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Two players who have always intrigued me. I never got to see them play for Town and they came up in a conversation earlier in the week I was having with my Boss.
Was wondering if anyone on here was willing to give me an insight, in to their style, what made them so good and what sort of players they would be comparable with in today's football.
Muhren had all the time in the world and could pinpoint a pass with his left foot. Often straight to the feet or head of Alan Brazil. Oozed class. Thijseen was a skillful ball-player and never ever gave the ball away. No-one could take it off him, and the more opposition players that tried the better he liked it. I don't watch enough PL or foreign football to know who today's equivalents might be, but they had pretty unique talents.
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Muhren and Thijssen on 19:58 - Nov 20 with 7068 views
Arnold Muhren:- very slightly built, totally one footed but one of the best cultured left foots you wiil see, could control ball with outside of left foot whilst turning to make space, great vision, excellent at threading balls to front players especially Alan Brazil.
Frans Thijssen:- good work rate, excellent dribbler of the ball, like ball was stuck to outside of his right foot, would go round in circles with ball and come away from defenders, once saw him near touchline with 3 defenders near him and he dribbled past all of them.
Excellent mix in midfield with John Wark a defensive holding midfield payer who once score 36 goals in a season!
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Muhren and Thijssen on 20:01 - Nov 20 with 7057 views
It was said of Arnie - with plenty of justification - that watching him pass was like watching Borg or McEnroe serve aces. Pinpoint perfection every time. Muhren could move with the ball as though it were glued to his foot. They were products of Dutch total football.
They'd take the current Man City team to another level.
In simple terms Muhren was a passer with a wand for a left foot and Thijssen was a dribbler who could carry the ball forward. Muhren could put a ball on a sixpence from 40yards and his usual targets were Brazil, Mariner and Wark. Thijssen would carry the ball from midfield and leave players in his wake leaving space for the others. Both would pop up with a goal maybe both could have scored more but their assists more than made up for this. Both their work rates were under rated and had football brains to fill in gaps at the back when required. Thijssen was able to hook the ball away from opponents when making a tackle. In terms of modern players it's difficult. Christian Erikssen has similar attributes to Murhen although Arnie usually played wide left rather than down the middle. As for Thijssen I can't really think of any one he runs and dribbles past players as he did. Maybe a Messi without the goals? 🤔
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Muhren and Thijssen on 20:16 - Nov 20 with 7016 views
For Muhren think Hoddle. His strength was long range passing. Didn’t have huge pace, but could pass the ball accurate, to feet, from all kinds of distances.
For Thijssen, I can’t really think of a comparable player. His strength was hid dribbling. Once he had the ball, he was almost impossible to dispossess and could (and often did) dribble through entire teams. The best player we’ve ever had, imho - perhaps in tandem with Beattie.
I sometimes think how fortunate I am to have seen the team of the 90s and turn of the century. Then I see something like this and realise what I also missed out on. Threads like this help me to feel a little of the great history of our club.
Muhren and Thijssen on 21:00 - Nov 20 by Superfrans
For Muhren think Hoddle. His strength was long range passing. Didn’t have huge pace, but could pass the ball accurate, to feet, from all kinds of distances.
For Thijssen, I can’t really think of a comparable player. His strength was hid dribbling. Once he had the ball, he was almost impossible to dispossess and could (and often did) dribble through entire teams. The best player we’ve ever had, imho - perhaps in tandem with Beattie.
Hoddle was stronger and bigger than Muhren, but their left footed passing was very similar. Hoddle looked more graceful than our Arnold, but wasn’t really any better when all is said and done.
Thijssen comparison with Kante is quite good, but his dribbling was simply stunning. Like others have said - he hardly ever lost the ball.
