Friday, March 20, 2020

Dutch players with surname starting with "Van" 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


Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Rafael van der Vaart 




Some of the best posts from this blog have been turned into a two-volume book: The Multiverse of the Beautiful Game: National Teams of Pure Fantasy.

Volume 1 takes you back in time and asks the questions every football fan has dreamed about. What if Brazil had a more beautiful team in 1982 — would they have cruised to the title? What if the United Kingdom could send its team to the 1970 World Cup? I believe they would have been the strongest side on earth. What if Argentina had fielded both Omar Sivori and Alfredo Di Stéfano together in 1958? What if Johan Cruyff had lined up alongside Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard? What if Eusébio had played for Brazil? And that's only scratching the surface — Volume 1 is packed with legendary "what ifs" that will keep you turning pages.

Volume 2 brings the fantasy closer to home. What if England had Michael Olise, Erling Haaland and others in 2026 — could they go all the way? What if Yugoslavia had gone to the World Cup in 2018? What if the United States could select more players in 2010? It would be the greatest American side ever. And what if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had actually played for the same national team in 2006? It could have happened — if the soccer gods had smiled on us.

*** Both Volume One and Volume Two are available now on Amazon. ***





Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Netherlands
Surnamese-Dutch,
North Holland, South Holand.
The rest of Netherlands excluding North and South Holland
Netherlands All-Time Team After Johan Cruyff
Netherlands 2002
Netherlands before Johan Cruyff (BC)
Dutch-Indos/Indonesia-born Dutch All-Time Team
Netherlands Euro 1984
It's Miller/Muller time
All Diegos Team
Italian players with surname ending with an "i"
Ronaldo, Ronald, Ronnie, Ron, etc All-Time team
Brazilian footballers who shared names with historical figures

"Van" is a preposition in the Dutch and Afrikaans languages, meaning "of" or "from" depending on the context (similar to de and di in the Romance languages).

"van" is a very common prefix in Dutch language surnames, where it is known as a tussenvoegsel. In those cases it nearly always refers to a certain, often quite distant, ancestor's place of origin or residence; for example, Ludwig van Beethoven "from Bettenhoven" and Rembrandt van Rijn "from the Rhine".


In surnames, it can appear by itself or in combination with an article (compare French de la, de l'). The most common cases of this are "van de", "van der" and "van den", where the articles are all current or archaic forms of the article de "the". Less common are van het and van 't, which use the similar but grammatically neuter article het. The contraction ver- or van der is also common and can be written as a single word with the rest of the surname; an example being Johannes Vermeer (van der meer "of the lake").

This is my selection of the  all-time 23 member team for Dutch players with "Van" as a part of their surnames.  All players here has chosen to represent the Netherlands.

Team
GK: Edwin Van Der Sar 
Van Der Sar is the most capped player in Holland's history with 130 caps.  He went to 1994, 1998 and 2006 World Cup and Euro 1996, 2000 and 2004.  He was best remembered for being the Ajax keeper in 1995 that won the Champions' League and then, later for Manchester United for 6 seasons.  He won the Champions' League in 2007-2008. In between, he also played with Fulham and Juventus.
Edwin Van der Sar

GK:  Jan Van Beveren
Jan van Beveren was considered one of the best keepers in the 1970's.  In 1970, Van Beveren joined PSV Eindhoven, where he won three Eredivisie titles, two domestic cups and the UEFA Cup in 1978. His career with the national team was cut short because of a feud with Johan Cruyff. He did not go to the World Cup Finals in 1974 as a result.

GK: Hans Van Breukelen 
Hans Van Breukelen started his career with FC Utrecht and then, Nottingham Forest.  He moved to PSV in 1984, where he became a star.  For the national team, he was a fixture since 1980.  However, he did not help the Oranje to reach a major touranemt until in 1988, where they won the first ever trophy for the Dutch national team. He had 73 caps.

