Bolton Wanderers Forum The-Wanderer.co.uk

Okay, you can all have your debates about Best Ever Whatever... but what about Most Underrated.

There's been a whole host of players in the past who never got the credit they deserves (the sublime Tony 'Silky' Barness comes to mind) in favour of various glam, showboating players... so let's have a natter about the most underrated players ever.


For starters, I'll offer Peter Beardsley. A man never destined to front a shampoo ad campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvaZmQrDc4g

Always had plenty time for Simon Charlton myself and could always raise a cheer for Bob Taylor.

I'll add that this isn't merely Bolton players... just thought I should clear that up (hence: Other Footy thread)

Onward...

mofgimmers wrote:I'll add that this isn't merely Bolton players... just thought I should clear that up (hence: Other Footy thread)

Onward...

Fair comment, although you started off with two ex Bolton players.

I'll also add a former Bolton player to add further confusion to proceedings. Paul Warhurst. Always appreciated but never received the acclaim he deserved. When he was fit and on his game he used to totally run the show for us.

Matt Le Tissier

In a 'top four' team he'd have been a World star.

I can't see how anyone would count Beardsley, Le Tissier, or even Warhurst for that matter as being 'underrated'? They were all widely acknowledged as being excellent players, the first two playing for England, and Warhurst for his incredible versatility. When Warhurst was a Centre Back at Hillsborough they put him up front as a makeshift Centre Forward and he ended up scoring about a half a dozen goals.

I was thinking more along the lines of 'Players who never really get mentioned now' as opposed to anything else.

Of course, it would be a lot more fun if you proffered a player.

Bruce Rioja wrote:I can't see how anyone would count Beardsley, Le Tissier, or even Warhurst for that matter as being 'underrated'? They were all widely acknowledged as being excellent players, the first two playing for England, and Warhurst for his incredible versatility. When Warhurst was a Centre Back at Hillsborough they put him up front as a makeshift Centre Forward and he ended up scoring about a half a dozen goals.

As you say he never played for England, therefore underrated by the FA?

As for Le Tiss, as I said, he would have done much more if he left Southampton at his peak and joined a big four team.

Always felt Mark Hateley was underrated. His career probably stalled because of his move to Scotland. And although i feel rather dirty for thinking it Steve Coppell was ahead of his time as a right sided player.

Enzo Gambaro wrote:I'll also add a former Bolton player to add further confusion to proceedings. Paul Warhurst. Always appreciated but never received the acclaim he deserved. When he was fit and on his game he used to totally run the show for us.

If Warhurst had continued his improvement upon joining Blackburn instead of becoming Darren Andertons stunt double, the guy could have won 50+ caps for England.

Always thought Jamie Pollock got nowhere near the amount of praise he deserved when he was with us. Mention him to a Middlesbrough fan, and they have as much of a heartfelt rection about him as I normally do.

Goalkeepers are generally underrated as a species, mainly because it is such a specialist position. Most underrated keepers for me were the likes of Erik Thordstvelt, who had a command of a penlty area akin to Schmiechel, but was never lauded as such because of the likes of Lineker and Gascoigne in the team. Even when Spurs were great defensively at that time, the likes of Mabbutt were getting the praise.

I feel that you need to really look for underrated players nowadays, due solely to the over exposure of the game as a whole. Most of us would say that Cahill and Davies are underrated nowadays, because they're not put in the same bracket as the likes of Upson and Heskey. 1) we rate them because we see them more than the more ignorant and prescient demographics of football fandom, 2) these most ignorant and prescient fans are, rather than accepting ignorance, scathing in an attempt to look more knowledgable.

And it's that last sentence that have always made me state a case for Joe Cole as a more technically and naturally gifted player than he's given credit for. Recent injuries notwithstanding, he'd still be possibly the only definite in my England starting line-up.

Erik Thordstvelt is a great shout.

I used to really like Preben Elkjær, who was in that ace Denmark side in the '80s. He was overlooked by the super-gifted Michael Laudrup, possible because he was a prolific smoker as well as great striker.

That Kevin Nolan was underrated by many, many Bolton fans. /ducks.

Was always surprised Steve Thompson never went on to better things, what happened to Mark Gavin, great winger for a season then just seemed to disappear.

Brian Marwood was constantly overlooked for the woeful (at int level) John Barnes, ok Marwood did not have the tricks and most of the time you knew what he would do but he still did it time and time again.

Neil Ruddock surprisingly, remembered as a thug of a defender, but had cracking distribution from the back

Raven wrote:Was always surprised Steve Thompson never went on to better things, what happened to Mark Gavin, great winger for a season then just seemed to disappear.

Brian Marwood was constantly overlooked for the woeful (at int level) John Barnes, ok Marwood did not have the tricks and most of the time you knew what he would do but he still did it time and time again.

Tomo technically went on to comparatively better things, at Luton and Leicester, but was quickly shunted away from both places.

Mark Gavin, I seem to remember, was the only dangerous player for Bolton in the 1986 Freight Rover Trophy. So dangerous, in fact, he went to Bristol City very soon after that final.

Gudni & S Charlton.

potter1989bwfc wrote:Gudni & S Charlton.

I don't think Gudni was underrated by anybody.. The press used to wax lyrical about him as much as we did

boltonboris wrote:

potter1989bwfc wrote:Gudni & S Charlton.

I don't think Gudni was underrated by anybody.. The press used to wax lyrical about him as much as we did

He was underrated in the sense Spurs sold him for 60K without him playing much!