Don't know if this has been posted before, but came across this site on past players at various clubs. http://www.truegreats.com/player.asp?p=104&c=120 Q>Which current player do you think you most compare with: A>Thierry Henry I think it may have been Luther that had the nasty knock on the head he speaks about in a previous question
Thierry Henry is not a terrible comparison... Luther was a powerful running striker. I remember watching him one time during his third period with us and the rest of our team was tripe but Luther kept coming back practically to our penalty box to pick up the ball and then start running towards the opposition. Their players just bounced off him. I'm not sure how the game finished (it was pretty much one player against 11), but Luther was most definitely in a totally different class to the other players on the pitch. Of our current players, he is most like Marlon, although Marlon has a better first touch and Luther had more power running with the ball and was a little sharper at picking up scraps. Luther was very underrated because of the AC Milan thing. People forget that he was the top scorer in the (old) first division when AC bought him. They did not think he was Barnes. They thought he was a great striker and, if they had given him more of the ball, he would have been. The same with his England career. He got a reputation for being Luther Missit because he missed some great chances. What people forgot was that few other strikers would have had those chances in the first place. He was a percentage player... shoot as often as possible and some will go in. When there aren't many chances, the missed ones become the story. He needed to play for teams that believed in scoring more than the opposition rather than for teams that wanted to let in fewer. So stop knocking what was probably our three best players along with Barnes and Holton.
I found him to be a similar player to marlon from what i remember, though it was later on in his career. perhaps a bit les ferdinand style in his game as well. definately in the top 3 best watford players of all time. think he went for all that money for many years agi. we would be looking for £15 million at least in today's market
I agree, Luther was a fantastic player and the best striker I have seen at the club. BUT just because I scoffed at his comparison, doesn't mean I was knocking him. For the record I would compare him more with Saha than Henry - Better in the air for a start, score the odd wonder goal but prone to his fair share of misses as well You have to ask how true the Q & A is anyway. Seeing as Platini never played for AC Milan and I certainly don't remember him turning out for Bournemouth
Besides which he used to have a kick about with us when he lived in The Maltings and I'm just bitter he picked Platini over me
I watched Luthers career from the start (two goals League cup vs Newcastle) to the end. In my view he is incomparable. He had great pace and power, with legs like oak trees. His shots were fierce and he was strong in the air. He was not the best at anything but was very good at everything. When he did miss (quite often) it would not affect his confidence because with the chances he got he knew he would score sooner or later. He gave evrything for the 'orns and we should sing his name loudly at games!
I know that your comment about Barnes was intended in jest, but some idiots have claimed that was true. Of the players I have seen for Watford, I consider Luther to have been the best. He had talent, but also heart. Other players I would include in the legends category are Wilf Rostron (the shortest player on the field mostly and yet he still won most headers), Nigel Gibbs (one of the best British right backs ever - his tackles were sublime and almost never missed the ball, plus his loyalty to the club is unparallelled), Tommy Mooney (a classic Journeyman but who never gave anything less than 120% and won us a fair few games by sheer willpower), John Barnes (Probably one of the top 10 British players of all time in terms of pure talent). Sadly, none of the current team are close to that category yet. I have high hopes for Hameur, Marriapa and DeMerit. A few others might do it, but I haven't seen them enough to comment. I would include Ben Foster except that Watford have an amazing record of great goalies and Ben is just one of that list... Pat Jennings, Steve Sherwood (you can knock him but he was with us from the 4th to the 1st division and was a brilliant shot-stopper), Tony Coton, David James, Alec Chamberlain and even Richard Lee were/are all greats.
Luther gave me my greatest night watching Watford. We beat Manure 2-1 at their place in the League Cup, when we were 2 divisions below them. Guess who scored the goals.
Nigel Callaghan Ross Jenkins Andy Rankin - Goalie Micky Walker -Goalie Roger Josclyn etc etc etc - we had a very spirited amd rue team in the 80's - I always liked Steve Sherwood - he got soem unfair criticism. I would say that I do think Ross Jenkins was our best - not for skill, he had little if none when he joined us from Palace, but he worked hard on his game and ended up scoring loads for us and some decent goals as well- RJ takes my vote as in my life time WFC best player. We must not forget either that our Loother scored a hat trick for England - but should have had nine Not many players have done that.
Thought two of the classiest defenders we had were Glen Roeder and John McClelland. See nobody has mentioned Pat Rice.
Pat Rice probably won us promotion to the top flight. It wasn't that he was necessarily great for us, but he was very experienced and good at passing that experience on to our other players. Of the 80s team, I would add Kenny Jackett... part of a two man midfield that outplayed most of the 4 man midfields that we played against. Also, Mo Johnston has to be included as our greatest instinctive striker ever (probably). I remember his goal against Pat Jennings at Highbury... everyone thought he had waited too long as he ran down the side of the penalty box practically to the goal line. And yet he somehow managed to squeeze the shot between Pat and the post. Against an average goalie that would have been amazing. Against one of the greatest goalies in history... Callaghan was probably our best pure winger... better than Barnes with his crosses, though less of a striker. I remember when he practically singlehandedly took Leeds apart at Elland Road one year... we won 4 nil and I have never been so scared leaving a ground in my life ! There have been occasional one-year wonders that I have enjoyed watching. Rocket Ronnie was one. But then, I am wierd... I was a fan of Devon White... the only player capable of dummying himself.
Elland Road won 4-0 - evening kick off - those were the days when Leeds was intimidating, yes a trip to saver that one.
I was at Uni in Bradford, so it was a 'local' game for me. Brought my best friend... I don't think he has dared go to a football match since.
Ah, the good old days Still i rememeber bovver at Hartlepool, Halifax and such like places. Also Rochdale, my mate went storming into their end on his own having come out of their rather nice social club/nightclub and got bounced back down the terracing, it was a funny sight and watching the game having a pee was superb.
Tony Gidementis - hole in his heart, came from Workington - Top notch grafter, would like to say he played whole heartedly but that is technically incorrect. However he was a favourite player of mine as he really was an old fashioned full back who took no nonsense.
Luther was THE man over many years. People who didn't see him in his prime can't understand how strong & brave he was. He'd still be running & attempting to shoot when most players would've been on the ground writhing in agony with the stick he used to get. That's why he seemed to miss so many "chances": 99% of other strikers would not have still been in a position to attempt to shoot. His 1st touch was often too heavy, but that got him a lot of chances. The defender thought "he's miscontrolled it, that ball's mine" & then be left looking stupid as Luther's strength & pace allowed him to go past the defender with the ball, even if he was kicked. That night at Manure was incredible: not even being spat & pissed on by the Manure fans above the away enclosure at the end could wash away the elation. And as my mate had lived in Manc he knew just where to go for a post-match drink: a nice little pub (metal shutters on windows etc) in Moss Side where we were treated like royalty. (As we left, the minder just told us, "safe journey lads, but if we see you Cockney scum in here again, you're dead"!). The chant was very true: ONE Luther Blissett, there's only ONE Luther Blissett
