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

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

England
Greater London
North East England, NorthWest England.
East Midlands, South West England

South East England

East of England
Black English players
United Kingdom World Cup 1970
United Kingdom World Cup 1982
England 1974, 
Yorkshire and Humber
England After 1966 All-Time Team

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.  

East Midlands Greatest All-Time Team

Gary Lineker

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

England
Greater London
North East England, NorthWest England.
West Midlands, South West England

South East England, East of England
Black English players
United Kingdom World Cup 1970
United Kingdom World Cup 1982
England 1974, 

England with Haaland and Musiala in Euro 2024
Yorkshire and Humber
England After 1966 All-Time Team
Nottingham Forest, 
Leicester City

The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except North and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. The region has an area of 15,627 km2 (6,034 sq mi), with a population over 4.5 million in 2011.

Leicester City, Notts Countty, Derby, Nottingham Forest, Lincoln FC are located in this area.  Notts County F.C. is the world's oldest professional football club, with Nottingham Forest F.C. being the oldest football league side after Notts County's relegation to the National League in 2019. Sam Weller Widdowson brought in shin pads in 1874. The first referee's whistle was at Nottingham in 1872.

This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for players born in East Midlands.  All players are selected according to their place of birth.  I have also created an all-time team for England.

Mark Hatekey and Steve Hodge

Team
GK: Ray Clemence (Lincolnshire)
Ray Clemence was considered one of England's greatest keepers. He won 3 European Cups and 2 UEFA Cups in the 1970's with Liverpool and the 1984 UEFA Cup with Tottenham Hotspurs.  He was voted as Liverpool's greatest keeper.  For the national team, he was locked in a battle of number 1 with Peter Shilton.  He was Shilton's backup at the World Cup Finals in 1982. He made 61 appearances for England between 1972 and 1983.

Ray Clemence 

GK: Peter Shilton (Leicester)
Peter Shilton is considered one of the greatest keepers ever.  He is England's all-time cap record-holder with 125.  He earned his first cap in 1970 and his last 20 years later in 1990.  He took England to 4th place in the 1990 World Cup.  He played for 11 different clubs in his career, all in England.  He won two straight European Cups in 1979 and 1980 with Nottingham Forrest. He was PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1977–78, an award rarely won by a goalkeeper.

GK: Sam Hardy (Derbyshire)
Sam Hardy was discovered by Liverpool FC after playing against them with Chesterfield, Sam Hardy joined Liverpool in 1905.  Later, he played for Aston Villa. He was capped 21 times, which was then an astonishing number and was widely considered to be England's first ever star keeper. 

RB: Phil Neal (Northamptonshire)
Phil Neal was the great right back from Liverpool between 1974 and 1985. He was one of England's most decorated player, winning 4 First Divisions, 4 League Cups, 5 FA Charity Shields, 4 European Cups, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 UEFA Super Cups. He also played for Northampton Town and Bolton Wanderers as a full back. Neal also had a long career with England winning 50 caps and playing in the 1982 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship.

RB: Viv Anderson (Nottinghamshire)
In 1978, Viv Anderson became the first Black player to play for the English senior national team. He would earn 30 caps between 1978 and 1988.  He was on two World Cup team: 1982 and 1986, and two European Championshiop team: 1980 and 1988. He was a part of Brian Clough's Nottingham Forrest team that won back-to-back European Cup in 1979 and 1980.  He also played for Arsenal, Manchester United and and Sheffield Wednesday. 

CB: Dave Watson (Notthinghamshire)
Dave Watson played for Notts County, Rotherham United, Sunderland, Manchester City, Werder Bremen, Southampton, Stoke City, Vancouver Whitecaps and Derby County as well at the England national team where he won 65 caps. He played in the European Championship in 1980, but he never played in a World Cup Finals. He remains the most-capped England player never to play in a World Cup finals match.

