Paul Bracewell appreciation thread

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Eggs said:
...I loved Bracewell, Dario. What a player he was and what a combination with Reid. They hunted in a pack but Bracewell had an extra dimension to his game. He'd feint to take a ball on his right but then go the other way. He could pass a ball as well, I think it was his volleyed pass to Trevor Steven in the home game against Sunderland.

It was a shame he got that bad ankle injury. I'm sure he'd have got many more caps. I vividly remember him coming back from that long spell out in a Lancashire League game at Bellefield.

Nothing but fond memories of Bracewell, proper footballer, proper professional, proper bloke.
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As close to the most complete midfielder we've ever had imo.

Imagine what he'd be worth today !
 

Eggs said:
...I loved Bracewell, Dario. What a player he was and what a combination with Reid. They hunted in a pack but Bracewell had an extra dimension to his game. He'd feint to take a ball on his right but then go the other way. He could pass a ball as well, I think it was his volleyed pass to Trevor Steven in the home game against Sunderland.

It was a shame he got that bad ankle injury. I'm sure he'd have got many more caps. I vividly remember him coming back from that long spell out in a Lancashire League game at Bellefield.

Nothing but fond memories of Bracewell, proper footballer, proper professional, proper bloke.
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Talking about my favourite player in than great side of ours there Eggs,I remember his first outing in the Charity Shield against the other lot, and taking my Royal Blue specs off for a minute, they had a superb midfield, but Brace ran the show for us that sweltering afternoon.:)
 
I was lucky enough to have been in my early teens when that team got into its stride. An absolute joy to watch most weeks swatting teams aside with ease.

Bracewell was my favourite, probably because he was overlooked by almost everyone else in the playground. The fact we share a birthday just sealed the deal.
 
Eggs said:
...I loved Bracewell, Dario. What a player he was and what a combination with Reid. They hunted in a pack but Bracewell had an extra dimension to his game. He'd feint to take a ball on his right but then go the other way. He could pass a ball as well, I think it was his volleyed pass to Trevor Steven in the home game against Sunderland.

It was a shame he got that bad ankle injury. I'm sure he'd have got many more caps. I vividly remember him coming back from that long spell out in a Lancashire League game at Bellefield.

Nothing but fond memories of Bracewell, proper footballer, proper professional, proper bloke.
Click to expand...

A bigger shame was him getting the Injury in the Jan Vs Newcastle, he missed a few games then came back and played on, but tellingly IMO, was rested for those mickey mouse SSS Cup games and playing the rest of the season on it. Finished the Final - then never kicked a ball for nearly 2 years. Mountfield was similar to a smaller degree, Finished the Final and missed the first 6 games of the season

It does Illustrate the gamble of playing people not fully fit - against the gamble of putting in the replacements (Heath / Richardson - Marshall / Pat van den Hauwe??) in a Cup Final Vs them..fine margins.
On reflection I think I'd have done the same.
 


The best English club side ever, up there with 60s Real Madrid, 70s Ajax and 90s Milan. Would have dominated Europe for a decade if it wasn't for the RS.

T LEAFE said:
Spot on.
Brace and Reidy dominated the middle. Tricky and Kev provided the flair. What a midfield combination.
The Holy trinity were magnificent but i think these 4 were as good.
Brace never stopped runnng. He never appeared the quickest but his stride was deceptive. Brace was everywhere.
And most importantly he gave everything and never let us down
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He was classier than Reid but didn't have the same tenacity. Overall less impact largely due to injury, but a joy to watch and the pair of them complemented each other tremendously
 
Although I would say Harvey was the better player overall, for me Bracewell did in the 4 what Harvey did in the three in the Holy Trinity team. Both kept the play simple and sweet with a range of short and long passing, neither were great scorers and they seemed a little more modest, almost shy compared with the more aggressive, visible numero uno Ball and Reidy respectively. Loved them both though, class acts on and off the field. Saying one is better than the other is like comparing two brilliant wines with cider......they were both absolutely excellent.
 
Dario Terracotta said:
A very close second if I may be so bold to our Holy Trinity(unfortunately I only witnessed our quartet in the mid 80's,maybe @Andy C @Eggs @allezlesbleus @Khalekan etc, may know better than I:))
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Eggs said:
...I loved Bracewell, Dario. What a player he was and what a combination with Reid. They hunted in a pack but Bracewell had an extra dimension to his game. He'd feint to take a ball on his right but then go the other way. He could pass a ball as well, I think it was his volleyed pass to Trevor Steven in the home game against Sunderland.

It was a shame he got that bad ankle injury. I'm sure he'd have got many more caps. I vividly remember him coming back from that long spell out in a Lancashire League game at Bellefield.

Nothing but fond memories of Bracewell, proper footballer, proper professional, proper bloke.
Click to expand...
Sorry lads, see my post above, meant to quote you in that post!!!
 

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