Best Opposition Player You've Seen At Rovers

[tyke1962]

When he was that good you just had to sit back and admire his ability even though he was killing your team at the time .

[RugbyRover]

I'll have to get back to you on this one. Got a couple of thousand names to sift through.

[Jonathan]

The most recent (to be clear - I’m not saying the best I’ve ever seen) was Barry Bannan. Top player. What’s difficult not to admire about him is that he plays with the intensity and work rate to match the obvious talent with the ball.

[DonnyNoel]

I suppose we were fortunate to be in the Championship at a time when some of the bigger teams came down. The season Newcastle and West Brom went up saw them field some serious quality, particulalry Jonas Gutierrez who just seemed to glide with the ball at his feet.

In terms of an individual performance, Connor Wickham's breakthrough hat trick for Ipswich against us probably lives long in the memory.

[eastender]

Allan Saint-Maximin was like a one man team when we played Newcastle in Preseason, then again with hindsight i suppose any one with a bit of talent would stand out against us at the moment.

[Colin C No.3]

Purely on footballing terms, Adam Johnson at The Keepmoat season 2009/10 in The Championship playing for Middlesbrough.

He was on the wing & ran us ragged.

He scored 2 & assisted for a third. Boro (actually Adam Johnson) beat us 4-1 that day.

[glosterred]

In the league this season I’d say Herbie Kane playing for Oxford. He ran the show for them. Otherwise Allan Saint-Maximin in the pre-season friendly against NUFC. He was head and shoulders better than any other player on the pitch that day.


COYR

[Chris Black come back]

In many ways he was anti-football but Kevin Davies for Bolton in the FA Cup 2007, was a masterclass in brutality. He didn’t even need to properly bully us. The ball just gravitated to him.

[Butchers Red]

Paul Merson when he was player manager of Walsall - must have been 37 or 38 at the time but absolutely on a different level still.

[Bollinger]

Going back a bit but John Ward for Lincoln City. Think it was a Boxing Day game when they beat us 4-2 when Graham Taylor was their manager. First time I’d ever seen our own supporters applaud and openly admire an opposition player.

[tyke1962]

I'm extremely fortunate to have seen a good number of top class opposition players .

Bergkamp , Vierra , Manu Petit , Overmars during Wenger's first PL title and double , best team I've ever seen us play .

Ginola was simply sensational in the five games we had with Spurs in two season's , two PL games and three FA cup ties between 1997 and 1999 .

For all that the best individual display I've seen is rather obscure .

A Friday night game against Portsmouth in the championship in 2002 .

Robert Prozinecki was part of the Croatian team that got to the world cup semi final in 1998 .

A team that contained Davor Suker , Slaven Bilic and Zvon Boban .

Portsmouth signed him on a short term deal and that night I've never seen a player with so much natural technical ability or one since .

50 yard passes sprayed to someone's feet in space  with the right pace at the right time .

We couldn't get anywhere near him because he had so much time , he probably wouldn't have as a run of the mill championship midfield player but the great players always have time , that's the difference .

He totally ran the game , never gave the ball away once and just oozed class .

[drfcdrfc]

Dean ashton away at crewe

[graingrover]

John Charles Leeds United .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles

[Alan Southstand]

Kerry Dixon in that unbelievable 7-5 game v Reading. He must have wondered how he wasn’t on the winning side that day.

[BobG]

Rovers played an invitation team at BV in somebody's testimonial very roughly about 30 years ago. A young Gazza was one of those invited. Nobody, including me, had ever heard oif him.  Jesus H.....!

And in Aleck Jeffrey's testimonial at BV Bobby Charlton played. He was slightly good too.....

In competitive matches, Kevin Keegan stands out. I don't know how such a dwarf could jump so staggeringly high. An intelligent none stop action man.

BobG

[VivaRovers]

Paul Merson when he was player manager of Walsall - must have been 37 or 38 at the time but absolutely on a different level still.

Really? My memory of him against us for Walsall is of a man barely leaving the Belle Vue centre circle in 90 minutes.

[Petche]

I'm sure he wouldn't be the best but one player that I remember was an Iranian guy playing for Bolton (Teymourian ?). I think it was a cup game when they were top flight. He was top class that day and they stuffed us 4-0!

[StocktonRover]

Rovers played an invitation team at BV in somebody's testimonial very roughly about 30 years ago. A young Gazza was one of those invited. Nobody, including me, had ever heard oif him.  Jesus H.....!

And in Aleck Jeffrey's testimonial at BV Bobby Charlton played. He was slightly good too.....