 Dave Watson 

CB: Gary Cahill (Derbyshire)
Cahill joined Burnley on a season-long loan, where he performed well before returning to make his Aston Villa debut. He played with Sheffield United and Bolton Wanderers before Cahill signed for Chelsea in 2012.  He won the UEFA Champions League in his debut season. Cahill is an England international with over 60 caps and went the World Cups of 2014 and 2018, and the  European Championship in 2012 and 2014.

CB: Russell Osman (Derbyshire)
Russell Osman spent 11 seasons with Ipswich Town from 1976 to 1985 during the club's greatest period, winning the UEFA Cup in 1981.  He also played in the Football League for Leicester City, Southampton, Bristol City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Cardiff City. Osman played senior international football for England, for whom he received eleven caps.

CB: Graham Cross (Leicester)
Cross spent most of his career playing for Leicester City originally as an inside forward, then later as a centre-half and occasionally a right half. At Leicester he holds the record for the most appearances for the club with 599 between 1961 and 1975. He went on to join Brighton & Hove Albion and then Preston North End. He also represented Leicestershire as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler between 1961 and 1977.

LB: Ray Wilson (Derbyshire)
From 1952 to 1964, Wilson played for Huddersfield.  In 1964 Wilson joined Everton, by which time he had played 30 times for England, and remains to this day Huddersfield's most-capped England international.  For England, he would win 53 caps in total and was a starter at the WC Finals in 1966 in which England won.  He played in the 1968 European Championship where England reached the semifinal.

 Ray Wilson 

LH/LB: Ernest Needham (Derbyshire)
Needham played for Sheffield United from 1891 to 1910. He was instrumental in their promotion campaign of 1892–93 and then captained their team from 1895 to 1905. Under his captaincy, United won the First Division in 1898 and the FA Cup in 1899 and 1902. With 16 caps, he was the first Sheffield United player to captain the England national side. 

CM: Jermaine Jenas (Nottingham)
Jenas made his professional debut at age 17 for Nottingham Forest who were playing in the second tie. He was named PFA Young Player of the Year for the 2002–03 season while playing for Newcastle United.  Later, he played for Tottenham betweem 2005 and 2013.  He had 21 caps.  He was unused player at the 2006 World Cup Finals.

CM: Steve Hodge (Nottingham)
Steve Hodge joined his boyhood club Nottingham Forest as an apprentice in 1980 and helped the club to reach the semifinal of the UEFA Cup.  He also played for Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspurs and Leeds United. Capped 24 times fro England.  He went to both 1986 and 1990 World Cup Finals. He exchanged shirt with Diego Maradona after the infamous quaterfinal match vs Argentina in 1986.

Steve Hodge

CM: Ben Warren (Derbyshire)
Warren began his playing career with Derby County in 1899.  Playing at half-back, though he could also fill in at inside forward, Warren was known for his hard but fair tackling.  He later played for Chelsea between 1908 and 1911.   An knee injury sustained while playing for Chelsea led to a decline in his mental health.  He died of tuberculosis while still an inmate of the asylum in 1917. He had 22 caps and 2 goals, one of which came during England's first overseas tour.

RH/FW: Alfred Strange  (Derbyshire)
Strange began his career at Portsmouth and then, Port Vale.  He moved to Sheffield Wednesday in February 1927. He spent eight years with the club, helping Wednesday to win the First Division title in 1928–29 and 1929–30. He ended his professional career at Bradford Park Avenue.  He played 20 times for England.  In 1930, he was on England's European tour, captaining the side against France.

RH: Willie Edwards (Derbyshire)
Willed Edwards started with Chesterfield in 1919.  Between 1919 and 1943, he played with Leeds United, during which time he was never booked or sent off.  He played for them during the war years. Edwards was capped by England on 16 occasions. His first cap was against Wales on 1 March 1926. He captained England in his last five internationals, with his final appearance on 20 November 1929.

