This is my All-time 23 member team for players born in the Greater London region. All players are selected according to their place of birth. I have also created an all-time team for England.
Team
GK: Peter Bonetti
Nicknamed as "the Cat", Bonetti was a legend at Chelsea. His finest moment came in the Final of the FA Cup in 1970 where his heroic play helped Chelsea to win the FA Cup. He was the FWA Player of the Year runner-up that year. However, he only earned 7 caps for England. his career was limited by playing with Gordon Banks at the same time. He was Banks' backup in the World Cup 1966.
GK: Harry Swepstone
His career sandwiched between 19th and 20th century. He was remembered as one of the founders of Corinthian, which later inspired the Brazilian club of the same name. He played 6 times for England in an era dominated by Scotland.
GK: Dave Beasant
Beast started his career in the late 1970's. He remains an active player today in 2015. He was best remembered for saving a penalty of the 1988 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, helping Wimbledon winning it 1-0. He played twice for England and went to the WC in 1990.
RB: George Cohen
Cohen played his entire career with Fulham. He was the starting fightback for England during its WC victory in 1966. He played as an attacking fullback. Before the WC Finals in 1966, his international career was limited by the presence of Jimmy Armfield. Cohen became England's first choice after Armfield got injured.
RB: Glen Johnson
He started with West Ham and played with Chelsea before he made his name with Portsmouth when they won the FA Cup in 2008. He earned a transfer to Liverpool in 2009. At the time of writing, he earned 54 caps for England.
CB: Sol Campbell
A member of Arsenal's "Invincibles" that went undefeated in 2003-2004 season. He spent 9 seasons for Tottenham Hotsours before moving to its rival Arsenal on a free transfer. For England, he earned 73 caps in 11 years. He went to three World Cup Finals.
CB: Rio Ferdinand
Became the youngest defender to play for the Three Lions at the time in 1997. He played 81 times for England between 1997 and 2011, and was a member of three World Cup squads. At one point, he was the most expensive British footballer and also broke the world's record transfer fees for a defender twice. He won the Champions' League with Manchester United in 2008.
CB: Tony Adams
A club legend with Arsenal who became the club captain at the age of 21. His status is erected at the Emirates Stadium. He formed the legendary backline with Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn and Steve Bould with club. He was a fixture for England from 1987 to 2000.
CB: John Terry
Terry is a top centre-back of his generation and was the captain for Chelsea during most of his Chelsea's rise to the top of English football starting in the season 2004-2005. He won 4 Premiership titles and the Champions League in 2012. For England, he earned 78 caps for England. However, his career was overshadowed by several controversies.
LB: Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole was considered one of the finest leftbacks of his generation. He was voted the England Player of the Year in 2010. He played in 3 WC Finals. He is also England's most-capped full-back in history. He played with Arsenal, but moved to its rival Chelsea. He won the Champions' League in 2012 with Chelsea.
LB: Stuart Pearce
Pearce was a club legend with Nottingham Forrest. He was the club's most capped international player. He played at the WC Finals in 1990 and the European championship min 1996, where England had the best two results since the WC win in 1966.
DM: Paul Ince
From 1992 to 2000, he was capped 53 times. He was a key player for England at Euro 1996, WC 1998 and Euro 2000. For his club career, he started with West Ham, but his best known stints were with Liverpool, Inter Milan and Manchester United. He is one of the few players who played and starred for both Liverpool and Manchester United.
DM: Dennis Wise
Known as the most successful capatin at Chelsea before the emerge of John Terry. He captained Chelsea as they won two FA Cups, two League Cups and an UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Despite his successes at club level, he only earned 21 caps.
RW: David Beckham
Beckham is the greatest ever icon to play the game. He started his career with Manchester United where he was a part of the famous team that won the 1992 FA Youth Cup. For the senior side, he won 6 Premiership titles and the 1999 Champions' League. In 2003, he joined Real Madrid for the well-publicized "Galacticos" signing. In 2007, he moved to LA Galaxy, where he kickstarted a soccer fever in the United States. For England, he earned 115 caps and was a key part of the national team throughout his career.
