Sunday, May 23, 2021

East of England All-Time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Geoff Hurst grew up in Chelmsford, Essex


* I made an exceptional case to include Terry Butcher and Geoff Hurst on this team.  

The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region. Bedford, Luton, Basildon, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Cambridge are the region's most populous towns.

East of England's top representatives in the English football league system today are Ipswich Town, Norwich City, Watford, and Luton Town, who have competed in the top flight at various points.  At the time of writing, around 75 players born in the region has played for England.  It has the second lowest number of all 9 regions of England. 

This is the all-time team for players born in East of England.  Birthplace is the criteria for selection for this team. If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament. 

Team
GK: Gary Bailey (Suffolk)
Gary Bailey started his career with Wits University in Johannesburg. He paid his own fare to Manchester for a trial with Manchester United. He established himself as United goalkeeper in the late 1970s. He won FA Cup medals in 1983 and 1985.  He later played with Kaizer Chiefs, before retiring in 1990. For England, he was only capped twice due to playing at the same time as Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence.  He was the backup goalkeeper at the 1986 World Cup Finals.

GK: David James (Hertfordshire)
At the time of writing, David James is the third all-time Premier league appearance record holder. He starred for Liverpool as one of the "Spice Boys".  However, his reputation suffered after a series of blunders, earning the nickname of "Calamity James".  He picked up 53 caps for England.  He was the starting keeper at the European Champions in 2004 and the World Cup Finals in 2010.
David James
GK: Ian Walker (Watford)
Walker was remembered for his career for Tottenham Hotspurs, where he played from 1989 to 2001 with loan spells during that period.  He won the League Cup in 1999.  He also played for Leicester City and Bolten Wanderers. For England, he was once projected to be the starter, but he only managed 4 caps. He was a backup at Euro 1996 and 2004. 

RB: Danny Mills (Norwich)
Danny Mills was known for his career with Leeds United between 1999 and 2004. He played a part in helping Leeds reach the 2000/01 Champions League Semi-final. He also played Norwich, Charlton Athletic, Hulls City, Derby County and Manchester City. Between 2001 and 2004, he was capped 19 times.  He was the starting rightback at the 2002 World Cup Finals.

CB: Gareth Southgate (Watford)
Gareth Southgate won the League Cup with both Aston Villa and Middlesbrough (in 1995–96 and 2003–04 respectively, and as captain), and captaining Crystal Palace to win the First Division championship in 1993–94. He also reached an FA Cup and UEFA Cup final as a player, and made 57 appearances for the England national team, featuring in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and both the 1996 and 2000 European Championships. 
Gareth Southgate
CH/LWH/LW: Arthur Grimsdell (Watford) 
Grimsdell played at centre-half and later wing-half for Tottenham Hotspur (1912 to 1929) and England. He captained both teams during the 1920s.  He was also a cricketer who played for Hertfordshire County Cricket Club at minor counties level. He was considered a sports personality of his era, featuring on footballer cigarette cards and interviewed for sports magazines.

CB: Terry Butcher (Singapore-born but grew up in Suffolk)
Butcher was one of England's greatest defenders. He captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that featured three World Cups. Butcher also enjoyed success in his club career, particularly with Ipswich Town and Rangers. With Ipswich, he was a part of Bobby Robson's team that won the UEFA Cup in 1981. In 1986, he joined Rangers as one of the first wave of English players playing for Graeme Souness' Rangers in the 1980's.
Terry Butcher
CB: Maurice Norman (Norfolk)
Norman began his career at Norwich City. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 1955. He was an integral part of Bill Nicholson's Double-winning Tottenham team of 1960–61 that went on to retain the FA Cup in 1962, and win the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup. At international level, he was capped 23 times for England, including in the 1962 World Cup. He was also a member of the England squad at the 1958 World Cup, but did not play.

CB: Matthew Upton (Suffolk)
In 1997, Matthew Upton joined Arsenal from Luton Town, but he never found successes there.  After playing for Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Reading on loans, he found successes playing with Birmingham City and later West Ham.  Between 2003 and 2010, he played 21 times for England.  He participated in the 2010 World Cup Finals, where he scored two goals.  He was actually England's joint top scorer at the Finals.

