The JIMMY GREAVES thread

[Archibald&Crooks]

http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/forums/imagehosting/364645a0ded51888c.jpg
One of the greatest finishers of all time, Greaves was a phenomenal striker, scoring on his debut for Chelsea in 1957. He finished as top League goalscorer twice whilst at Chelsea in 1959 and 1961 and his 41 league goals in the 1960-61 season remains a club record. http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/forums/imagehosting/364645a0ced72089e.jpg

In 1960 he became the youngest ever player to score 100 league goals in English football at the age of 20 years 290 days (and at 23 was the same age as Dixie Dean when he scored his 200th).

He briefly joined the Italian side A.C. Milan in 1961 and scored 9 goals in 12 games but failure to settle led to a quick departure. Bill Nicholson then signed him for Tottenham Hotspur for £99,999. The unusual fee was intended to relieve Greaves of the pressure of being the first £100,000 player.
He played at Spurs from 1961 to 1970, scoring a club record of 266 goals in 379 matches, including 220 goals in the First Division. Greaves finished as top League goalscorer in four seasons (1963, 1964, 1965 and 1969), an achievement that established Greaves as arguably the most consistent striker in English football history. His record of finishing top goalscorer in six seasons has never been matched.

http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/forums/imagehosting/364645a0d085d7c50.jpg With Spurs, Greaves won the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967, scoring against Burnley in the former. He also won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1963 - scoring twice in the famous 5-1 defeat of Atlético Madrid, ensuring that Spurs became the first British club to win a European trophy.
Greaves won his first England cap in 1959, and went on to play 57 times and score 44 goals, five less than Bobby Charlton but at a much higher rate. He remains third in the all-time list of England goalscorers, behind Charlton and Gary Lineker. Greaves also holds the record for most hat-tricks for England - six in all.

In the 1962 World Cup finals match against Brazil in Chile, a stray dog ran on to the pitch and evaded all of the players' efforts to catch it until Greaves got down on all fours to beckon the animal. Though successful in catching the dog, it managed to urinate all over Greaves' England shirt. The Brazilian player Garrincha thought the incident was so amusing that he took the dog home as a pet.

Greaves was the first-choice striker for the England team during the 1966 World Cup but suffered a leg injury during a game against France and had to be replaced. That replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored the winner in the quarter final against Argentina and kept his place all the way to the final, famously scoring a hat-trick as England won the tournament.

One of football's most famous photographs shows the elation on the England bench as the final whistle was blown, except for Greaves, in his suit and tie, looking astonished at what had happened. Greaves has always maintained that he felt nothing but delight at England's win and celebrated as much as the other non-playing members of the squad. He also maintains that he never felt he had a divine right to be in the side once he regained his fitness. However, his reaction at the time of England's success became well-documented - he packed his bags and headed on holiday with his wife while the rest of the squad attended an official banquet.

I never saw Jimmy play so I hope some of our older posters can give us a flavour of the player behind the stats.

Over to you.

[ChRiStOpHe]

Nice one Archie. My dad's got his autobiography, and he can't find a bad word to say about the guy.

Todays strikers are 'worth' £20m if they can boast a strike rate of a goal every other game. Greaves scored 44 goals in 57 internations for England. That just about shows how good he was.

Another story my dad told me. He was having a pre-match meal with a team mate (i think it might have been El Tel). Tel had something like a small salad and some pasta. Greavesy had a full English roast. Greavesy ended up banging in a hatrick :lol:

[TheChosenOne]

As a lad growing up in the mid 60's Jimmy Greaves was I suppose the Beckham/Owen superstar of his time.
Everyone at school wanted to be him.
Poacher extraordinaire. Homegrown working class superstar.
I was fortunate to see him play in his heyday, although jaundice robbed him of a piece if his brilliant career.
He was one of our own, a Dagenham lad but a Spurs supporter as a kid.
He had the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time to pop up a score with the minimum of effort.
Too many memories to list in here at this time.

[PT]

Brilliant on the Saturday TV football preamble with Ian St John. Top ratings and if it wasn't for his issues with te bottle, he'd still be in tv today.

[AW?]

Nice thread.

I'd quite like to see more of the same on other players aswell.

