RIP Jimmy Greaves

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A teacher from my old school had been on the books at Chelsea, he didn’t make the cut hence his being a teacher. I was friendly with him after I left school and he retired as we had a shared like of football. He once told me a story about being in the changing rooms before a training session when a young lad in a school uniform was brought in and introduced to everyone. He said the older players didn’t pay him any attention until he got out on the practice pitch and nobody could stop him scoring. He said he was so quick in the box that they couldn’t even kick him, it was Jimmy Greaves.
 
Lucky enough to have seen him and he was as good as they all say ,up there with the saint and the saints he could be jostling for the top place knowing him .Great character but an even better player .Hard to feel sad as he spent his last years the way he did ,just happy he is now at rest .Thanks Greavsie lad.
 
1962/63 season - Everton & Spurs neck & neck to be crowned Champions. At Easter I was on a short family holiday in London and went with my Dad (a kopite) & my brother (a blue) to see Spurs v the rs at White Hart Lane. Mixed feelings about what score we wanted but the reality was we wanted the rs to win - anyway Jimmy Greaves was absolutely outstanding and scored 4 as Spurs romped away as 7-2 winners, so at least I've seen the rs get absolutely stuffed! I think we drew at home so we were well miffed. Anyway, the next game was the meeting between us & Spurs at Goodison and the famous Alex Young headed winner at the Street End - and a few weeks later crowned Champions after beating Fulham 4-1 in the last game. Jimmy Greaves was an outstanding striker of his generation - deserved to be in the team for the 1966 WC Final. As we all know in later years he was just a really good bloke and thoroughly entertaining with a great sense of humour. RIP Jimmy
 
Sometimes particularly within the dead thread someone dies and requires more than a one line sentence of respect, Jimmy Greaves is one of those characters.
Cliff White today said, he wasn't the best footballer he'd ever seen but he was the best goalscorer, which for me was about right.
I had the utmost repect for him for turning himself around from being a chronic alcoholic to a tv family favourite and ultimately winning his wife and family back, an absolute inspiration to someone in the same position and can't see a way back.
What a goalscorer, what a man RIP Jimmy Greaves.
 
duncs pigeon said:
He got injured v France, Geoff Hurst took his place and kept it. No subs in those day. Massive decision by Sir Alf not to play him in the final.
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These days being part of a handful of matches in a tournament would be enough for a player to feel as though they'd won the world cup, even if they didn't play in the final game.

Greaves was a world cup winner to all intents and purposes. It's a shame he may have felt that being left out for Hunt in the SFs and Final denied him that.
 
They were giving opinions about the best ever strikers on ESPN a few weeks ago and the names offered up included Kane, Lukaku,
Shearer. Others have had their great statistics put up here and Drury told us the Jimmy still held the record for most goals in the top flight. I saw Greaves play and he is one of the greatest, but none of the pundits ever mention Dixie Dean, whose statistics are better
than any. Even Robert Lewandowski.
 
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