put the club in a steady position to be able to grow in the future.  This was obviously before the day someone could just purchase a club and bankroll it immediately so as to compete out of nowhere...  Things had to be done homogeneously in an organic manner back then based on local identity and that was very hard indeed.

Fans aren't stupid!  They know full well what they've viewed in their lifetime, how it fits within the legendary names of the past.  If they don't know how to fit that in, then they need to start again from the beginning.  We all feel connected to something and it almost feels traitorous to leave it out because we've lived through it and the past before we were born or before we were old enough to appreciate it seems to belong to someone else.  But what does a football club mean to you?

Anyway...  Here are my top 5 Arsenal footballers based on what I've witnessed, what the storybooks of the past and people that experienced it have told me.

 

1

ALEX JAMES

Alex James was the ultimate Arsenal FC captain!  No, not Tony Adams as many of us relate to as Mr Arsenal, but this man who was the last to win back to back titles as captain was part of a team that at the time was considered the best in Europe along with the great Torino side of the time. 3 back-to-back titles from 1933 to 1935, a player of total class and swagger who when Tom Finney was once asked about him he said this; "Alex James was one of the best I'd ever seen.  His football was eye-catching and pure magic"

 

2

CLIFF BASTIN

The man who put Arsenal on the map, Herbert Chapman spotted Cliff Bastin personally and at the age of only 17 made his debut for Arsenal...  One of Arsenal's greatest ever players who played 398 games for the Gunners and scored 178 goals...  It too over 50 years to beat that record which was done by Ian Wright in the 90s. Cliff Bastin won 5 league titles and two FA Cups and would've won a lot more had the war not intervened.

 

3

DENNIS BERGKAMP

One of the most elegant players in the modern history of the game.  A genius and one of the greatest...  His move to Arsenal pre-Wenger gave the French coach yet another member of the spine that was waiting to win more silverware and he provided something no other player could which was composure, wizardry, goals and fantasy.  Everyone loved Bergkamp and us Arsenal fans are lucky to have had him in the best moments of his career.

 

4

TONY ADAMS

He is known as Mr Arsenal...  What's for sure is that he was the rock both George Graham and subsequently Arsene Wenger built their great sides on.  Without his leadership skills there's no way those two eras would've had the success that the club experienced.  You need leadership, it isn't negotiable and that's probably what's lacked ever since he retired much to the detriment of Arsene Wenger who has never found another anywhere near what he provided.  He is an authentic Arsenal legend and his career for the club says it all.

 

5

THIERRY HENRY

One of my favourite players of all time...  He's in my top 10 lists I consistently make because us guys love doing ever changing lists all the time, but he is always in them for me.  Most younger football fans will know about Henry so not much has to be said.  He added something special not only to Arsenal but also to the Premier League itself.  He was at one point one of the top three players in the world for some time and Arsenal like with Bergkamp were lucky enough to have him at his best.  Probably or almost certainly Wenger's greatest coup!  Pure magic, artistry and a goal machine!  Another of Arsenal's proper football legends.

 

That list was very difficult and I look at others from the past and in the present era where I feel I wanted to add them for varying reasons.  But that's it for me on this one...  I'll do a Barça one later on in the week too.

[Lucas]

1 hour ago, SirBalon said:

As I said in my presentation post for this thread, it's important for a football fan to know the club's history.  Obviously when you first start supporting a football club as a child there can be various reasons as to how this occurs ranging from the club being in the limelight at the time, your father, grandfather or people in the family traditionally supporting the club and you follow suit...  Be it for whatever reason it may be, it shouldn't take long for a young fan to want to know the history of the club they've chosen to support and this adds an even stronger bond to something that can only be described as being similar to belonging to a family.

