Gazza

[J R Hartley]

I often wonder how all the "legends" of the game would fair in the modern era, particularly in the Prem. Would they perhaps be seen as an average player?

Were the likes of Gazza in the 90s better than Rush in the 80s and was he better than Georgie Best in the late 60s/early 70s etc, etc?

It's probably an unfair question based on many things such as modern players' lifestyles and the quality of the playing conditions these days, even compared to the early 2000s.

Most of us have been watching the re-runs of great matches over the past few weeks. I was watching the 1966 World Cup final on the weekend and the quality of the play was crap, perhaps comparable to a League Two game.

As poor as those old matches seem now though, they're still great to watch because the seem raw if you know what I mean?

It’s impossible to compare players across eras in most sports as sports are constantly evolving and improving.

I think the mark of any great player is how did they fare in their own generation.

For 4/5 years Maradona was the best player in the world bar none. No-one come close. But he was a cocaine addict at Napoli and partied from Sunday to Wednesday. He wouldn’t be anywhere near fit enough in today’s game.

[B. Oddie]

I think the mark of any great player is how did they fare in their own generation.

Nail on the head.