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The Greatest: Jimmy Greaves

TheBlueRooster

Well-Known Member
May 10, 2005
3,817
4,701
The saddest thing I heard when he left us was when he went to clear his locker and say goodbye to the players was that the only person there was the kit man / trainer. "Sorry Jim Bill's taken them out early for a run". He left without saying goodbye. He deserved better.
 

spursgirls

SC Supporter
Aug 13, 2008
19,166
38,963
I loved watching this. Every goal I smiled at. He made them look so easy to glide past defenders and just slot it past the keeper. How I'd love to have him playing for us now.
 

sammyj

Well-Known Member
Nov 23, 2013
1,693
4,559
I loved Jimmy when I was a boy but over the years lost a lot of respect for him, he definitely had issues with the club and Billy nick, I remember I think it was Billy's testimonial and all the players were lined around the pitch standing up when Bill was brought out but not Jimmy he was laying down on the floor most fans around was laughing because it was Jimmy but over the years he would have little digs at the club. It was a shame that it happened but it definitely made me fill deferent about him. But no doubt a world class player
 

Gassin's finest

C'est diabolique
May 12, 2010
37,355
87,829
I finally saw it, its on BT Sport On Demand now. Really well made documentary, and educational. There was a lot I didn't know... like losing his son to a cot death and having Hepatitis. Some of those pitches they played on back then... christ. I played on better cabbage patches in Sunday League.

Modern players don't know how good they've got it.
 

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,874
49,708
I saw this picture and post it not knowing it has been put up in any of the threads .. Apols if it has -
.
 

John48

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2015
2,249
3,143
I loved Jimmy when I was a boy but over the years lost a lot of respect for him, he definitely had issues with the club and Billy nick, I remember I think it was Billy's testimonial and all the players were lined around the pitch standing up when Bill was brought out but not Jimmy he was laying down on the floor most fans around was laughing because it was Jimmy but over the years he would have little digs at the club. It was a shame that it happened but it definitely made me fill deferent about him. But no doubt a world class player

I think if you watch the BT Sport film on Jimmy you get an understanding as to why he felt that way. To be fair neither Alf Ramsey nor Billy Nick treated him with the respect he probably deserved at critical times in his footballing life. Whilst it's true no one player is bigger than the club, we had a legend & deserved to be treated better.
 

nailsy

SC Supporter
Jul 24, 2005
30,536
46,628
I've just watched the Greavsie film on BT Sport. Very interesting and quite a bit there that I didn't know - like he played for Brentwood Town which is where I grew up.
 

Led's Zeppelin

Can't Re Member
May 28, 2013
7,333
20,178
He never will be.

Only in numbers perhaps, but not in brilliance.

He was an authentic genius.

In my first ever game at WHL he scored a hat-trick against Liverpool. Goals that no ordinary player could dream of scoring, like he so often did. It's no wonder that generations of Spurs supporters have had unattainably high standards having seen him in action. It's no exaggeration to compare him with the only player I have seen who deserves the comparison,Messi. But Jimmy did it in days when defenders were allowed to kick your legs away from you a dozen times a game before getting a finger wagging from the ref. It's a travesty that he isn't more widely recognised as the all-time greatest goalscorer in British football. Jesus I feel old now.

I've nothing against Rooney for example but he's not in the same league, shouldn't ever be mentioned in the same breath, so apologies for doing so.

Jimmy Greaves, you will always be a real football hero.

Sorry for quoting myself but some of you liked it but I need to correct a factual error I made.

I’d always been convinced that Jimmy scored three against Liverpool that day, but on checking I’ve discovered he didn’t.

So, apologies for misleading you.

