The most admired person in Great Britain is........

[The Camel]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

LOL, that is a very silly argument.

[Woodsey]

Sir Jonathan Peter Wilkinson.

[DaveShoelace]

I would have thought Thatcher would have been a shoe in for the list tbh.....

[arbboy]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

[teddybloat]

and i think a person to be admired.

humble roots, dedicated to excellence and making the absolute best of himself. noted for staying back after training and practicing hitting a ball over and over on his own, he wasnt gifted anything he worked for his success. and he does an incredible amount of work for charity and ambassadorial work for football and his country.

people say is over-rated, and that without his looks and lifestyle people wouldnt have held him in such high-regard. utter poppycock, if anything his looks and lifestyle overshadowed his ability. he is regarded by his peers on the continent as possessing a technique and footballing brain to be jealous of, and is seen as far exceeding his fellow english players in that regard. he ran games for united from the right wing, and they had keane and scholes in the middle.

and he is sooo dreamy, innit.

[mulhuzz]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

relative to the population, it's his genetics. which is obv the only thing worth comparing against.

the point is that the queen also works hard and does a very strange and difficult job rather well imo. yet people say 'well she's only there because of birth'....yeah, well so is Beckham by the same argument -  which obviously isn't true.

[arbboy]

and i think a person to be admired.

humble roots, dedicated to excellence and making the absolute best of himself. noted for staying back after training and practicing hitting a ball over and over on his own, he wasnt gifted anything he worked for his success. and he does an incredible amount of work for charity and ambassadorial work for football and his country.

people say is over-rated, and that without his looks and lifestyle people wouldnt have held him in such high-regard. utter poppycock, if anything his looks and lifestyle overshadowed his ability. he is regarded by his peers on the continent as possessing a technique and footballing brain to be jealous of, and is seen as far exceeding his fellow english players in that regard. he ran games for united from the right wing, and they had keane and scholes in the middle.

and he is sooo dreamy, innit.

I agree with your post 100% until the bolded bit.   Think you are getting a little carried away at this point.  Think you are describing Scholes in the last paragraph.

[kinboshi]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

I'm one of Paula Radcliffe's biggest fans, and the work and commitment she has put in its incredible. But to say she has no natural talent is inaccurate. She was an outstanding runner before she was a teenager. She's a gifted athlete. I agree that she's made the most of her talent and she's also had to overcome obstacles, including exercise-induced asthma.

She's definitely made the most of the good hand she was dealt.

[teddybloat]

its not just my opinion but that of his real madrid's teammates, his england team-mates, united teamates etc etc. infact i have not seen any of his peers describe his technque / abilty using anything other than superlative praise.

scholes himself recently waxed lyrical about beckhams technique:

"When you play football at the highest level for long enough, at close quarters with the best players day in, day out, you notice the small but significant differences in style and technique. You could compare kicking a football to a golf swing. Those footballers who really know how to address the ball have the full repertoire. They can whip a football with bend on it or hit a straight ping with no deviation either way. They don’t need three attempts to get it right, either.

David Beckham was the best I ever saw, the most natural striker of a ball I played with"


you arent born with that technique. it is honed over many years of dedication. theres nothing innate, you dont get success in sport handed to you by virtue of entering the world out of a particular vagina. its a strict and often unsentimental meritocarcy

[arbboy]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

I'm one of Paula Radcliffe's biggest fans, and the work and commitment she has put in its incredible. But to say she has no natural talent is inaccurate. She was an outstanding runner before she was a teenager. She's a gifted athlete. I agree that she's made the most of her talent and she's also had to overcome obstacles, including exercise-induced asthma.

She's definitely made the most of the good hand she was dealt.

I was at lboro uni the same years as she was and her dedication to training was incredible.  She somehow managed to get a first as well in her degree.  She clearly has a level of natural talent but nowhere near enough to get to where she has without literally 100% maxing every ounce of that talent.  There must have been hundreds of runners as talented as her/more talented as a teenager but the work ethic gets them to the very top.  I find it amazing how elite athletes find the motivation to stay so far ahead of the game for 20 odd years day in day out. 

[RED-DOG]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

I'm one of Paula Radcliffe's biggest fans, and the work and commitment she has put in its incredible. But to say she has no natural talent is inaccurate. She was an outstanding runner before she was a teenager. She's a gifted athlete. I agree that she's made the most of her talent and she's also had to overcome obstacles, including exercise-induced asthma.

