Jimmy Greaves was a genius, the purest finisher England has produced | Richard Williams

He scored goals in abundance for Tottenham and Chelsea and his omission from the England team that won the World Cup was the cruellest of blows

When Jimmy Greaves was playing against the team you supported, a sense of foreboding accompanied you through the turnstiles. The pleasurable anticipation of witnessing one of the greatest footballers of his era was severely undermined by the knowledge of the effect that this slender, neat-featured, dark-haired, quick-footed little man was likely to have on the course of the afternoon.

Like his great contemporary Denis Law, Greaves was a footballer who could appear to be entirely aloof from the proceedings until the moment, perhaps not long before the final whistle, when he flickered into life and settled the result with a single stroke of genius. The effect was at its most vivid on midwinter Saturday afternoons during his time in the white shirt of Tottenham Hotspur, when he would sprint into the penalty area like a streak of light amid the gloom.