He scored four.
 

stewartd

Well-Known Member
Oct 31, 2003
570
2,083
One of the funniest things i ever saw in football involved Jimmy.
Spurs were playing Fulham at home,and Fulham were in their away strip of all blue.
In goal for Fulham was Tony Macedo who was a very good keeper.
Anyway he must have had a brain fart .he picked up the ball in his area and coolly rolled it out to Jimmy at the edge of the area .
He must have forgotten that Fulham whose home strip was almost identical to Spurs were away and Jimmy not adverse to looking a gift horse in the mouth calmly stroked the ball into the net.
The looks on the Fulham players faces was a sight to behold and Jimmy was laughing his head off.
Not one of his greatest goals but without doubt the funniest.
 

buckley

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2012
2,595
6,073
I don't know whose memory is better but the way I recollect this goal was that Macedo had this habit of feigning to throw the ball out to the opposition on the wind up only this time it went straight to Jim who just knocked it straight in the goal .
Similar memory but not exactly the same and I don't claim to be correct just stating what I remember as the facts .
 

Led's Zeppelin

Can't Re Member
May 28, 2013
7,333
20,178
I don't know whose memory is better but the way I recollect this goal was that Macedo had this habit of feigning to throw the ball out to the opposition on the wind up only this time it went straight to Jim who just knocked it straight in the goal .
Similar memory but not exactly the same and I don't claim to be correct just stating what I remember as the facts .

Yours sounds more plausible, but @stewartd 's one is funnier!
 

stewartd

Well-Known Member
Oct 31, 2003
570
2,083
I don't know whose memory is better but the way I recollect this goal was that Macedo had this habit of feigning to throw the ball out to the opposition on the wind up only this time it went straight to Jim who just knocked it straight in the goal .
Similar memory but not exactly the same and I don't claim to be correct just stating what I remember as the facts .
You could be right either way it was hilarious and Jimmy laughed his head off.
 

ralphs bald spot

Well-Known Member
Jul 14, 2015
2,777
5,177
I think if you watch the BT Sport film on Jimmy you get an understanding as to why he felt that way. To be fair neither Alf Ramsey nor Billy Nick treated him with the respect he probably deserved at critical times in his footballing life. Whilst it's true no one player is bigger than the club, we had a legend & deserved to be treated better.

Times were different then players were treated differently than they are today they were commodities and treated that way. When a player's time was up that was it they were out the door with little or no respect to their past. None of the great managers of the past would cope with today's players they expected more and often got it, players were dropped to the reserves and forgotten about.

Different times and Greaves if he was honest was on a downward spiral ,

Spurs signing Peters was part of the rebuild that Nicholson wasn't able to complete. He couldn't sign Francis and Given from QPR and Coates never became the player he expected. Spurs struggled to find a replacement at centre half for England and lost 3 highly promising players to injury in a relatively short time Collins Pearce and Dillon plus Morgan was also contiually injured and if you factor in Chivers never rediscovered his form completely after injury Nicholson was perhaps a little bit unlucky and times were beginning to change
 

waresy

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2004
2,421
1,569
Times were different then players were treated differently than they are today they were commodities and treated that way. When a player's time was up that was it they were out the door with little or no respect to their past. None of the great managers of the past would cope with today's players they expected more and often got it, players were dropped to the reserves and forgotten about.

Different times and Greaves if he was honest was on a downward spiral ,

Spurs signing Peters was part of the rebuild that Nicholson wasn't able to complete. He couldn't sign Francis and Given from QPR and Coates never became the player he expected. Spurs struggled to find a replacement at centre half for England and lost 3 highly promising players to injury in a relatively short time Collins Pearce and Dillon plus Morgan was also contiually injured and if you factor in Chivers never rediscovered his form completely after injury Nicholson was perhaps a little bit unlucky and times were beginning to change
I listened to the Spurs Show interview they did with Don McAllister today and as he was talking about his unceremonious release it was mentioned that Jimmy was sold and his boots and kit was left at the gate for him to collect.

