Leicester's greatest ever players are...

[An Sionnach]

Keith Weller was better than Mahrez . Only Ryan Giggs moved better with the ball. The player that will always stand out for me though is David Gibson.

[Blarmy]

Is this essentially a “how old are you?” thread?

[An Sionnach]

4 minutes ago, Blarmy said:

Is this essentially a “how old are you?” thread?

How can you know how good a player was unless you saw him play. My dad would probably have picked Ernie Hine or Sep Smith.

[Sampson]

1 hour ago, fox_up_north said:

Wouldn't even put Mahrez in my top 10, tbh.

He will be in time.

 

Shilton was hated a lot more than Mahrez when he left and later when he was at Forest but that eventually got forgotten.

 

In 20 years time Mahrez will be regarded as one of the club's biggest ever legends after he's retired and when the dust has settled.

 

Vardy, Schmeichel, Albrighton and Morgan might be remembered as bigger club legends just for longevity though. 

[fox_up_north]

1 hour ago, jonthefox said:

You cannot tell me you were not on the edge of your seat every time he got the ball. It ended up sour i know, but still one of the most talented Leicester players ever. 

I'm probably letting what happened at the end cloud it but, to me, being a "greatest player" isn't just fancy tricks and skills. It's connection to fans and club loyalty, even how they speak about them after their time. As well as sticking with them during tough times. 

 

To that end, I'd put Muzz, King and Claridge above. Mahrez just makes it seem like his time here was a bad dream.

[volpeazzurro]

12 hours ago, majaco said:

Jamie Vardy and Kasper Scmeichel.

 

Is there anyone who can compete with the achievements of these two?

 

They have won the top flight and the FA Cup .

 

Albrighton, Morgan and Fuchs, legends, received medals for both without the same level of contribution.

Really? I would suggest that the 'without the same level of contribution' bit is highly subjective. Firstly I would suggest that without Morgan, our captain and Fuchs in the flat back 4 Schmeichel would have conceded far more goals and become far less relevant. Vardy also only scored his goals because of the industry and contribution of others around him including Albrighton. If football learned anything from that year it was that it isn't the galactico's as individuals that win a Premiership (Leicester City 21.5m, Man City 300m+), it's the contribution and effectiveness of a team. Winning by a margin of 10 points hammered that point home I think. 

[Frank Large's Black Book]

19 minutes ago, Blarmy said:

Is this essentially a “how old are you?” thread?

Partially yes, though us oldies can relate to many generations of players. 
Despite my epithet, the other Frank (Wortho) was the most cultured of all the players, just beautiful to watch.

If we say Schmeichel over Banks and Shilton it cannot be on sheer talent, it must also contain an element of loyalty/leadership.

I don't have a problem with that, but using that same criteria then Mahrez would be benched (an airport bench probably).

 

The answer is there isn't one - but
Steve Walsh should be included somewhere on the list and would stand shoulder to shoulder with Schmeichel
 

[An Sionnach]

Talent is not the same as greatness otherwise Gascoigne would be rated above Finney and Matthews. Mahrez's skill doesn't disguise his pretty obnoxious character. A great player has to have dignity like Charlton or Pele in my opinion.

[String fellow]

Arthur Chandler scored 154 goals for City in the old First Division in the five seasons between 1925 and 1930, including a double hat-trick against Portsmouth in 1928. He's surely got to be one of City's greatest ever players.

[Sampson]

15 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

Talent is not the same as greatness otherwise Gascoigne would be rated above Finney and Matthews. Mahrez's skill doesn't disguise his pretty obnoxious character. A great player has to have dignity like Charlton or Pele in my opinion.

These things will be forgotten though.

 

Shilton engineering a sidewise move to Stoke to get more money is now forgotten. Izzet kicking up a fuss and requesting a transfer, then winding down his contract so he could leave on a free is now forgotten. 

 

I mean Claridge just got mentioned for being loyal when he was here for 5 minutes then left as soon as Marshall was playing more regularly than him and he didn't want to fight for his place.

 

What Shilton did caused far more ire from Leicester fans than what Mahrez did at the time and Shilton was booed for years by Leicester fans, yet nowadays people still talk about him as a club legend.

 

People only care about the way Mahrez left because its recent and raw. In 20 years time no one will care anymore.

 

Also I'm not sure doing viagra commercials and selling out to whoever is willing to pay gives a person dignity. 

Edited 6 June 2021 by Sampson

[An Sionnach]

I doubt whether they will,  Shilton will never get the respect that Banks has. Skillwise I will tell you this, Worthington would leave Mahrez standing. Greatness in a player is about putting it on the line every time you step out there like Colin Appleton or Graham Cross.

[Sampson]

20 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

Skillwise I will tell you this, Worthington would leave Mahrez standing. 

He really wouldn't. I grew up on Worthington and Weller and neither could stop a football or beat a man like Mahrez could even though they played in an era before high pressing. Mahrez was a far better and more talented player than either Worthington or Weller.

