What's Your Greatest England XI?
Monday, 15 June 09, 04:54 PM · Comments (12)
The next couple of months represent something of a period of inertia in terms of England activity. Fabio's boys aren't in action again until the 12th August when they visit Holland to face an in-form Netherlands side in their own back yard. Despite the U21s doing their best to fill the void by taking part in the U21 European Championships, it just isn't quite the same. You would probably be forgiven for thinking that a blog like this would be rendered impotent through the sheer lack of activity of its muse, not so, dear friends, not so. We here at The England National Team Blog are a resourceful bunch and will strive to fulfill your England needs over the summer hiatus by any means necessary.
So, as a conversation starter, we thought we'd resurrect that classic pub debate, you know, the one that always starts "Banksy. It's got to be Banksy in goal." Yes, you guessed it, it's the greatest England XI debate. Now, we're going to impose a rule or two, we don't want people selecting players from outside of their own generation. You could say it's a bit of a pointless rule, seeing as there's no way of verifying people's ages on here, but we like to think that the OleOle fraternity are an honest bunch. So, for example, I'm 20, I was first aware of and interested in football from the age of about 6 or 7, so my England XI will be selected from roughly 1995 onwards. Yes, it's a limiter, but I never saw the boys of '66, '70, '90 etc play, I've only ever seen clips and videos so I don't feel like I'm in a position to pass any sort of judgement on their ability. You doubtless catch my drift...
So, here's my England XI, I'm already preparing myself for a barrage of abuse...
Goalkeeper
David Seaman (1988-2002, 75 caps)
Defenders
Gary Neville (1995-Present, 85 caps)
Rio Ferdinand (1997-Present, 72 caps)
Sol Campbell (1996-Present, 73 caps)
Stuart Pearce (1987-1999, 78 caps)
Midfielders
Paul Ince (1992-2000, 53 caps)
Steven Gerrard (2000-Present, 74 caps)
David Beckham (1996-Present, 112 caps)
Paul Gascoigne (1988-1998, 57 caps)
Forwards
Ian Wright (1991-1998, 33 caps)
Alan Shearer (1992-2000, 63 caps)
Manager: Terry Venables (1994-1996)
So, there it is, you may agree, you may disagree. In some ways I hope you disagree. I'll be all too happy to defend my selections if challenged. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with, get commenting!
Take it easy.
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WhoFramedRuelFox said:Sorry, old boy. I seem to have littered your post with the same message three t...
WhoFramedRuelFox said:Probably Venables. Euro 96' was my favourite tournament. Closely followed by US...
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12 Comments · Add yours
Think you can do better? Post your England XIs here...
Rightio. From my lifetime:
GK-David Seaman
DL-Stuart Pearce
DR-Gary Neville (begrudgingly)
DC-Rio Ferdinand
DC-Des Walker
(As a Spurs fan you can understand my omission of Adams and Campbell)
M- Paul Gascoigne
M- David Beckham
M- David Platt
M-Paul Ince
FW- Alan Shearer
FW- Teddy Sheringham
Surpised by your inclusion of Ian Wright. Never really did it for England IMO.
Good Work, Sainty.
Neville was also a begrudging selection on my part.
I know Ian Wright never really "did it" in an England shirt, I just don't think he was ever given the chance at international level that his talents warranted. My second choice was Michael Owen, mainly because he inspired me at WC 98, but I've always felt a sense of injustice at Wrighty's treatment by the FA. A ridiculous piece of nostalgia/favouritism on my part? Perhaps.
Who would be your gaffer?
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Probably Venables. Euro 96' was my favourite tournament. Closely followed by USA 94; Which would've been perfect apart from the absense of England.
Probably Venables. Euro 96' was my favourite tournament. Closely followed by USA 94; Which would've been perfect apa
Probably Venables. Euro 96' was my favourite tournament. Closely followed by USA 94; Which would've been perfect apa
Sorry, old boy. I seem to have littered your post with the same message three times. Delete as appropriate.
God I hate my computer.
No worries.
Yeah, I loved Euro 96. I remember getting my face painted for the semi-final then going to bed in tears after seeing Gareth Southgate squander his penno. I think it was also the first tournament where I had a wallchart up in my bedroom, a tradition that stands to this day.
I guessed from your aborted post that you were going to say USA '94 was great apart from England not being there. All I remember from that tournament is watching the final. I was only 5 and I think it was the only game my Dad wanted to watch. I remember that Taffarel was my favourite player for a while afterwards. Probably my first football memory!
I started watching England bout 1986, so this is team:
Shilton
Beckham
Cole
Ferdinand
Butcher
Walker
Robson
Gerrard
Gascoigne
Rooney
Lineker
Seaman
Scholes
Anderson
Owen
Barnes
I've got Beckham and Cole as wing backs, cos they can both get up and own and supply us from wide.
I'm hoping that with Gerrard and Robson I've got enough discipline to boss the middle of the park and get forward, enough creativity to make some chances and Lineker to finish it off.