In competitive matches, Kevin Keegan stands out. I don't know how such a dwarf could jump so staggeringly high. An intelligent none stop action man.

BobG

Wasn’t that Paul Malcolm’s testimonial?

[Goole Rover]

Recently it’s got to be Barry Bannan.

[Bentley Bullet]

Adam Johnson for Middlesbrough back in our Championship days.

[Campsall rover]

John Charles Leeds United .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles

My first ever game I saw ‘The Gentle Giant’ was playing for Leeds at Elland Road in 1962/63
That was after his return from Turin playing for Juventus.  He played at centre half as far as i remember.

You must of seen him in the fifties then graingrover if he played against Rovers in the 2nd division.
You saw him at his peak probably.   

[PDX_Rover]

Rovers played an invitation team at BV in somebody's testimonial very roughly about 30 years ago. A young Gazza was one of those invited. Nobody, including me, had ever heard oif him.  Jesus H.....!

And in Aleck Jeffrey's testimonial at BV Bobby Charlton played. He was slightly good too.....

In competitive matches, Kevin Keegan stands out. I don't know how such a dwarf could jump so staggeringly high. An intelligent none stop action man.

BobG

Wasn’t that Paul Malcolm’s testimonial?

Yes it was. Have a photo of me with Gazza having a pint in the golf club/club bar afterwards. Just before he went off to Italia 90

[Campsall rover]

Possibly the best individual display I have ever seen was Jimmy Johnstone playing for Celtic v Leeds in the 1970 European Cup semi final 1st leg.
He was awesome and ran Terry Cooper raged that night.
Celtic were some side with, Simpson, Gemmill, McNiel, Chalmers, Auld, Johnstone, Lennox etc etc.

Joyhan Cryuff also in European Cup semi final 1st leg for Barcelona  v Leeds in 1975.
He glided round the pitch although Leeds were the better team on the night and got to the final after the away leg.

Against Rovers as already mentioned Adam Johnson for Boro. He single handily destroyed us that night. We couldn’t get near him.

[drfchound]

George Best.
He was a Man Utd player at the time so qualifies as an opposition player.
He played for us against the reigning First Division champions, Liverpool, in the John Nicholson Testimonial Match.
If my memory is correct, he scored a couple of goals that day too.

[Campsall rover]

Paul Merson when he was player manager of Walsall - must have been 37 or 38 at the time but absolutely on a different level still.

Really? My memory of him against us for Walsall is of a man barely leaving the Belle Vue centre circle in 90 minutes.

He played well in the away game at the Bescot. Could still pass a ball that’s for sure. But had no legs.
Don’t remember him in the home game at all.

[afro goal machine]

Did Adel Taarabt score a hat trick against us at loftus road ? Pretty sure it was him, he looked unplayable

[adamtherover]

I suppose we were fortunate to be in the Championship at a time when some of the bigger teams came down. The season Newcastle and West Brom went up saw them field some serious quality, particulalry Jonas Gutierrez who just seemed to glide with the ball at his feet.

In terms of an individual performance, Connor Wickham's breakthrough hat trick for Ipswich against us probably lives long in the memory.

looking at Whickham stats after he left Ipswich, somehow he's managed 8 years in the Prem earning mega bucks, with what can only be described as an appalling goal record..  only hoping that his teenage potential will come good, but never did...

[Campsall rover]

Did Adel Taarabt score a hat trick against us at loftus road ? Pretty sure it was him, he looked unplayable

Think he scored 2 goals.

Just had a look 2010/11 we lost 3-0 Gorkss scored 2 and Taarabt score from a penalty.
It was Gorkss who we couldn’t handle, remember game well as was there.

Always beat them at home and always lost at Loftus Road in our most recent sequence of games in the Championship.

[Chris Black come back]

We lost 1-0 at home to QPR in the Championship on 19 March 2011.

[belton rover]

Rovers played an invitation team at BV in somebody's testimonial very roughly about 30 years ago. A young Gazza was one of those invited. Nobody, including me, had ever heard oif him.  Jesus H.....!

And in Aleck Jeffrey's testimonial at BV Bobby Charlton played. He was slightly good too.....

In competitive matches, Kevin Keegan stands out. I don't know how such a dwarf could jump so staggeringly high. An intelligent none stop action man.

BobG

Wasn’t that Paul Malcolm’s testimonial?

Yes it was. Have a photo of me with Gazza having a pint in the golf club/club bar afterwards. Just before he went off to Italia 90

I remember him trapping a long pass to him with his arse in that game. Gazza certainly wasn’t an unknown then - he was a great crowd puller for Malcom.