RB: Berry van Aerle
Berry Van Aerle spent 13 years with PSV Eindhoven, helping them to five leagues, which he helped capture the 1988 European Cup.  For the national team, he earned 35 senior caps.  He helped Netherlands to win European Champion in 1988.  It was the first ever international trophy won by Netherlands He was also selected for the 1990 World Cup and the European Championship in 1992. 
Berry van Aerle
RB: Sjef van Run 
Born 1904, Sjef van Run was capped 25 times in the 1930's.  He played for the Dutch National team in the 1934 World Cup Finals, held in France. For his club career, he played his entire career with PSV Eindhoven, appearing in 359 league matches between 1926 and 1942. He died in 1973 at the age of 69.

CB: Virgil van Dijk 
Van Dijk started with Groningen before he moved to Celtic in 2013. In S2015, he joined Southampton before signing for Liverpool in 2018 for £75 million, a world record transfer fee for a defender. Van Dijk was named the PFA Player of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season for the 2018–19 season. Van Dijk starred as Liverpool won the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final where he was named man of the match. From 2015 onward, he played for Netherlands and was named captain.
Virgil van Dijk 
CB: Henk van der Linden
Van der Linden joined AFC Ajax from AVV TOG in 1939. During the Second World War, he moved played for Be Quick. After the war, he returned to Ajax. He made his debut with the Dutch national team in 1946 against Luxembourg. The central defender was captain of Oranje in two international matches in 1947.  In total, he had 7 caps.

CB: Michel van de Korput
At age 15, Van de Korput joined Feyenoord.  In 1974, shortly before his eighteenth birthday, he made his debut with the first team of Feyenoord.  Between 1980 and 1983, he played for Torino in Italy.  Then, he rejoined Feyenoord.  He was a part of Johan Cruyff's league winning season with Feyenoord.  He played 23 times for the Netherlands.

CB: Cor Van der Hart 
He became the third Dutch player in history to play board and one of the first professional player in Holland when he joined Lille in 1950.  Before that, he played for Ajax.  Widely considered one of the best Dutch defender in history.  He had 44 caps, but the cap total largely was limited because the KNVB suspended all players that left the country to play professional football. 

LB/DM:  Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst played for Netherlands in three World Cups, in 1998, 2006 and 2010, as well as three European Championships, in 2000, 2004 and 2008.  He was the captain of Netherlands at World Cup 2010, where Netherlands finished second.  It was his last international match. He played 106 times for Netherlands  He also played club football with Feyenoord, Barcelona, Arsenal and Rangers. 
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst 
LB: Adri Van Tiggelen 
Adri Van Toggelen was the starting left back at Euro 1988, where Holland won its first major international trophy.  He earned 56 caps.  He also went to the World Cup Finals in 1990 and European Championship in 1992.  He played mainly for Sparta Rotterdam early on in his career.  He later moved to Anderlectd and PSV.

DM: Mark van Bommel 
In Holland, Mark van Bommel's career was associated PSV Eindhoven, where he had two separated stints.  However, his most famous part of his career was spent with Bayern Munich. He was their first ever non-German captain.  He played 79 times for Holland and was a main player as Holland reached the Final of the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa. 

CM: Willy van de Kerkhof 
Overall, Willy Van de Kerkhof appeared 63 times for his country.  He was a member of the 1974 World Cup team, but it was the 1978 World Cup Finals, where he carried the team to the Final against the host Argentina.  His twin brother Rene was also a part of the 1978 team.  For his club career, he played for FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven.
Willy van de Kerkhof 
CM/LM: Puck Van Heel 
Puck Van Heel was an inside-left and left wing-half in the 1930's. He spent his entire career with Feyenoord.  He was a cornerstone of the Feyenoord success preceding the World War II, winning five Eredivisie Championships and two KNVB Cups. During his time there, he became the team captain for the club. He was capped 64 times, a record until 1979.  He went to the World Cup finals in 1934 and 1938. 