 

We were a decent lower-half side under Bloomfield who could play great stuff on our day but were actually built round a good defence and didn't score enough goals, the equivalent of Bournemouth under Eddie Howe or Brighton under Graham Potter today really.

 

We had one very good season in 76 but we also went on horrendous spells of form under Jimmy - I believe the longest winless run in the club's history still stands under Bloomfield.

 

It only seemed to be a few years later where people started to revise the Bloomfield era as being so great - probably because the Pleat era was the most depressing in the club's history.

 

Not saying Weller and Worthington weren't great players at their peaks but some fans definitely over-romantacicse just how consistently good they were - they had a couple of great seasons for us and the other Bloomfield seasons we desperately suffered from a lack of creativity and were in relegation battles for most of the season.

 

They weren't amongst the best players in the league at the time, let alone amongst the best players in the history of the English game as some would have you believe. Leicester fans can go blue in the face about their lack of England caps being a bias against us, but there was good reason at the time why they rarely got in the England squad in the mid 70s - which was the least successful and least talented England side in history where we consistently failed to even qualify for tournaments.

 

Someone earlier even mentioned Weller as being the 2nd greatest dribbler in the history of English football behind Ryan Giggs (who wasn't event that great a dribbler and wouldn't be anywhere near that accolade himself), which is blue tinted specs to the extreme.

Edited 6 June 2021 by Sampson

[Duquesne Whistle]

9 minutes ago, Sampson said:

He really wouldn't. I grew up on Worthington and Weller and neither could stop a football or beat a man like Mahrez could even though they played in an era before high pressing. Mahrez was a far better and more talented player than either Worthington or Weller.

 

We were a decent lower-half side under Bloomfield who could play great stuff on our day but were actually built round a good defence and didn't score enough goals, the equivalent of Bournemouth under Eddie Howe or Brighton under Graham Potter today really.

 

We had one very good season in 76 but we also went on horrendous spells of form under Jimmy - I believe the longest winless run in the club's history still stands under Bloomfield.

 

It only seemed to be a few years later where people started to revise the Bloomfield era as being so great - probably because the Pleat era was the most depressing in the club's history.

 

Not saying Weller and Worthington weren't great players at their peaks but some fans definitely over-romantacicse just how consistently good they were - they had a couple of great seasons for us and the other Bloomfield seasons we desperately suffered from a lack of creativity and were in relegation battles for most of the season.

 

They weren't amongst the best players in the league at the time, let alone amongst the best players in the history of the English game as some would have you believe. Leicester fans can go blue in the face about their lack of England caps being a bias against us, but there was good reason at the time why they rarely got in the England squad in the mid 70s - which was the least successful and least talented England side in history where we consistently failed to even qualify for tournaments.

 

Someone earlier even mentioned Weller as being the 2nd greatest dribbler in the history of English football behind Ryan Giggs (who wasn't event that great a dribbler and wouldn't be anywhere near that accolade himself), which is blue tinted specs to the extreme.

As much as I love Worthington and Weller, I totally agree, Mahrez skills outdo both. Pretty much any footballer from that bygone era attempting to trap the ball, 30 feet out of the air, whilst simultaneously sprinting alongside a fullback, then turning said full back inside out before curling it into the top corner, may have ended their own career. Mahrez made it look simple.

By the same token, Mahrez would have been snapped in half by most of the defenders marking Weller or Wortho. 

More skilfull though, Mahrez for me.

 

[An Sionnach]

4 minutes ago, Duquesne Whistle said:

As much as I love Worthington and Weller, I totally agree, Mahrez skills outdo both. Pretty much any footballer from that bygone era attempting to trap the ball, 30 feet out of the air, whilst simultaneously sprinting alongside a fullback, then turning said full back inside out before curling it into the top corner, may have ended their own career. Mahrez made it look simple.

By the same token, Mahrez would have been snapped in half by most of the defenders marking Weller or Wortho. 

More skilfull though, Mahrez for me.

 

You could also say that Mahrez is a one footed, one trick pony , cut inside and shoot across the goalkeeper , a trick he has undoubtedly mastered I agree. He is also defensively weak, rubbish in the air and prone to disappear for long stretches. I am sure the Man. City fans would laugh if you tried to say he is better than Mike Summerbee or Francis Lee.

[Duquesne Whistle]

Just now, An Sionnach said:

You could also say that Mahrez is a one footed, one trick pony , cut inside and shoot across the goalkeeper , a trick he has undoubtedly mastered I agree. He is also defensively weak, rubbish in the air and prone to disappear for long stretches. I am sure the Man. City fans would laugh if you tried to say he is better than Mike Summerbee or Francis Lee.

To a certain degree, he is a one trick pony. Nothing wrong with that if you do it well, as you've said.

 

You can't just take Mahrez bad points though, without taking that into account for Worthington and Weller too. They weren't perfect either. 

