11 Oct 2018 17:41:51
Hi ED001, I hope that you are good and your back is better. I was wondering if you could please add to your ever growing list a player profile on my all-time favourite footballer - John Barnes. I think he was a tremendously talented footballer and it would be great to see how he would compare with the top tier of talent of today? I have searched the site to see if anything similar was done previously that maybe I had missed but could not find anything.
Also I wanted to say that, although I am not a regular poster, I ritually read the posts on a daily basis and I gain so much knowledge/ insight from ED001 and ED002 and fellow Reds. I am humbled by how much you guys know and can share. I also enjoy reading your match reviews and always look forward to them following matches. Cheers!

{Ed001's Note - nice choice, I can remember sitting there holding my breath each time he was fouled in case he was hurt when I was a kid. Wonderful player, I will enjoy doing a profile on him. And thank you for the compliments, nice to know you enjoy them, makes it worth doing them.}

1.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 18:23:11
Great shout my favourite player growing up had the Candy kit with 10 on the back . proper short shorts too.
Legend!

2.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 18:29:26
My favourite Liverpool player ever.

3.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 18:34:59
Great post KPee.

I was a big big fan of John Barnes and his amazing crosses, what a left foot he had!
Worked wonders with Beardsley!
JB was awsome, his step-overs, back heels and little shimmy to one side but quickly switch to the other side.

And share your sentiment about this website too.

4.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 19:16:08
I met Barnes in the summer. Got a signed signed photo and everything. Really nice bloke.

5.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 20:00:43
I met him at the "Conti" club in Liverpool in the later days of his playing career. Having had a few shandies, the first words to come out of my mouth were, "Hey John, you're not as fat as you look on the telly". He just laughed and said "Thanks mate". My claim to fame, lol.

6.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 20:32:23
Great shout. My favourite player too. now I look back at the climate he was playing in it makes it all the more amazing how good he was.

I will look forward to reading this profile.

7.) 11 Oct 2018
11 Oct 2018 22:46:32
He was my boyhood hero. Still is, come to think of it. In my mind he was the greatest player since Pele. pace, power, precision, he had it all. His goal against Brazil showcased all his talents in just a few seconds. Oh to go back in time and see him playing again. thank God for YouTube😎.

8.) 12 Oct 2018
12 Oct 2018 12:22:46
Thanks Ed001, Guys,

It’s great that we share the same sentiments.
My very first LFC top was the final one they did with the Crown Paints before the sponsorship deal ended. I had the number 10 on the reverse. Of course back then, they didn’t have players names on the reverse (showing my age now) . Like yourselves I idolised him and tried to play like him. As a player he was just something else. He could dribble effortlessly and make it look so simple and skip passed 1-3 players at a given time. He had a great eye for a pass/ through ball. Crossing ability was accurate. Scored some amazing ‘rare headed goals’ as they used to say. Free kick ability was top notch. Aside from these abilities some of things we do not often mention is his pace, power, closing down the ball, technical ability, radical change of position due to injury, and of course playing in a period when there were many crowd taunts towards him. People today, talk about the ‘usual’ 2 some of Messi and Ronaldo whom I agree are great gifted footballers of today. Call me biased but I would put Barnes at his peak above them. I have not yet had the chance to meet him, but would love to and have a photograph and autograph and maybe sing along with him his rap on World in Motion. I am looking forward to ED001’s profile as he really does see things from a totally different perspective to us mere mortals and that includes commentators and analysts.

Thanks!