The best Higgins?

Time for the ultimate poll, whos the greatest Higgins in snooker?

Alex or John?

The best snooker player ?
The best snooker entertainer ?
The best snooker icon ?
The best overall package ?

No contest, Alex for me.

John is just a gritty modern robot.

Alex is the man that made snooker what it is today and played shots John and everyone else can only dream of.

Bourne wrote:The best snooker player ?
The best snooker entertainer ?
The best snooker icon ?
The best overall package ?

total package

There is a case for both. Who would've thought it. How about who's the best Davis? Oh that too. Well who is the best Stevens? Ummm, there's a case for both. OK the best Williams - Mark or Rex?

Mark hands down

OK John by a country mile

option 1

Bourne wrote:OK John by a country mile

Alex on top form woulda scared the living daylights out of John cos he would have potted him off the table and not been afraid of a counter attack.

On his day he could cope with peak Davis so his namesake wouldnt scare him.

Witz78 wrote:

Bourne wrote:OK John by a country mile

Alex on top form woulda scared the living daylights out of John cos he would have potted him off the table and not been afraid of a counter attack.

On his day he could cope with peak Davis so his namesake wouldnt scare him.

Only 2 world titles, couldn't apply himself properly, if it was a one frame match then Alex would have won many more times than not but John's the much better matchplayer and a better champion too. And i'm probably biased since I live in John's era and never saw Alex's best

Bourne wrote:

Witz78 wrote:

Bourne wrote:OK John by a country mile

Alex on top form woulda scared the living daylights out of John cos he would have potted him off the table and not been afraid of a counter attack.

On his day he could cope with peak Davis so his namesake wouldnt scare him.

Only 2 world titles, couldn't apply himself properly, if it was a one frame match then Alex would have won many more times than not but John's the much better matchplayer and a better champion too. And i'm probably biased since I live in John's era and never saw Alex's best

How old are you Bourne? Sorry id be better asking when were you born Bourne

Im 32 and my memories of Alex at the tail end of his peak (mid 80s) are patchy but i can remember the excitment of watching him and the buzz that he created. My memories of his slow decline and further controversies on the table in the late 80s/early 90s are clear and he still produced some flashes of the old crowd pleasing brilliance.

2 world titles is 2 more than Jimmy got and only 1 less than John Higgins. He played in the era of 2 serial champions Reardon and Davis so i dont think he did too bad.

He was the original Ronnie in many ways but whilst he sometimes didnt fully compete, he loved the sport at all times and defiently never gave up.

John Higgins, quite clearly. Alex is a legend though.

I'm under 32 but older than 12
I'm not downgrading Alex at all, Alex the player was clearly an unreal talent and got bums on seats and did a lot of good things for the game, but i'm more inclined to judge players on what they do on the table and John's achievements for me outweigh Alex's and his game is much more rounded as well.

John Higgins is the Best player of the two of them no doubt about that.

Alex Higgins had the greater influence on the game.

i do think superfine cloths would have suited Alex Better than the carpets he was playing on in the 70s and possibly would have had a better career today but he had so much inconsistencies in his life he still could not have been better than John.

and im a Alex Fan Snookers ultimate figure.

ALEX

wildJONESEYE wrote:John Higgins is the Best player of the two of them no doubt about that.

Alex Higgins had the greater influence on the game.

i do think superfine cloths would have suited Alex Better than the carpets he was playing on in the 70s and possibly would have had a better career today but he had so much inconsistencies in his life he still could not have been better than John.

and im a Alex Fan Snookers ultimate figure.

Alex had lots of inc0nsistencies in his life
So does Ronnie and hes bettered John Higgins achievments, so whats to say Alex with the benefits of playing on the better tables wouldnt be better than John.

With the amount of attacking minded players in the modern game compared to the tactical battlers/grinders of the 70s/80s i think Alex would have thrived in the modern game as he could have out classed most.

Also Alexs tactical nous, knowledge around the table and own safety game are often overlooked but from a lot of old DVDs of Alex i have its incredible the number of cracking safeties he plays that a lot of todays so called tactical players wouldnt even dream up.

Witz78 wrote: Alex had lots of inc0nsistencies in his life

So does Ronnie and hes bettered John Higgins achievments

That's a big one for me... I've become a little annoyed at those claiming Higgins is better than O'Sullivan, because I feel they are really searching for excuses to place him ahead of Ronnie. I also feel the reaction to O'Sullivan being in the same situation as Higgins was as regards betting scandals would have been so different it would be sickening. Do you think O'Sullivan would have been raised to sainthood like Higgins was last night? You wish.

O'Sullivan has actually beaten Higgins in virtually every department, including major titles, over the same period of professional play and with far less effort. That, for me, puts O'Sullivan well ahead. Higgins has had to work his balls off... O'Sullivan has done that playing well within himself.

Higgins form since 2008 says there is a case for him being a goat contender.

thetubberlad wrote:

Witz78 wrote: Alex had lots of inc0nsistencies in his life

So does Ronnie and hes bettered John Higgins achievments

That's a big one for me... I've become a little annoyed at those claiming Higgins is better than O'Sullivan, because I feel they are really searching for excuses to place him ahead of Ronnie. I also feel the reaction to O'Sullivan being in the same situation as Higgins was as regards betting scandals would have been so different it would be sickening. Do you think O'Sullivan would have been raised to sainthood like Higgins was last night? You wish.

O'Sullivan has actually beaten Higgins in virtually every department, including major titles, over the same period of professional play and with far less effort. That, for me, puts O'Sullivan well ahead. Higgins has had to work his balls off... O'Sullivan has done that playing well within himself.

ive said exactly this for a while

the love in last night was a disgrace.

those claiming the bulk of those willing Williams to win were simply doing so cos they were more anti-Higgins than pro-Williams, are hypocrites cos i tell you what, i havent a clue where all these Higgins "fans" have suddenly appeared from

Sonny wrote:Higgins form since 2008 says there is a case for him being a goat contender.

