comment by Arsenal_49 (U10665)
posted 10 minutes ago
Hendry suffered from the yips in his 30s though and after winning 7 World Titles he most likely wasn't as motivated as he was in the 90s as he done all the hardwork. He also started to practice a lot less as well!
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Agreed Arsenal, you need the motivation and you have to put in hours of practise which he did in the early days, but when you have family the perspective changes a little. Anyway good season for you guys in the league this year sanchez has made a huge difference to your team, should be confident next year of challenging for the title if wenger can add another player or two.

It's been a decent season so far. If we win the Fa Cup and finish 2nd then it would be good. Just gutted we couldn't beat Chelsea today

Murray - all I am saying is that Hendry had a long time at the top, and no doubt motivation would become a factor, but for the WCs? I doubt that. Don't forget that he had already lost to Doherty in '97, and having dominated for so long, I think it was only natural than his time was coming to an end.

For me it is quite simple - he showed the way for the likes of Williams, Higgins and Ronnie, and they eventually caught up with him - Hendry had most people's number at some stage in their career, but these 3 in particular could mix it with him, and I think when you have been so dominant for so long, then it's tough to cope with the added competition.

Did Phil Taylor stop when he beat Bristows record of 5 World Titles? No he didn't. He's now got 16. Make no mistake, Hendry was always motivated. But it was unfortunate for him that his decline coincided with a very good era of players coming through.

Darts is a crap game though anyway so you shouldn't compare that to snooker

Just an example that losing motivation is a cop out. Federer broke Sampras Grand Slam record of 14, but didn't stop at 15, he's got 17.

comment by Arsenal_49 (U10665)
posted 11 minutes ago
Darts is a crap game though anyway so you shouldn't compare that to snooker
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You are probably right there Arsenal its not really a true comparison but its still a great achievement to be the best at anything sport related especially if its classed as entertainment as the world title is on sky and Barry Hearne is involved so its big business.

comment by JustTrue - (Ronnie wins his 5th UK Snooker Title) (U13155)
posted 7 minutes ago
Just an example that losing motivation is a cop out. Federer broke Sampras Grand Slam record of 14, but didn't stop at 15, he's got 17.
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Say what you like mate, Federer is the best major titles show that to be the case, and with regards to snooker the worlds where its at and Hendry's record is the best, end of, people forget how good he was or hope other people forget how good he was, as he was poor towards the end but I remember how good he was at his best and that's all that matters.

The Fact is Murray , is that Hendry had 10 years at the top.. 89-99 Ronnie has been around at the top for 20+years, remember Ronnie at 17 beat Hendry right in his pomp in 93...

comment by RKW (U13169)
posted 40 minutes ago
I think Ronnie is a special talent compared to the rest and although I do expect him to decline at some stage, whilst he's still chasing Hendry's World titles record I think deep down he'll be as hungry and as sharp as ever to at least equal seven titles.
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He is you are right RKW, but he does have his inner demons, and I don't quite agree with you with regards to this particularly being a better era, I just think every era is as good but it evolves, I mean lets be honest pretty much every year we think Ronnie will walk it that tells us everything about the general standard surely, also he doesn't always walk it otherwise he would have beaten stephen's record by now if he was that good, and with regards to everyone else there's no real consistency whatsoever it chops and changes all the time, Stephen and jimmy etc were in many world finals as was steve that's consistency, look at Robertson for instance how many finals has he been in, 1 or 2, murphy once, Hawkins once, dott twice, Maguire and hes a solid player on the tour none, trump once, ding none/once not sure, Selby is it once, joe perry is it once, carter once I think the list goes on, in my opinion a good era is when someone is dominant/consistent and a few others are the same and then there's the rest, people try and say its the competition but I disagree I think its that they all blow hot and cold, only I would say Ronnie and probably John Higgins in this era have been great, the rest continually beat each other.

Another thing people seem to be talking about Hendry in his final years as a cop and being found out, etc poor player, etc, nobody seems to be speaking about him when he was at his best, will uyou all be talking about Ronnies bad points when he calls it a day or how bad he was at the end of his career I doubt, all you will talk about is the times when he was winning titles and at his best, and by the way if Stephen had come up against any of these guys at his peak there would have been no contest, when he was consistent and knocking breaks in for fun and the mental side there's no way the likes of murphy or Selby, etc would have lived with him no disrespect as they are all top players but not in his league, only Ronnie and Higgins on his day could have lived with him, the rest maybe on a one-off.

comment by Wetherbyterrier (U2075)
posted 47 minutes ago
The Fact is Murray , is that Hendry had 10 years at the top.. 89-99 Ronnie has been around at the top for 20+years, remember Ronnie at 17 beat Hendry right in his pomp in 93...
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Maybe so but it took only 10yrs for Hendry to win 7 world titles and in twenty years where Ronnie has been a special talent totally head and shoulders above the rest he has won it what, 5 times, at the top as you say.