LB/LW: Ashley Young (Hertfordshire)
Ashley Young started his career at Watford.  In January 2007, he transferred to Aston Villa.  He established himself in the first team at Villa Park and won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2009. In 2011, Young signed for Manchester United for an undisclosed fee. He has gone on to win every trophy available in English football.  From 2007 to 2008, Young has 39 caps England.  He was on the 2018 World Cup team as well as Euro 2012.
Ashley Young
CM/DM: Tim Sherwood (Hertfordshire)
Tim Sherwood played for Norwich and Watford before joining Blackburn Rovers in 1992.  He was captain of Blackburn Rovers' Premier League title-winning side in 1995.  He was on the PFA Team of the Year for the 1994–95 season. He later played for Tottenham Hotspurs, Portsmouth and Coventry.  He played 3 times for England in 1999 at the age of 30.

CM: Jack Wilshere (Hertfordshire)
Wilshere made his first-team debut in 2008, becoming Arsenal's youngest ever league debutant at the age of 16 years, 256 days. Wilshere won  thbePFA Young Player of the Year award, selection to the 2010–11 PFA Team of the Year, and Arsenal's Player of the Season awardduring the 2010–11 season.  However, injuries affected his career.  He also played for West Ham. and Between 2010 and 2016, he earned 34 caps.

CM: Brian Talbot (Suffolk)
Talbot began his football career with Ipswich Town during which he spent two seasons on loan with Toronto Metros before turning professional in 1972.  He won the 1977–78 FA Cup with the club.  In 1979, Talbot moved to Arsenal.  He scored in that year's FA Cup final, making him the first player for more than 100 years to win the FA Cup with two different teams in consecutive seasons. From 1977 to 1980, he played 6 times for England.

AM: Adam Lallana (Hertfordshire) 
From 2006 to 2014, Lallana played for Southampton with a loan spell in AFC Bournemouth.  He was on the PFA Team of the Year for the 2013-2014.  He then played for Liverpool from 2014 to 2020.  He was named England Player of the year in 2016.  He also played for Brighton. Lallana has made over 30 appearances for England and represented them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.
 
RM/CM/AM: Kieron Dyer (Suffolk)
Kieron Dyer played for his home club Ipswich Town FC from 1996 to 1999 before joining Newcastle United for Ipswich club record fee for a player sale in 1999.  He played for them until 2007.  Later, he played for West Ham, QPR and Middlesbrough before retiring.  From 1999 to 2007, he made 33 times for England.  He played in the 2002 World Cup Finals and the 2004 European Championship, but all as a substitute.  
Kieron Dyer 
OR/OL: Alf Kirchen (Norfolk)
From 1934 to 1935, Kirchen played for his hometown club Norwich. He then played for Arsenal between 1935 and 1943.  The Second World War intervened just as he was reaching the peak of his career. Kirchen served in the Royal Air Force as a PT instructor.  For England, he was capped 3 times between 1935 and 1937. He scored 2 goals for England on a 1937 tour of Scandinavia, 

FW/LW: Ian Storey-Moore (Suffolk)
Storey-Moore was playing junior football in Scunthorpe before he joined Nottingham Forrest in 1961. From 1972 to 1974, he played for Manchester United, but an injury ended his career.  He had brief stint everywhere after 1974. Storey-Moore played once for England against Netherlands in 1970.  He was voted in the Best XI for Nottingham Forest.

FW: Nevill Cobbold (Suffolk) 
"Nuts" Cobbold was a Victorian era football and was described as "the most famous association football forward of all time" his Times obituary.  As well as playing for the Long Medford village team, he also represented Cambridge University, Old Carthusians, and the Corinthians.  From 1883 to 1887, he played 9 times for England, scoring 6 goals.  

ST: Kevin Philips (Hertfordshire)
Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy. He also had spells at Watford, Southampton, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, Blackpool, Crystal Palace, and Leicester City.   Phillips made eight appearances for England between 1999 and 2002.
Kevin Philips
CF: Vic Watson (Cambridgeshire)
Watson played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and 1936. Hyde is the club's record goalscorer with 326 goals with 298 league and 28 FA cup. 203 of his league goals were from 295 top flight appearances. He played one season (1935–36) with Southampton before retiring. With England, he had 5 caps, scoring 4 goals between 1923 and 1930.

FW: Rodney Marsh (Hertfordshire)
A youth product for West Ham United before he made his professional debut with Fulham in March 1963.  He transferred to Queens Park Rangers in 1966. He helped the club to the 1967 League Cup and to consecutive promotions through the Third Division and Second Division. In March 1972 he was sold to Manchester City.  He played for Tampa Bay Rowdies.  Capped 9 times.
 
