Paul McGrath

[INTERUNITED]

 

[Davalon]

Absolutely loved him as a player. Late 30s, fucked knees, and a well documented addiction, but utter class on the pitch still.

I understand he went AWOL whilst at the Lane for a number of days and was eventually tracked down in Ireland.

Love it when players of his stature still appreciate us even after such a short stint.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

No knees, could hardly run, liked his ale and had nothing left to play for - yet he was comfortably the best CB I have seen at the Lane.

 

[INTERUNITED]

No knees, could hardly run, liked his ale and had nothing left to play for - yet he was comfortably the best CB I have seen at the Lane.

Don't know if you've read his autobiography mate, but if you have, then you'll know why he liked his ale. Childhood from hell. It's a credit to the man he made such a good career for himself.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Don't know if you've read his autobiography mate, but if you have, then you'll know why he liked his ale. Childhood from hell. It's a credit to the man he made such a good career for himself.

Just ordered it off Amazon, will pack it away for the hols.

 

[Bladesway]

No knees, could hardly run, liked his ale and had nothing left to play for - yet he was comfortably the best CB I have seen at the Lane.

This

 

[INTERUNITED]

Just ordered it off Amazon, will pack it away for the hols.

A good read. He's a top top bloke.

 

[Tunstall Fred]

When he was with us,his warm up before the game was to rub his hands together,he would then proceed to produce a masterclass in the art of defending

 

[Rodley]

Phenomenal player.

 

[Fanny magnet]

I used to just watch him for the entirety of the game ,it was fascinating .he would regularly just saunter ten or fifteen yards in any given direction and the ball would just come to him ,I've never seen anything like it and doubt I ever will again

Class

 

[Cheets]

He didn't play midweek games because his knees weren't up to it, but once he had a poor game so asked to play midweek to get it out of his system. Thereafter I think he hardly played for us again.

 

[Blade for Sale]

The closest thing to Franco Baresi I ever saw play. To see him play for us was a bit like having Leonardo da Vinci rock up at your art class.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

No knees, could hardly run, liked his ale and had nothing left to play for - yet he was comfortably the best CB I have seen at the Lane.

First 6 yards is in the mind . Brilliant reader of the game . Some are confusing him with Jags .

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Very nice to get that tweet from him. Says a lot about him and our club!

 

[INTERUNITED]

I don't know how true this is, but the rumour at the time was that as he didn't play the last 3 or 4 months of his contract due to injuries, he paid his salary back as he didn't think he deserved them. Like I say, might not be true but wouldn't surprise me. A humble man blessed with talent and demons in equal measure. For those that didn't see him play, you missed something very special. UTB.

 

[robbiez666]

No knees, could hardly run, liked his ale and had nothing left to play for - yet he was comfortably the best CB I have seen at the Lane.

It was like he could control time. He made so many interceptions.

 

[super_pig]

the guy was so good i used to just laugh out loud.. he made other top players look like children

 

[McGrath]

I absolutely loved watching him in his short time at the Lane (hence my Nom de Guerre) .

He just seemed to ghost in from nowhere and nick the ball, when all others were flailing around. Brilliant player.

All geniuses are flawed in someway. It's a shame that in the game these days there aren't enough room for them as there was

 

[lingsbord]

He was truly awesome.

Like Fanny Magnet said, it was just uncanny to watch. He would set off in some random direction and you'd wonder where the fuck he was going until suddenly the ball would appear, flying through the air to exactly the spot he'd arrived at! Fucking Dumbledore he was!

 

[Bert]

Away at Huddersfield, 0-0 draw, Katchuro hit the post, crap game..... apart from a masterclass by our crocked defender. Huddersfield had two very sharp forwards, one of them a very fast young lad but every time he got the ball an old Irish git was stood in the way. It didn't matter how much they tried to vary it the knackered old washed up player messed things up for them.
What a player.

 

[JohnDenver]

Folk talk a lot about his reading of the game, but he was also an astonishing header of a ball. Playing for Villa one year I swear he won every header against Deane. And in that era, it amounted to an awful lot of headers....

In the few games he played for us, I remember him heading a corner clear with such effortless timing that it nigh on landed on the halfway line.

 

[McGrath]

I bet he's got some reight drinking stories too

 

[Robby Blade]

Turned up out of the blue, played a few games then disappeared. But what a player. Can't add anything that hasn't already been said about him.

 

[Sheffsteel]

The closest thing to Franco Baresi I ever saw play. To see him play for us was a bit like having Leonardo da Vinci rock up at your art class.

Totally agree, McGrath was a class act.

I've never seen someone so slow, could hardly run have such calmness and dominance in defence.
Seems impossible eh? Makes no sense, how can someone so sssssllllooooow still be our best defender in years?

Simple....McGrath was world class at anticipation and reading of the game. They say Bobby Moore had those qualities too. McGrath could smell danger a mile off and knew where the ball was going before it was even passed or crossed.

The other player who impressed me in a similar way was Gordon Cowans, never realised he was that good.
Cowans was like an upgraded Coutts, always showed for the ball, passed for fun and NEVER lost possession.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

I used to just watch him for the entirety of the game ,it was fascinating .he would regularly just saunter ten or fifteen yards in any given direction and the ball would just come to him ,I've never seen anything like it and doubt I ever will again

Class

Same with me and a glass of malt

 

[itsinyerblood]

In his prime McGrath was a top player. By the time he arrived at the Lane he was still a great footballer, and considering the level at which he'd played his quality shone through. Such a pity we couldn't have held onto PM for a couple of seasons, but a great footballer that I was glad to see wear our colours.

 

[HighfieldBlade]

Ooh Aah, Paul McGrath!

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Can't think of any other player that has made such a lasting impression after just 14 games..

 

[mancunianblade]

Fucking Dumbledore he was!

There's an image that will never leave my mind now thank you very much for that

 

[mancunianblade]

Am I the only person that really really Rated Olivier Tebily? 8 games in total!!!