She's definitely made the most of the good hand she was dealt.

I was at lboro uni the same years as she was and her dedication to training was incredible.  She somehow managed to get a first as well in her degree.  She clearly has a level of natural talent but nowhere near enough to get to where she has without literally 100% maxing every ounce of that talent.  There must have been hundreds of runners as talented as her/more talented as a teenager but the work ethic gets them to the very top.  I find it amazing how elite athletes find the motivation to stay so far ahead of the game for 20 odd years day in day out. 

Perhaps that work ethic, strength of mind, dedication and determination are also genetic traits, i.e, an accident of birth?

[BorntoBubble]

The old nature/nurture debate

[kinboshi]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

I'm one of Paula Radcliffe's biggest fans, and the work and commitment she has put in its incredible. But to say she has no natural talent is inaccurate. She was an outstanding runner before she was a teenager. She's a gifted athlete. I agree that she's made the most of her talent and she's also had to overcome obstacles, including exercise-induced asthma.

She's definitely made the most of the good hand she was dealt.

I was at lboro uni the same years as she was and her dedication to training was incredible.  She somehow managed to get a first as well in her degree.  She clearly has a level of natural talent but nowhere near enough to get to where she has without literally 100% maxing every ounce of that talent.  There must have been hundreds of runners as talented as her/more talented as a teenager but the work ethic gets them to the very top.  I find it amazing how elite athletes find the motivation to stay so far ahead of the game for 20 odd years day in day out. 

Perhaps that work ethic, strength of mind, dedication and determination are also genetic traits, i.e, an accident of birth?

A combination of nature and nurture are definitely part of that dedication and determination.  There are those with a natural talent who squander it for whatever reason.  There are those who have everything 'gifted' to them and for some reason have a self-destruct button that means they don't achieve what they were capable of.

For any successful sportsperson, it's a combination of natural sporting/athletic talent and dedication and determination to make the most of it.  I remember watching a video I had in the late 80s of Michael Jordan, who was obviously a phenomenal talent.  It was talking about him being cut from his school basketball team one year, going away for months to train hard to get his place in the side.  They also mentioned that he grew 4-inches during that time period!  The question is would he have made the grade if only one of these things had happened? 

[kinboshi]

I admire the Queen, and to some extent all of the Royal Family, greatly

To admit so on here (which must be a very unusal place for a collection of British people in being quite anti-royal. Perhaps supporters just keep their traps shut) sometimes seems to open you up to ridicule and occasionally abuse though

Apart from being born and living until she's old, what has she done to warrant admiration?

You can admire and support the idea of the monarchy, but to admire that woman when she is only in her position by accident of birth is perverse.

do you admire David Beckham? Mo Farah? Anybody ever?

Yes, I admire both of those two guys.

They are talented, extremely hard working and excellent role models for children. I'd struggle to find two guys in England I admire more.

Why?

they are both elite athletes by the perverse reason of their genetics.

Beckham is certainly not an elite 'athlete' by his genetics.  That's just a stupid thing to say.  His natural talent/natural athletic ability is tiny in comparison to most footballers.  He is a classic example (alongside Gary Neville/Paula Radcliffe amongst other elite level UK sports people) of getting to the top through hard work and graft and nothing else.  In Beckham's case his carefully crafted image off the field has had a lot more to do with it on top of the hard work put in.

I'm one of Paula Radcliffe's biggest fans, and the work and commitment she has put in its incredible. But to say she has no natural talent is inaccurate. She was an outstanding runner before she was a teenager. She's a gifted athlete. I agree that she's made the most of her talent and she's also had to overcome obstacles, including exercise-induced asthma.

She's definitely made the most of the good hand she was dealt.

I was at lboro uni the same years as she was and her dedication to training was incredible.  She somehow managed to get a first as well in her degree.  She clearly has a level of natural talent but nowhere near enough to get to where she has without literally 100% maxing every ounce of that talent.  There must have been hundreds of runners as talented as her/more talented as a teenager but the work ethic gets them to the very top.  I find it amazing how elite athletes find the motivation to stay so far ahead of the game for 20 odd years day in day out. 

She's probably the greatest British athlete of all time, and without doubt she's earned that through her hard work.

[ripple11]

 I think she's a terrific ambassador for the UK, has fulfilled her duty for over 60 years home and abroad through enormous social, demographic and economic change and through it all gives Britain a long-held standing in the world.

Nail head