And today, joining the underground .....

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Bacterial meningitis.

My favourite player as a schoolboy.

Bacterial meningitis was your favourite player?

He had an infectious personality.

Hopefully only as a boy and not when in the operating theatre in later life.

[solidarity]

Truly a player that could be described as 'iconic'. Interesting that JPR had 'only' 55 caps. It seems to put him on a par with more mediochre internationals. These days with more matches being played and so many subs you could rack up 55 caps in maybe half the number of years and a quarter of the playing time that JPR had.

[solidarity]

Der Kaiser ist tot

Franz Beckenbauer - Der Kaiser - is no more.

One of the best ever has kicked his last football.

One of only three men to have lifted the World Cup as both a player and a manager, along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps.

Zagallo died just 3 days ago. Wonder if Deschamps is looking over his shoulder or not going out for a day or three.

In one way, Beckenbauer was what George Best could have been. As a player, he moved back from an attacking force, to farther back on the field to become a great distributer of the ball. if only George hadn't had that tragic self-destruct mechanism. On the other hand, George could never have been a manager or administrater.

[big mervyn]

Truly a player that could be described as 'iconic'. Interesting that JPR had 'only' 55 caps. It seems to put him on a par with more mediochre internationals. These days with more matches being played and so many subs you could rack up 55 caps in maybe half the number of years and a quarter of the playing time that JPR had.

It was the time. JPR and Gareth Edwards were ever present for over a decade in that great Wales side and finished with similar totals.

If they had played today they would comfortably be centurions.

They would have started (and finished) every game back then too.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Der Kaiser ist tot

Franz Beckenbauer - Der Kaiser - is no more.

One of the best ever has kicked his last football.

One of only three men to have lifted the World Cup as both a player and a manager, along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps.

Zagallo died just 3 days ago. Wonder if Deschamps is looking over his shoulder or not going out for a day or three.

In one way, Beckenbauer was what George Best could have been. As a player, he moved back from an attacking force, to farther back on the field to become a great distributer of the ball. if only George hadn't had that tragic self-destruct mechanism. On the other hand, George could never have been a manager or administrater.

so nothing like George could have been then?

I'll give you that George always was a great distributer of the ball, as well as an attacking force.

And of course Der Kaiser nicht had that self-destruct mechanism - so again, nothing like George.

Nor did George ever play or manage at a major championship - surprisingly also unlike Der Kaiser.

[big mervyn]

Der Kaiser ist tot

Franz Beckenbauer - Der Kaiser - is no more.

One of the best ever has kicked his last football.

One of only three men to have lifted the World Cup as both a player and a manager, along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps.

Zagallo died just 3 days ago. Wonder if Deschamps is looking over his shoulder or not going out for a day or three.

In one way, Beckenbauer was what George Best could have been. As a player, he moved back from an attacking force, to farther back on the field to become a great distributer of the ball. if only George hadn't had that tragic self-destruct mechanism. On the other hand, George could never have been a manager or administrater.

so nothing like George could have been then?

I'll give you that George always was a great distributer of the ball, as well as an attacking force.

And of course Der Kaiser nicht had that self-destruct mechanism - so again, nothing like George.

Nor did George ever play or manage at a major championship - surprisingly also unlike Der Kaiser.

Franz was popular with the frauleins ... so one box ticked

[solidarity]

Der Kaiser ist tot

Franz Beckenbauer - Der Kaiser - is no more.

One of the best ever has kicked his last football.

One of only three men to have lifted the World Cup as both a player and a manager, along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps.

Zagallo died just 3 days ago. Wonder if Deschamps is looking over his shoulder or not going out for a day or three.

In one way, Beckenbauer was what George Best could have been. As a player, he moved back from an attacking force, to farther back on the field to become a great distributer of the ball. if only George hadn't had that tragic self-destruct mechanism. On the other hand, George could never have been a manager or administrater.

so nothing like George could have been then?

I'll give you that George always was a great distributer of the ball, as well as an attacking force.

And of course Der Kaiser nicht had that self-destruct mechanism - so again, nothing like George.

Nor did George ever play or manage at a major championship - surprisingly also unlike Der Kaiser.

Franz was popular with the frauleins ... so one box ticked

I did say ONE way, but thanks to Merv for pointing out a second.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Another way they were similar was they both made their international debuts in 1964 . . . give or take a year.

[solidarity]

Anne Nightingale... 83? Impossible.

[Jetstream]

Flown the coop. There'll be no more singing on Leicester Square.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Flown the coop. There'll be no more singing on Leicester Square.

nor on Berkeley Square

[big mervyn]

Barry John now ☹

[solidarity]

He gets an iconic mention in this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YKReQnYurY
Magnificent player. Only 25 caps but those were the days when a cap was a cap and there were only half a dozen internationals a year.

[solidarity]

Didn't realise Barry John was only 27 when he retired, becuase of the pressures of the expectations on his shoulder.
Not sure what to say about that. Would he be better supported for these days?

[Jetstream]

Ian Lavender. Private Pike has gone to join the rest of Dad's Army