:-)

[Chuba]

Definately would have loved to have seen him play, but i was way too young (not born even) when he adourned the Legendry Lillywhites Shirt, i have about 4 cassettes of his from the series "Greavies 5 of the best" and did enjoy him with Ian St John Saturday morning. Legend!

PS: would love to see a Richard Gough one A&C even though he did only spend 1 year with us, but what a fantastic player.

[mawspurs]

I was still a wee lad when Greavsie was doing his stuff for us so I never got to see him play live, much to my regret. A footballing legend in every sense of the word.

[spud]

In my mind, Jimmy Greaves is the greatest striker ever to wear our colours. Think of Robbie Fowler at his goal-poaching best and then multiply it by 10.

Not only was he a goalscorer without equal, he could also play. He could find a pass, and in fact often used to appear to pass the ball into the goal - something the great (Sir) Bill Nick often used to comment on.

His goals came in all shapes and sizes. On his debut for us he scored a hat trick; one with each foot and one with his head. And who could forget his unbelievable strike at he Lane against ManUre: after picking it up about thirty yards out he beat at least three players before rounding the keeper and passing it into the empty net. Pure genius.

There could never be another.

Simply the best.

[SpurSince1961]

As you will notice from my avatar he is the greatest Spurs player for me although I have so much admiration for the likes of Cliff Jones, Dave Mackay, Alan Gilzean, Mike England, Pat Jennings, Alan Mullery, Steve Perryman, Ossie Ardiles, Graham Roberts & Ledley King.
I saw Jimmy play so many times and he just had the incredible talent to put the ball in the net. I think the single attribute he seemed to have above other players was the speed that he managed to pull his leg back and make a shot. The 'G' Men - Greaves & Gilzean- what memories.

[mabolsa_ritchey]

I think the club should make compilation DVDs of these sort of players for us youngsters who never got to see them.
All Ive seen of Jimmy is on the history DVD and the cup final games in the 60's, and Ive been brought up being told that he was the greatest player we've ever had so I really wanna see more.

[DC_Boy]

His record of 357 goals in the top division will surely never be broken, and his club records 37 league goals in one season for Spurs and 41 for Chelsea - very unlikely to be beaten -

Quite often 20 league goals now gets you top scorer in prem season - JG must have topped that on at least 8 occasions, maybe more.

Not only was he our greatest ever goalscorer but he was a wonderful footballer too. He could cross the ball superbly, sometimes scoring directly from corner kicks. He had tremendous passing ability and great dribbling skills. My first footballing idol, and I'll never forget the great memories he gave me and so many Spurs fans.

He had a great sense of fun too - who remembers his impromptu dance with Bobby Moore in the middle of a hard-fought derby game?

[ST]

Brilliant on the Saturday TV football preamble with Ian St John. Top ratings and if it wasn't for his issues with te bottle, he'd still be in tv today.
With respect, I think you're getting it a bit mixed up. I don't think his alcoholism had anything to do with his not being on the box anymore. Saint and Greavsie came well after he kicked the booze, unless I'm mistaken and he fell off the wagon? But I don't think he did.

Spurs Legend, truly.:bow:

[goonhater]

what great memories this article brings flooding back, as a young lad the great greavsie was my total idol, although i was playing football every saturday myself i managed to see the great team of the 60's often and it was breathtaking stuff every time greavsie got the ball in the opposition penalty box 40,000 fand held their breath and wernt often let down by the great man,, oh happy times if only we had him now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SpurSince1961]

The following is the YouTube video of JG capturing the dog in the Brazil match in 62- You will notice the comentator is the same as they think it is all over and he mentions at the end Jimmy being already the hero in the game as well as capturing the dog!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2_6kWBYpSk

[SpurSince1961]