Willie Edwards

LW: Eric Houghton (Lincolnshire)
Between 1927 and 1946, Houghton played for Aston Villa, scoring 170 goals in 392 games.[2] (The total including wartime matches was over 200 goals.) He finished his playing career at Notts County. He also won 7 caps for England. His formidable and powerful shot was regarded as the hardest shot of his era.  He is a member of Aston Villa Hall of Flame.

FW: Harry Cursham  (Notthinghamshire)
Harry Cursham began his career in 1877 with Notts County. He became a regular in the Notts County team, frequently appearing alongside his brother, Arthur Cursham. He holds the individual goalscoring record for the FA Cup, with 49 goals in 44 games. He also played eight games for the England national football team, scoring five goals between 1880 and 1884.

ST: Andy Cole  (Nottinghamshire)

His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a British record transfer fee to sign him from Newcastle United. Cole spent six years with Manchester United and won nine trophies, including the Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 1999.   He is the 4th All-Time leading scorer in the Preimer League.  With England, he only played 15 times.

ST: Gary Lineker (Leicester)
Gary Lineker was one of England's best goal poachers.  He scored 48 goals for England(second overall) and won the Golden Boot with 6 goals at Mexico 1986.  He also played in the 1990 World Cup Finals. He was the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1985–86 and FWA Footballer of the Year in 1985–86 and 1991–92.  In England, he played with Leicester Town, Everton and Tottenham Hotspurs. He also played for Barcelona FC in Spain.

ST: Tony Woodcock (Nottinghamshire)
Woodcock broke into the Forest first team in 1976–77, helping the team to promotion to the First Division. Under Brian Clough, Forest went on to win the First Division title and Football League Cup in 1978 (Woodcock winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award that year as well), and the European Cup in 1979. In 1986, he joined FC Köln in 1979 and later played for Arsenal.  Capped 42 times and went to Spain 1982.

ST: Mark Hateley (Derbyshire)
Mark Hateley made his name with Coventry and Portsmouth before moving to AC Milan in 1984.  He played with AS Monaco before moving to Rangers in 1990. He won both SFWA and PFA Players of the Season for the 1993-1994 season. He won six league titles. He earned 32 caps, and went to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico 1986 and the European Championship in 1988.

ST: Tinsley Lindley (Nottingham)
Lindley was an amateur who did not wear football boots but scored 14 goals for England in 13 internationals. Lindley was given an O.B.E. in January 1918 for his work during World War One and in 1935 he was also awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.   He played his entore career with Nottingham Forest.  It has been claimed that he holds the record for scoring in 9 consecutive England matches between 13 March 1886 and 7 April 1888. However, there is no substance whatsoever to this claim.

Tinsley Lindley

Honorable Mention 
Joe Bradford, Ted Hufton, Chris Woods, Roy Goodall, Willie Hall, Dave Thomas, Steve Whitworth, Jermaine Pennant, Sam Weaver, Ernie Hart, Harry Cursham, Mick Jones,  Eddie Clamp, Fred Spiksley, Chris Sutton, Jack Robinson, Chris Kirkland, Dion Dublin, Tom Huddlestone, Emile Heskey.

