Thanks very much mate. I see now that Netto and Kubala get mentions too, with some caveats/reservations (the part about Kubala was partly visible before but it wasn't clear who it was about anyway), and that Cieslik is compared to Peter Doherty, plus it's good to read the full piece and see for example everything that was said about Fontaine and Piantoni.
The link below is on the same theme. https://www.footballparadise.com/experts-pick-the-greatest-player-of-all-time/ Regarding Crabtree's versatility, Walter "Watty" Arnott said he was the second most versatile footballer after Hughie Wilson of Sunderland. Wilson was an early long-throw practitioner. In joint third place were Ernest Needham and Geordie Drummond of Preston. This could have been in retaliation to a previous newspaper piece by Crabtree claiming that Arnott was the second best full-back after Nick Ross. Billy Bassett agreed with Crabtree's assessment, as did administrator and former player JJ Bentley in 1912.. Billy Meredith in his Sunday Mirror column placed Bobby Walker first for versatility, followed in order by Nick Ross, Crabtree, Andy Aitken and Colin Veitch. He also said that Walker was the greatest footballer of all time. This was in 1934. During the early years of the twentieth century, Arthur Kingshott, FA Treasurer, said that Arnott was the greatest-ever footballer. Former Scottish international Dr John Smith reserved this title for Ross. William Pickford, journalist and future FA President, said in 1906 that the three greatest footballers to that point were Ross, Needham and GO Smith.
This one, posted by Trachta in his own thread, is relevant here too I suppose: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/g...he-best-players.2112404/page-69#post-41147128
despite Billy Meredith and Steve Bloomer having the most popularity due to several records they set, It seems that both halves (Needham and Crabtree) often described as better player, after all, you still can find some shout, for example : Needham, was incredibly versatile, played as inside-forward and winger during early days of his career, but not on world-class level like Crabtree, in addition that Crabtree covered more positions on the pitch. "Needham had not the physical qualities of his great rival Crabtree, but he made up for lack of inches and weight by a skill, quickness, and unequalled judgment that no other football player has ever possesed" - A. J. B. some shouts for The "Prince of Half-Backs" : By Herbert Chapman in his book (Herbert Chapman on Football) - 1932 "Now, what about Needham! Well, to put in nutshell, I consider the little Stavely man the greatest footballer who ever kicked the ball" another important point to note : "The names of Crabtree and Needham will long live in the memory of football followers, and the question of who shall be first is one that is purely a matter of personal opinion." - A. J. B., 1906 his England teammate Fred Spiksley described "Nudger" as "the greatest player assocation football has ever seen" ----------- another great player was William Nevill Cobbold, described as the most individualist, "the most skillful dribbler", Gilbert Oswald Smith and Vivian Woodward, centre-forwards of whom belongs in the false 9 style; a player with great intelligence, extraclass passing game, and unselfishness play: the real team player. Bobby Walker was undoubtedly the best forward Scottish had in pre-World War I. period, "No one has so impressed the public with his marvellous jugglery and brainly artfulness on the pitch". "He has that wizard-like command of the ball which obeys his touch as if by command, and he works it for himself at his will.". Walker formed a great rivalry with Bloomer, undoubtedly two of the greatest inside-right ever but with very different styles. The former was ball juggler and artist, the owner of sublime foot-work and unrivalled ball wizardry: the most artistic painting painted by the most skillful painter. The latter preferred dribbling close to the box, but also very effective and destructive. His greatest quality was perhaps his goalscoring, dubbed as "King of Goal-scorer" and unsaveable shots from all angles to beat even the most agile goalkeepers. Most people choose Bloomer as the better player because of his effectiveness, No man was ever more alert, more ready to exploit the merest fraction of a chance and convert it into a goal. Walker was perhaps the more aesthetic, artistic, and entertaining, type of Ronaldinho/Neymar player.
Crabtree appears to have been rated higher after he retired than when he was actually playing. He was picked four times for England in their key annual fixture against Scotland, but only played well once. After a particularly poor game in 1896 he did not appear the next time the teams met, and was only a reserve in 1898, before returning the following two years. His versatility may have rebounded on him as he was asked to swap positions at the last minute more than once. But he was a key man in Aston Villa's successes of the 1890s. That team, like Crabtree himself, was appreciated more in retrospect.
Oddly, Bloomer was rated the higher of the two in Glasgow, while Walker found favour with the London press. The east/west rivalry in Scotland and north/south divide in England were significant.
