Jimmy White on Ronnie O' Sullivan

[Crewstube]

They should do a film about this guy! Such inspiration yet heartbreak at the same time, brilliant story

[rsykes999]

Both have hit 10 147's... both as good as each other.... best players ever 1) Hendry, 2) Steve David, 3) John Higgins.... then the older foggies from years ago...

[phdgraffiti]

Ronnie is my fav player to watch from 2000-2011 because he has developed the all round game.Before that he seemed so arrogant and assumed he was the best because he didn't figure he had to practice as hard because he had so much "natural talent". thats what everyone told him.Hendry was a workaholic and perfectionist from day 1 and continues to be today. If Davis had won 10 wld. champ Hendry wouldn't rest until he got to 11.Hendry knew he had to work for it and did till he won everything.

[AnglOsAxOn2]

I went to school with Jimmy and played at the same club he did........OK so he was a few years older and I never actually met him, thats not the point he he, I had the same art teacher as him though.

[MyMdmd]

it was a pleasure playing jimmy white for charity few weeks ago, i got 9 points, chuffed lol, he then cleared up, he also gave my ill son vip treatment at snooker legends match in north wales,he gave him a cue and signed it as well as john parrot and cliff thorbun, jimmy is a true gent, welcome to north wales anytime mate.

[thehomefront]

ronnie lost all hes supporters when he turned to mecca.

[DrakeWeAreLEAVING]

@thehomefront Apart from the fact that he NEVER turned to mecca as you say,ALL religions are as full of shit as the next ,why does it bother you that he turned to mecca (he didn't).

from wiki - In 2003, media sources carried reports that O'Sullivan had converted to Islam, but despite his self-professed interest in the faith these reports were proven to be false

[thehomefront]

ronnie acts like a fucking baby when he loses

[MrChrismac1967]

He mentioned Steve Davis three times without being asked about him. Yep...Ronnie and Jimmy are great characters but I also believe Davis is underrated as a character and a man. For example Davis has nothing but positive things to say about Alex Higgins...his former arch rival. Perhaps Jimmy and Ronnie Wood should ask Steve to go with them for a night out...but perhaps poor Steve doesn't quite look the rock n roll bit.;)

[xAmmoNxx]

piss ed, good ole jimmy

[cheltube38]

Jimmy, Oh Jimmy.

[djclubuk1975]

chongs is the very last restraunt on station road (opposite the bus garage,,,,)ye ronnies from just down the road ,in chigwell ive seen him quite a bit r4ound our way

[djclubuk1975]

i saw these 2 out aving a bit of knife n fork in chongs in chingford ,,,and b4 ronnie arrived i saw jimmy waiting 4 him and said to him ,,do u know u look like jimmy white ,,,,,,,thenn i saw ronnie come in and felt a right cock ,,,,

if u wanna see just what a 1 off ronnie is ,,,,watch the clip on my page called ,,ronnies best snooker defencive shot ever ,,he done it today at the masters against mark williams ,,absoloutly amazing shot

[R1pp3rm4n]

i live in chingford! but wheres chongs lol? and yeh that snooker was amazing but mark got out of it first shot lol

[sparkyinbath]

I love those two.

[robthesamplist]

i dont want a fuking ad after the vid ty utube

[wwfcbrad]

jimmy to win im a celeb

[MeatloafTribute1]

vote for jim in the jungle

[skomil]

Higgins was a genius no technique and pure talent made up for his deficiencies in cueing. A real pleasure to have watched him play in the 80's bur osullivan is a fusion of genius and technique - unstoppable when he is in the right frame of mind. Davis was the bar everyone had to inspire to and he is the blueprint for modern snooker/pool

[britecho]

Jimmy White is a fantastic character. His risky style of play makes him popular with the public. I really, really, really wanted to see Jimmy win that world title. I cried at every final he lost.

[tiarnan76]

@britecho who gives a fuck what you did, dont mean to be rude, but seriously, who the fuck gives a flyin cunt?

[kevsands]

@tiarnan76 harsh....but funny!

[askbob]

i think he gets bored of the game cos its so easy for him.

[international2009]

If its so easy for him why didnt he win last years WC?

[stitcha123]

too long a tournament. look at premier league. he thrashes everyone.

[Jim7711154]

Continued.

Also with Higgins, he grew up playing exhibitions because that was how the players made a living then. When he played tournaments he brought the exhibition style to the table: he wanted to entertain. Ronnie fused the flashiness of higgins/white to the tournament styles of davis, and latterly hendry. But in saying that, he still doesn't have the fighting spirit of the likes of higgins when he's losing.

