Immortal Players

[Bomber 48]

When I look at this team we have today there is nothing that can compare to the great players we have had in the past who generate fond memories of gracing the yellow and green

Ruel Fox, Jimmy Neighbour, Mark Barham, Darren Eadie, Darren Huckerby, Grant Holt, Teemu Puki, Phil Boyer, Graham Paddon, Ted McDougall, Kevin Keelan, Colin Sugget, Martin Peters, Emi Buendia, the whole team that beat Bayern Munich as well as the 85 Milk Cup winners 

Probably loads I have missed out but just putting this together during tea break at work but just those above certainly puts this lot to shame 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,755]

Oh god we sound just like the binners did when they got relegated to leauge one.. The past this the past that

[cambridgeshire canary 6,755]

3 minutes ago, TheDarkKnight said:

With all teams there's a correlation between drop in the standard of players and general standards of a club.

Look at Manchester United. Back in the day we had Cantona, Giggs, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Schmeichel, Irwin, Hughes, Yorke, Steam, Pallister, Bruce, etc.

(Not even mentioning before that with Best, Law, Charlton, etc)

Then there's Wenger's Invisibles. That team would tear this Arsenal team apart.

The 90s AC Milan team would cripple the current AC Milan team. Same with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

It's funny, the more money that's been pumped into the game, the overall standards of football have dropped.

You would think that the famous Arsenal invincibles would beat most top sides nowadays but I have always felt that if you had some kind of magic time machine and you did get those invincibles to play a current top Euro side they would not come out looking that great thanks to modern day tactics, training as well as the speed and physicality of the game being so vastly diffierent nowadays to the early 2000's. Same would go for any top sides from the 1960s to the 1990s. Modern day teams would bully and outspeed the hell out of every one of them and are about a hundred times fitter and healthier than players of past decades.

Edited October 30, 2023 by cambridgeshire canary

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

2 minutes ago, TheDarkKnight said:

With all teams there's a correlation between drop in the standard of players and general standards of a club.

Look at Manchester United. Back in the day we had Cantona, Giggs, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Schmeichel, Irwin, Hughes, Yorke, Steam, Pallister, Bruce, etc.

(Not even mentioning before that with Best, Law, Charlton, etc)

Then there's Wenger's Invisibles. That team would tear this Arsenal team apart.

The 90s AC Milan team would cripple the current AC Milan team. Same with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

It's funny, the more money that's been pumped into the game, the overall standards of football have dropped.

If Wenger had invisible players no wonder nobody could beat them.

[Indy 3,307]

It’s an interesting point, if you took the best Norwich team say from 1978/9 and put that 2021 premier Norwich team on a 1978 February mud fest pitch who would win!

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,824]

27 minutes ago, TheDarkKnight said:

With all teams there's a correlation between drop in the standard of players and general standards of a club.

Look at Manchester United. Back in the day we had Cantona, Giggs, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Schmeichel, Irwin, Hughes, Yorke, Steam, Pallister, Bruce, etc.

(Not even mentioning before that with Best, Law, Charlton, etc)

Then there's Wenger's invincibles. That team would tear this Arsenal team apart.

The 90s AC Milan team would cripple the current AC Milan team. Same with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

It's funny, the more money that's been pumped into the game, the overall standards of football have dropped.

If the 90s teams played the current teams, it would depend on which team was teleported into which era. 

If the game was played on a 90s pitch in a 90s stadium, with a 90s ref and 90s rules, then the 90s team would likely win. The same is true if the 90s side visited the modern day.

However, due to advancements in fitness, tactics, sports science and the like, I think the modern day sides would probably edge it if were played in a 2010 middleground or over two legs.

[BroadstairsR 2,185]

Nonsense OP. We have Adam Idah for goodness sake.

