Gordon Banks

[Tony C]

A true great. RIP.

[Nocturnal Submission]

RIP.

[ad hoc]

The save at 0.35 on here I hadn't seen before, and I almost prefer it to the one from Pele

[nmrfox]

Never got to saw him play for Leicester, but my dad did loads of times and was pretty gutted that he left for Stoke when he did (though the replacement wasn't too shabby). Always came over as a gentleman. RIP.

[Jah Womble]

'Banks of England - our national savings monument!' (Remember that from one of those Squelcher football mini-books one used to get from the petrol station.)

RIP to a genuine giant of the game.

[Janik]

As someone with Stoke and Leicester family connections... well, it's a sad day.

[tee rex]

Ah, shame.

It seems incredible today that he only picked up a couple of winners' medals with his clubs, and none of the biggest prizes.

[ad hoc]

Ah, shame.

It seems incredible today that he only picked up a couple of winners' medals with his clubs, and none of the biggest prizes.

The World Cup seems like a fairly big prize

[Simon G]

When I played in goal as a boy, he was one of my idols - which for a lad growing up in the 90s might seem quite odd, but my uncles had loads of videos of games from the 60s and 70s and I used to spend whole Sunday's watching them.

Such a great keeper, and from all the plaudits I've read this morning, a great man as well.

[Nocturnal Submission]

The past is another country:

Banks was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and brought up in the working-class area of Tinsley. The family later moved to the village of Catcliffe after his father set up a (then-illegal) betting shop. This brought greater prosperity but also misery; one day Banks's disabled brother was mugged for the shop's daily takings, and died of his injuries some weeks later. Banks left school in December 1952 and took up employment as a bagger with a local coal merchant, which helped to build up his upper body strength. He spent a season playing for amateur side Millspaugh F.C. after their regular goalkeeper failed to turn up for a match; the club's trainer spotted Banks amongst the spectators and invited him to play in goal as he was aware that Banks had previously played for Sheffield Schoolboys. His performances there earned him a game in the Yorkshire League for Rawmarsh Welfare, however a 12-2 defeat to Stocksbridge Works on his debut was followed by a 3-1 home defeat, and he was dropped by Rawmarsh and returned to Millspaugh. Still aged 15, he then switched jobs to become a hod carrier.

[ad hoc]

His nephew was the drummer in Pulp

[ad hoc]

Hence:
"Catcliffe you don't intimidate me, your Parkway and your shopping centre, your Panda Pops and pottery, your motorway junction, overwhelming stench of failure. Lives that never left first base, stunted by vapours from the cooling towers
And I will do everything, everything in my power to get way from you"

[Capybara]

What very sad news to hear this morning. A true great.

[Sits]

I'm only realising reading this, watching that YT reel and remembering, how important he was, growing up in the 70s.

RIP

[longeared]

That video that ad hoc links to; at about 2:15 there's an advertising hoarding directly behind the goal reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Frank". Who was this Frank or is it some form of coded message to a spy? I think we should be told.

[Satchmo Distel]

I'm surprised to learn he was an inch taller than Clemence or Shilton (6'1" to their 6'.0"). For some reason I had assumed he was around 5'10".

Would still have been in the top bracket today whereas I'd have doubts about any earlier keeper being able to make the transition.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

That penalty save against West Ham above (at 2.30) is the one I remember most - and made me want to be him as I pursued my ambition of being a 'keeper. Here it is again - and he was truly a fantastic goalkeeper and a decent human being.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Ah, shame.

It seems incredible today that he only picked up a couple of winners' medals with his clubs, and none of the biggest prizes.

Champions Liverpool were rumoured to be signing him in 1966, but never did. Ironically he then won more at Stoke anyway - Liverpool didn't win another trophy until 1973 (although, with Banks in goal, who knows...).

[ursus arctos]

My earliest goalkeeping hero. A very sad day. RIP

[Duncan Gardner]

As a mark of respect I will wear the George Best 7 shirt, then assault some daydreaming Englishman

[Kevin S]

In goal, got to be Banks.

[Kevin S]

Have never seen the wider angle on the Pele save before. He doesn't have to dive as far as I thought, because he'd sorted out his positioning while the ball was coming over.

https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/1095260526605684737

[Jah Womble]

Have never seen the wider angle on the Pele save before. He doesn't have to dive as far as I thought, because he'd sorted out his positioning while the ball was coming over.

For me, it was more about dealing with Pele's fierce downward header per se.

[Exiled off Main Street]

I was at the last game he played at Anfield in 1972, we won with an injury time deflected winner - and Banks went spare on the referee. He hurt himself in the game and his critical career ending accident happened after he had left training late the following week after getting treatment on the injury.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

It's a save that you would expect most modern Goalkeepers to make, but only because someone like him showed that that sort of thing was possible, and the importance of sorting out your starting position. That's not common in clips of the 1970 world cup. It's hard to judge on the basis of relatively few clips or excerpts of matches but you can see fairly clearly how far ahead of most of his contemporaries he was. I suppose the way to view great footballers of today is that they are doing the things that future footballers will view as the basics.