I went to the Liverpool v Town away match in 1981 and Thijssen scored the goal in a 1-1 draw. Everytime me and my brother had visited Anfield we had ended up in the Kop end. Here's a hint - tell a scouser that you don't want the Kop end and they'll point you to the Kop end as a joke. When Thijssen scored we did the yes!!! and everyone around us gave us the look and we got the "Over there" chant and pointing but no aggro much to our surprise. The Liverpool supporters next to us started a conversation about Thijssen and Muhren being in their side and they'd be invincible. At this point in History, Liverpool were already invincible in the League and Europe but those supporters recognised they could be better and envied us for having Muhren and Thijssen. These supporters saw ITFC as their main rivals and not Man U. who have always been their eternal enemies. Throughout the game the Kop applauded the good football even if it came from Town and most of that was from Muhren & Thijssen. We were the better side and I left Anfield knowing that we had never won a game at that place but we came so close this time. Those Were The Days.
Don't believe a word I say. I'm only kidding. Or am I?
Muhren and Thijssen on 22:38 - Nov 20 by Oldsmoker
I went to the Liverpool v Town away match in 1981 and Thijssen scored the goal in a 1-1 draw. Everytime me and my brother had visited Anfield we had ended up in the Kop end. Here's a hint - tell a scouser that you don't want the Kop end and they'll point you to the Kop end as a joke. When Thijssen scored we did the yes!!! and everyone around us gave us the look and we got the "Over there" chant and pointing but no aggro much to our surprise. The Liverpool supporters next to us started a conversation about Thijssen and Muhren being in their side and they'd be invincible. At this point in History, Liverpool were already invincible in the League and Europe but those supporters recognised they could be better and envied us for having Muhren and Thijssen. These supporters saw ITFC as their main rivals and not Man U. who have always been their eternal enemies. Throughout the game the Kop applauded the good football even if it came from Town and most of that was from Muhren & Thijssen. We were the better side and I left Anfield knowing that we had never won a game at that place but we came so close this time. Those Were The Days.
And when we finally did there it was that season 93-94 when we were hopeless.
You only need to watch this clip to understand what everyone is saying about both of them. I was so privileged to watch that team.
The other thing that shows is Paul Cooper's ability to catch the ball - a rare thing these days, but something most British keepers did back then. You even used to hear managers complaining about the continental trend of punching the ball when that first started to creep into the game.
As others have said Muhren had a wonderful left foot and the accuracy and timing of his passes were close to perfection, often creating goals for Alan Brazil. Thijssen was great with the ball at his feet with his ability to twist and change direction.
I cannot think of any current players to accurately compare them with but either of them would be able to fit into any of the very top teams of now with their talents.
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Muhren and Thijssen on 10:01 - Nov 21 with 6252 views
If you are old enough to have gone to the 81 league cup quarter final replay at Norwich you would have witnessed the destruction of a pretty decent Norwich side in a 3-1 win. Fantastic times to be a town supporter.
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Muhren and Thijssen on 10:18 - Nov 21 with 6226 views
If you are old enough to have gone to the 81 league cup quarter final replay at Norwich you would have witnessed the destruction of a pretty decent Norwich side in a 3-1 win. Fantastic times to be a town supporter.
Since this thread started, I've been trying unsuccessfully to track down that goal online. Thijssen dribbled past three or four of their players and just when he looked like he was about to fall over, up popped Arnie to curl the ball into the top corner of the net. A fantastic goal and even better against that lot.
It's on one of my many DVDs of the Town, with John Motson narrating. He called Thijssen something like "the wizard of dribble" and described Muhren's left foot as "like a velvet glove". F*cked if I can find the bloody thing now though!
Not sure the game was in 1981 though? Didn't we lose in the quarter finals to somebody else?
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Muhren and Thijssen on 10:39 - Nov 21 with 6186 views
Slow and endlessly passing sideways, so much so that he was called The Crab by his own team mates. Not Muehren or Thijssen - but Butch Wilkins who Robson tried desperately to sign before Muehren and then again before Thijssen. In fact it was Muehren who signed Thijssen after Robson was in despair at missing out on his crab - and pointed out that Thijssen was the better option and 1/5th of the price.
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