The man who possibly ranks as England's greatest ever striker is in hospital today after suffering a severe stroke. Jimmy Greaves is currently in intensive care and the football world has been quick with messages of support.
Choked to read that Jimmy Greaves has had a severe stroke. One of my absolute heroes. Thoughts are with him and his family. Get well, Jimmy
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 4, 2015
An interesting character, Greaves had a ridiculous strike-rate for both Spurs and Chelsea, topping the scoring charts an incredible six times. His tally of 357 League goals remains an English record.
An archetypal cheeky cockney sort, he liked to toss out one-liners. Of one particularly traumatic goal drought, with which Fernando Torres will surely empathise, he said:
I had a goal drought once – worst 15 minutes of my career, that was.
He even had a decent goals to games ratio during his unhappy and mercifully short time at AC Milan in 1961, setting a pattern of English players failing to settle on the continent that persisted for decades. Suffice to say, Greaves hated the football culture in Italy and loathed his manager Nereo Rocco almost as much as Rocco loathed him.
He scored 44 goals in 57 games for England, although he got injured during the second group match during the World Cup, and when he regained fitness, couldn't win his place back from one Geoff Hurst.
But it transpires that Greavsie could have been our greatest striker. The granny rule wasn't deployed with the same zeal back in Greavsie's day. In fact, the thought of harnessing it probably hadn't occurred to them.
In truth, it is doubtful, not to say impossible, that Greavsie would have played for Ireland for he had his own issues with the granny rule, a revelation which accompanied his declaration that he was Irish eligible.
Responding, back in 1986 (on Saint & Greavsie obviously), to the news that John Aldridge, a man many had thought to be from Liverpool, was about to embark upon his international career with Ireland, Greaves dipped into his background.
I think you gotta draw the line somewhere, Saint. I mean my grandparents were Irish. I was born in the East End of London. I talk like this, ‘ow can I play for Ireland?
He also appeared on the Dunphy Show (remember that?), showing up on the coach alongside Ger Loughnane and a couple of other hurling men. It was the Friday before the All-Ireland final, Jimmy had been in town (not for the game, presumably) and it was a very brief appearance. He seemed to be a touch bemused by the rowdy, shambolic nature of Dunphy's show.
Making him feel at home, Loughnane told him that he had been up for England in the 1966 World Cup final.