CM: Willem Van Hanegem 
In the Netherlands, Willem Van Hanegem was widely considered the second best Dutch player in the 1970's and perhaps, the greatest player for Feyenoord. He won the European Cup with Feyenoord in 1970.  He was capped 52 times between 1968 and 1979.  He was an important player at the World Cup Finals in 1974, but he missed the WC Finals in 1978.  He also played in NASL.  His nickname was  De Kromme (The Crooked). 
Willem Van Hanegem

RW: Rene van de kerkhof 
Willy's twin brother.  His best year was in 1978 while playing for PSV.  He was the runners-up at the World Cup, he also won the UEFA Cup, the Dutch championship and the KNVB Beker.  He also played in Hong Kong.  Before the 1978 World Cup final, the opponent Argentinians objected to the cast he wore on his injured forearm which delayed his participation in the Final.

LW: John van 't Schip 
Born in Canada, Van 't Schip began his career in the Jong Ajax youth academy. He would spend the next 11 seasons with the club. During this period he became league champion in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1990, and cup champion in 1983, 1986 and 1987. He also helped Ajax win the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 1992 UEFA Cup. After Ajax's UEFA Cup victory, he was bought by Italian team Genoa, where he played four seasons.

AM: Willy van der Kuijlen 
In 1964, he was signed by PSV. Van der Kuijlen ended up playing for the club 18 years, winning three Eredivisie titles, two domestic cups and the UEFA Cup in 1978. He was also crowned Eredivisie top scorer three times. After short periods with MVV Maastricht and Overpelt, he retired at age 37.  Capped 22 times.  His international career was limited due to his clashes with Johan Cruyff.

AM: Rafael van der Vaart 
Rafael Van der Vaart began his career at AFC Ajax's youth academy and worked his way into the first team. He moved to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV, then to Real Madrid, then on to Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Hamburg in 2012. He earned 109 caps for the Netherlands between 2001 and 2013. He represented the nation at three European Championships and two World Cups.
Rafael van der Vaart 
ST: Robin Van Persie 
Robin Van Persie started with Feyenoord, but was known for his career playing in England. He spent 8 seasons with Arsenal, winning both PFA and FWA Player of the Year in 2011-2012.  Immediately after winning the two awards, he made a controversial transfer to rival Manchester United. At the time of writing, he has earned 102 caps, helping Holland to finish second in 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.

ST:  Marco Van Basten 
Marco Van Basten was probably the second best Dutch player and among the best striker in football's history.  He won the Ballon d'Or three times.  He led Oranje to the victory at Euro 1988 scoring 5 goals at the tournament.  His goal in the Final is considered one of the best in history of the tournament. He started his career with Ajax.  He also won two European Cups with AC Milan, a club team that was considered the best ever.  
Marco Van Basten
ST: Cor van der Gijp
Cor Van der Gijp made his professional debut at SC Emma. From 1955 to 1964,  he played for Feyenoord.  He is their all-time leading scorer. From 1964 to 1967, he plated for Blauw Wit.  He played 13 times for the Dutch national team between 1954 and 1961. He represented them at the 1952 Olympic Games.

ST: Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Ruud Van Nistelrooy was a prolific goal scorer. He won the top scorer award in three different European domestic leagues. He started with PSV Eindhoven.  He spent 5 seasons with Manchester United where he was voted as their best player twice.  With Real Madrid, he finished second as the European Golden Boot. Van Nistelrooy earned 70 caps and scored 35 goals for the Netherlands. He played in 2006 World Cup and two European Championship. 
Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Honorable Mention
Dolf van Kol, Cees van Ierssel,  Ulrich van Gobbel, Theo van Duivenbod,  Henk van der Linden, Piere van Hooijdonk, Dick van Dijk, Gregory van der Wiel, Gerald Vanenburg, Peter van Vossen, Piet van der Kuil, Andy Van De Melde, Joop van Nellen, Fons van Wissen, Tonny van der Linden, Noud van Melis, René van der Gijp, Lothar van Gogh, Jan van Schijndel,  Dolf van Kol.