As of 1997 Ian Wright chose Maradona (followed by Pele, Cruyff, Puskas, Eusebio, Zico, Robson, Lineker, Platini and Greaves) and Mark Lawrenson chose Pele (followed by Best, Cruyff, Moore, Beckenbauer, Dalglish, Bobby Charlton, Yashin, Maradona and Van Basten)
Here are several opinions that are not in your table (references), CristianoPuskas https://en.everybodywiki.com/List_o...l_players_considered_the_greatest_of_all_time
I remember now that Van Himst apparently in 2017 had Pele as his specified 1st choice (Di Stefano 2nd): https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/f...o-voted-for-who.1597402/page-10#post-38727300
I also remember now that Puck had mentioned Stanley Matthews choosing Cruyff before as his number 1, and I see this tweet has further details (it probably would have been picked up anyway I guess but I thought I'd post it here when I saw it) football fan on X: "Sir Stanley Matthews' top 11 greatest players(1995): https://t.co/lHvy7b49mD" / X (twitter.com) It wouldn't have changed a great deal if he'd submitted the top 5 as his France Football Player of the Century vote (he didn't vote in that); just giving an extra 1st place to Cruyff and moving fellow winger Garrincha into the top 10 in the standings.... France Football Player of the Century - Who voted for who? | BigSoccer Forum
Even though it's getting a bit off-topic I thought I'd add some links re: Doherty and Swift who appear in that list of 11 by Matthews (RoyOfTheRovers would have been a good member to describe and discuss them when he was posting here though as I remember he mentioned both of them and knew them both well from their days at Man City and rated them both very highly - not that that list by Matthews would be typical in general but it's funny in a way to see two Man City players in it from long before their treble winning days!): https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/british-football-best-xis-1863-1939.2124483/page-6#post-41246659 https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/f...-players-g-o-a-t.2124069/page-3#post-41148175 Without posting the full page I can say that George Raynor, the English coach of Sweden, states here (in the Bristol Evening Post in 1966 a few months before the World Cup) that Britain as a whole has been comparable to the rest of the world as a whole in producing top players in 'recent years' (but the British nations should have better organisation and preparation for World Cups in his view) and he suggests these players are well matched: Lev Yashin & Frank Swift Larbi Ben Barek & Alex James Jozsef Bozsik & Danny Blanchflower Gunnar Gren & Peter Doherty Francisco Gento & Tom Finney Garrincha & Stanley Matthews Pele & "for effectiveness in the same bracket" Denis Law Search - Newspapers.com
And re: Finney too, these pages I spotted are quite good - the first one being a piece he wrote himself in which he discusses different types of centre forward and describes his own style of playing the deep-lying centre forward role in the late 1950s, and the other one having a report from a game (albeit a 2nd Division game) in which he scores a solo goal and sets up another goal after another solo run during 1950/51: Search - Newspapers.com "I am a much smaller chap than Lawton so my style of centre forward play has to be different. There is nothing secret about the way I play. I come back for the ball. I move on to the wings, and all the time the aim is to give myself some room to work in. If I pull the opposing centre half out of the middle, then I am still doing a job for the team without touching the ball." finney wizard preston makes another hill from Feb 3, 1951 - Feb 28, 1951 in , United Kingdom - Newspapers.com search "Out on the touchline and only a dozen yards inside the home half, Finney set off on a burst which carried him past Munro & co like a white streak. At the corner of the goal area he pulled the ball back from the line, and Horton was there to side foot it into the net."......."It was a solo - words and music by Finney. Again, Tom with remarkable acceleration, showed Munro a dirty pair of heels, and the winger's low cross shot turned in off the foot of the far upright"
While I'm searching back through an old thread, I'll link Puck's post about the views of Matthews too (which brings Kopa into it, and Bobby Charlton too): surely from a different moment, but also placing Cruyff at the top: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/b...-year-1950-2009.1389516/page-44#post-33339898
It does make this quote a bit curious in some respects (but for sure it does seem clear Matthews had Cruyff as number 1 on more than one occasion, even though declining/feeling unable to make a call on a top 5 for France Football at the end of the century for the Player of the Century voting): “To dictate the pace and course of a game, a player has to be blessed with awesome qualities. “Those who have accomplished it on a regular basis can be counted on the fingers of one hand – Pelé, Maradona, Best, Di Stefano, and Tom Finney.” Famous Quotes About Sir Tom - News - Preston North End (pnefc.net)
I'm curious which of the Pele mentions is the earliest. At what age was he first ranked the GOAT? Except for Waldemar de Brito of course