1982: JIMMY GREAVES on missing the 1966 WORLD CUP FINAL | Classic BBC Sport | BBC Archive 

Jimmy Greaves, a kind of forgotten genius. People think football started in 1992 but he would be a match for any player nowadays... amazing player

People might think Alan shearer is the greatest goal scorer in English football and he’s definitely up there but that’s only because the records are going off the premier league which was rebranded from the 1st division in 1992. Jimmy greaves is actually the greatest english football goalscorer of all time with 357 goals in 516 games and a goal to game ratio of 0.69 which is incredible. A lot of the older generation will remember him and know how good he was but for the younger generation this would have been like having Erling Haaland, Harry Kane or Sergio Aguero in your team, a prolific goalscorer who isn’t always remembered as much as some of the other old English players you might know e.g. Sir Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore, a lot of this could be down to the fact that jimmy greaves didn’t play in the 1966 World Cup final winning team despite being to many the best striker England possessed. Greaves picked up an injury in the group stages against France which led to Sir Geoff Hurst replacing the former in the team. England manager Alf Ramsey stuck with hurst and in the final, despite being fit to play, greaves was left out of the team with hurst keeping his place in the 11. This was a decision that proved to be successful for Ramsey and England as Hurst scored a Hattrick and England beat west Germany 4-2. However part of me wonders how different the legacy of jimmy greaves would have been had he not got injured and kept his place in the team, maybe England would have lost the final? Maybe he would have scored a hattrick like Sir Geoff Hurst? Who knows? But one thing is for certain, Jimmy Greaves is the greatest goal scorer England has ever produced.

It's rare to see someone so great being so honest and humble about their feelings. There's no sourgrapes, he's just answering the question completely honestly.

A true legend on and off the field. Greavsie was always an honest and eloquent talker. No striker has ever got near his goals per game ratio for England, and he has to go down as the greatest striker this country has produced. For those of us who weren't old enough to remember Jimmy as a player, he was an absolute delight as a football pundit with the great partnership he formed with another great, Ian St John. For all Jimmy's great achievements in football, his greatest achievement was successfully overcoming alcoholism. That wasn't only great news for Jimmy and his family, but also for the rest of us who loved to hear his opinions with his characteristic humour and likeability.

An honest assessment with no BS. I always liked Jimmy!

Loved greavsie. Aside from being a great player, he was a man with integrity and part of my Saturday staple with ian st.john.

Fabulous football player and a great speaking voice

Jimmy didn't throw a wobbler and go away He played the following year against Scotland. What a man.

Amazing player and a great bloke. Never bettered!

A staple of my youth was the great Saint and Greavsie TV show..A great laugh..

Those pictures of him at the final whistle are heart breaking...you can actually see the weight on the mans shoulders...i for one totally and utterly understand Jimmy's pain

Wonderful player, one of the greatest of all time without doubt. I always admired him right from his Chelsea days to his Spurs days and I am an Arsenal fan through and through.

Met Jimmy once, many years ago, fantastic bloke, true world class player, broke scoring records for fun, sadly missed, RIP.

I'm loving these BBC clips. After living here in the States for 34 years, these clips open up a world of youthful memories. Familiar names, faces, and voices I'd long forgotten about.

Clearly a man who is not afraid of the truth.

Jimmy Greaves...GENIUS...GREATEST GOALSCORER WE EVER HAD.

Greaves has never been forgotten, a wonderful talent and so too the man who was interviewing him. Ian Wooldridge was a master of the written word and a superb communicator on television too,

Forget Best, this guys stats club and national are nothing short of magnificence, up there with pele, Cruyff and beckenbaur in my book.

Such a tragedy that Jimmy Greaves never even enters our consciousness when we thik of our 1966 World Cup winners. Even though he was a part of the squad and was a much better player than Geoff Hurst ever was and would have been the first choice striker in the team barring injury,he's all but forgotten regarding the team of 66, And you feel his hurt in this video.

I felt the same way after being left out of the 1998 World Cup Squad.

Jimmy Greaves will always be a legend in my eyes.

RIP Mr Greaves a All Time Great . Putting the interviewer straight on the question.

A lovely Man who was happened to be a world class footballer. Sadly missed.

Pure honesty

The most natural finisher this country has ever produced, bar none.

Jimmy was only 42 here it’s amazing how much older people used to look.

He's been through good times and bad, but boy is he glad to be brewing up for star names.

loved jimmy greaves and what a goalscorer, RIP legend

He was brilliant.

his main strength was he had no nerves, no fear. You put him through in the last minute in a WC Final, its in. But then Hurst did exactly that anyway. Real shame for Greavsy that he witnessed that hatrick.

Jimmy had a great 'tache for years! 😊 He truly was a lovely bloke

I think only original Beatles drummer Pete Best could understand how Greavsie must have felt .

What a remarkable clip. I hadn’t realised he was actually the one who most talked up our chances and spread the belief within the squad. Makes it all the more poignant that injury robbed him of the chance to share in a truly unique moment of glory🙁

Great clips!

Still Englands best goal scorer. If he had played as many games as the likes of Lineker, Kane or Rooney he could have had twice as many goals.

There are great players who've matched him for stats, but his unique style was brilliant to watch.

to think they gave Geoff Hurst a Knighthood..Greaves was a world class striker, one of the greatest of all time.. Ramsey got very lucky.

Top man Jimmy.

Harry Kane should watch this. Dont care how many goals he scores.....or misses 😅😅😅😅 This is a true England and Spurs legend. From a Liverpool fan.

A classier response from greaves than if it had been cr7

It wouldn't have gone to extra time had Jimmy started

Hurst was a great player, and got 3 goals in the final.

We won it with his replacement having a blinder. So it worked out well for the nation. With Greaves it would either have been less or the same - not more!

He predicted the winners of the 1982 World Cup.

You might want to edit the description before the time-travelling conspiracy folk see this..

The greatest english goalscorer

Jimmy says "Following year I was the league's top scorer". If that was 1966/67 wasn't that Ron Davies of Southampton?

He was 42 in this interview 😐

Football before the Premier League? Are you sure?

Jimmy trying to put on his most well spoken voice....innit

Great impersonation of Russell Brand

At least with him missing the 66 final he won’t always be known as a cheat like the rest of the English team.😢😢