Hendry at his best against Ronnie at is best..... Ronnie wins....

comment by Wetherbyterrier (U2075)
posted 17 seconds ago
Hendry at his best against Ronnie at is best..... Ronnie wins....
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Anyone can make that sort of statement but it cant really be proved can it other than titles won really, and Ronnie knows this himself, I think they would be pretty even at the beginning in the worlds Hendry was beating Ronnie and towards the end vice-versa, Stephen was at his best at the beginning and Ronnie was young and learning, and towards the end Hendry was tailing off when Ronnie was winning and Ronnie was at his best, its a difficult one to judge I think we should just admire them both for their talent and the enjoyment they have both brought to the game if not for both these two, jimmy white, the hurricane, steve davis, etc their wouldn't be the money and amount of top players that are in the game today, they have kept the profile of a sport going as like darts its not really a major sport like tennis, golf, etc and doesn't involve the americans, good that countries such as china and japan are expanding the game as this will make the sport even bigger I think the world championships will have to go there soon sometime as it will explode over there if it does and that would take it to a new level.

Murray, I am a Ronnie fan and think Hendry is the best ever because he's achieved the most. But I was just pointing out that I think the lack of motivation is not a big factor. His early signs of decline were seen as early as 1996 and with Ronnie, Higgins, Williams, Hunter l, Stevens etc. coming through, it was always going to be difficult for him to dominate in the late 90s. By the early 2000s, he was still a very good player, but the titles were shared around a lot more. But the major titles were always going to Ronnie, Higgins or Williams.

Ronnie the greatest for me - simply because of the sheer volatility of the man. He comes to the table very nonchalantly and seems to blow everyone away when on his game. Hendry was more of a professional - a potting machine who was one of the most aggressive break builders the game has ever seen. Ronnie on the other hand especially in his early years was more natural talent who was anything but professional: from the towel over his head during frames, rants about retirment and even walking out of matches he was anything but the model professional. Working with Steve Peters has obviously changed all that but you never quite knew what you were going to get with Ronnie and for that alone I've loved watching him play.

A very tedious argument though - perhaps almost as much so as Ronaldo or Messi and the previously never ending Federer or Nadal. All a case of personal preference I'd say - in my view it's Ronnie.

We keep talking about a Ronnie decline but didn't that come 10+ years ago when he was putting the towel over his head in his seat and conceding the match against Hendry with loads of frames still to play? He could still achieve more than Hendry as long as he keeps working with Steve Peters. He's nowhere near finished yet in terms of his ability, it's his state of mind which will determine how much he achieves in comparison to Hendry.

I agree, this conversation should be had after Ronnie's career finishes.. Then we can all agree that Ronni eis the best....

As for the World Championships in China, .. Have you seen the chinese tournaments so far... The back room of a hotel with 3 rows of seats, with 1970's decor.. & thrones as chairs......... Give me a break.... Its like moving Wimbledon to Great Yarmouth !

Haha, I see we have come back to the 'goat' debate. I have felt up until a couple of years ago that Hendry was the best, but when Ronnie won his 5th WC, I believe that Ronnie is the best there has ever been.

Of course it's all subjective, but Ronnie can make the game look ridiculously easy unlike any other player, and of course the likes of Hendry, Higgins, Davis etc have all destroyed other players, but Ronnie really is untouchable when at his best.

Of course if Ronnie had Hendry's mind, then he would be on 15 world titles and pretty much unbeatable, but that is what makes Ronnie 'Ronnie'. In his 20 year career, Ronnie has had so many up and downs within it, and at times put in questionable amounts of effort, which is why he has managed to stay relatively fresh even now, although it's testament to his talent that he is still a dominant force.

But even age will catch up with Ronnie - I really feel that the next 3 years will determine how many WCs he ends up with, 1 is likely, 2 feasible but to win another 3 is a tough ask.

I'd hate for the Worlds to be moved to China. Of the little I saw of the china open it was terrible, virtually empty even with just 3 rows of seats!

Exactly !
The crucible is its home..

Ask the players....

It would be money and sponsorship that sends it to China. The good thing is that Hearn seems a good leader for the sport and realises tradition means more, and I think listening to his interviews he wants it to stay in Sheffield too.

It's difficult to see the WCs moving in at least the next 10 years, and to be honest, I think it would take a monumental shift in the game to want to move it from Sheffield at all. I really wonder if there is genuine belief in the immediate future that it could leave Sheffield, or it's just a story that has accumulated from speculation.

Its a shame the Crucible doen't hold 2,000... anyway 10-7 to Judd.. comeback on ?

I guess part of it's charm is it's cosy atmosphere. I've never actually been, I guess that's on the bucket list........

Would be good to see a Fu comeback, if just to have a rare close match for the 2nd rounders.