Andy Murray - Greatest British sportsman ?

[Conrad]

Sadly Ron is now suffering from dementia

 

Points-with-Bone

That’s very sad to hear, bet he’s still running though.

[Lornelounger]

I rate Andy Murray very highly, because he is one of the few British athletes to change the landscape of his sport in these islands completely, and break new ground. We've had great boxers and world champions in the past, and some real giants of established sports. But tennis? We were a laughing stock globally for failing to produce a high quality player, despite having the best tennis tournament on the planet held here. I am of the generation that remembers British number 1 Buster Mottram failing to hit the court with a serve back in the day - that's how bad it was. Murray has made British tennis respectable, and achieved remarkable things. Don't give a toss about whether he is working class or middle class - we worry far too much about those labels in the UK, and the bottom line is that he is an inspirational figure to young people taking up tennis across the whole of the land. And he corrects chauvinistic commentators who try to laud his first Wimbledon victory as the first significant win by a British player by reminding them that Ann Jones in 1969 and Virginia Wade in 1977 won Wimbledon - so he takes no crap. Like the bloke a lot, and feel sad that he has been cut down by injury when perhaps he had a few more years left in him. Hope he finds happiness in the next chapter of his life.

[Warren]

Phil the Power.

[points-with-bone]

Ron Hill was famous for his 'streak' - running at least once every day [fully clothed] for 19,032 days [52 years and 39 days] [He'll be 80 this March]

 

For this he had to run at least half a mile a day, which he once did with his leg in a plaster cast after an operation

 

He initially announced that the streak had ended due to heart problems, but in March of last year it became public knowledge that he'd been having problems with his short-term memory and had been given a formal diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

 

Endurance based exercise [running, cycling, swimming, cross-country ski-ing etc.] can give some protection against cognitive decline with age, but it's increasingly becoming apparent that the biggest link to contracting Alzheimer's is diet

 

Points-with-Bone

[Warren]

Andy Murray has been very successful by any standards used. But he was still only the 4th best player in the world in his era. So I won't go over the top with him by trying to promote him to sainthood.

[Warren]

I rate Andy Murray very highly, because he is one of the few British athletes to change the landscape of his sport in these islands completely, and break new ground. We've had great boxers and world champions in the past, and some real giants of established sports. But tennis? We were a laughing stock globally for failing to produce a high quality player, despite having the best tennis tournament on the planet held here. I am of the generation that remembers British number 1 Buster Mottram failing to hit the court with a serve back in the day - that's how bad it was. Murray has made British tennis respectable, and achieved remarkable things. Don't give a toss about whether he is working class or middle class - we worry far too much about those labels in the UK, and the bottom line is that he is an inspirational figure to young people taking up tennis across the whole of the land. And he corrects chauvinistic commentators who try to laud his first Wimbledon victory as the first significant win by a British player by reminding them that Ann Jones in 1969 and Virginia Wade in 1977 won Wimbledon - so he takes no crap. Like the bloke a lot, and feel sad that he has been cut down by injury when perhaps he had a few more years left in him. Hope he finds happiness in the next chapter of his life.

 

Yes but blazer man has seen to it that no successor will come along on court for half a century.

[philpvfc]

Andy Murray, greatest British Sportsman ever? Not a chance, he wasn’t even the greatest British tennis player ever.

 

13 Grand slam winner including 3 Wimbledon titles to his name......

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Perry

[TheSage]

You make a very fair and very valid point.

 

Maybe some of us were thinking more in terms of our lifetime rather than ever but you can't argue with what Fred Perry achieved.

 

However, I think it's impossibly hard to judge one sportsman/woman against another from a different generation and operating in different circumstances.

It's interesting to debate but very difficult.

 

Was the Spurs Double team of the early sixties better than the Arsenal Invincibles or as good as United's Treble Winners of 99?

Was Arkle better than Mill Reef?

Is Redgrave our greatest Olympian, or is it Farah or Hoy or Wiggins even?

[RailwayRowdy]

Andy Murray, greatest British Sportsman ever? Not a chance, he wasn’t even the greatest British tennis player ever.

 

13 Grand slam winner including 3 Wimbledon titles to his name......

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Perry

 

Perry came from a time when tennis REALLY was an elitist sport, so very few people actually competed. It was not the world wide competitive sport that it is today, as pointed out by Sage.

 

If you look back to only the 70/80’s, Navratilova took women’s tennis to a completely different level, not only due to her marvellous talent but more importantly her fitness and strength. She basically out muscled opponents.

 

At the time of her introduction to Wimbledon, we still had Francoise Durr playing who could barely getting her first serve over the net !

 

So my point is that things move on. Yes, Perry’s record is there for all to see, but in the era in which he played there was no where near the competition that Murray has faced in the modern game.

[bycars bootboy]

Phil the Power.

 

Indisputable and any one who thinks otherwise is a middle-class idiot.

[philpvfc]

Perry came from a time when tennis REALLY was an elitist sport, so very few people actually competed. It was not the world wide competitive sport that it is today, as pointed out by Sage.

 

If you look back to only the 70/80’s, Navratilova took women’s tennis to a completely different level, not only due to her marvellous talent but more importantly her fitness and strength. She basically out muscled opponents.

 

At the time of her introduction to Wimbledon, we still had Francoise Durr playing who could barely getting her first serve over the net !

 

So my point is that things move on. Yes, Perry’s record is there for all to see, but in the era in which he played there was no where near the competition that Murray has faced in the modern game.

 

Wouldn’t argue with that but every sport has become more challenging and at a higher level, the best golfers are playing in the modern day, the best footballers, Rugby, Tennis, Athletes but you can only be the best at your current era and facilities, back up personal etc. etc. Is far better in the modern day.

 

IMO Murray is not our greatest, don’t know who is but he wouldn’t get my vote.

[TheSage]

It's interesting to debate but impossibly hard to judge.

It's perhaps better not to go there and just judge sportsmen and women in terms of their contemporaries and only in the generation in which they live.

 

That was my point above. You can't compare across disciplines and across generations.

 

Murry is certainly the best GB tennis player I've ever seen and ever will in all probability so I'll leave it there.

[toyahw]

Sir Lewis Hamilton

Sir Chris Froome

Legends in their sports, but a bit "thingy". ie. not the type who get honours.

 

Unlike Sir Andy Mc JockStrap. A third rate tennis player. And an obnoxious arse.

[toyahw]

Hamilton, mixed race lad from Stevenage

Froome, mixed race lad from Kenya.

Murray, a Scot toff funded to the n'th degree by the tax payer.

 

Take your pick.

[toyahw]

Chuck in Raheem. English and good. The **** that lad has had to put up with is ridiculous. He makes me feel proud to be English. Black White Asia origin. Whatever. Love the Rash too.

 

 

Not hard is it?

 

Same in general life. Don't understand me sen why this is any kind of issue?