ST: Sir Geoff Hurst (Born Lancaster, but grew up in Chelmsford, Essex)
Sir Geoff Hurst was best known for scoring a hat trick at the 1966 World Cup Final against West Germany.  He also played in following World Cup Finals in Mexico.  He remains the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. He played 490 times in total for England.  His club career was spent mainly with West Ham and Stoke City.  He also had a stint in NASL with Seattle Sounders in 1976.
 
ST Kerry Dixon (Luton)
After spells with Chesham United, Dunstable and Reading in the lower division, he signed with Chelsea in 1983, which was then in the 2nd division. He led them to first division in his first season.  For Chelsea, his 193 goals across all competitions made him their third-highest goalscorer of all time.  Dixon scored four goals in eight international appearances for England and represented the nation at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Kerry Dixon 
Honorable Mention
George Raikes, Roy Bailey, Nick Pope, Richard Wright, Charles Plumpton Wilson, David Bentley, Trevor Whymark, Frank Broome, Andrew Johnson, Johnny Brooks, Frank Sparks, Clement Mitchell, Peter Taylor, Barry Bridges, Harry Winks.

Squad Explanation
--About 75 players born in the region has played for England at the time of writing. I need to select 23 players which meant about one third of them were on the team.  So the player's pool is very limited.   Of course, I also looked into uncapped players.
-- Today, Essex is a part of East of England.  However, before 1965, Essex was considered to be parts of South East England.  After 1965, parts of Essex were assigned to the Great London area.  The rest of Essex remained in South East England until 1994 when East of England was created and Essex joined the region. Bobby Moore, Frank Lampard Sr., George Male, Martin Peters, Trevor Brooking and Tony Parker were born in parts of Essex that were never a part of East of England.  They are not eligible for this team.  Players born in areas of Essex that are currently located in East of England are eligible. 
Moore and Peters came from a part of Essex not belonging to this region
-- The region now known as East of England was partially considered East Anglia, but Essex was not East Anglia.  It is only East of England.
-- Terry Butcher was born in Singapore, but he grew up in Suffolk.  His father was with the Navy.  Geoff Hurst grew up in Chelmsford, Essex.  Normally, I only used birthplace rule for this type of blog team. I am sure that more footballers have similar stories and I could not go through millions of footballers from around the world to find their childhood stories.  However, East of England was relatively weak in football. It needs big-time players.  So I make exceptions for Geoff Hurst and Terry Butcher.  They are probably the best ever footballers from this region.  Gary Bailey was born in the region, but grew up in South Africa. He actually had lesser ties to the region than Butcher and Hurst.  However, it is his birthright to be included onto this team.
-- Gary Bailey and David James were well-known goalkeepers at their time.  Both Ian Walker and Richard Wright were projected to be England's next great goalkeeper, but they never lived up to the tag.  Walker only earned 4 caps, but he is probably the region's third greatest goalkeeper. I took Walker over Wright because he played more Preimership games than Wright.  I seriously considered Nick Pope. George Raikes from the 19th Century was more of a cricket player.  Gary's father Roy Bailey made honorable mention.  He was an all-time with Ipswich, a local club.
-- Danny Mill and Ashley Young are the only fullbacks I actually found.  Both were good backs at their time. Arthur Grimsdell (Watford) was a center-half which meant centre back, but in his times, the center-half also covered the flanks.  Matthew Upson could cover the leftback position and Gareth Southgate the rightback.
-- F-1 driver Lewis Hamilton and Ashley Young went to The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School and played together in the school team.
-- In the middle, Terry Butcher, Gareth Southgate and Maurice Norman are obvious choices.  Arthur Grimsdell the center-half is my 4th pick.  Then, I took a 5th central back Matthew Upton, He was probably the most famous player left in the pool.
-- This team lacks a true defensive midfielder.  So Tim Sherwood was drafted into the team.  He captained Blackburn Rovers as they won the Preimership in the 1994-1995 season. He was named on the PFA Team of the Year for that season.  He does have merits.
-- Brian Talbot was a work horse/box-to-box midfielder.  He was an all-timer at Ipswich, a local club.
-- The last two spots of the team were between David Bentley, Jack Wilshere and Alf Kirchen.  I took Wilshere and Kirchen.
-- Alf Kirchen's career was interrupted by the WWII at the peak of his career in Arsenal.  We don't really know how good he was. But according to his obituary in the Guardian, he had played 269 times for Arsenal, scoring 167 goals, which was an impressive stats.  For his games with England, he played as an outside left because Sir Stanley Matthews played on the right.  He was comfortable with both sides of the wing.