Squad Explanation
--  Edwin Van Der Sar, Jan Van Beveren and Hans Van Breukelen were obvious choices.  They took the top three spots. Piet Van Reenen is the all-time leading scorer for Ajax.Gejus van der Meulen was the fourth keeper.  He held the Dutch cap record for goalkeepers from 3 March 1928 until 21 June 1990.  He fell into disgrace in the late 1940s due to his collaboration with Nazi Germany.  Adri van Male was also considered.
-- Lothar van Gogh was a full cousin of Vincent van Gogh.  He played twice for Holland.  I do not know much about him.  I selected him based his interesting background.
-- Gerald Vanenburg was not considered a part of the "Van" team.  LOL.  I put him on honorable mention for fun.
-- Virgil van Dijk is one of the best player in the world as of 2020.  He finished second in the Ballon d'or, an award that should be given to him in 2019.  No many defender finished so high in the award.
--  Cor Van der Hart was a pioneer in Dutch football. He was one of the first players to play outside of the Netherlands.
-- The team lacked a suitable 4th centerback.  Henk van der Linden who is my 4th back was the only name I came across.  I also found Dolf van Kol, but I have no idea who he was.
--  Sjef van Run edged out Gregory van der Wiel.  He was considered one of PSV's greatest rightback after Eric Gerets.
-- Most of the players selected are from the 1970's onward. I do not know much about the older players such as Evert van Linge, Jan van Schijndel, Adri van Male, Fons van Wissen, Henk van Spaandonck, Tonny van der Linden and Noud van Melis.  I left them off the team.
-- Jan van Breda Kolff was just a name whose playing career I knew almost nothing.  Both his son and grandson, however, were NBA basketball players in the US.  His son Butch van Breda Kolff played for e New York Knicks .  He was a head coach of LA Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, etc.  His grandson Jan van Breda Kolff played in the NBA with what was then New Jersey Nets.  I considered this as an interesting information.
-- Willem Van Hanegem was known for his 1974 World Cup performance.  He also was a legend with Feyenoord.
--  Rene van de kerkhof took Netherlands to the 1978 World Cup Finals.  I also took his twin brother Rene.  Both were underrated.
-- I found Rafael van der Vaart underrated.  I also selected  Puck Van Heel from the 1930's.
-- I always feel Pierre van Hooijdonk's career was limited by not playing for a bigger club.  His exposure to fans outside that region was limited.  He also played in the same generation as many good Dutch strikers.  For this team, I have Marco Van Basten, Robin Van Persie and Ruud Van Nistelrooy ahead of him.  
-- Marco Van Basten was probably the second best Dutch player and among the best striker in football's history.  He won the Ballon d'Or three times.  Ruud Van Nistelrooy was a prolific goal scorer. He won the top scorer award in three different European domestic leagues.  This team also had Robin Van Persie, who had a decorated career.
-- Cor van der Gijp is Feyenoord's All-Time leading scorer, and Piet van Reenen is Ajax's all-time leading scorer.  Pierre Van Hooijdonk lost out to the pair.
-- Belgium also have some all-time "Van-something" players such as Wilfried Van Moer, Paul Van Himst and Franky Van Der Elst.

Formation
I used three midfielders who might get into each other way.  Willem Van Hanegem was actually not a pure defensive midfielder, but more of a deep lying playmakers.  Van Bommel's duty is to defend.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy on the left is out of position.  I could start John van 't Schip over Van Bommel or Willy Van de Kerkhof and switch to 4-4-2.




Friday, March 13, 2020

West Mildand (region) Greatest 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


Duncan Edwards and Billy Wright



Some of the best posts from this blog have been turned into a two-volume book: The Multiverse of the Beautiful Game: National Teams of Pure Fantasy.