Honorable Mention
-- Dave Watson, Ray Clemence, Tony Woodcock and Phil Neal were on England's Euro 1980 team.  Dave Watson did not make it to the 1982 World Cup team, but the other three went to Spain.
-- Peter Shilton, Steve Hodge, Gary Lineker and Mark Hateley went to the 1986 World Cup Finals.  Lineker and Hateley started together in the first two matches, but Hateley was dropped later in the tournament.
-- Peter Shilton, Graham Cross, Gary Lineker and Emile Heskey are on my Leicester City All-Time team.
-- Jack Robinson, Ernest Needham, Harry Cursham, Ben Warren, Charlie Athersmith and Tinsley Lindley played in the 19th Century. Sam Hardy actually started his career in 1903.  I also included two pre-war players, Alfred Strange and Eric Houghton.  Only three players played in the Preimership era. So this must be my oldest blog team.
-- Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton needed no introduction.  Sam Hardy were probably the greatest goalkeeper in the pre-War period alongside Jack Robinson. So I left off Jack Robinson, Chris Woods and Joe Hulme.  I also have Ted Hufton on the list.
-- Roughy about twenty-something defenders from East Midlands have played for England.  So the pool is very small.  
-- The rightback position is very strong.  I took Viv Anderson and Phil Neal. Even Roy Goodall could not make the team.  The pair was known as great rightbacks at their time.  
-- On the left, I selected Ray Wilson from the 1966 World Cup Finals. Ernest Needham was a left-half, a position I considered to be a wingback in the modern game.  He was one of the game's early star players.
-- The centerback position is more difficult to select.  Gary Cahill and David Watson were strong candidates.  Russell Osman was one of Bobby Robson's key defenders during his time with Ipswich in the early 1980's.  I was a fan of the club at the time.  I cannot really find anyone standing out for the fourth centerback.  Wes Morgan who was born in East Midlands decided to play for Jamaica.  Peter Daniels was known for his career with Derby, but played mainly behind  Roy McFarland and Colin Todd.  Steve Chettle and Graham Cross are club legends. In the end, I went with Cross.  Cross is the all-time appearance record holder for Leicester, a local club.
-- During my research, I found many midfielders from the pre-war era.  So I took two modern players Steve Hodge and Jermaine Jenas to balance the team.  Hodge was probably remembered for playing against Diego Maradona at the famous 1986 World Cup quarterfinal matches.  He exchanged shirts with Maradona.
-- Jack Robinson, Ben Warren, Harry Cursham and Tinsley Lindley played in the 19th Century.  It was too long ago.  I did not know how to rate them.  Lindley had good goal-to-matches ratio for England on paper, but his scoring streak for England was not verified. He might not have scored 9 straight matches for England.  Nevertheless, I felt that he deserved a place.. There are plenty of information on Charlie Athersmith. He was an early star of Aston Villa. 
-- I feel sorry for Ben Warren after hearing his story.  After suffering a long injury, Warren suffered a mental breakdown and was admitted to a lunatic asylum.  Did I take pity on him because of his life story? Let's say at the time of research I could not really decide who to pick among the pre-war players.  There are limited information on the players.  So I was looking at different angles for my selection.  Upon learning his story, I could not get him out of my head.  Besides, he did play in the first overseas of England.
-- Joe Bradford supposed to be a good player of his time, but I went with modern attackers  because I have more informations on them.  
-- I do not need to explain the inclusion of Gary Lineker, do I?

-- Gary Lineker probably should have won the 1986 Ballon D'or award.  That year, the award remained as European Player of the Year.  It was the year that no one stood out.  Igor Belanov won it for his performance at the 1986 World Cup Finals, where he scored 4 goals and one of each was a stunning goal against Belgium.  Dynamo Kyiv also won the Cup Winners' Cup.  Lineker finished as the Golden Boot at the same World Cup Finals.  He was the top scorer in English league while winning both PFA and FWA Player of the Year.  However, Everton was trophy-less that year.  Emilio Butragueño was third because of Real madrid capturing the UEFA Cup as well as his 4 goal performance against Denmark in the World Cup.  The three candidates, I thought, was very close.
-- Mark Hateley was one of the few English footballers to find successes playing overseas. His career with AC Milan was injury ridden, but he did reasonable well with AS Monaco.  He also played for Glasgow Rangers.
-- I took Emile Heskey and Tony Woodcock over Andy Cole because they appeared in bigger international tournaments for England.  Cole never played in a World Cup Finals or European Championship.
-- Emile Heskey earned 62 caps for England as well as winning a League Cup with Leicester  City, a local club.
-- I did consider taking Emile Heskey over midfielder Jermaine Jenas. Andy Cole definitely had a more decorated club career than Jenas.  No one can doubt his contribution  to Manchester United's triple crown  in 1999. However, the team has too many right-halfs from the pre-War eras.  I might need another central midfielder.

