Kinkladze

[Berkovic_blue]

If Silva gets more confidence running forward and taking on players, do you think in a year or two he could be the new kinkladze?

No, no players who ever play for us could possibly ever be as good as the unsurpassable Kinkladze

 

[whitt]

Excellent post JohnMaddocksAxe. He was a genius. For those saying he wasn't that good because we were relegated with him in the side, look at the through balls he plays for Gerry Creaney and the like, that are left standing like a plank. I'm sure I've seen footage of him having to run onto one of his own. Unfortunately for him, he was about 2 steps ahead of his team mates. I suppose you could look at it that he should have changed his game to suit the turds around him, but then the football would have really been dire.

Silva is a class act, but from experience, the higher the standard you play with, the greater your own performance is. It's much easier to play with talented footballers.

The comments about him creating a roar of anticipation when he got on the ball are what I remember most about watching City as a kid, and no player has come close to that. Still my favourite ever player, his love for City will probably mean he always will be. Georgiou Kinkladze, we are not worthy!

 

[gio's side step]

Only ever seen 3 players with that sort of close control and acceleration, whilst keeping the ball so close to their feet.

Maradona, Kinky and Messi.

People think you are taking the piss when you say that, due to him not reaching anywhere near the heights they hit/are hitting.

But they didn't watch him every week and get their views from the hackneyed media and their cliches.

I love Silva and he will go down in the annuls of history as a far superior footballer. But he isn't more talented. He is more committed, more achieving and benefits from a more focused upbringing in the game. But Kinky's talent was easily equal.

Silva is head and shoulders above most Premier League players at present. But Kinky had the same skills and passing range, plus the ridiculous, very, very, very rarely found Messi/Maradona esque dribbling ability.

The lad obviously had a problem upstairs because he wasn't picked up by the bigger clubs before he got to City, despite opportunities and possessing this ridiculous talent. And the fact that he buggered it all up after he left here and never really looked the same player again would back that up.

But he was absolute class. That day against Newcastle, he took the best team in the country apart on his own, a one man band, in a way that no-one else ever really has in this country. Players like Cantona and Bergkamp were being lauded at that time (and still are) for producing the goods in top teams - and they did - but they never put in one man shows like that. And as good as they were, I don't think they possessed the dribbling and speed that would allow such a dominating, everywhere on the pitch performance that Kinky did that day (and on some others).

Spare me the bollocks about him not doing it often enough. Who does in a shite team like that.

What a fecking player. What a fecking waste.

No-one here since then comes close to creating the excitement he created when he got on the ball as the crowd had the knowledge that it was possible that he just might beat 4 men and create a goal from nothing.

Anyone who has heard a player create a roar of anticipation (a realistic one, not a hopeful one) when he got possession since certainly hasn't been watching this club - no matter how brilliant Tevez and Silva have been and no matter how good Bernarbia and Berkovic were in the team they played in.

A lot of the stuff on that video simply could not be replicated by 99.99999% of professional footballers throughout history and by 99.99999% of international footballers now. Unfortunately, Kinky couldn't replicate their determination to succeed and drive to make the most of their talent that a lot of them possess.

Actually, on reflection I'll just edit this slightly. I think, although it is close, Silva possibly has slightly more guile in his range of passing than Kinky. It's close though, just a general feeling I'm left with. Both very, very good at it though. Doesn't change my thoughts on any of the above anyway

Mate, this is probably the only post I have ever read and actually respected on the subject of Kinkladze. Nothing else comes close to this. I wipe my arse with the negative posts about him. You have summed up how many who watched him felt. Bravo on a great post.

 

[kiam06]

Kinkladze was by far the best player I saw at City growing up but he wouldn't get near the current side we have stepped up a level IMO, when he went to Ajax I think he was a bit of a flop but I could be mistaken? Still an absolute legend for me though and gave me some of my best City memories.

 

[The Colonel]

I was only young at the time of him being around so can't remember/didn't care, but what was the general opinion of him from the pundits, journalists and fans of other teams? Was he widely considered as brilliant as we considered him to be?

The season he arrived it took him about 7/8 games to get going - pretty quick considering the culture, language, style of football - but when he did, man he was unbelievable. I was living in Brum at the time and people there were just as much in awe and disbelief at this guys talents as I was. Journos loved him but as City weren't fashionable, was never given the high profile status of such 'talents' as Robbie Fowler at the time. This was reflected in the non-nomination in the player of the year awards - something that was questioned by some journos and explained away as 'I think that you have to be playing for one of the top sides...' etc.

We were relegated in spite of him, not because of him. As I said before we got off to a dreadful start - Ball had come in at the last minute, almost as a favour to Lee and I don't think that we won in our first 10 games - that ultimately cost us. The fact that Kinky almost single handedly saved us - and only a last day mess up against Liverpool cost us in the end, is testament to his influence. Our team was decent then, but after relegation the best players left and absolute dross was brought in and younger players such as Kit Symons suffered too. Kinky was left with a string of managers, poor / unconfident team mates. The short sighted poster who said about 'two relegations - what does that tell ya' is getting confused with cause and effect.

I have only ever seen two other players in world footbal who could run at pace with the ball under such close control as this guy - Messi and Maradonna - really his ability was up there with them. Silva doesn't have half the ability that Kinky had but I don't mean any disrespect there.

Lest we forget a special, special (wasted) talent.

 

[Astuteboy]

Bags of skill and could win games on his own, could also not turn up at all. We/I love him but no club ever offered us any money for him even when we were in the Championship.

Not strictly true that, Sheffield Wednesday had a firm bid in '96 which we turned down, although all the rumours that Barcelona and Liverpool were interested were afaik, bollocks. Also true that when he did finally move, Ajax were nothing like a European force and went on to their worst league finish in 20 years.

Obviously he loved the club and I think he was happy to stay, but it's true no top team wanted him which is a shame for him really; even if we'd let him go to Wednesday I think he could have done a very good job for them.

I loved watching him and the roar in the Kippax when he got the ball was great; like most he's one of my favourite City players. I do have to point out that for a lot of that video he is skinning Division 1 shite, but he did some good stuff in big games as well (his pass for Rosler in the FA Cup versus the Rags is one of my most distinct memories).

Having said that, although I thought he was the most talented player in the world when I was there at Maine Road watching him, with hindsight I wouldn't say that now and I wouldn't place him in the same skill bracket at Messi. It's one thing to glide past Southampton, Middlesbrough and Division 1 defenders and stick it in the net - quite another to do it to Real Madrid in a CL semi final. Just my opinion though.

It's impossible to say what would have happened if he was in a better team and few better teams were willing to find out! It's fair to say, although other fans might remember him as a good player, you'd be hard pressed to find a real knowledgeable non-City football fan who would rave about him as we do. I think a lot of unbiased fans might say Boro's Juninho was a better player for example (and he consequently got snapped up by a top European side at the time in Athletico Madrid). Obviously, they're wrong, just saying :)

Still love watching his goals though; a shining light for City though at a time when we were crap, and definitely one of my fave all time City players.