Volume 1 takes you back in time and asks the questions every football fan has dreamed about. What if Brazil had a more beautiful team in 1982 — would they have cruised to the title? What if the United Kingdom could send its team to the 1970 World Cup? I believe they would have been the strongest side on earth. What if Argentina had fielded both Omar Sivori and Alfredo Di Stéfano together in 1958? What if Johan Cruyff had lined up alongside Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard? Pat Jennings, Norman Whiteside, Sammy McIlroy, Liam Brady, Paul McGrath, Mark Lawrenson, David O'Leary, Ronnie Whelan, Frank Stapleton, Kevin Sheedy and John Aldridge played in an All-Ireland team.What if Eusébio had played for Brazil? And that's only scratching the surface — Volume 1 is packed with legendary "what ifs" that will keep you turning pages.

Volume 2 brings the fantasy closer to home. What if England had Michael Olise, Erling Haaland and others in 2026 — could they go all the way? What if Yugoslavia had gone to the World Cup in 2018? What if the United States could select more players in 2010? It would be the greatest American side ever. And what if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had actually played for the same national team in 2006? It could have happened — if the soccer gods had smiled on us.

*** Both Volume One and Volume Two are available now on Amazon. ***





Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

England
Greater London
North East England, NorthWest England.
East Midlands, South West England
England with Haaland and Musiala in Euro 2024


The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains Birmingham and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which is the third most populous in the United Kingdom.

Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Walsall, Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion are located in the county known as West Midlands.  They are often referred to as the West Midlands county "Big Six".  This blog is about the region of West Midlands.  Stoke City FC is also located in West Midlands (region). Sir Stanley Matthew, Duncan Edwards and Billy Wright were born over here.  Tennis was invented here as well.

This is my All-time 23 member team for players born in the West Midland region.  All players are selected according to their place of birth. 

Team
GK: Harry Hibbs (Staffordshire)
Hibbs came to the attention of Birmingham when he was 17 years of age. He played for them between 1924 and 1939.  Hibbs earned his forst England cap in 1929.  Prior to Hibbs's debut, the England selectors had tried 21 different goalkeepers in the nine years since Sam Hardy's retirement in 1920.  He would become England's most capped goalkeeper up to that time with 25 caps in total.

GK: Joe Hart (Shrewsbury)
Hart began his career at Shrewsbury Town. In 2006, he moved to top-flight Manchester City. He spent his early career on loan elsewhere. Hart was was voted as the Premier League goalkeeper of the 2009–10 season while at Birmingham. He returned to Manchester City for the 2010–11 season.  He won the Golden Glove 4 time in 5 seasons. Hart has gained over 70 caps and was selected in England's squads for two World Cups and as many UEFA European Championships.
Joe Hart 
GK: Gil Merrick (Birmingham)
Merrick spent his entire career at Birmingham City, playing more than 700 times between 1939 and 1960. He made 170 appearances during the Second World War and 485 in the Football League following the end of the war. He won 23 caps for the England national team, and played in the 1954 World Cup.  He played in the game in the two famous games against Hungary in 1953 and 1954. 

RB: Micah Richards (Birmingham)
Micah Richards began his career at Manchester City in 2005, making 245 appearances in ten seasons, winning a Premier League title and an FA Cup.  Then, he played for Aston Villa from 2015 to 2019.  He had a brief loan spell with Fiorentina in Italy. He played 13 times for England between 2006 and 2012.  He was also a member of Great Britain team at the 2012 Olympics.

RB: Don Howe (Wolverhampton)
Don Howe started with the West Bromwich Albion and he turned professional in November 1952.  He went on to win the FA Cup of 1954 with them.  From 1964 to 1966, he played for Arsenal.  He was made club captain over there. Howe played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and altogether won 23 caps in total for the Three Lions. 

CB: Steve Bould (Stoke-on-Trent)
Steve Bould began his career with his hometown Stoke City.  At Arsenal,  he formed a formidable back line with Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon and ended up with nine major honours to his name. He left the Gunners in 1999 and ended his playing career with Sunderland. Bould won only two caps for England, and didn't make his first full international appearance until the age of 31.
Steve Bould
CB: Billy Wright (Shropshire)
Billy Wright is the first football player in the world to earn 100 caps (105 total).  He also made a total of 105 appearances for England, captaining them a record 90 times, including during their campaigns at the 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cup finals.  He was one of England's finest center-backs.  He spent his whole career at Wolverhampton Wanderers from 1939 to 1959. He won the FA Cup in 1949. He was the winner of FWA Footballer of the Year in 1952 and Ballon d'Or Runners Up in 1957.