[kevinleverne]

Fighting spirit is great and very entertaining as are difficult pots and tons of spin to regain position but the truth is in todays field of players he' have a hard time staying in the top sixteen even when he was in his prime. As boring as todays top 16 may seem its because they usually stay in position and take calculated risks. They're almost like clones now. They all dress like Ronnie(all black) thinking maybe thats what gives him his edge. lol.

[Jim7711154]

Agree 100 percent.

[partridgecaravan]

I heard of a snooker player named gustov rubbish whos father used to coach him snooker when he was a kid. His father would hang a torned garbage sack on top of his head when he played the shot so if he would move his head all the garbage would fall of on his head , fearing those rubbish , gustov rubbis became a robotic potting machine!!

[kevinleverne]

Jimmy and Alex were great but nothing compared to the rocket. Watch some of their old matches they would get out of position about every 5 shots or so and then play some crazy pot or round the table position to get on their next shot. This looks impressive to the novice but the truth is they regularly lost control of the break(sometimes recovered sometimes not. Such is not the case with ronnie, his position is often inch perfect and usually gets him back to the black. Hence 500+centurys so far.

[partridgecaravan]

they all are good at their times and as the game progress through generations the skills will naturaly be honed much and ronnie didnt start playing snooker in 1875 in India. He could see the top players like higgins , white , steve davis etc. When jimmy started to play snooker his hero was not ronnie but probably alex higgins!! So what would you expect from a snooker player after 50 years ? If he play better than ronnie then its because of ronnie and that will not make ronnie a bad player

[kevinleverne]

I completely agree with your comment about skills being honed by watching the previous generations top players and there's no dought in my mind that in the next generation a Chinese player will set the bar even higher by studying the greats of this generation like Ronnie. The game has advanced so much since Higgins era. The top 16 now practically mirror each other in technique(not speed). 10yr olds are starting with top class coaching and near perfect technique which saves yrs of wasted time.

[Jim7711154]

I agree with you, Ronnie is a more accurate player, but he doesn't have the fighting spirit of higgins. Ronnie's unstoppable when he's in front, but he's very flaky when things go against him.

[DLPBurke]

heavens above! A logical thinker! I was under impression you peopel didn't exist!

Oh and join my forum :P

break-off dotcodotuk

[JamieWilliamsAus]

ronnie wood? was he on about the stones guitarist?

[jambamz]

@JamieWilliamsAus yes and guess where they both Ronnie/Jimmy got their coke habbits from . . . . mmmmm

[atif7865]

I hope to see him again on the table soon. I cant think of anyone better than him in personality and everything.

[OsickbulletO]

Jimmy will be back, in an interview jimmy spoke about more shots to win the Word Championship, he will keep trying

Legend..

[plasticbudgie]

Ronnie is amazing but you cant help but love jimmy can you!! such a genuine geezer :)

[kiely456]

jimmy is a true legend

[Crazybob07]

nice hairt ransplant!

[smokinallthebud69]

dont know why jimmy feels so sorry for alex higgins its probably just pity

[glenyork1]

how many century breaks did higgins make ??? 92 how many has ronnie made over 450 dont get me wrong i love snooker bt higgins isnt a patch on ronnie and there wont ever b another ronnie. jimmy alex and ronnie r great show men but ronnie has the edge when it matters he will win the world again next year.

[jfk144]

You obviously dont know your snooker, Higgins won the world title in 72 and 82, plus many other tournaments, even today when Jimmy is asked who the 'greatest' ever player was, it's (Guess who) Alex Higgins!!!!!

[nazoy]

ur-rite-higgins-is-d-greatest-­and-most-talented-player-ever-­to-lift-a-cue,,the-amount-of-s­pin-side-chek,tops-watever-u-w­anna-cal-it,,higgins-used-to-p­ut-on-d-cue-ball-defied-physic­s,,,he-won-d-worlds-at-his-1st­-attempt-in72,,ronnies-good-ji­mmys-good-higgins-was-special,­,and-considering-his-lifestyle­-2world-titles-his-names-plast­erd-all-ova-the-world-trophy-,­,his-names-all-ova-d-benson-nd­-uk-trophy,,,jimmy-ron-will-ne­ver-be-legends--no1-really-c-t­he-tru-talent-dat-is-higgins-e­arly70s-limited-tv

[squazz]

whats with all the dashes lol, is this suppose to be "gangster" ?