Personally, I don't give a stuff what Man City fans say about anything, I'm old enough to have seen Worthington, Weller and Mahrez all play for City and I think Mahrez is the most skilfull of the three. That's it really, but neither of us is definitively correct, it's just opinions  

 

They are, without doubt, three of the most skilfull players ever to ply their trade for the club. The order they come in, well, we'll always have different answers depending on who you ask.

 

 

[SemperEadem]

If we go top three skilful

1. Mahrez

2. Worthington

3. Weller

who would be 4 and 5?

Izzet and who else?

[Duquesne Whistle]

8 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

If we go top three skilful

1. Mahrez

2. Worthington

3. Weller

who would be 4 and 5?

Izzet and who else?

Davie Gibson would probably be in my top 5. That was my instant thought.

[Frank Large's Black Book]

Sod the skills. Wortho could drink a lot more than Mahrez.  Got to be a consideration

Edited 6 June 2021 by Frank Large's Black Book

[Guest]

If you've watched Mahrez since about 2014 I don't know how you can say he's one-footed. He pretty regularly goes the other way onto his right nowadays and did so in his last few seasons for us as well.

[An Sionnach]

11 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

Would you describe Mo Salah as a one trick pony who uses the same technique to great effect? 

Mahrez is one of the best wingers in the league. He’s a little bit of a bellend but he’s a fantastic player. 

 

Comparisons with Salah are  bit off he is not really a winger but yes he does use that trick often .I have  never called Mahrez a poor footballer, that would be stupid. He does however have a very unlikeable streak in him and that , to me anyway, disqualifies him from being considered amongst our greatest ever players.

[Duquesne Whistle]

14 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

Would you describe Mo Salah as a one trick pony who uses the same technique to great effect? 

Mahrez is one of the best wingers in the league. He’s a little bit of a bellend but he’s a fantastic player. 

 

It's not only the skills that players are judged by either. Whilst Mahrez has upset a lot of the fanbase, can you imagine how some would feel today about some of Frank's indiscretions? Numerous court appearances for driving offences and general philandering are looked on quite differently these days (by the majority at least ). Certain rumours must have impacted on club harmony at times. Is that better or worse than being a bit of a tit when you want to leave, I'm not sure.

Did those things make Frank a bit of a bellend in the 70's? Probably not, for the majority at the time.

It just highlights another reason why comparing players from much different areas is fun, but impossible to agree on.

 

[An Sionnach]

Frank was as mad as they come but still likeable and off field discipline was lax in those days. George Best was just as bad and yet we all loved him. They never verbally disrespected their clubs though, Mahrez is stone cold guilty of that.

[DoveValleyFox]

Greatest and best are two different things. However both will be subject to opinion.

 

Greatest would be players who have been the most influential whilst we and/or they were successful. This would be players like Banks, Chandler, Schmeichel,  Izzet, Elliott, Vardy and now Tielemans. 

 

Best could be that but would essentially have individual brilliance. Players like Banks,  Kante, Weller,  Wortho, Mahrez, and Huth are a few that I'd throw out there.

 

It can be a fine line but  that's how I see it.

[Duquesne Whistle]

5 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

Frank was as mad as they come but still likeable and off field discipline was lax in those days. George Best was just as bad and yet we all loved him. They never verbally disrespected their clubs though, Mahrez is stone cold guilty of that.

I know we're talking semantics here as you've said 'never verbally disrespected' their clubs, but how can anyone say George Best never disrespected his clubs? He used to go on walkabout for weeks at a time, drinking, missing training, missing games usually whilst being paid. Putting himself and his clubs on the front pages rather than the back. He did the same in the USA and, from memory, in his short time with Hibs in Scotland.

 

I don't really want to get into anything Wortho may or may not have done whilst at Leicester City, but the point is the same.

 

You can't beat Mahrez with that stick then not apply it to those you're comparing him with.

[bovril]

Just now, DoveValleyFox said:

Greatest and best are two different things. However both will be subject to opinion.

 

Greatest would be players who have been the most influential whilst we and/or they were successful. This would be players like Banks, Chandler, Schmeichel,  Izzet, Elliott, Vardy and now Tielemans. 

 

Best could be that but would essentially have individual brilliance. Players like Banks,  Kante, Weller,  Wortho, Mahrez, and Huth are a few that I'd throw out there.

 

It can be a fine line but  that's how I see it.

Correct. This debate has been done many times and I've made a similar point that best =/= greatest.

 

Most talented ever to pull on the royal blue? Mancini, Mahrez, Tielemans are up there. Maybe even Collymore, whose supreme natural talent people tend to forget. But the 'best' ever I think would be Kante. I think he could go down as one of the greatest in his position. I haven't seen a player who does his job better, ever. Certainly not for Leicester. 

 

In terms of the 'greatest', I think it has to be Vardy. I also agree that Schmeichel deserves to be up there. There is nothing greater than winning the league and cup for the first time in the club's history. Morgan too, but Schmeichel's individual contributions have arguably been greater. Vardy though has changed the history of this club in such a profound way, and will hopefully end up as our all time leading scorer behind the two Arthurs.