Harsh in any time for a person to be treated like that, I don't suspect many get treated like it anymore but there are still other businesses that treat their staff poorly, especially at redundancy time.
 

arnoldlayne

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2007
1,107
1,173
Sorry as somebody may have already posted but worth a listen from Spurs Show podcasts


 

longtimespur

Well-Known Member
Sep 10, 2014
5,830
9,949
All England began ringing with the fame of Harry Hotspur who with his youthful good looks and absolute fearlessness caught the popular fancy. Gentle and simple swore never had England seen such a Knight. Sir Harry was known by the sobriquet Hotspur for his devastating speed in battle...It was not in the Percy way to wait to launch an attack ...
...there ...lay the bravest, rashest, staunchest Knight in England, Lord Harry Percy of Northumberland whom men called Hotspur.

This man is a descendant of that Danny Dyer bloke off East Enders. There was a documentary (Who do you think you are?) about him on recently. Seems he goes back to royalty in his birth line.
 

Spurslove

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2012
6,627
9,281
Sadly, the petition we signed ages ago to try and get Jimmy the knighthood he so richly deserves has only achieved 32,000 signatures, which I find wholly disappointing..
 

max cady

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2011
2,538
3,153
The world cup situation with Jimmy was farcical to say the least. Had that been today there would have been no question of Jimmy not starting.
 

buckley

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2012
2,595
6,073
Loosly regarding Jimmy if Ratine had not been sent off when England Played Argentina the " Jimmy should have been picked " argument would not have been relevant because we would in my eyes not have won that match or the World Cup in truth some of the decisions by referees were without doubt " favouring England as the home team " the Goal given against Germany that never went over the line was a disgraceful decision.if Jimmy had played we would not have needed these two " bent " decisions .
It was just that Ramsey had his favourites and Jimmy definitely was not one of them .
The whole " not picking Greaves " left a sour taste in my mouth as he was clearly much better than Hurst or Hunt even if not 100% fit but it was a good reason for Ramsey to leave out Jimmy and just what he was looking for .
As a sidepoint I believe that the Winterbottom side of 1958 was better than the 66 side and had Winterbottom had the guts to pick Greaves who was scoring 40 plus goals a season for Chelsea but was considered too young ( see Pele in the same World Cup ) then they would have beaten Russia and gone on to win the World Cup To give you an idea of this Russia game think of when " the poles knocked England out the cup " and you get the idea and Jimmy would have scored one of the many chances created in that match .
 

nailsy

SC Supporter
Jul 24, 2005
30,536
46,628
Loosly regarding Jimmy if Ratine had not been sent off when England Played Argentina the " Jimmy should have been picked " argument would not have been relevant because we would in my eyes not have won that match or the World Cup in truth some of the decisions by referees were without doubt " favouring England as the home team " the Goal given against Germany that never went over the line was a disgraceful decision.if Jimmy had played we would not have needed these two " bent " decisions .
It was just that Ramsey had his favourites and Jimmy definitely was not one of them .
The whole " not picking Greaves " left a sour taste in my mouth as he was clearly much better than Hurst or Hunt even if not 100% fit but it was a good reason for Ramsey to leave out Jimmy and just what he was looking for .
As a sidepoint I believe that the Winterbottom side of 1958 was better than the 66 side and had Winterbottom had the guts to pick Greaves who was scoring 40 plus goals a season for Chelsea but was considered too young ( see Pele in the same World Cup ) then they would have beaten Russia and gone on to win the World Cup To give you an idea of this Russia game think of when " the poles knocked England out the cup " and you get the idea and Jimmy would have scored one of the many chances created in that match .

It wasn't a disgraceful decision. Possibly wrong, but never disgraceful. From where the linesman was it looked in. We're still debating it over fifty years later, when he had one look at it without the benefit of slow motion replays:

It didn't cross the line!



It was in!



Sadly, the petition we signed ages ago to try and get Jimmy the knighthood he so richly deserves has only achieved 32,000 signatures, which I find wholly disappointing..

I put this down to really bad timing more than anything else. People have got other things on their minds at the moment rather than knighthoods. Hopefully someone will restart the campaign in a few months.
 
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