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| David Beckham |
He started his career with West Ham before making a big jump to Chelsea. He won three Premiership titles and another three FA Cups with Chelsea. He later played for Liverpool and Lille in France. For England, he was a key player at the WC 2006 and Euro 2008.
LW: Laurie Cunningham
Cunnugham was considered to be the first Black star player in England and an icon for a generation of Black players in England. He first made his mark with West Bromwich Albion in the late 1970's. With Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson, they formed an all-Black attack that was known as "The Three Degrees". In 1979, he moved to Real Madrid and became the first British player ever to play for the legendary club. He won the Double in his season. However, his career there was overshadowed by a series of injuries. He returned to Manchester United in 1983, but was never the same player again. He was only capped 6 times by England and was overlooked for Euro 1980, despite starring at La Liga the season before.
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| Laurie Cunningham |
AM: Tony Currie
He had successful spells with Sheffield United, Leeds United and Queen Park Rangers in the 1970's and early 1980's. He captained QPR as they reached the FA Cup Final in 1982. His career in the top flight ended after the FA Cup replay and moved to Canada the season after. He was 17 times and played in the ill-fated match against Poland at the WC Qualifiers in 1973.
AM: Johnny Haynes
Widely regarded as Fulham's greatest player. Pele called him the greatest passer he had ever seen. At Fulham, he became the first player to earn 100 pounds per week. He played 56 times for England and served as the captain 22 times.
AM: Glenn Hoddle
Hoddle often considered one of the most talented players of his generation, but not always appreciated by his fans. He played mainly with Tottenham Hotspurs, where he won the UEFA Cup in 1984 and two FA Cups. He was a fixture for the national team throughout the 1980's.
CM: Frank Lampard
Lampard was the all-time leading scorer for Chelsea. he started his career with West Ham before joining Chelsea in 2001. He won the Champions' League in 2012 and 3 Preimership with Chelsea. He was runner-up at FIFA Player of the Year in 2015. In 2014, he made a controversial move to Manchester City through a loan deal from NY City FC. For England, he was a key player from 1999 and 2014. The Lampard-Gerrard debate was a hot topic throughout his career with England.
FW/SS: Teddy Sherringham
Sherringham was a star player with Tottenham Hotspurs from 1992 and 1997. In 1997, he made a big move to Manchester United as a replacement for Eric Cantona. He won the Champions' league in 1999 with Manchester United. He was capped 51 times for England. He played at the Euro 1996, the WC 1998 and the Euro 2000.
ST: Ian Wright
Wright was a legendary striker with Arsenal. Before joining Arsenal, he was a hero with Crystal Palace. At the time of writing, he was their highest goal scorer since the War. In 1991, he joined Arsenal. He spent 7 seasons with them, winning all three domestic trophies and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994. Despite being a top scorer in the domestic league(he scored over 20 goals every season from 1991 to 1998), he only played 33 times for England and was never selected for any of the major tournaments.
ST/SS: Jimmy Greaves
Top scorer in the English league for 4 seasons. He won the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967, and the UEFA Cup in 1963. He spent 9 seasons with Tottenham Hotspurs. He was a member of the World Cup winning team in 1966. However, he lost his starting position after suffering an injury against France.
Honorable Mention
Ron Harris, Scott Parker, Jermain Defoe, Billy Moon.
Squad Explanation
-- London was not known to be hotbeds for football talents until recent years. Most players selected were active within the last 25 years. Only five players who played before 1980's were considered. Three of them were goalkeepers. Two of the keepers played between the 19th and 20th Century.
-- The centre-back positions consisted of the top English centre-backs in the last 15 years.
-- I did not know much about Billy Moon and Harry Swepstone. I chose Swepstone because he seemed to be more famous.
-- The leftback position is very talented. Both Steve Perryman and Kenny Samsom missed out.
-- Paul Ince was a lock for the defensive midfielders. I was choosing between Dennis Wise and Scott Parker. I took Wise because his career was longer. Parker was seen as a later bloomer.
Starting lineup
Formation: 4-4-2
I started two former Real Madrid players on each side of the wing. Then, they would be partner with three legends who played with Tottenham Hotspurs. Frank Lampard got the nod over Paul Ince as the other midfielder.
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