The hard part is knowing how to mix these things with such meaningless things such as lists, even more so a list only consisting of 5 names which leaves you feeling like you're showing some sort of disrespect to others you may want to mention and we've already seen this in some of the posts here so far.  But for me at least, it's important to bring everything into one single picture and not separate as many football fans do these days.  It should be enough to rely on opinions of those from the past to understand the importance players may have had in the evolution of the club.  There's a reason your club is positioned as it is today because of the past and that consisted of players and those uncharge of running the club in the past, pioneers of the game that worked hard to put the club in a steady position to be able to grow in the future.  This was obviously before the day someone could just purchase a club and bankroll it immediately so as to compete out of nowhere...  Things had to be done homogeneously in an organic manner back then based on local identity and that was very hard indeed.

Fans aren't stupid!  They know full well what they've viewed in their lifetime, how it fits within the legendary names of the past.  If they don't know how to fit that in, then they need to start again from the beginning.  We all feel connected to something and it almost feels traitorous to leave it out because we've lived through it and the past before we were born or before we were old enough to appreciate it seems to belong to someone else.  But what does a football club mean to you?

Anyway...  Here are my top 5 Arsenal footballers based on what I've witnessed, what the storybooks of the past and people that experienced it have told me.

 

1

ALEX JAMES

Alex James was the ultimate Arsenal FC captain!  No, not Tony Adams as many of us relate to as Mr Arsenal, but this man who was the last to win back to back titles as captain was part of a team that at the time was considered the best in Europe along with the great Torino side of the time. 3 back-to-back titles from 1933 to 1935, a player of total class and swagger who when Tom Finney was once asked about him he said this; "Alex James was one of the best I'd ever seen.  His football was eye-catching and pure magic"

 

2

CLIFF BASTIN

The man who put Arsenal on the map, Herbert Chapman spotted Cliff Bastin personally and at the age of only 17 made his debut for Arsenal...  One of Arsenal's greatest ever players who played 398 games for the Gunners and scored 178 goals...  It too over 50 years to beat that record which was done by Ian Wright in the 90s. Cliff Bastin won 5 league titles and two FA Cups and would've won a lot more had the war not intervened.

 

3

DENNIS BERGKAMP

One of the most elegant players in the modern history of the game.  A genius and one of the greatest...  His move to Arsenal pre-Wenger gave the French coach yet another member of the spine that was waiting to win more silverware and he provided something no other player could which was composure, wizardry, goals and fantasy.  Everyone loved Bergkamp and us Arsenal fans are lucky to have had him in the best moments of his career.

 

4

TONY ADAMS

He is known as Mr Arsenal...  What's for sure is that he was the rock both George Graham and subsequently Arsene Wenger built their great sides on.  Without his leadership skills there's no way those two eras would've had the success that the club experienced.  You need leadership, it isn't negotiable and that's probably what's lacked ever since he retired much to the detriment of Arsene Wenger who has never found another anywhere near what he provided.  He is an authentic Arsenal legend and his career for the club says it all.

 

5

THIERRY HENRY

One of my favourite players of all time...  He's in my top 10 lists I consistently make because us guys love doing ever changing lists all the time, but he is always in them for me.  Most younger football fans will know about Henry so not much has to be said.  He added something special not only to Arsenal but also to the Premier League itself.  He was at one point one of the top three players in the world for some time and Arsenal like with Bergkamp were lucky enough to have him at his best.  Probably or almost certainly Wenger's greatest coup!  Pure magic, artistry and a goal machine!  Another of Arsenal's proper football legends.

 

That list was very difficult and I look at others from the past and in the present era where I feel I wanted to add them for varying reasons.  But that's it for me on this one...  I'll do a Barça one later on in the week too.

How different would that be if you picked it on players purely that you've seen? It must have been very hard to leave someone like Ian Wright or even Patrick Viera.

[SirBalon]

4 minutes ago, Lucas said:

How different would that be if you picked it on players purely that you've seen? It must have been very hard to leave someone like Ian Wright or even Patrick Viera.

It would and I can name many others that deserve a mention and it would be a long list mate. Top 5s are always very hard and you feel it’s almost cruel.

Before those two I’d have Liam Brady and I was gutted I couldn’t fit him in. My earliest years going to Highbury had me in awe at his beautiful touch on the ball.