The following is from Roy of The Rovers hall of fame

When it came to scoring goals, he was, simply, the best, Jimmy binged on goals, making a special habit of hat-tricks. It was the same at International level, where he scored four in a game twice, as well as three trebles. A prolific natural goalscorer, deadly around the penalty area. He scored a hat-trick in a Division One match 2 months short of his 18th birthday. His goalscoring achievements included three fives, two fours and four threes, all in 1st Division league games!
Joe Mercer described him as 'a blinking little genius'. He could pick up the ball in the centre circle and dribble past half a team before bewildering the keeper. He did it for Chelsea against Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge in September 1959; in his Spurs days, Manchester United were the victims at White Hart Lane in October 1965; then it was Leicester City's turn in October 1968, Peter Shilton tasting humiliation as Jimmy paused impudently before applying the coup de grace.
Wicked intelligence, instinctive anticipation, perfect balance, magnetic control, explosive pace, supreme confidence; it seems ridiculous, unfair even, but he had the lot. Surely these traits made up for any perceived low work-rate. When the ball ran loose in half a yard of space, invariably he would be the first to move, and by the time a defender had latched on to his shirt-tails it would be too late. A supreme taker of chances, Jimmy could strike as firmly as the next man but usually he opted for precision, passing the ball into the net, his customary accuracy giving goalkeepers no chance.
Jimmy first made his mark at Chelsea. He seemed to score goals for fun, netting five times in a game on three occasions, grabbing four one Christmas morning against Portsmouth and becoming the first man to pass the century mark in league football before the age of 21. Not surprisingly there was outrage at Stamford Bridge when Jimmy was lured to Italy in the summer of 1961 for a fee of £80,000 having been promised untold riches by AC Milan. However, it was an unhappy interlude in Italy with Milan (despite scoring on his debut and netting nine goals in ten league games) and after four months of misery - he could not cope with the change in lifestyle - Jimmy joined Spurs for £99,999, Bill Nicholson refusing to pay a six-figure fee!
He began by maintaining his tradition of scoring on his debut at every level, weighing in with a hat-trick against Blackpool. Soon Jimmy helped Spurs win the FA and Cup Winners' Cups. Jimmy excelled for England, too, overshadowing all other strike-rates with 44 goals in 57 matches; indeed, but for the strength-sapping jaundice that cost him four months of 1965-66, he would surely not have missed the final stages of the World Cup. Eventually, in March 1970, he left for West Ham, valued at £54,000 in the deal which took Martin Peters in the opposite direction. His Upton Park days were not the happiest, and ahead lay the well-documented drink problems that threatened his very existence.
His next career was as a television pundit with the well received 'Saint and Greavsie', on ITV with his good friend Ian St John. He is now a columnist for 'The Sun' newspaper every Saturday and you can read his articles if you follow the link at the top of the page.
With a goalscoring touch to match Roy of the Rovers and the ball skills to boot Jimmy Greaves is admitted into the Roy of the Rovers Hall of Fame.

[DC_Boy]

Thanks for that 61 :-) - I was privileged to be at the Lane for those magic goals v Man U & Leics - unforgettable

[Sanj]

just reading this sends a tingle up your spine.

Has Jimmy been inducted into the spurs hall of fame yet?

And for all those who would like to see him back on TV, wouldn't he make a great pundit for Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (just as the Great Geroge Best did).

[Thesoccershrink]

Brilliant on the Saturday TV football preamble with Ian St John. Top ratings and if it wasn't for his issues with te bottle, he'd still be in tv today.

That's simply wrong. Read his book "Greavsie." He beat the booze long before Saint and Greavesie. He claimed he still got offers to be in TV well into the 90's and beyond but chose not to do it. BTW, "Greavsie" is a marvellous book and will bring back fond memories of thosue of us who saw him play for Spurs.

[CosmicHotspur]

Greavsie was a genius. He was erroneously labelled a goal poacher because of his ability to be in the right place at the right time in front of goal. I once saw him beat five men, running from the centre line, to thwack the ball into the back of the net, leaving the keeper unable to do anything except applaud and shake his head.

He was often berated for not bothering to train (and certainly at Cheshunt during training sessions, he was in the back row and did very little). The fact is he was a natural and didn't need to train - in the same way as George Best didn't need to. Perhaps there's a parallel there, something to do with the chemical make-up of an alchoholic - could be an interesting study.

He was a good cricketer and I watched him play tennis once and his serve and speed were fantastic. I think he would have excelled in any sport he chose to play at a
professional level. Then there was his rallying success later of course.