[Mike w 46]

39 minutes ago, Bomber said:

When I look at this team we have today there is nothing that can compare to the great players we have had in the past who generate fond memories of gracing the yellow and green

Ruel Fox, Jimmy Neighbour, Mark Barham, Darren Eadie, Darren Huckerby, Grant Holt, Teemu Puki, Phil Boyer, Graham Paddon, Ted McDougall, Kevin Keelan, Colin Sugget, Martin Peters, Emi Buendia, the whole team that beat Bayern Munich as well as the 85 Milk Cup winners 

Probably loads I have missed out but just putting this together during tea break at work but just those above certainly puts this lot to shame 

Totally agree, just no onne mentionable 

[Robert N. LiM 4,427]

Well even in the midst of what has been a very disappointing season so far I have loved watching Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe. I don't get to many games but in the last two I've been to live, Sara has scored a brilliant goal right in front of me in both of them. And there's nothing better than watching a young player breaking through in the way that Rowe has done.

Do they make your list of NCFC greats? No, of course not. But in terms of 'fond memories of gracing the yellow and green' then yes, I'd say so.

(Wouldn't put Nuñez anywhere near those two, but even he's already had two really memorable moments - his panenka penalty and the goal that's about to happen in my avatar...)

[shefcanary 2,435]

1 minute ago, Robert N. LiM said:

but in the last two I've been to live, Sara has scored a brilliant goal right in front of me in both of them.

Can you go more often Robert?

[Robert N. LiM 4,427]

Just now, shefcanary said:

Can you go more often Robert?

I can't.

(Still trying to work out whether that sentence should have been preceded by 'Fortunately,' or 'Unfortunately'...)

[shefcanary 2,435]

Just now, Robert N. LiM said:

I can't.

(Still trying to work out whether that sentence should have been preceded by 'Fortunately,' or 'Unfortunately'...)

Actually can't work out if that is a good thing - if Sara did score a few more wonder goals he'd certainly be off in January. Can we scrape enough points together this season to avoid relegation without weekly Sara masterclasses so the next manager gets to build a promotion chasing side around him next season?

[Robert N. LiM 4,427]

1 hour ago, shefcanary said:

Actually can't work out if that is a good thing - if Sara did score a few more wonder goals he'd certainly be off in January. Can we scrape enough points together this season to avoid relegation without weekly Sara masterclasses so the next manager gets to build a promotion chasing side around him next season?

We just need @Parma Ham's gone mouldyto keep banging on about his positional indiscipline to ward off any potential suitors.

[Commonsense 630]

1 hour ago, Robert N. LiM said:

Well even in the midst of what has been a very disappointing season so far I have loved watching Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe. I don't get to many games but in the last two I've been to live, Sara has scored a brilliant goal right in front of me in both of them. And there's nothing better than watching a young player breaking through in the way that Rowe has done.

Do they make your list of NCFC greats? No, of course not. But in terms of 'fond memories of gracing the yellow and green' then yes, I'd say so.

(Wouldn't put Nuñez anywhere near those two, but even he's already had two really memorable moments - his panenka penalty and the goal that's about to happen in my avatar...)

Absolutely. In Rowe’s case this is his first season and he has been a revelation.You only reach legendary status after playing for a few years, so who knows how it will turn out. Sara has both set up and scored some wonderful goals. Again he’s not an all time legend yet, but then they’re aren’t that many who would have put Jimmy Neighbour in with those other names, good as he was.

[daly 506]

One thing certain neither Rowe or Sara will be here long enough to become legends

Its going to be road back

[chicken 2,637]

7 hours ago, TheDarkKnight said:

With all teams there's a correlation between drop in the standard of players and general standards of a club.

Look at Manchester United. Back in the day we had Cantona, Giggs, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Schmeichel, Irwin, Hughes, Yorke, Steam, Pallister, Bruce, etc.

(Not even mentioning before that with Best, Law, Charlton, etc)

Then there's Wenger's invincibles. That team would tear this Arsenal team apart.

The 90s AC Milan team would cripple the current AC Milan team. Same with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

It's funny, the more money that's been pumped into the game, the overall standards of football have dropped.