-- In Newcastle, Andy Cole won the Golden Boot in the 1993-1994 season, where he scored a stunning 41 goals in 45 appearance.  In Manchester United, he did not live up to his record breaking transfer fees, but he redeemed himself by forming a legendary partnership with Dwight Yorke and winning the treble.  He was named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2000.  Heskey also impressed in Leicester, but he was nowhere close to Cole's career in Newcastle.  In Liverpool, he also earned a reputation of being insufficient.  Cole is the 4th highest goal scorer in  Premier league's history with 187 goals while Heskey 27th with just 110.  Heskey had 62 caps and only 7 goals, but Cole only had 15 caps and a single goal.  Cole suffered by playing at the time when England preferred the partnership of Alan Shearer and Terry Sheringham.  He was also ignored Glen Hoddle for the 1998 World Cup, where Michael Owen arrived on the scene.  

Formation
I would have started Mark Hateley with Gary Lineker if this combination worked out in the actual 1986 World Cup Finals. Instead, I started Tony Woodcock.  He scored more goals than Emile Heskey for England.

Yorkshire and the Humber 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

Jamie Vardy and Kyle Walker

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

Leeds United 
England
Greater London
North East England, NorthWest England.
East Midlands
West Midlands

South West England

South East England

East of England

England with Haaland and Musiala in Euro 2024

Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) for statistical purposes. It comprises most of Yorkshire (the administrative areas of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, North Yorkshire and the City of York), as well as North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. It does not include Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland or other areas of the historic county of Yorkshire, such as Sedbergh not included in the aforementioned administrative areas. The largest settlements are Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000.

It is home of football clubs such as Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City, Rotherham United, Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Scunthorpe United, Bradford City and Grimsby Town.

This is the all-time team for players born in Yorkshire and the Humber.  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: Gordon Banks (Sheffield)
Gordon Banks was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1972, and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions. He won the World Cup in 1966.  He also made one of the game's great saves to prevent a Pelé goal in the 1970 World Cup.  Along with Lev Yashin, he is considered the greatest keepers of his generation. The prime of his club career was spent with Leicester and Stoke City.

Gordon Banks

GK: David Seaman (Rotherham)
The peak of Seaman's career was during his period as Arsenal and England goalkeeper in the 1990s and early 2000s. At Arsenal, he won three league championships (1991, 1998, 2002), four FA Cups (1993, 1998, 2002, 2003), the League Cup in 1993 and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994.  He also played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Euro 96 and Euro 2000, and is England's second-most capped goalkeeper with 75 caps.

GK: Ted Sagar (Moorends)
Ted Sagar joined Everton as an apprentice in 1929 after playing for Thorne Colliery in Yorkshire and made in debut in 1930. He played in the championship winning sides of 1931–32 and 1938–39 and the FA Cup winning side of 1933.  He made 499 appearances for Everton; this goalkeeping record for the club was only beaten by Neville Southall in 1994. He played 4 times for England before the War.

RB: Kyle Walker (Shefffield)
Walker started with Sheffield United F.C. In 2009, he joined Tottenham Hotspurs. He spent some time on loan before returning to Tottenham Hotspurs.  He established himself as one of England's best fullback. In 2017, he joined Manchester City. Since 2011, he has played for England. He represented England at the European Championship in 2016.

Kyle Walker 

CB: Harry Maguire (Sheffield)
Born in Sheffield, Maguire came through the youth system at Sheffield United before graduating to the first team. He spent three seasons with Sheffield United before joining Hull City in 2014.  He also spent time on loan with Wigan. In 2017, he joined Leicester City.  He made his England's debut in 2017 under manager Gareth Southgate.

CB: Peter Swan (South Elmsall)
Swan made 299 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday between 1953 and 1964.  However, he will be mostly remembered for his involvement in a betting scandal that led to him being banned from football between 1964 and 1972.  He was also jailed for 3 months. He later played for Bury and Matlock Town.  For England, he went to the 1962 World Cup Finals.

