Don't think Beardsley was ever underrated by the supporters of any club he played for, they all thought he was a fantastic player, and rightly so.
However, he was not in the same league as Maradona, or Pele, either Ronaldo, Messi etc etc.
The Maradona documentary is on C4 tonight, for anyone who hasn't seen it, they should at least get it recorded, wonderful.
I always think it's very disrespectful to a team to say a player "singlehandedly" won anything, but if were ever the case, Maradona is the example.
Napoli had never won a Scudetto before he arrived. They won two in four years once he had settled there, one season doing their domestic double. They also won the UEFA Cup.
His stats at the 86 World Cup are ridiculous. He scored or assisted more Argentina goals than the rest of the team combined. Look up where the rest of that squad played their club football, they had no right to be even challenging for a World Cup.
He almost pulled off the same at Italia 90.
Maradona's legacy and career is not defined by a handball, the same as Shearer's is not defined by booting Neil Lennon in the head.
All football fans worldwide would have Maradona in their top five, or three, of all time greats. I'd be surprised if anyone outside of Newcastle (and maybe Liverpool), would have Beardsley in their top 50.
Love Beardsley, greatest NUFC player in my lifetime, not good enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Maradona though.
No shame in that.