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He may not have scored the greatest number of goals but for sheer fox in the box and what the feck is he going to do next its Michael Chopra
Gilligan was good , hemmerman was great till be crocked his knee at Bristol rovers , loved stantona too but chopra was the real deal , assisted by Thompson , a great target man
Stant for me.
Maybe not the greatest, but certainly my favouritest
carld dale and jay bothroyd in his prime
most overated peter thorne
Technically speaking, I haven't seen a better striker down the City than Jay Bothroyd. He could do everything, skilful, good finisher, powerful shot, could pass, good link up play and was actually quite quick for a tall bloke. If only the attitude matched and he would have a lot more than just the 1 England cap in my view. (although he wouldn't end up at City if that's the case!).
I've only been going down since around 2001 so don't have the experience some here do, but we were very blessed with forwards when we could boast Chopra and Bothroyd as a front 2! Shame we were a soft touch back then.
Thorne wasnt too bad. He was pretty good at holding ball up.Quote:
Originally Posted by MOZZER2
Doesn't deserve to be in the cardiff city greatest forward thread tho , I agree
Jay Bothroyd
Bothroyd by a mile for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bothroyd's Diving Coach
The greatest centre forward ever to play for Cardiff City must be John Charles. Well past his best years when he came to us but in his prime a true football legend ( a proper one not a “media speak” one). Was voted both the best centre half and the best centre forward in Europe during his career and is one of a very small number of foreign players in the Juventus Hall of FameQuote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
John Charles, end of thread !!!!!
Bothroyd was probably the best all round player. But Chops had a real sense of positioning and an eye for goal.
If you saw him yes, but he's before my time.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUETIT
Chops.
Not only a goal scorer, but an intelligent player too. Would take defenders away from the ball when he didn't have it to make space for others.
Chopra in my time.In my fathers Gerry Hitchens
Full name Gerald Archibald Hitchens
Date of birth 8 October 1934
Place of birth Rawnsley, Staffordshire, England
Date of death 13 April 1983 (aged 48)
Place of death Hope, Clwyd, Wales
Playing position Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1952–1953 Highley Miners Welfare
1953–1955 Kidderminster Harriers 14 (6)
1955–1957 Cardiff City 95 (40)
1957–1961 Aston Villa 132 (78)
1961–1962 Internazionale 39 (17)
1962–1965 Torino 89 (28)
1965–1967 Atalanta 58 (10)
1967 → Chicago Mustangs (loan) ? (1)
1967–1969 Cagliari 19 (4)
1969–1971 Worcester City 51 (25)
1971 Merthyr Tydfil 6 (0)
National team
1961–1962 England 7 (5)
Based on how 'great' a player was, John Charles was in a league of his own. I don't think any other centre forwards we've had could be categorised as great.
Personally, I would rate John Toshack as very good, if not Liverpool wouldn't have snapped him up.
Bothroyd and Chopra were both good and at times very good.
Of the rest I would say that Carl Dale, Earnie, Stant, Alston, Tony Evans were just below that level.
Derek Showers.....in a category all by himself !
Bothroyd, Stant and Carl Dale.
Also would rather have kept Ross McCormack than Chisora 2nd time around.
Oh and Brian Clark possibly a tad below Chopra and Bothroyd.
I liked Thorne , thought he was a good football player as well as a goal scorer.Quote:
Originally Posted by MOZZER2
Jay Bothroyd for me , sensational player on his day .
Brian Clark, John Toshack, Alan Warboys.Tony Evans, Adrian Alston, Jimmy Gilligan, Kevin Bartlett, Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd were all favourites of mine. Chopra was definitely a class act. Others like Andy McCulloch, Phil Stant, Chris Pike, Carl Dale I liked too.
Bothroyd for me, he was unplayable on his day.
Eddie Johnson :ayatollah:
Bothroyd.
Bothroyd in terms of raw ability. As a finisher and goal scorer, my favourite has to be Earnshaw.
Gary Lineker outside the lord sandwich
Peter Thorne was a hell of a footballer, not in the same league as Charles & Tosh obviously but for some to dismiss him out of hand is a bit unfair, the season we got back to this division he played every single game including the play offs and got the vital semi final goal. Although I saw John Charles in a City shirt I think it’s Tosh for me, young, hungry, a goal maker and scorer whereas John Charles, a genuine legend but he was a bit past it by the time he signed for us.
Honourable mentions for Chris Pike and Gary"Basil" Stevens. Neither were the most skilfull forwards but both had good goalscoring records for us and we paid peanuts for them.
Although not a great footballer, Earnie was the best natural goalscorer I've seen at the club. His ability for being in the right place at the right time could not be taught. Chopra came close to Earnie in this respect but the little man just edges it for me.
No votes for Madine? Every game I see him play I think "He'll score today", how wrong am I?
1 Earnshaw
2 Carl Dale
3 Stant
4 Chopra
5 Ian Rush
I saw Ian Rush in the toilet down city
When you think that Robert Earnshaw is the only footballer ever to have scored a hat trick in all 4 divisions, the FA Cup, the League Cup and at International level it makes you realise how lucky we were to have him.
Jimmy Greaves
There's only one Danny Showers.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Otherwise Toshack (ooh-ooh) for those who remember the chant back in the day.
Tappy
Toshack ,next.
I saw him down the City playing in the John Charles Testimonial game v Leeds United. Prior to that he was the best goalscorer I have ever seen, and none have bettered him since.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUETIT
Alston and Evans
Stant
Can’t dispute that but Toshack/Clark equally as good, then Earnie.Quote:
Originally Posted by dandywarhol
Toshack for me! The first and best centre forward I saw, in my lifetime of supporting City
Surprised that no-one has mentioned Tommy Halliday!!
toshack..next
He mostly played centre half for us but I remember him scoring from a free kick inside our half in his first game against Norwich. So for me it’s got to be Tosh! Him and Brian Clarke were a superb partnership even better than my second choices Tappy and Graham Moore!Quote:
Originally Posted by Since62