Where does Jimmy Johnstone Rank Among The Worlds Greatest Players?

I think that series of quotes just about sums him up as a player

 

And there you have it.

Proof ladies and Gentleman that the great James McGrory got what he deserved in a Scotland shirt.

The all time leading goalscorer on these isles clearly wasn't as good as he was made out to be because although he scored goals for fun every single season he played, now and again someone outscored him. Even though these players couldn't sustain his consistency they obviously deserved it more because now and again someone outscored him and naturally they immediately jump to the head of the queue.

How can you argue with logic like that, clearly I have been led up the garden path my whole life and Scotland have never been biased against Celtic players, i take it all back.

 

Oh I can see your mistake. I mean played 14 seasons and "now and again" for 11 of those seasons he was not top scorer, I mean why would they want to pick an in form player who scored 52 goals when McGrory was tearing up the league with 28.

Tell me, for all the stories and tales that get passed around by our support have you ever seriously been told the exact stats for the period? But hey, get your head back in the sand.

 

Like I said, can't argue with that logic.

Doesn't matter that he is the all time top scorer on these isles, now again a player would score more than him. Doesn't matter if they couldn't sustain it over a period of time like Jimmy, clearly that makes them better players and more deserving of caps.

 

you don't just discount goals scored previously, players don't start with a clean slate every year. If you are the best striker in the country (which McGrory invariably was) then you play them.

Whatever way you try and spin it, the all time leading goalscorer on the British Isles only getting 7 caps is an absolute * disgrace and I've never met a Tim who thought anything to the contrary.

 

You don't start with a clean slate? Why in the name of * would you pick/play a player who scored a lot of goals 3 years before? And then ignore players who are scoring "for fun" as you put it. At the start of the 1933-34 season McFadyen from Motherwell had scored 97 goals over the previous 2 seasons while McGrory scored almost HALF of that (50). McGrory stilled got picked over him and your still not happy.

Tell you what, go over the list, or go to the SFA site and provide me a list of all the games he should have played.

 

So lets see, you think it's a huge injustice that he doesn't have more caps, OK. How many do you think he should have? Is it acceptable that Hughie Gallacher was in the team and scoring up to the 1930-31 season? Or should Gallacher have been dropped?

Well I did a little more digging and guess what? I may have found a really good reason for him not to play for Scotland. He was playing for Celtic.

1929-30 Gallacher couldn't play, Fleming (from Rangers) played...Celtic beat Thistle the same night, 2-0 (McGrory both).

1930-31 Battles played, Celtic drew 3-3 with Motherwell the same night.
Yorston played, Celtic beat St Mirren 3-1 the same night.
McGrory played
Scotland 3 game summer tour (Austria, Italy Switzerland from May
16-24), Celtic Summer tour (games from May 23-June 29)

1931-32 McGrory played
McGrory played
Dewar played, Celtic drew with Airdrie 1-1 the same night
*Dewar played * Why no McGrory?

1932-33 McGrory played
*Dewar played* Why no McGrory? He didn't play the games before or after the international, Injured? Good chance, he only played 25 league games that year.

1933-34 McGrory played
McFadyen played, Celtic played played a Chile/Peru select
*McFadyen played* Why no McGrory?
Gallacher played, Celtic drew 1-1 with Accies on the same night.

1934-35 Smith played, Celtic beat Thistle 3-1 on the same night.
*McCulloch played* Why no McGrory? Probably injured, he hadn't been in our team since the the 13th of October (this was the 21st of Nov.)
*Gallacher played*, Why no McGrory?

1935-36 Armstrong played, Celtic drew with Kilmarnock 1-1 on the same night.
*Armstrong played*, Why no McGrory?
*McCulloch played*, Why no McGrory?

So to sum up, you are right McGrory should have 5 more caps...is 12 enough?

 

This.

It is very difficult to compare players playing in different times but, as McGuire1 said, in his day and era Jinky was a star of the first magnitude.

I'm sure it was posted many times before, but...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s7DtnCzrpQ"]Jimmy Johnstone Tribute - YouTube[/ame]

... he was a great player and a great man--you should be proud of him forever.