CB/FB: Howard Spencer (Edgebaston)
Spencer was Aston Villa's greatest captains.  He played for them between 1892 and 1907. He turned professional in 1894.  It was the Golden era for the club. winning many titles.  He was known as a gentleman on the field, earning the nickname "Prince of Fullback". Between 1897 and 1905, he played 6 times for England.  He was the first player from Aston Villa to captain England.

CB: Neil Franklin (Stoke-on-Trent)
Franklin was considered one of England's greatest defenders. From 1939 to 1950, Franklin played for Stoke City.  In 1950, he joined Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia for a huge wage, but he only lasted a few games there.  He joined Hull City in a deal that was considered the most expensive for a defender.  However, he was never the same player after Colombia.  For England, Franklin played 26 times.  He skipped the 1950 World Cup Finals because of his deal with Colombia. 
Neil Franklin
LB: Nigel Winterburn (Warwickshire)
Nigel Winterburn was known for his role alongside the likes of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon playing for Arsenal's backline in the 1990's.  He also played for Wimbledon F.C. and West Ham.  At the international level, he was capped twice for England. He played at the same time as Stuart Pearce.

LB/CM: David Nish (Staffordshire)
In 1966, Nish began his career with Leicester City. In 1972, Derby County paid a record transfer fee of £225,000 for his contract. At Derby he was part of the team under manager Brian Clough that won the First Division in 1975. At the end of his career, he played in the United States  Tulsa Roughnecks and  Seattle Sounders.  He also played indoor soccer.  Nish earned five caps for the England national team in 1973 and 1974.

CM: George Green (Warwickshire)
Green played for a number of local teams before signing for First Division side Sheffield United in 1923. He went on to make 422 senior appearances for the Yorkshire club, scoring 11 times. He was a member of the successful United side that won the FA Cup in 1925. He went on to appear eight times for his country, winning his last cap against Belgium on 19 May 1928.

CM: Carlton Palmer (Sandwell)
Carlton Palmer was an active player between 1984 and 2005, playing for Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United, Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Coventry City. He also played for West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Dublin City. His longest stint was with Sheffield Wednesday between 1989 and 1994. He was capped 18 times by England all under manager Graham Taylor.  He went to Euro 1992.
Carlton Palmer 
CM: Duncan Edwards (Dudley)
Duncan Edwards was one of the Busby Babes of Manchester United.  He made his professional debut at the age of 16. He was the youngest player to play in the Football League First Division. He died in 1958 during the Munich Air Disaster at the age of 21.  Many people considered him to be  England's greatest player.  He was a dominating central midfielder of his time. For the English national team, he was capped 18 times between 1955 and 1957, scoring 5 goals.

RW: Joe Hulme (Staffordshire)
Joe Hulme started his career in non-League football with Midland League side York City in 1922, before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 1924.  He moved to Arsenal in 1926, becoming one of Herbert Chapman's first major signings.  He spent 12 years at Arsenal and became part of the great Arsenal side of the 1930s.  He played 8 times for England between 1927 and 1933. 

RW: Stanley Matthews (Stoke-on-Trent)
Stanley Matthews is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. Sir Matthews is widely considered the greatest English player of all-time. Between 1937 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nine British Home Championship titles.  He played with Stoke and Blackpool.
Sir Stanley Matthews
LW: Alan Hinton (Wednesbury)
Hinton was remembered wearing white boots on the pitch.  He started with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1961.  He played for Nottingham Forest from 1964 and 1967.  From 1967 to 1975, he played for Derby County.  He also played in the NASL.  He was a part of Brian Clough's side over there. He played 3 times for England

AM/IL: Freddie Steele (Stoke-on-Trent)
Steele started with Stoke City in 1931 at the age of fifteen, he set a club record when he scored 33 league goals in the 1936–37 season.  He continued his Stoke career after the war, before joining Mansfield Town as player-manager in 1949.  From 1951 to 1953, he was player-manager with Port Vale. Steele was capped 6 times for England and scored eight goals for his country in total.


