Messi vs Best


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how old are you fella?



cannot compare really.....but messi would find it harder in 1967 to play his game whereas best would be in his element today!



are you for real?



dont be strupid!

Best's lifestyle wouldn't have been compatible with being a world class sports star today.
 
Best was no where near the all round player messi is , touch of genius but a head full of magic too and hitty missy .
Also i believe he would be physically unable to play against today's science built athletic defenders week in week out . People cite players like , hunter , harris, Mckie , kicking him , f***ing hell most turned like oil tankers and would be lucky to play league 1 today. They wouldn't last 20 minutes at Premier pace either, today's defenders don't tire and become exploitable.

Honestly if they were both unknowns on trial today not a manager in the word would take best over messi.
Some of this is so far off the mark it's not true. Best was a great all round player he could do it all. Dribble, pass, score goals, good in the air, fit as fuck and a tough little bastard.
You're putting down players like Hunter and Mackay, Dave Mackay was a great player, these players brought through in the modern game would still be great players in fact they'd be better.
George Best would be an absolute sensation in the modern game, defenders wouldn't be able to go through the back of him, he wouldn't be playing on glue pot surfaces half the time, the modern game is made for George Best.
For some reason because of the time he played in George Best and others from his time are almost laughed at by some on here, but I'd put him up there among any of them.
 
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Much as i loved Best he cannot be compared. He pissed away his talent in the end. Messi has the discipline as well as the supreme skill..

Mind I'd rather go out on the piss with George..and I think he fucked more Miss Worlds..that must count for something
 
Some of this is so far off the mark it's not true. Best was a great all round player he could do it all. Dribble, pass, score goals, good in the air, fit as fuck and a tough little bastard.
You're putting down players like Hunter and Mackay, Dave Mackay was a great player, these players brought through in the modern game would still be great players in fact they'd be better.
George Best would be an absolute sensation in the modern game, defenders wouldn't be able to go through the back of him, he wouldn't be playing on glue pot surfaces half the time, the modern game is made for George Best.
For some reason because of the time he played in George Best and others from his time are almost laughed at by some on here, but I'd put him up there among any of them.

Nah ...Best was great , Mackay was great , they would struggle today if tehy played like they did back then . Not saying if they had been brought up with it from Kids they couldnt have been as good |( or better) but if you dropped them into the here and now fully formed they would struggle on a good day
 
drop a motivated messi back in 1966 in his current physical shape and he would get you 2-3 a game week in week out.

Fuckin hell he would have laughed a the tactics and had it sorted in 15 mins.

You're absolutely right, though unfortunately some of the older generation won't have it. It's not a slight on the great players of yesteryear, it's just that things move on.

As good as the Brazil 1970 side were for example, Barcelona would murder them as they'd simply be too quick. Defenders of the past wouldn't get near somebody like Messi, they simply wouldn't be able to physically catch him.

Some of this is so far off the mark it's not true. Best was a great all round player he could do it all. Dribble, pass, score goals, good in the air, fit as fuck and a tough little bastard.
You're putting down players like Hunter and Mackay, Dave Mackay was a great player, these players brought through in the modern game would still be great players in fact they'd be better.
George Best would be an absolute sensation in the modern game, defenders wouldn't be able to go through the back of him, he wouldn't be playing on glue pot surfaces half the time, the modern game is made for George Best.
For some reason because of the time he played in George Best and others from his time are almost laughed at by some on here, but I'd put him up there among any of them.

A modern day George Best would no doubt be great, I don't think you'll find many people doubting that.

But throw George Best from the 1960s/70s straight into the game now and he wouldn't be as good, simply due to the difference in physicality. He'd be too slow and unfit.
 
But throw George Best from the 1960s/70s straight into the game now and he wouldn't be as good, simply due to the difference in physicality. He'd be too slow and unfit.

But if the 17 year old Best joined Man U now, he'd have the benefit of better training methods. I'd go so far as to say the improved methods of looking after players would have delayed his decline, if not prevented it entirely.

You have to be able to imagine how a player from a different era (and this includes Messi going back to the 60s) would perform, given the attitudes and training methods of that era.
 
But if the 17 year old Best joined Man U now, he'd have the benefit of better training methods. I'd go so far as to say the improved methods of looking after players would have delayed his decline, if not prevented it entirely.

You have to be able to imagine how a player from a different era (and this includes Messi going back to the 60s) would perform, given the attitudes and training methods of that era.

Absolutely, there are all sorts of permutations to consider.