-- Earlier in his career, Jack Wilshere has earned a number of accolades including the PFA Young Player of the Year award, selection to the 2010–11 PFA Team of the Year, and Arsenal's Player of the Season award. He was hyped up after Arsenal beat Barcelona and he had a wonderful performance.  However, due to injuries and other issues, Wilshere has struggled after a few good seasons.  Because the region lacks quality midfielders, he still earned a place on the team. As compared to Bentley and Kirchen, he did have a few seasons at the very peak of the English football. 
-- Right Winger David Bentley retired from football at the age of 29 when he was still at his peak. His career was just about a few good seasons with Blackburn Rovers. He was much lesser known than Jack Wilshere.  
-- At the time of writing, Adam Lallana has fallen out of favorite in Liverpool.  But he was on the Premier League team of the year (2013-2014).  He was also FA England Player of the year in 2016.
-- Kieron Dyer came through the ranks of Ipswich Town full of talents and later starred for Newcastle United, but his career was somewhat known for being a spoiled footballer,  He was best remembered for his on-pitch fight with his teammate Lee Bowyer.  Nevertheless, he was good player at one point in his career.  He made PFA Team of the Year in 2002-2003.  Besides, I do not have someone who can play on the right. 
-- The region actually has a few players who could not live up to expectation namely Richard Wright, Ian Walker, Jack Wilshere, Kieron Dyer, etc.  Even Rodney Marsh's career was marked with inconsistency.
-- Rodney Marsh was full of talents, but he was ignored by England.
--Winger Robert Hawkes was an all-timer with Luton. He became their first international player, and competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics winning the Gold medal.  But I only put him on honorable mention.
-- Left winger/Forward Ian Storey-Moore is on my Nottingham Forest All-Time team.  He scored over 100 goals for them. Furthermore, I needed a left winger.
-- The region lacks a big time international forwards.  The inclusion of Geoff Hurst significantly boosted this team. None of the forwards selected played much international football. Vic Watson, Rodney Marsh, Kevin Philips and Kerry Dixon were all famous club players in the modern era.  Then, I added Nuts" Cobbold.  He was one of the leading footballers of the Victorian era.  As late as 1922, at the time of his death, he could be described as "the most famous association football forward of all time", and certainly – in the words of his Times obituary 
-- Kevin Philips' peak moment was basically that one season when he won the European Golden Booth for the 1999-2000 season.  However, that should be enough to put him on this team.
-- Kerry Dixon shared with Gary Lineker of Leicester the Division One Golden Boot in the 1984-85 season. At that point, he was seen as Lineker's equal. In the next twelve months, Lineker emerged as one of England's greats.  He was a year younger than Lineker.  He was of same age as Mark Hateley. The trio went to the 1986 World Cup Finals.  Bobby Robson began with Lineker and Hateley, but that did not work out.  He then preferred the pairing of Peter Beardsley and Lineker.  Basically, Dixon's World Cup appearance was only 6 minutes against Mexico. His international career was also very limited due to playing at the same time as Lineker, Hateley and Beardsley.
-- Vic Watson managed 13 hat-tricks while at West Ham.  He is on my West Ham All-time team. 
-- Center forward Clement Mitchell scored 5 goals in 5 caps for England in the 19th century.   Francis Sparks also scored 3 goals in 3 caps.  But I just don't know about them.  So I preferred the more modern attackers. 
-- Charles Plumpton Wilson was one of only three players to be capped for England at both Association football and rugby football. He made honorable mention.  
-- During his time as a player with Crystal Palace during the 1970s, Peter Taylor became one of the few players to have been selected for the senior England team when not playing in the top two flights of a domestic league.  He was put on honorable mention.

Formation
5-3-2 or 3-5-2
I made use of the three great central defenders on the team as well as Ashley Young the wingback by using a 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 formation. I trusted Garey Bailey over David James.  Southgate has a good technical attributes for a centerback. He would move forward if necessary. Tim Sherwood's defensive presence is needed on the team. Keiron Dyer famously refused to play for Bobby Robson in Newcastle against Middlesbrough in 2004, but Dyer later explained that it was not about not wanting to play on the position . I do not mind playing Kerry Dixon or Nevill Cobbold over Watson.  Cobbold was described as an inside left.






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