On a personal note, on the December day in 1961when Jimmy came to the Lane I was the first to get his autograph (I still have it). I think saying "Please" with a wide-eyed begging look on my face clinched it. He joined for £99,999 as Billy Nick didn't want him to have a £100,000 player tag!

Jimmy was often in the White Hart pub next to the ground, as well as a regular at the Bell & Hare on Saturday nights after home games, with other players and so was I with
other (under-age!) friends and we sometimes chatted. He once told me I looked like his sister Marion. He was gregarious and fun and yes, he did drink quite a lot and we all know it escalated into alcoholism but he seems to have
turned his life around, even reuniting with his ex-wife Irene
(although they haven't felt the need to remarry).

Their son, Danny, was named after the late Danny Blanchflower who was his godfather.

Then there's a very personal story that never hit the press. I was there the day a very upset Greavsie went in to see Billy Nick and gave him an ultimatum (not an easy thing to do). It was "Either he goes or I do" regarding a fellow Spurs player who had been having an affair with Irene. He'd only just found out and WHL was buzzing with the story.

The named player left for another club very soon after ...

If you can bear it, this is a prose poem I wrote in tribute to Greavsie many years ago:

GREAVSIE

You look lazy.
When you're that good
No need to train.
Sprinting and swerving,
You leave them wrong-footed
And clumsy
And take deadly aim.
The goalie,
Shaking his head,
Stoops to pick the ball
From the back of the net.
No dishonour
No chance!

Greavsie grins
Toward the terraces,
A clown in baggy shorts
Acknowledging another roaring tribute.

[DC_Boy]

Some fascinating stuff there Cosmic - Thanks for that :-)

[Bill_Oddie]

Well, they told me 'Legends of the Lane' was good, but this is fantastic. Thanks very much to all contributors, especially Archie and Cosmic. Great stuff guys.

I agree with mabolsa, it'd be good to do player-specific DVDs.

[IWASTHEREIN61]

Greavsie was a genius. He was erroneously labelled a goal poacher because of his ability to be in the right place at the right time in front of goal. I once saw him beat five men, running from the centre line, to thwack the ball into the back of the net, leaving the keeper unable to do anything except applaud and shake his head.
I watched Greavsie from the Paxton Road for the whole of his Spurs career and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he went after the ball. To say he wasn't a poacher is to do him an injustice, he was a poacher, the greatest of all poachers. He knew where to be and when to be there and when the ball came to him he was absolute magic! He was a striker in the same way a snake is a striker - softly, softly, ZAP! He could lose whoever was covering him without them knowing he was gone. He nipped in and out and before you knew it we were another goal up. A striker that lived and breathed football. Oh God! Those were the days.

[stevenqoz]

Saw JG from start top finish with us. He was a great penalty taker always placing it in the corner sidefoot. Only saw him miss one and that was against West Ham at WHL when he sent the keeper the wrong way only to hit the other post.
Not all his goals were great but he was cheek personified. He scored a very quickly taken free kick at WHL against Liverpool while they were still getting the wall right...Tommy Lawrence in goal I think.
Another one was against QPR at Loftus road when there was a Morgan on either side. We were losing 1-0 2 minutes to go and there appears James seemingly 5 yards offside on the edge of the box bringing the ball down with his arm to score a valuable equaliser. Seem to remember an occasion when he was robbed of a goal right on halftime because the ref said the whistle had gone before the shot hit the net. Along with Glenn and Stevie P, JG is my favourite ever at Spurs.

[DC_Boy]

I was ther for both the goals you mention SQ - some happy memories

Boy were Pool mad about that quickly taken free kick :-)

[sundancer]

I saw Jimmy score his first goal and last goal for Spurs and most of them in between, he was without a doubt the finest goalscorer of all time, he could score from all angles and on many occasions beat several players before slipping the ball into the net. I even went all the way to see him make his debut for West Ham at Maine Road and guess what he scored two goals on a mudheap in a 5-1 win, he was brilliant.

[MrGreaves]

Great memories, shame this thread reads almost like an obituary. I see Jim is appearing at the Millfield Arts Center on the 27th Feb.

One of the greatest partnerships we have ever had was the two G men Alan Gilzean (Gilly) being the other G man, I hope Berby and Defoe eventually play like those two wonderful players, well you never know!