FW:IL: Jack Devey (Birmingham)
Jack Devey signed for Aston Villa in 1891; he would go on to become one of Aston Villa's greatest captains. A skilful inside right/centre-forward and an England international with two caps, he was exceptionally clever with head and feet in front of goal and a prolific goalscorer. He was the club's leading scorer in the Championship winning Villa side of 1893–94 season with 20 goals.

FW/ST: Steve Bloomer  (Worchestershire)
Bloomer is an all-time with Derby, where he played 1891 to 1906, and from 1910 to 1914.  The anthem Steve Bloomer's Watchin' is played at every Derby home game and there is a bust of him at the Pride Park Stadium.   He also played for Middlesbrough.  With 317 goals and, after Jimmy Greaves, he is the second highest all-time goalscorer in the top-flight. He was capped 23 times, scoring 28 goals.   He became England's all-time top goalscorer in 1898, when he surpassed Tinsley Lindley's total of 14 with two goals against Scotland. 
Steve Bloomer
ST: Billy Walker (Wednesbury)
Billy Walker is considered by many to be the greatest footballer to ever play for Aston Villa Football Club. He made 531 appearances for Villa between 1914 and 1934, scoring 244 goals, of which 214 came in 478 league matches.  He remains Aston Villa's all-time top goalscorer to this day. He was an FA Cup Winner with Villa in 1920. Walker is the only-player to have scored a hat-trick of penalty kicks in a Football League game, doing so against Bradford City in November 1921.

ST: Daniel Sturridge (Birmingham)
Sturridge played with Manchester City and Chelsea.  He left Chelsea to join Liverpool in January 2013, where he formed an attacking partnership with Luis Suárez dubbed SAS.  He played for England at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.  He had 26 caps for England.  He was also selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics for Great Britain. 

ST: Allan Clarke (Staffordshire)
Earlier in his career, Allan Clarke played Walsall, Fulham and Leicester.  In 1969, he joined Leeds United, where he was a part of Don Revie's great team.  They were the dominating team in England at the time. With Leeds United, Clarke won the Fairs Cup in 1971, scoring in the final against Italy's giant Juventus.  They also reached the Final of the European Cup in 1975.  He was capped 19 times for England.  He made his debut during the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico.
Allan Clarke 

Honorable Mention
Alan Smith, Joleon Lescott, William Foulke, Tim Flowers, Ben Forster,  Gabriel Agbonlahor, Tonly Daley, Charlie Athersmith, Johnny Hancocks, Jesse Pennington, Steve Bull, Darius Vassell, Jeff Astle, Arthur Bridgett, Gerry Hitchens, Billy Bassett, Joe Bradford, Dennis Wilshaw, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Harry Allen, Don Howe, Joe Bache.

