Two Frank Moss’s played for England. His 40 goals rank him fourth highest of all time on the scoring list for England. Alan Shearer was a prolific goal scorer at club level, and that eye for goal did not leave the striker when he played for England. David Beckham has to be considered as the best player of the current generation of English footballers. The sight of the 'Welsh Wizard' tearing down the wing has terrified many a right back throughout Ryan Giggs' long and successful career. Mortensen scored a hat-trick in an FA Cup final that became known as the Matthews Final. There was courage, too, to match his energy and skill. They were vulnerable in the World Cup and it was four years until Billy Wright finally filled the gap. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Still, as you say, ranking is a subjective task. Chief Football Correspondent Jason Burt gives his verdict on the 20 best UK footballers ever, as part of our campaign to find the UK's Greatest Ever Sportsperson. Cole may not be the best player of his generation as he has appeared alongside the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry and Wayne Rooney, but he has been a stabilizing force at his position whenever he steps out on the pitch for his country. There’s an element of truth to this, of course, but let’s not dismiss the man completely. It didn’t always work when he was paired with Lofthouse, but England could certainly have used him in Sweden in 1958. The real surprise for me was that he made the top 100, but the talent really does thin out right about here and Hughes deserves his spot. He’s a funny one is Sol. Note that Byrne is the 7th left back on the list, while we’ve only had two legitimate right backs. Twice European football of the year, Keegan was a human dynamo, a rampaging forward who could leap, head, shoot and pass with distinction. When Juventus signed Charles from Leeds in 1957 for a world-record £65,000 he was one of the first British players to move abroad - and no other Brit has ever enjoyed the same levels of success on foreign fields. Injuries meant he was done for Engand by the age of 28, and his demise, along with that of Swift, Franklin, Carter and Lawton put an end to any hopes England had in their first World Cup appearance in 1950. wheres kevin davies??? With Herbert Chapman, he played a vital role in the development of the W-M formation and later, became an important football writer. He was super quick and excelled on the wing as well as in the No. Had his England career and partnership with Wright lasted a few more years, he’d likely be many spots higher on this list. Some think he’s the greatest player of all-time (really). But it took him a while to find his stride and the injury before the 1982 World Cup cost him his crowning moment. A genuinely world-class centre forward and a genuinely world-class centre-half, Charles was also Britain's finest footballing export. I’ve marked Greaves down for his World Cup record, but let’s not get carried away. When he burst on the scene he truly looked like he might be headed for the top of this list. His speed plugged some gaps at the back and he extended the career of Terry Butcher for one. Joy in a hooped shirt. That’s not because he underperformed, but because he loved to get forward and score goals. Strong in the air and on the ground and surprisingly good on the ball for a defender of his era. It was his instinct to sprint down a wing, just as a dog cannot help but retrieve you a stick. Possibly the greatest player ever to come out of Great Britain, Northern Ireland born Best had sublime dribbling skills, pace and acceleration, a great shot and was comfortable with both feet. Alas, I think now we need to accept that it’s unlikely he’ll reach those heights.He’s lost a step in pace and has mysterious spells when his touch deserts him entirely. Well I can’t escape the feeling that for all his qualities, Robson’s teams were sometimes better without him than with him. Four hundred and sixty-six goals for club and country in 659 appearances. At the tender age of 22 Alf Ramsey made Bobby the captain of England. He is also Leeds's second highest scorer of all time - despite having also played at full-back and in midfield for the Elland Road outfit. He was the greatest header of a football I have ever seen - and that was when they were as heavy as cannonballs. If I were to look for any over weighting of a particular club, it would probably be towards United, though it certainly was not intentional. With 30 goals in 55 appearances for his country, Law is Scotland's joint top scorer, a record he shares with Kenny Dalglish. Len Shackleton and Matthew Le Tissier are unforgiveable omissions from this list. Stan was a good team player, but he needed the team to play a particular way. For a while he was one of the better players in Europe, helping Forrest to a second European Cup Final with a combination of skill, speed and sharp cool finishing. Jimmy Greaves was one of the most prolific English strikers of all time. “The crab” is much maligned for his overly cautious approach, and frankly for denying Hoddle a bunch of caps. Ranking players from different eras is, I think, ultimately a futile exercise, although it does make for interesting reading. He’s our greatest living football man. Not quite as renowned as the others in the top five but a remarkable footballer who was equally accomplished as a striker or centre-half. Anderson was the first black man to win full England honors and, once he grew into his Bambie legs, was an excellent, athletic right back who could defend and attack.He played for England for 10 years but won only 30 caps as he was mainly second choice behind Phil Neale. The goal glut had much to do with the change in the off-side rule in the mid-20s to which it took a while for defences to adjust. Another of those 50s legends, and one who could certainly play. He had slowish start to his international career but was world class by the end. Once they did and stopper centre halves emerged, Dixie wasn’t quite so potent, especially at international level. He was rated highly internationally and had England participated in the 1930s World Cups, his stock might have risen even higher. It seems to me that Kev is almost always over-rated or under-rated. Later the famous manager of Wolves, Cullis was first a very fine centre half for the same club. That’s fine and wonderful, but occasionally a little one-dimensional. A goal machine for Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham and England whose reflexes, courage, calmness and positioning made him the closest thing English football has had to its own Gerd Muller since Jimmy Greaves. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. 9. Pscycho! By Huw Davies 28 August 2018. But it’s also true that he was inconsistent, and not a real grafter. But on his day he really was quite excellent, so this is as low he goes. I would have been interested in knowing how long you’ve been watching football so I could tell which players you’ve seen and which you haven’t. So, good as he was, he doesn’t rank among the top 3 English left backs, but his scream of redemption after scoring his penalty in Euro 96 ranks right at the top of footballing celebrations. Had he played his entire career as he did for Ron Greenwood, Trev would be a top 20 player. Just as long as he wasn’t marking you. He is the most capped English right back of all-time but might be an after-thought had the uber-talented Rob Jones not been chopped down by injuries just as he should have been peaking. I happen to think he was even a little better. Ryan Giggs, for instance, wasn’t far off, in purely playing terms. A year for coronations: that of The Queen and that of the Wizard of the Dribble, Sir Stan, our first footballing knight. explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. Skilled and crafty, but Waddle rarely dominated for country as he sometimes did for club. The problem is that for the first 8 years of his top class career, Wright was little more than an above average as a right half. But for the very top echelon of players, when a team is built around them, that team is successful.