I am not sure which Bobbie Goulding some people were watching - but the one I saw was a much better scrum half than Sean Long.
Sean was a player who for years relied on his foot speed to make him look special (which it did) but only years later did he become an organising scrum half.
Bobbie Goulding was that organising scrum half right from the get go - his kicking game and vision was at times without peer in this country. Alright we all know he p1ssed it all away with poor attitude and bad judgement, but so did George Best and is still probably the most gifted Britsh Footballer.
I would not complain about either player being picked in a top Saints side, especially as there is no criteria for why a player is picked as we have here.
If it is just the most gifted scrum half I would go with Gouldding, if it the best scrum half to have played for St. Helens then I would go with Long for his consistancy and longevity (but dont let this cloud your memories people as there are plenty of people on here who have been screaming for Longs head for years)
As for the Wingers - if we have to go with 2 wingers for me Albert has to be a shoe in, but I think many posters on here have been remembering Sullivan with rose covered keyboards, the guy was a liability under high balls, luckily it was Goulding that introduced this tactic to the British game and it wasnt as wide spread as it is now - or else I am afraid that he would be the Gardner/Meli/latest scapegoat of his time. He played on confidence more than almost any player I have ever seen and when his confidence was low you may have well played Stuart Evans on the wing.
Alan Hunte is a very good call for the other wing spot, when the 2 played together he was always - to my eyes - the better player.
But I would be tempted to take a leaf out of the Australian selectors handbook and pick a 3rd Centre on the wing, maybe Iro or Lyon or Gidley - how lucky have we been with centres over the years
Sean was a player who for years relied on his foot speed to make him look special (which it did) but only years later did he become an organising scrum half.
Bobbie Goulding was that organising scrum half right from the get go - his kicking game and vision was at times without peer in this country. Alright we all know he p1ssed it all away with poor attitude and bad judgement, but so did George Best and is still probably the most gifted Britsh Footballer.
I would not complain about either player being picked in a top Saints side, especially as there is no criteria for why a player is picked as we have here.
If it is just the most gifted scrum half I would go with Gouldding, if it the best scrum half to have played for St. Helens then I would go with Long for his consistancy and longevity (but dont let this cloud your memories people as there are plenty of people on here who have been screaming for Longs head for years)
As for the Wingers - if we have to go with 2 wingers for me Albert has to be a shoe in, but I think many posters on here have been remembering Sullivan with rose covered keyboards, the guy was a liability under high balls, luckily it was Goulding that introduced this tactic to the British game and it wasnt as wide spread as it is now - or else I am afraid that he would be the Gardner/Meli/latest scapegoat of his time. He played on confidence more than almost any player I have ever seen and when his confidence was low you may have well played Stuart Evans on the wing.
Alan Hunte is a very good call for the other wing spot, when the 2 played together he was always - to my eyes - the better player.
But I would be tempted to take a leaf out of the Australian selectors handbook and pick a 3rd Centre on the wing, maybe Iro or Lyon or Gidley - how lucky have we been with centres over the years