But if you threw the Messi of now into the 1960s and the Best from then into the 2010s, Messi would take the piss and Best would struggle more.
 
Not really picking a side either way, but you need only look at how badly the players on both sides struggled out in Hong Kong at the Asia Cup on the pitch they played on. Best IMO would find it far easier to adapt to modern football than Messi would find it to adapt to the game back then. Not saying either is/was better but it was much harder back then in the conditions games were played in and with the equipment used to do what Best did. Back then it was all about raw natural ability and nowt else, where as today everything to do with performance, diet, lifestyle, coaching, training, equipment and pitches are all micro managed using science. You can't really make a valid comparison between the two as their respective eras are so vastly different.

Messi would be off after a knee high tackle after 30 miinutes probably never to be seen again. :lol:

Plus you have to remember Best was absolutely caned most of the time he played :lol:
 
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But if the 17 year old Best joined Man U now, he'd have the benefit of better training methods. I'd go so far as to say the improved methods of looking after players would have delayed his decline, if not prevented it entirely.

You have to be able to imagine how a player from a different era (and this includes Messi going back to the 60s) would perform, given the attitudes and training methods of that era.

Best is one of the major reason clubs look after the players how they do now, to try and stop that happening again. All the psychologists and things the clubs employ are pretty much a result of him.

As a player he became a bit of a joke from around 72.
 
Messi for me like, no one has come near him, well maybe Maradona and Pele to be fair but I still think he's the best that's ever been.
 
For what it is worth it is all about what you want a footballer to do on the field and how his skills bring you enjoyment and give you memories . For me I enjoy footballers with guile and vision . Messi is a great player but I have to say I enjoyed watching Best more and I saw him many times. He was a joy to watch simple as that . I was brought up on a diet of Puskas and Di Stefano and I still think these two were by far better footballers than Messi . Cruyff was majestic , Pele and the Brazilian team of 1970 were , in my opinion , the greatest set of foot ballers I have ever seen . Maradonna , not my cup of tea , simple power . As for the game being better now because of training methods , sports scientists etc .....utter tosh . I have seen some truely brilliant footballers who would walk into modern football . Remember the competition to succeed was far greater than it is now . 1930 `s for example , well before my time , but for many of the footballers then it was be good or the pit for life . some have commented on here about defenders not being as good say in the 60`s than there are now . Rubbish !!! Mackay for example was one of the greatest footballers I have ever seen . Please do not rubbish the memories of some of these players in the early 60`s there were some brilliant players . Greatest individual performances I ever saw were by Jonny Haynes , Jimmy Johnstone . Best ever .........Pele. My Dad who died fairly recently saw Messi . Ronaldo , etc ect and he thought they were wonderful players but he stuck by his guns and said they were simply not on the same level as Puskas .
 
For what it is worth it is all about what you want a footballer to do on the field and how his skills bring you enjoyment and give you memories . For me I enjoy footballers with guile and vision . Messi is a great player but I have to say I enjoyed watching Best more and I saw him many times. He was a joy to watch simple as that . I was brought up on a diet of Puskas and Di Stefano and I still think these two were by far better footballers than Messi . Cruyff was majestic , Pele and the Brazilian team of 1970 were , in my opinion , the greatest set of foot ballers I have ever seen . Maradonna , not my cup of tea , simple power . As for the game being better now because of training methods , sports scientists etc .....utter tosh . I have seen some truely brilliant footballers who would walk into modern football . Remember the competition to succeed was far greater than it is now . 1930 `s for example , well before my time , but for many of the footballers then it was be good or the pit for life . some have commented on here about defenders not being as good say in the 60`s than there are now . Rubbish !!! Mackay for example was one of the greatest footballers I have ever seen . Please do not rubbish the memories of some of these players in the early 60`s there were some brilliant players . Greatest individual performances I ever saw were by Jonny Haynes , Jimmy Johnstone . Best ever .........Pele. My Dad who died fairly recently saw Messi . Ronaldo , etc ect and he thought they were wonderful players but he stuck by his guns and said they were simply not on the same level as Puskas .

The game is easily played to a higher standard now thanks to modern training methods. Fitness for example is something which the older generation couldnt compare with the current.
 
The game is easily played to a higher standard now thanks to modern training methods. Fitness for example is something which the older generation couldnt compare with the current.


What do you mean a higher standard ? Just to help me understand could you say when you started watching football ? I think you might be surprised at how fit these guys were . All you are seeing now is not new . I once heard some amazing stories about Ray Pointer for example an ex Burnley player and how he kept fit in the summer .
 
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