3 years since the 2007 WC maybe, but even so at his so called peak years he was AWOL for a good 5 years.

Sonny wrote:Higgins form since 2008 says there is a case for him being a goat contender.

There is a case, but Hendry 1988-1996 puts him to shame. And O'Sullivan has outgunned him in nearly every department without anywhere near the effort of Higgins.

im not even going to bother giving you stats to back up john being better than alex!, quite clear i think..

randam05 wrote:im not even going to bother giving you stats to back up john being better than alex!, quite clear i think..

I thought you were going to say Ronnie until I read Alex I was about to sned you to an early posting grave

Alex wins just based on these infamous comments

"Well Chaps, I would like to announce my retirement from professional snooker … I don't want to be part of a cartel. I don't want to be part of a game where there are slush funds for everybody… If Derek Jameson, for instance, can leave the News of the World and go to Sky TV there has to be a place for me in this life… There are an awful lot of people running about this world who put their kids through certain schools, feeder schools, grammar schools, and you get absolute tossers doing jobs for exorbitant money, well, I don't really want to be part of it… You can shove snooker up your jacksie, I'm not playing no more and it's not sour grapes, nothing, it's the truth … I wish Cecil Parkinson and Maggie Thatcher would do a probe into snooker, then we would find out the real truth. The Hurricane doesn't want to be part of this tripe, no disrespect to northern people because I like tripe… I'm not going to break the cue because I like the cue, but it is a corrupt game… Rock on Tommy…"

Before jojo or witz comment..i know you dont like john and will much prefer alex because of his style, which i totally understand and would probably agree with if i had seen him in my time, which much of us havent? but yes the stats dont lie, so its fact john is more successful and a better player than alex.

randam05 wrote:Before jojo or witz comment..i know you dont like john and will much prefer alex because of his style, which i totally understand and would probably agree with if i had seen him in my time, which much of us havent? but yes the stats dont lie, so its fact john is more successful and a better player than alex.

maybe a better winner but NEVER a better player.

Witz78 wrote:Alex wins just based on these infamous comments

"Well Chaps, I would like to announce my retirement from professional snooker … I don't want to be part of a cartel. I don't want to be part of a game where there are slush funds for everybody… If Derek Jameson, for instance, can leave the News of the World and go to Sky TV there has to be a place for me in this life… There are an awful lot of people running about this world who put their kids through certain schools, feeder schools, grammar schools, and you get absolute tossers doing jobs for exorbitant money, well, I don't really want to be part of it… You can shove snooker up your jacksie, I'm not playing no more and it's not sour grapes, nothing, it's the truth … I wish Cecil Parkinson and Maggie Thatcher would do a probe into snooker, then we would find out the real truth. The Hurricane doesn't want to be part of this tripe, no disrespect to northern people because I like tripe… I'm not going to break the cue because I like the cue, but it is a corrupt game… Rock on Tommy…"

I thought he cut a really pathetic figure to be honest with that rant... as much as I liked Alex

thetubberlad wrote:

Witz78 wrote:Alex wins just based on these infamous comments

"Well Chaps, I would like to announce my retirement from professional snooker … I don't want to be part of a cartel. I don't want to be part of a game where there are slush funds for everybody… If Derek Jameson, for instance, can leave the News of the World and go to Sky TV there has to be a place for me in this life… There are an awful lot of people running about this world who put their kids through certain schools, feeder schools, grammar schools, and you get absolute tossers doing jobs for exorbitant money, well, I don't really want to be part of it… You can shove snooker up your jacksie, I'm not playing no more and it's not sour grapes, nothing, it's the truth … I wish Cecil Parkinson and Maggie Thatcher would do a probe into snooker, then we would find out the real truth. The Hurricane doesn't want to be part of this tripe, no disrespect to northern people because I like tripe… I'm not going to break the cue because I like the cue, but it is a corrupt game… Rock on Tommy…"

I thought he cut a really pathetic figure to be honest with that rant... as much as I liked Alex

but you are only 18 tubber ? I have seen youtube clips a lot and on dvds and i like watching him a lot..just wondering if that is the same referenceyou have to him..

Witz78 wrote:

randam05 wrote:Before jojo or witz comment..i know you dont like john and will much prefer alex because of his style, which i totally understand and would probably agree with if i had seen him in my time, which much of us havent? but yes the stats dont lie, so its fact john is more successful and a better player than alex.

maybe a better winner but NEVER a better player.

..opinion..

randam05 wrote:Before jojo or witz comment..i know you dont like john and will much prefer alex because of his style, which i totally understand and would probably agree with if i had seen him in my time, which much of us havent? but yes the stats dont lie, so its fact john is more successful and a better player than alex.

ive always modelled my style of play and attitude on Alex when playing pool and snooker.

I would far rather lose but play the wondershots and stay true to my natural style than win by playing boring.

Steve Davis on John Higgins' UK victory
"You've seen a performance by the greatest player this game has seen"

I think hes almost right..okay hendry has been more successful than higgins, but as an all round player that will still be competing well into his 5os, higgins is simply the best.

The only reason j higgins has not done aswell as hendry and davis is because they were around in eras where there was not much competition..who did hendry have as a force in the game to compete with in early to mid 90s? he just had all the dying 80s players and the 2000s up and coming players who werent ready to win.

Now you have the old boys, such as higgins, ronnie, williams, plus the likes of ding maguire robertson allen..If john higgins was playing like he does in the 90s he would have done as well or better than hendry.