Best players ever!

[Mrs Perryman]

No one ever put in so much effort or tried so hard whilst wearing a spurs shirt so that gets him in my top 3. Yes it may be through rose (or lilywhite) tinted glasses but undoubtedly he was a more than useful centre midfielder, often underrated in the mould of a Wanyama or Kante. Every team needs one and we were lucky to have him!

I totally agree, he would have bled navy and white, but still don't think he would make the first eleven of our best players (believe me, it really hurts me to type this)

 

[pleb]

 

[Oracle]

 

[Mick Cooper]

Bosman changed everything, no doubt. We went from a game where the clubs took advantage of the players, to a game where the players take advantage of the clubs.

Football has always been a particularly mercenary game.

Bosman didn't make people get paid more. It just stopped players being exploited beyond their contract.
Agents are the cancer that has wrecked the games wage and greed factor

 

[Tottenham Sean]

The club should bring him in as Kane's dedicated coach. He's unemployed at the moment.

Lesson 1: how to be world class while being as slow as a week in the jail

Alan Shearer once said when questioned about Sheringham's speed,that it didn't matter as he had an extra yard in his head.

 

[Mrs Perryman]

I agree although i always have rated Gilzean he was great for us

Agree, the G-men complimented each other and were a lethal pair up front. But Jimmy was a class apart, a prolific goal scorer that we were fortunate to have play for us.

 

[Tomo]

Started watching around 1990 so would be.

[formation=442, Lloris, Walker, Toby, King, Rose, Ginola, Gazza, Modric, Bale, Klinsmann, Sheringham][/formation]

I suppose if you go 4231 then

[formation=4231, Lloris, Walker, Toby, King, Rose, Modric, Dembele, Ginola, Gazza, Bale, Klinsmann][/formation]

 

[Kreator]

My personal top 5 ...

1- Hoddle
2- Gazza
3 - Ossie
4 - Waddle
5 - Klinsmann

 

[Mrs Perryman]

I thought this was a 'Best Players' thread, not necessarily favourites - I love Stevie P with every fibre of my being, but even I could never put him in as world class.

 

[suburbanexile]

Don't know how anyone can leave out Bale. His last year was absurd. Scoring worldies every single week. To me, he is the best Spurs player I've ever seen.

Bale is the only current world class British player. I watched a showreel of his Spurs goals and they were all quality. He is up there with Hoddle and Gazza in terms of talent, although he is not so much an artist as a machine.
I think the manner in which he left is the reason Spurs fans are in two minds about him.

 

[Mick Cooper]

To go against the grain, I'd find it hard not to include Friedel in our squad, even as a 'sub'.

Very underrated for us.


Hard to compare the likes of Jennings to Lloris, as it's a completely different game to what they had to put up with back then.

Apart from wearing gloves and not picking up back passes I feel confident that goalkeepers do much the same job.
Jennings would be first pick today if he were at his pomp

 

[Mick Cooper]

I totally agree, he would have bled navy and white, but still don't think he would make the first eleven of our best players (believe me, it really hurts me to type this)

Whilst you might be being brutally honest about his playing skills it would be hard to overlook him for the leadership and motivational impact he would have on the team.

 

[1882]

I almost wish Poch had popped into the MOTD studios post-match to ask Berbatov what his plans were until May... and whether he fancied, y'know... hanging around the training ground, oozing class for a few months, just to help some of the first team out!

Berbatov was the nearest thing to a modern-day Gilzean as i've ever witnessed...
fucking loved the guy. I just wish he hadn't left the way he did... fucking Fergie!

 

[Jurgen's Binnman]

I can't help but feel that Ginola is probably one of the best players we've had in a lilywhite shirt - he just had the misfortune of having to play in one of the worst teams we've had.

Imagine having 1999's Ginola in this squad now.

For the teens:

Those turns.......

 

[1882]

I like to think that, with them both playing in 'White'... when they squint, they still pretend they're playing for us!

 

[Legacy Lilywhite]

Harsh on lineker

That was entirely tongue in cheek. As a youngster, I loved Lineker and his goals.

 

[Eskimo]

Gascoigne by far. He was Modric, Dele, Dembele and more all in one. He was an absolutely stunning talent who was with us in his fearless and enthusiastic prime. He made Lineker and Stewart look like half competent strikers. A wonderful time to watch Spurs with fast attacking football, a meaningful trophy and rocking terraces - plus it came just before Sky ruined it for everyone.

You could argue that Gazza was behind the whole "premier league" thing as Italia 90 changed perception of football in this country.

 

[Mick Cooper]

Bale did refuse to train, this was confirmed and criticized by AVB in a press conference. Modric had pulled a similar stunt the summer before.
As for the accusation of being deceptive, Bale's agent sent out an email to a Spurs supporters organisation suggesting Bale was going to stay (whilst at the same time negotiating the Real Madrid move). I think someone posted it on here at the time. His agent was probably trying to have his cake and eat it, i.e. keep the Spurs fans happy in case the Madrid move didn't go through.
I'm under no illusions, it's business at the end of the day (one of my favourite players is BAE as he freely admitted to this).
That's why my favourite players tend to be from pre-Bosman days when there could be a two-way loyalty between the player and the club. But from a strictly performance point of view, undoubtedly Bale is one of the best Spurs players, hence why I included him in my original list.

Indeed, I think everything you have said would have helped to improve those players apart from one thing salaries.
I think they had their feet firmly on the ground and knew how lucky they were to be playing football for a living. They earned a bit more than the average bloke, I think their carrot was a win bonus and they were not motivated by greed.
Could well be why most of the best players to ever lace up their boots played in the 60s,70s,and 80s.

They were cruelly underpaid though;

 

[CJJ]

So as an aside to this thread, if you could airdrop just ONE of our previous players, at their peak, into our current squad, who would you bring in?

I'd still say Ginola, as I think he represents some thing we have a space for in the squad, rather than a better play to fit a position we already have good key players in.

 

[Andrew Sanders]

In my Spurs supporting lifetime Bale is the best player i've seen by far. The one player who could truly change a game and considering how poor he started his effort and will to succeed was second to none.
Honourable mentions to King (My favourite player by miles), Modric, Klinsmann, Kane & Berbatov.