[nazoy]

naa mate ,,not a gangster,,where did d gangster elelment cum into it,,,alll it was,,my space bars fuked if u really wanna no!!!

[squazz]

Haha ok

[DLPBurke]

alex higgins is off the tour and he went off it after short amount of time. Yes he was as naturally gidted but his dedication was not.

Jimmy is therefor a better player than alex.

And when it comes to Ronnie, no one is better, ever...in the history of the sport

[jambamz]

@DLPBurke no your wrong hendry facts and stats dont lie

[DLPBurke]

@jambamz They certainly don't lie, which is why O'Sullivan is ahead in head to head and defeated Hendry 9 in 14 finals. Why O"Sullivan is statistically the greater break builder and why he is able to win majors at the age of 33+, something hendry could not do. Why he was able to make a 147 in 5 min 20, and why he is regarded by Davis, reardon, White, Virgo and others as the greatest player to have ever lived.

[jambamz]

@DLPBurke virgo davis reardon do not say that at all and you know it, they say he is the most naturally gifted player ever, none of them say he is the greatest ever. They all say hendry is the greatest in the sports history. white says alex higgins is the greatest player he ever saw,and hendry has won majors at 33+. what you wrote above about alex not being dedicated applys to ronnie and alas why he will never reach davis/hendrys haul of titles and ronnie being better break builder WTF!!!

[jambamz]

@DLPBurke at stephen hendry of 10 15yr ago would walk all over ronnie,in my view alex higgins is more naturally gifted but thats just my opinion,. seriously though all ronnie fans are the same, blinded by his great natural talent, and fail to see the flaws, davis and hendry at their peak had NO flaws, just potting machines

[DLPBurke]

@jambamz Which is why he also lost head to head from 92-01 and lost 93 UK final to Ronnie, when Ron was 17 years old.

[jambamz]

dude I am not being closed minded, I love all snooker players, ronnie too, although he is a lose cannon just like a. Higgins. I think it is you who is being narro minded. so typical of ronnie fans to dismiss hendry. and what i stated above about virgo et al. happens to be the truth and you know it, head 2 head WTF we are talking major titles hendry is the greatest ever to hold a cue it really is simple. shuch a shame that you cant aknowledge that and please you dont have to call people names

[jambamz]

@Markyboi1992 The players of back then would adapt to current day conditions, there is no doubt about that The point I am trying to get across here is that Ronnie doesnt have the same mental strengths hendry or davis had, if he did then there is a very good chance HE would be remembered as the greatest. But the fact is he doesnt have this mental strength, threfor this is a weakness in his game, a weakness that hendry did not have when he was at his peak

[Markyboi1992]

@jambamz True... but the fact is ronnie has the greatest cue skill, cue controll... , greatest break builder and on form unbeatable... it would be alot harder to work on skill side rather than mental side... although he'll probably never bring that side up to equal with skill, im not even a fan of ronnie i think he doesnt apreciate what hes got... personally i liked paul hunter R.I.P It doesnt matter he hasnt won as much as hendry doesnt make him worse at playing. Hendry had easier decade,

[Markyboi1992]

@jambamz when i was young later 90s-early 00s the likes of dave harold-alan mcmanus had a decent chance of doing well because the standard was much lower. Now they would struggle very hard to make any round 1 and of course they have aged. I dont really remember hendry dominating but i remember when williams was, williams again at his best unbeatable he was dominating and then well what happened?

[jambamz]

@Markyboi1992 thats nonsense hendry was up against white at hios peak back then and look what happened, plus williams is returning to form and beatin the younger so called better players, Hendry in his day was - trust me- just as unbeatable as ronnie is when in full flight just now, just because he is not as fast does not make him worse, as I said the stats dont lie, even ronnie now freely admits that hendry in his peak was the greatest the game has seen

[jambamz]

@Markyboi1992 also ronnie isnt the greatest break builder, hendry is ronnie still has some way to go before he gets close to hendry, and i disagree, (as someone who plays to an average level, the odd century here and there) that it would be harder to train skill over mental strength, snooker is all about mental strength combined with skill of course. Look I'm not dissing ronnie, he is fantastic and only a.higgins comes close for pure raw talent

[stitcha123]

@jambamz do remember thought that ronnies average century count over his career is greater than hendrys. if he continues as long as hendry he shud surpass him

[chocolatemonster07]

i've met Jimmy White and he cleared an exhibition table with a break of 116

[camejo]

Thank you, interesting interview.