CB: Wilf Copping (Barnsley)
From 1929 to 1934, Copping played for Leeds United.  From 1934 to 1939, he joined Arsenal before returning to Leeds United again.  He joined the Army at the start of the war, and served in North Africa, eventually becoming a Sergeant Major. He played the occasional wartime game for Leeds, but retired from playing football in 1942.  For England, he was capped 20 times.

CB: John Stones (Barnsley)
Stones began his career with Barnsley, making his first-team debut in the Championship in 2012 as a 17-year-old. He joined Premier Everton  in January 2013.  He spent over four seasons at the Merseyside club.  In 2016, he signed for Manchester City.  With England, he made his debut in 2014.  He was a non-playing member at Euro 2016.

LB: Ernie Blenkinsop (Barnsley)
Blenkinsop began his career with local amateur side Cudworth Village. He joined Hull City in 1921; however, after one year with the club, he signed for Sheffield Wednesday, helping the club win promotion to the First Division before going on to win two Football League titles between 1929 and 1930.  He had 26 caps for England, serving 5 times as captain.  All of his caps came in consecutive England fixtures, a record until beaten by Roger Byrne in the 1950's.

 Ernie Blenkinsop

LB: Terry Cooper (Brotherton)
Terry Cooper was Don Revie's trusted left back at Leeds United. He played for Leeds from 1962 and 1975.  He was known for his partnership with Eddie Grey on the left flank. In 1975, he left to join Middlesbrough, which was then managed by his teammate Jack Charlton. He had 20 caps for England between 1969 and 1974.  He went to the 1970 World Cup with England.

ST/RW/CM: Alan Smith (Rothwell)
Smith started with Leeds United in 1998 as an attacker, where he scored over 50 goals.  He transferred to Manchester United in 2004, whereupon manager Sir Alex Ferguson successfully converted him to a holding midfielder.  Later, he played for Newcastle United between 2007 and 2012.  From 2001 to 2007, Smith earned 19 caps for England.

DM/LB: Paul Madeley (Leeds)
Paul Madeley signed for Leeds from non-league Farsley Celtic in May 1962 and became a regular in Leeds' first team from 1966 onwards.  He was one club player.  In his Leeds career, he played in every position on the pitch except goalkeeper. He was voted into the PFA Team of the Year three times. For England, he was capped 24 times between 1971 and 1977.  He declined to be a stand-in player for the 1970 World Cup Finals.

Paul Madeley

CM: David Batty (Leeds)
David Batty is most famous for playing for Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.  He won league titles with both Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers, but his role with Blackburn Riovers was limited by an injury.  He was capped for the England national football team, and representing the nation at UEFA Euro 1992 and the 1998 World Cup.

AM/CM: Ron Flowers (Doncaster)
Flowers was known for his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he played between 1952 and 1966. At Wolves, he won three First Division titles and a FA Cup, which was the club's most successful eras.  He later played for Northampton at the end of his career. For England, he played 49 times, including a 40 straight appearance(a record shared by Billy Wright).  He went to the 1962 and 1966 World Cup Finals.

CM/LM/RM: James Milner (Leeds)
James Milner played over 60 times for England. He was selected for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup squads, as well as the 2012 and 2016 UEFA Euro Championships.  At the club level, he played for Leeds United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United.  He was PFA Young Player of the Year: 2009–10.  From 2011 to 2015, he played for Manchester City, helping them to win two Preimerships. At the time of writing, he plays for Liverpool. 

James Milner

RW: Aaron Lennon (Leeds)
Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United.  From 2005 to 20-15, he played for Tottenham Hotspurs.  Later, he played for Everton and Burnley.  For England, he had 23 caps. He was picked in England's 2006 World Cup squad, despite being only 19 years of age and uncapped at senior level.  He played two matches.  He also played in the 2010 World Cup Finals.

