Sir Tom Finney

[Nicko58]

Has died at the age of 91.

Sad day for football.

R.I.P.

[jaffka]

That was unexpected.

He was a true gentleman and a fantastic footballer. A great ambassador for his club, very much like our Nat.

Rest in peace Sir Tom and may peace be with your family.

[Zulus Thousand of em]

My grandad reckoned he was the finest footballer that this country has ever produced. Good enough for me.

RIP.

[Zulus Thousand of em]

BBC chief football correspondent Mike Ingham told BBC Radio 5 live: "He was a slight figure but incredibly brave. Former Preston team-mate and Liverpool manager Bill Shankly considered him to be the greatest player to ever play the game.

"That's all you need to know."

[Bruce Rioja]

Sad news. Had a fair innings, the lad. RIP.

[Prufrock]

Love that picture, Brucie.

Hopefully Davo's current lot can rally to give him a better send-off than our shower did for Nat.

[Bruce Rioja]

Love that picture, Brucie.

Hopefully Davo's current lot can rally to give him a better send-off than our shower did for Nat.

Cracker int it?!

Apparently the Preston team will all have 'Finney' on the backs of their shirts this avvo.

[LeverEnd]

My grandad reckoned he was the finest footballer that this country has ever produced. Good enough for me.

RIP.

Yep, my Dad says Nat was always his favourite player of course but Finney was the best he's ever seen. Our clubs are privileged to have had them both. RIP

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I love the fact that during his reign PNE were known as Tom Finney and his ten drips...
Plus Shankly said something about him being the greatest player, ever, even if he played in an overcoat!

[William the White]

My dad also said that Finney was the most complete player he'd ever seen. My dad was a thoughtful man, and he thought about football a lot. I take that opinion seriously.

And... in my first game at Burnden Park I saw Tom Finney play. He scored two goals as PNE hammered us 4-0.

But we did go on to beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final a couple of weeks later.

In any case - I saw Tom Finney play... A privilege. Even when nine years old.

RIP.

PNE supporters will be feeling exactly the same mixture of sadness and pride that we did at the passing of Nat.

[Hoboh]

Another true 'great' gone.

RIP

[boltonboris]

You know what's a shame (and it's not something that's been done on here)? When an old footballer passes, people see it as a reason to hammer modern day players for earning shit loads of money.

[Bruce Rioja]

My dad also said that Finney was the most complete player he'd ever seen.

Interesting. I'm not sure that I could point out any single player in the modern game and describe them as being a 'complete' player or an all-rounder.

[Athers]

Strangely on Saturday I was chatting with what turned out to be Finney's hospital doctor. This guy had no interest in football and amazingly had to be told by other staff who this patient was, but did say that he and his family were lovely people.

I've read that Matthews was a fancy-dan in comparison to Finney's direct effectiveness.

As for complete player, I suppose if you take out tackling then you'd have Cristiano Ronaldo? Otherwise maybe someone like Yaya Toure, Fabregas, Zanetti... I suppose they may be more well-rounded than their peers, but they're not the 'best' either. Very subjective!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Nearest to a complete player that comes to mind is Gary Speed. He could pass, tackle, score, head and lead - all in large measure.

[bwfcdan94]

Omigili