Brooking/Brady/Hoddle [POLL]

[shammy]

Send me your 1982 Shoot magazine and I'll agree with you.

[/quote]

Why, do you think thats an impossible conclusion? Im going by memory, but I promise im not making it up. Do you require primary sources? I can get them from Collingdale if you want.

[hadleighhammer]

It was a joke fella. I ain't got that copy (I wasn't born) so this thread is good for the uneductaed likes of me. Chill mate.

[shammy]

OK.

[Bend it like Repka]

I know I'm committing an unholy sin, I was at Sir Trevs farewell game, but I just remember watching an ageing Brady turn out for a poor West Ham side at that time, and look utterly on a different planet to the other 21 players on the pitch.

[the pink palermo]

Brady , Brooking and Hoddle , assuming we are assessing them when each was at the absolute peak of their powers .

I think Brooking sustained excellence over a longer period than Brady , but in absolute terms Brady was slightly better at the top of his game .

But it's a cruel question .

[richneal]

I'll pass on judging them as players, as all three were excellent - for me, there's no point in comparing.

But in terms of who was/is the weirdest, Hoddle wins by a mile. I used to go to Spurs quite a lot in the 80's (girlfriend's uncle was coaching and then managing them, so I always got free tix and plenty of Holsten!) . . . anyhow, met Hoddle quite a few times. He was very strange -- I honestly thought that he had some type of psychiatric condition . . . felt quite sorry for him.

Anyhow, I met Geno around Ilford & Brentwood a few times, as well as at Chadwell Heath & UP -- he was great, no surprise there to anyone who hung around E London/Essex in the 70's/80's.

Same with Brady -- was great as well -- totally nice bloke -- really softly spoken, reminded me a bit of Bonzo that way. Down to earth & salt of the earth.

[bubbles1966]

For younger viewers:

Brooking - think Berkovic when passing a ball - but with much better crossing ability

Brady - think Benayoun - but with much better end product

Hoddle - think Diamanti - but with more consistency...

Hoddle is undoubtedly the poorest.

Brooking was the only one who wasn't a "no mark" at international level.

When the nation frets over Gerrard and Rooney's fitness at 2010 World Cup, it was the same with Keegan and Brooking in 1982 (never Hoddle). Butch :lol: Wilkins was as good as Hoddle.

[brownout]

Brady, Brooking, Hoddle

Have to say Brady was the best and even when well past his peak was a class player when we bought him - just a shame that Macari didn't use him enough.
Hoddle was never as good as Sir Trevor.
All three were a class above Lampard & Gerrard though.

But why do we not see this sort of player now? Not necessarilly as good, but the sort of player who could run with the ball or make a 50 yard pass - someone who could run a game rather than run up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. As someone else said, Tony Curry was another.
Benayoun is probably the closest West Ham have had for many years. Bishop was of this type but not as good. Dickens showed promise (the new Brooking) and Collison has potential.

[shammy]

I think with teams playing just one up front the midfield is too congested for that kind of player. Tragic but the game has changed.

[Chippenhammer]

What i would do to have any of them playing for us now. Even bloody Hoddle.

[Claretdave]

I am just too young (34) to have seen Trev play. I saw Brady play for us at a time people would describe as "past his prime" and he was still magnificent. I thought Hoddle was brilliant at times, but far more often he provided absolutely no impact on the game and more importantly produced the worst record of all time.

Therefore, I cannot really vote in the poll.

[smuts]

I went for Brady/Brooking then Hoddle.......

I'm only going by my recollection of what I saw from them as a kid but Brady seemed to do things that no-one else could at the time.

I was also at the Wolves game.....what a way to end a career..............buried in little cockney gits!

[cockney hammer]

brooking brady hoddle for me three world class players i am lucky to say i had the privilege to watch

[continental skills]

Brooking - Brady - Hoddle

Whenever I think of Brooking's sublime ability, it brings a smile to my face. Still.

As others have said already, Trevor was the most consistent of the three. He showed his class week in, week out, and also on an international stage. Not only individually, but as a team player. If I were picking a team and had to choose one of the three, he'd be the one I'd go for without hesistation.
And the most modest of the three in my mind, a quality rarely seen in a footballer these days.

[the oldham stripper]

1 brooking
2 brooking
3 brooking

the other 2 should have been cleaning sir trevs boots.

[Pop Robson]

brooking brady hoddle for me three world class players i am lucky to say i had the privilege to watch

Same for me, proper players those 3 compared to some of the overseas ones we get now days

Used to stand in the Chicken Run right up against the wall as a kid and watch in awe as Sir Trev took the ball past 3 players and make it look easy.

[Bend it like Repka]

I was at Highbury the night we beat them 1 - 0 when Leeeroy scored. It was so busy and I was late, so I had to stand in their end on my own (Cass has nothing on me, he needed a mate). It was quite interesting listening to the crowd that night as an ageing Arsenal God returned home playing for London opponents. Every bit of quality play from Brady was initally greeted by abuse from the younger Arse fans, then from all around "senior" fans would shut them up, sometimes with threats.

It was a very confused bunch of home fans that night. :lol:

Brady you slag

Shut up mug

Arsenal reject!

f*** off you c****, he is a legend.

And to top it off when we scored, I'm pretty sure Brady celebrated as normal.

[Morocco Mole]

But why do we not see this sort of player now? Not necessarilly as good, but the sort of player who could run with the ball or make a 50 yard pass - someone who could run a game rather than run up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. As someone else said, Tony Curry was another.
Benayoun is probably the closest West Ham have had for many years. Bishop was of this type but not as good. Dickens showed promise (the new Brooking) and Collison has potential.

It's a theme I bang on about all the time on here; the demise of the maverick.
The sad thing is, successive England sides have hardly benefited from this mistrust of flair have they? I don't know about anyone else but I'd rather have spent the last 25 years watching England not win anything with Joey Cole, Le Tissier and Hoddle in the side.

Instead we got Gareth Barry, Geoff Thomas and Crab Wilkins....

[prophet:marginal]

Brooking (excuse the quality)

Hoddle (ditto)

Brady

[Hawaiian hammer]

Brady
Brooking
Hoddle

Never thought that much of Hoddle, always thought Gerry Francis was better