31 Mar 2026 20:41:41
Stokey, your post about Bobby Moore being the best ball playing central defender in the world in his era, I think Franz Beckenbauer (who played sweeper a lot) might have something to say about that. I always thought Moore was a bit overrated, but holding the Jules Rimet over your head is bound to inflate your legacy a bit I suppose. Fair play to him.

1.) 31 Mar 2026
31 Mar 2026 22:25:24
Bobby Moore and Martin Peters were ahead of their time when it comes to English players.
Beckenhanbour was pure class, but played in a new system which the world of football wasn't used to.

2.) 01 Apr 2026
01 Apr 2026 09:01:07
Forest are going down!!!
April Fool!!!!
???

3.) 01 Apr 2026
01 Apr 2026 11:24:05
Not saying that he was as good as Beckenbauer, but the best CB I ever saw play live was Ruud Gullit, oozed class, strong and a proper ball player. Back in the late 90s, when I was still at school, my best mate and I had a list of players/teams that we wanted to watch live. Growing up on a staple of Football Italia, Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli were top of that list, along with Fabrizio Ravanelli.

Paid through the teeth to get a ticket at Stamford Bridge to watch Barcelona a few years later, so I could see Ronaldinho. In 2017, I was lucky enough to be working in the events industry and bagged a ticket for the Champions League final in Cardiff. Real blew Juve away. Lol, how Italian football has fallen. ?

4.) 01 Apr 2026
01 Apr 2026 17:31:38
Fair point, Stevie. "Der Kaiser" played a lot of his football as a midfielder, but he was 3 players in one, wasn't he? A centre back (usually sweeper or libero), defensive midfielder, or further forward. Effortlessly in all cases, and versatile.
I think Bobby Moore's lack of mobility prevented him from going far beyond the halfway line.

Anyway, his managers, particularly Sir Alf, were conservative and shrewd enough to recognise this limitation.
But, as a pure sweeper and instigator of attacks, having won possession, he was peerless imo.