Squad Explanation 
-- Sir Stanley Matthews was born in Stoke-on-Trent.  Along with Duncan Edwards, he is the greatest footballer from West Midlands. The region also included Billy Wright, the best English defender ever after Bobby Moore.  The three of them are on my England All-Time team.  Steve Bloomer was one of the greatest players from the pre-War generation.
-- I thought of combining this team with East Midlands.
-- West Midlands produced the third highest numbers of English internationals after Northwest and the Greater London area.
-- Duncan Edwards is often considered to be the great English player ever, but his career was cut short.  In recent years, some people doubted his inclusions among the greatest from England.  But if Sir Bobby Charlton thinks Edwards was the greatest ever English player, then, I would respect Sir Bobby's opinion.  
-- I found a lot of goalkeepers. William Foulke, Tim Flowers and Ben Forster made honorable mention.
-- In 2021, I discovered that I missed Harry Hibbs.  He is probably the region's greatest goalkeeper.  So I dropped Bert Williams.
-- Bert Williams is an forgotten goalkeeper, but he was the best in his generation.  Unfortunately, he was better remembered for being the keeper at the 1950 World Cup Finals.  Nicknamed The Cat, Williams spent the majority of his playing career at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he won the League Championship in 1954 and FA Cup in 1949. At the time of his death Williams was the oldest living England international.  He played in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and at that tournament played in England's surprise defeat by the USA.
-- Gil Merrick was the first choice goalkeeper in the 1954 World Cup Finals.  Joe Hart had 75 caps for England.  I thought of taking Tim Flowers who had much less caps due to playing at the same time as David Seaman.
-- Neil Franklin is usually ranked very high among English defenders, but unfortunately, he made the wrong career move to Colombia.  On his return to England,  Franklin faced the wrath of the Football Association.  He was never selected again.  
-- Neil Franklin played with Stanley Matthews at Stoke City.  
-- I also put Howard Spencer on honorable mention.  He was listed as a fullback which was then more liked the modern centerback. In 2021, I replaced Joleon Lescott with him.  He was the best central defender of his era.
-- I reunited Nigel Winterburn with Steve Bould.  They formed a legendary backline with Arsenal, but both got overlooked by England. I left out leftback Jesse Pennington and took David Nish of Derby County from the 1970's. 
-- Joe Hart and Micah Richards played together at Manchester City as they won their first Preimership.
-- The Alan Smith here played for Leicester and Arsenal in the 1980's and mid-1990's.  He is on honorable mention.  The other Alan Smith who played for Manchester United and Leeds United is from Yorkshire.
-- There were supposed to be over 50 midfielders from West Midland who had played for England, the most common position from this region.  But I only selected four.  Freddie Steele was an inside left, which is probably a secondary forward or attack midfielder in the modern game. Jack Devey was an inside left.  I admitted not knowing the exact position of the older players.  Were they capable of playing as attack midfielders?
-- Stan Collymore and Lee Sharpe actually reached the peak of the English league's football quickly, but they also went down quickly.
-- On the right, Sir Stanley was an easy choice.  Then, I took Joe Hulme.  Charlie Athersmith, Billy Bassett, Tony Daley and Johnny Hancocks made honorable mention.
-- I have problems finding a left winger.  Jimmy Mullen played for Wolves, but he was not born here.  As mentioned above, Lee Sharpe's career at the peak was very short.  That left Alan Hinton as the only player of note.  Hinton was a star winger for Brian Clough's Derby County.  He was a left winger while David Nish played as a leftback. In the 1980's, Hinton as the manager of Seattle Sounders also signed Nish to the NASL club.
-- Whilst at Derby Hinton earned his nickname `Gladys` for his white boots and curly blonde perm, along with his elegant and non-aggressive playing style.
-- Steve Bull was known for being selected by England as a lower division player.  He was still technically a Third Division player when he won his first cap in 1990.  He is on my honorable mention.
-- Jeff Astle was the 1969-1970 top goal scorer in the English league, but I went with Allan Clarke who scored more goals for England.
-- Billy Walker and Jack Devey are all-timers from Aston Villa. I put Tony Daley and Jack Devey on honorable mention.  
-- Gerry Hitchens played for Inter Milan, which was very special at the time.  Joe Bradford is the all-time leading scoring for Birmingham.  They made honorable mention.
-- Steve Bloomer was one of England's greatest players before the pre-war era.  He was from the pre-World War One generation.
-- Jack Grealish is a star in the making at the time of writing.  

Formation
The starting lineup is very old.  Nigel Winterburn is the only player whose career took place before the 1960's.  David Nish could challenge his Winterburn's position. Billy Wright and Neil Franklin might not be a good pair.  They were similar type of defender.  I do not really know if Freddie Steele could drop deeper than inside left.