FW/LW: Eric Brook (Mexborough)
Eric Brook is the all-time record goalscorer for Manchester City in all competitions. After playing amateur football for Wath Athletic, Brook began his professional football career with nearby Barnsley. He has been described as an 'unorthodox' outside left 'with a licence to roam'. He won the 1934 FA Cup.  Capped 18 times.  Brook was involved in the famous Battle of Highbury game against the world champions Italy in 1934. 

LW: Graham Rix (Doncaster)
Graham Rix was known for his career with Arsenal between 1975 and 1988.   His club reached the Final of the Cup Winners' Cup.  He became their skipper after Liam Brady went to Juventus.  He also played club football in France with Caan and Le Havre and in Scotland with Dundee at the end of his career. He was capped 17 times for England.  He went to the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain, where he played 5 games.

Graham Rix 

FW: Jamie Vardy (Sheffiedl)
From 2007 to 2012, Jamie Vardy played in the lower leagues of English football.  In 2012, he joined Leicester City, which was then in the Championship. In 2015-2016, his career took off.  He was voted the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year as outsiders Leicester won the title. He earned his first cap in 2015 before his breakout season.  He became a key player soon after.

FW: Len Shackleton (Bradford)

Known as the "Clown Prince of Soccer", he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers.   He turned professional at Bradford Park Avenue in 1940.  He joined Newcastle United in 1946.  He as sold on to Sunderland for a British transfer record fee of £20,050 in 1948.  He played for them until 1957. His individualism and outspoken nature limited him to only five England caps in a six-year international career.

ST: Tommy Taylor (Smithies, South Yorkshire)
Tommy Taylor was one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.  He was 8 days past his 26th birthday. He started with Barnley and moved to Manchester United in 1953.  For England, he was seen as the  perfect eventual replacement for the ageing Nat Lofthouse in the England side. In all, he played 19 times for England, scoring 16 goals. He managed two hat-tricks for the England team.

Tommy Taylor

CF: George Hunt (Mexborough)
Hunt joined Chesterfield in 1929.  After a year, he joined Tottenham Hotspurs.  He spent seven seasons with the club, and was a prolific goalscorer.   In 1937, he became the first player to move directly from Spurs to Arsenal since Peter Kyle in 1906.  He later played for Bolten Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday.   In 1933, he played three times for England.

ST/SS: Kevin Keegan (Docaster)
Kevin Keegan was two-time European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979. He won the European Cup in 1977 with Liverpool. He also found successes in the Bundesliga with Hamburger SV, where he played between 1977 and 1980.  He later played for Southampton and Newcastle United after returning from Germany. He had 63 caps for England. However, his World Cup appearance was limited to 20 minutes against Spain at the World Cup Finals in 1982. 

Kevin Keegan 

Honorable Mention
Dean Windass, Simon Grayson, David Pegg, Mark Jones, Jack Pickering, Danny Rose, Fabian Delph, John Scales, Trevor Cherry, Paul Robinson, Gordon West, Michael Dawson, Frank Barson, George Wilson, Albert Geldard, Derek Kevan, Colin Grainger, Rabbi "Rab" Howell, Kevin Hector, Laurie Scott.