Different game now. Viera, Petit, Adams, Capmbell, Irwin, Ince, Hughes, Keane... all were physical and would have been different players now.

The games become less physical in that sense and less combative. And it has become more technical.

[Duncan Edwards 2,245]

8 hours ago, TheDarkKnight said:

With all teams there's a correlation between drop in the standard of players and general standards of a club.

Look at Manchester United. Back in the day we had Cantona, Giggs, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Schmeichel, Irwin, Hughes, Yorke, Steam, Pallister, Bruce, etc.

(Not even mentioning before that with Best, Law, Charlton, etc)

Then there's Wenger's invincibles. That team would tear this Arsenal team apart.

The 90s AC Milan team would cripple the current AC Milan team. Same with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

It's funny, the more money that's been pumped into the game, the overall standards of football have dropped.

Duncan Edwards. Not even a mention. Bin dipper. 

[Duncan Edwards 2,245]

8 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

You would think that the famous Arsenal invincibles would beat most top sides nowadays but I have always felt that if you had some kind of magic time machine and you did get those invincibles to play a current top Euro side they would not come out looking that great thanks to modern day tactics, training as well as the speed and physicality of the game being so vastly diffierent nowadays to the early 2000's. Same would go for any top sides from the 1960s to the 1990s. Modern day teams would bully and outspeed the hell out of every one of them and are about a hundred times fitter and healthier than players of past decades.

They wouldn’t. They weren’t even that good. 

[Duncan Edwards 2,245]

5 minutes ago, TheDarkKnight said:

I'm not that old.

Sorry I failed to mention Nobby Stiles, too. Many apologies.

Stiles was the same era as Law. If you were really sorry you’d have mentioned Paddy Crerand. 

[Duncan Edwards 2,245]

1 minute ago, TheDarkKnight said:

I mentioned the Holy trinity.

Don't like it? Fair enough.

Holt, Hoolahan and Martin? 

[nutty nigel 7,554]

What about supporters?

Made in the 60s v Made in the 00s...

[BurwellCanary 216]

17 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

If Wenger had invisible players no wonder nobody could beat them.

VAR would be interesting

[Old Shuck 185]

I rather think Alex Neil's play off winning side would tear the current lot a new one with room to spare: it would be like Man Utd vs Man City on Sunday. Cam would enjoy himself no end.

But then Worthy's 2003/04 side might just have given them a good game.

And so on and so forth. I hope we don't end up lamenting for what we have now in the 2026/27 season!

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,033]

19 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

You would think that the famous Arsenal invincibles would beat most top sides nowadays but I have always felt that if you had some kind of magic time machine and you did get those invincibles to play a current top Euro side they would not come out looking that great thanks to modern day tactics, training as well as the speed and physicality of the game being so vastly diffierent nowadays to the early 2000's. Same would go for any top sides from the 1960s to the 1990s. Modern day teams would bully and outspeed the hell out of every one of them and are about a hundred times fitter and healthier than players of past decades.

I hear this trotted out all the time when people make comparisons between players/teams from the past and current teams. I will put this forward as a discussion point, a young player with say the talent of George Best is  scouted by Manchester United in 2023, he is given the fitness training, dietary advice etc afforded to modern day players, I would suggest that such a player would be head and shoulders above most current Premier League players as any player can be physically conditioned but the talent possessed by a player like George Best cannot be trained into a player, that is why we still have superstars in the modern game (Messi, Maple, Ronaldo, Bellingham etc) if was just abut the physical attributes then all modern players would be equal, the special talent is what elevates the likes of Messi etc. As you can tell I am in the camp that says that if you afford the great teams/players of the past the same facilities/training etc afforded the modern day player then  I think they would give the modern greats a run for their money...........

[Big Vince 318]

Immortal player? Has to be Franco Baresi.

[Lord Horn (again) 133]

14 hours ago, nutty nigel said:

What about supporters?

Made in the 60s v Made in the 00s...

Millwall 1970's/80's v Chelsea 2020's - I'd pay to watch that 🤔