[vietnam1973]

ive went to a booksigning and got his book and after reading it i cant beleive how prolific he was at scoring goals the guy was lethal, i think he would of got in any side in the world and scored loads of goals, a very nice man aswell.Legend

[chinaman]

Malcolm Allison once when assigning a defender to mark our man Greaves, told him " every time Greves blink, you blink".

[MrGreaves]

Chinaman, that really sums up the threat that Jimmy was to our opposition.

You would go to a match and for 40 to 50 minutes he would be on the fringe of play and then all of a sudden, bang, bang, bang and Jimmy would have another hat trick !

Oh I wish we had Berby, Mido and Jimmy as our strike force.

Best wishes to all.

[chinaman]

Chinaman, that really sums up the threat that Jimmy was to our opposition.

You would go to a match and for 40 to 50 minutes he would be on the fringe of play and then all of a sudden, bang, bang, bang and Jimmy would have another hat trick !

Oh I wish we had Berby, Mido and Jimmy as our strike force.

Best wishes to all.

I'm not satisfied until we also have MacKay and Hoddle in midfield and Pat Jennings in goal. Ahh, also Cliffy Jones on the left wing.

[TheChosenOne]

I hated it when he had to wear that claret & blue for a bit.

That was humiliating.

[chinaman]

West Ham was his first love. But we did pretty well in the deal and got another legend in Martin Peters.

[The_Blue_Rooster]

Another one was against QPR at Loftus road when there was a Morgan on either side. We were losing 1-0 2 minutes to go and there appears James seemingly 5 yards offside on the edge of the box bringing the ball down with his arm to score a valuable equaliser.

That was the first time I saw Spurs live. Feb 68. We wore blue tops and white shorts that day. Jimmy was my hero (along with big Pat) and I had a pair of JG endorsed boots.

He once said that he retired too early and had the chance to go to Derby County under Clough in 1971 and regrets turning it down.

Jimmy Greaves - the legend of legends.

[TheChosenOne]

West Ham was his first love. But we did pretty well in the deal and got another legend in Martin Peters.

Yeah I know Martin Peters was the better part of the deal but JG going to anywhere was like selling off the family silver.
"I saw Peters score all four goals against Man U in 72 away"

[TheChosenOne]

That was the first time I saw Spurs live. Feb 68. We wore blue tops and white shorts that day. Jimmy was my hero (along with big Pat) and I had a pair of JG endorsed boots.

He once said that he retired too early and had the chance to go to Derby County under Clough in 1971 and regrets turning it down.

Jimmy Greaves - the legend of legends.

Keep posting for me Blue Rooster, I can't remember everything from the older days, I need help. !!!

[OneGrahamRoberts]

to buy jimmy toda..chelsea would need a loan..he was pricless..he once said ' EVERY TEAM I PLAYED FOR HAD MY LOYALTY, ONLY SPURS HAD MY LOVE'.. enough said ....A TRUE SPURS MAN..

[chinaman]

They wouldn't have needed to buy him if they've not sold him to AC Milan in the first place.

[greavesie]

jimmy was with out a doubt a man who could set the lane on fire , you had to see him play to understand any of the previous statements . to know what he meant to spurs his first game back after jaundice was against fulham ,trying to get him fit for the world cup , in those days against fulham we averaged about 40 tho jimmy was playing the lane was heaving with 56tho at least.we had a penalty mackay took them when jimmy was ill , mackay picked up the ball to give to jimmy who was out on his feet just about walking, he was so tired he did not want the ball, mackay waved his arm and pointed to the crowd, the noise was deafening, jimmy took it somehow scored , the noise level made the ground shake,it was so good to see him back , even if it did take a while to get match fit, what a player

[mybelovedspurs]

shame he is his not 4o years younger, even bigger shame he follows chavski

[millsie]

Yeah I know Martin Peters was the better part of the deal but JG going to anywhere was like selling off the family silver.
"I saw Peters score all four goals against Man U in 72 away".
I was at that game too.left ground thinking Chivers had scored the4th. Only found out later it was M.P.The Mancs. were well pissed off that day. They started tryig to climb into the stand at the scoreboard end where i was sitting. I remember the ticket cost £2-50 changed days or what?:violin: Eek

[TheChosenOne]

Yeah I was chased out of the ground at that point from the scoreboard, saw blokes like Arthur Chaplin & Johnny Hackney
getting a few thumps, saw Spurs fans getting rolled all the way back to Piccadilly station where I got nutted by a "Cockney Red" who had travelled up on our football special.
I saw blokes having there shoes nicked, sheepskin coats nicked as well.
The train, I think cost 3.50 as well. compared to £2.50 for the higher midlands like Stoke or £2.00 odd to Leicesters.