Squad Explanation
-- I decided to use Yorkshire and Humber as my blog lack, instead of historical county of Yorkshire. I already did a North East England All-Time Team.  Some parts of Yorkshire is inside North East England.  Some players are already on that team.  Besides, I have no idea if I got the geography and its historical context correctly.  So I decied to use the boundary of Yorkshire and Humber as my guideline.
-- Before I started this blog team, I did not know where Yorkshire was located.  I only heard of Yorkshire pudding.  
-- Brian Clough, Jonathan Woodgate, Stewart Downing and Wilf Mannion are from the historical county of Yorkshire, but their birthplace is not within Yorksire and Humber.
-- Six players from England's 2018 World Cup team came from Yorkshire and Humber. They are Kyle Walker, Jamie Vardy, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, John Stones and Fabian Delph.  Gary Cahill was born just south of Sheffield in Dronfield, East Midlands.
--Yorkshire has produced roughly 130 international footballers for England.  It has produced some of the most tough-tackling England defenders; 1 in every 3 Yorkshiremen to play for England has been a defender.
-- Leeds United's greatest period was under manager Don Revie. He managed the club from 1961 to 1974. I selected two local lads from that generation.  They are Paul Madeley and Terry Cooper. Trevor Cherry only made honorable mention.
-- David Batty, Aaron Lennon and Alan Smith played for Leeds United.  David Seaman who was fan of the club began his career with them, but he was overlooked by the club.  He never played a game for them.
-- Gordon Banks and David Seaman are obvious choices for goalkeepers.  Then, I took Paul Robinson over Ted Sagar. Sagar was one of Everton's greatest goalkeepers, but Robinson started for England at a World Cup Finals.  Gordon West made honorable mention.
-- Danny Rose lost out to two old-timers.  Terry Cooper was a legend for Leeds United in the 1970's while Ernie Blenkinsop was the best in his time.  In time, Rose might get into the team.  Paul Madeley could also play a leftback.  I also considered Trevor Cherry, but I took his former teammate Cooper over him.  Cooper belonged to a period when Leeds United was more successful, which I considered important for Yorkshire and Humber.  He also played in the 1970 World Cup Finals.
-- I took Paul Madeley and Alan Smith because they were utility players.  
-- Mick McCarthy who was born here played for Ireland, but this blog is about English internationals.  So he is ineligible, but he would have made the squad if he was not cap-tied to Ireland.
-- Peter Swan played for Sheffield Wednesday, a local club.  I considered contributions to local football as a criteria.  Besides, he went to the 1962 World Cup Finals.  His ban from football did not affect my judgement.  
-- I have a hard time to decide between John Stones and Harry Maguire. They are very similar.  So I took both players.  They have been England's starters for a long period of time. 
-- I hope to select Trevor Cherry, John Scales and Michael Dawson. Instead, I took Wilf Copping, who was one of the greatest centerbacks in the pre-war eras.  He also played on the left side too. 
-- On the left wing, I took Eric Brook and Graham Rix. Eric Brook was one of England's greatest player in the pre-War era.  Then, I took Graham Rix (Doncaster) over Nick Barmby.  When I started watching football, Rix was a star.  That might affect my judgement.
-- Upon further review, I discovered Len Shackleton, who was a star player in the 1940's and 1950's.  
-- David Pegg and Mark Jones died in the Munich Air Disaster.  They were born in West Riding of Yorkshire.  They made honorable mention. I took Tommy Taylor from Smithies, South Yorkshire who also died that day.

-- I also considered Kevin Hector.  If England beat Poland in the World Cup Qualifier in 1973 and qualified for the World Cup Finals, his name might become a household name.  In that match, he nearly scored the winner with one of his first touch after he entered the game. Please see what if England qualfied for the World Cup in 1974.

-- Rabbi Howell was of Romani descent and was the first Romani to play for England, winning two caps between 1895 and 1899.  He was a center-half born on Sheffield.
-- George Robledo was born in Chile, but grew up in the region.  I could have make an exception for him, but I decided to go with the local born players only.  Then, I could not look into every English players to see if they were born elsewhere but grew up here.  So he is ineligible. 
-- Ron Flowers was the oldest member of the 1966 World Cup team. He shared the record of playing in 40 straight England's games with Billy Wright.
-- Radamel Falcao's great-grandfather was from Yorkshire.  I do not know if he is from modern day Yorkshire and Humbe.  Anyway, this blog team is about English international born here.  
-- Kevin Keegan was European Player of the Year twice.  He started his career here with Scunthorpe United, but his family was Newcastle United fans.
-- Erling Håland was born in Leeds when his father Alf-Inge Håland was playing for Leeds United.  Since he played for Norway, so he does not belong to this team.

Formation