Oh, By the time I got back to the Station, the Manchester Evening News (The pink edition) had all the footy results in the "stop press"
I got home that night to South Tottenham just in time to see MOTD

When I met MP in the Billy Nick suite about 25 years later I saidf to him, blah blah, I remember the day you got 4 against Man U- he was stunned -cos normally it is theWorld Cup goal thing going on.

Thanks for the mems

[TheChosenOne]

Oh by the way I missed JG round here last week at the local castle hall, doing his tour, totally forgot about it. damn

[mabolsa_ritchey]

I dont think he's been inducted into the Spurs hall of fame. How the hell has that not happened yet?!

[Archibald&Crooks]

Didn't he have some sort of falling out with Levy? Something to do with something he wrote in one of his newspaper columns. That's my guess.........IIRC He wasn't even at the 150th anniversary game against Villa last season. Shame.

[The Original Yiddster]

Saw this on Vital Tottenham a few weeks back....real shame one of the very few players left to join the hall of fame that I would gladly fork out the money for to attend........true legend!

Each year comes and goes with yet another of our former 'greats' inducted into the Hall of Fame. As we greet each recipient with a nod of approval you can't thinking help wondering when is it going to be Jimmy's turn? He was a notable absentee from the 125 year celebrations and many fans at the time (myself included) were critical of the club for not including him and others in this historical event.

When the latest inductee was announced (David Ginola) a thread was posted on Vital asking about JG's omission this in turn prompted a number of us to contact the club directly for an official response, the inquiry and reply read as follows:-


To whom it may concern,

Following on from yesterday's inducting of David Ginola into the Hall of Fame many of us fans look forward with anticipation as to who next will have this great honour bestowed upon them.

I am privileged to have supported our great club since the late 50's and have seen some wonderful players don the lilywhite of spurs. Which brings me to the subject matter.

A question constantly being asked in many circles is why on earth the 'great' Jimmy Greaves has not yet been considered? The roll spans from the 1930's to 2000 and I for one find Greavsie's omission mystifying.

No doubt there is a perfectly good reason for this oversight or it may be that it will occur sometime in the future. I certainly hope so, for I can think of no other 'living' former player who deserves it more.

I await your reply:-




Dear Supporter

Thank you for your note.

Of course, Jimmy's omission from the Hall of Fame is a very sad case for all of us and one that we do desperately seek to rectify at least twice a season.

Regrettably, for his own reasons, Jimmy chooses to have nothing to do with any of his former clubs and very little with the football world in general. We have contacted Jimmy and his representatives on many occasions, including inclusion in the Hall of Fame, to have a lounge named in his honour and for the 125 celebrations last season.

We will continue to ask Jimmy wherever we can, whilst maintaining his wishes.

Kind regards

Jonathan

Jonathan Waite
Customer Services Manager
Tottenham Hotspur Football & Athletic Co Ltd
Bill Nicholson Way
748 High Road
London
N17 0AP

To say I was somewhat taken aback by the reply is an understatement I am both sad and disappointed that Jimmy feels this way but feel we must respect his wishes for whatever reasons and let the matter lie. Not wanting to be the conduit of 'propaganda' for the club I held off from publishing this article while Jimmy was contacted via the good offices of another vital member (Greaveswasthegreatest) to allow him to respond in kind. To date we have received no acknowledgement or response and have every reason to believe we aren't going to. The point of this article is for info purposes only and does not seek to open any old wounds that may be apparent, in any case the great Jimmy Greaves will always hold a place in our hearts and in mine and every Spurs fans mind will always be a LEGEND. COYS

[DC_Boy]

yep AFAIK he refused the offer

he probably would have been the first one in after Billy Nick