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Billy Wright's England Dream Team
Selected circa 1965

Billy Wright chose his England dream team from his playing days, 1946 to 1959.  The selection, in the old WM formation, originally appeared in Wright's column in the Daily Express, which was ghostwritten by Norman  Giller, and is reproduced in Giller's Billy Wright:  A Hero for All Seasons (Robson Books, London, 2002).

 

Bobby Moore's Captain's Choice England Team
Selected in 1976

Bobby Moore selected the England team he would have liked to captain from those who shared the pitch with him at one time or another.   The selection, in 4-3-3 formation, appeared in Jeff Powell's Bobby Moore: The Authorised Biography (Everest Books, London, 1976).  Tom Finney, right forward on Moore's selection, came out  of retirement in 1961 for a Football Association XI tour of Australia and New Zealand in which Moore also took part.

Tom Finney's Best Ever England XI
Selected in 1989

For  his official biography published in 1989, England legend Tom Finney was asked to select "10 playing colleagues in his English all-star side." Finney "was pre-selected at outside left," and "[h]is freedom  of choice [was] restricted to men who have competed at full international level in the 44 years since the Second World War."   The team, in the old WM formation, appears in Paul Agnew, Finney - A Football Legend (Carnegie Press, Preston, U.K., 1989).

Green Flag Post-War England Great X1
Selected in 1996

When Green Flag was the England team sponsor, it posted a Post-War England Great XI on its Team England website, which is now defunct.

Tom Finney Preston North End	Gary Lineker Leicester  City, Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur		Stanley Matthews Stoke City and Blackpool
Bobby Charlton Manchester United	Kevin  Keegan Liverpool, Hamburg and Southampton		Bryan Robson Manchester United
Stuart Pearce Nottingham Forest and  West Ham United	Bobby Moore West Ham United	Billy Wright Wolverhampton Wanderers	Jimmy Armfield Blackpool
	Gordon Banks Leicester City and Stoke City

 

Carling Legends' All-Time England XI
Selected in 1999

As England and Scotland were about to meet in the two-match home and away playoff  series for a spot in the European Championship 2000 final tournament, Carling, the brewers, sponsored a "Legends Lunch"  in London on 7 November 1999 at which several former England and Scotland players selected their all-time England and Scotland teams.  The England selectors were Jimmy Armfield, Terry Venables, Mick Channon, Terry Butcher and Norman Hunter while the Scottish selectors were Graeme Souness, Archie Gemmill, Andy Gray, Asa Hartford and Frank McLintock.

The Legends' Scotland XI:  Andy Goram; Danny McGrain, Alan Hansen, Dave Mackay, Eric Caldow; Jimmy Johnstone, Billy Bremner, Graeme Souness, Jim Baxter; Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law.  Coach: Willie Ormond.

David Lacey's England Team of the  20th Century
Selected in 2000

As the old century waned, David Lacey, the Guardian's chief  football writer for more than 30 years before his retirement in 2002, selected his England team of the 20th century in 4-4-2 formation.   It appeared in the Guardian on 1 January 2000.

	Jimmy Greaves Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur	Stan Mortensen Blackpool
Bobby Charlton Manchester United	Duncan Edwards Manchester United	Billy Wright Wolverhampton Wanderers	Stanley Matthews Stoke City and Blackpool
Ray Wilson Huddersfield Town and Everton	Bobby Moore West Ham United	Neil Franklin Stoke City	Alf Ramsey Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur
	Gordon Banks Leicester City and Stoke City
Substitutes:   Frank Swift, Manchester City Johnny Haynes, Fulham Kevin Keegan, Liverpool, Hamburg and Southampton Gary Lineker, Leicester  City, Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur Paul Gascoigne, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers and Middlesbrough Tom Finney, Preston North End

David Lacey's other teams of the century:

Scotland: Bill Brown; Eric Caldow, George Young, Martin Buchan, Danny McGrain; Jimmy Johnstone, Jim Baxter, Dave Mackay, Alan Morton; Denis Law, Kenny Dalglish. Substitutes: Jim Leighton, Tommy Gemmell, Billy Bremner, Hughie Gallacher, Lawrie Reilly, Billy Steel.

Wales and Northern Ireland combined: Pat Jennings; Johnny Carey, Allan Hunter, Mike England, Wally Barnes; George Best, Danny Blanchflower, Jimmy McIlroy, Cliff Jones; John Charles, Ian Rush. Substitutes: Jack Kelsey, Terry Hennessey, Billy Meredith, Ivor Allchurch, Sammy McIlroy, Derek Dougan.

Rest of the World: Lev Yashin, U.S.S.R.; Djalma Santos,  Brazil, Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany, Franco Baresi, Italy,  Paolo Maldini, Italy; Ernst Ocwirk, Austria; Michel Platini, France, Johan Cruyff, Netherlands; Diego Maradona, Argentina; Pele, Brazil, Alfredo di Stefano, Argentina and Spain.   Substitutes: Gyula Grosics,  Hungary; Ruud Gullit, Netherlands, Juan Schiaffino, Uruguay and Italy, Ferenc Puskas, Hungary and Spain, Marco van Basten, Netherlands, Eusebio, Portugal.

Bobby Robson's All-Time England World Cup Squad
Selected in 2002

Just prior to the World Cup 2002 final  tournament, in the London Times of  29 May 2002,  former England player and manager Bobby Robson selected  "the  perfect 23-man party from the 160 players who have been included in England World Cup squads."

A Fan's All-Time England Squad
Selected in 2002

As one of the authors of this website, Peter Young has selected a 24-man squad limited to players who performed for England after he began following the game as a boy in the late 1940's.  Peter notes that he chose the best players and not a balanced squad.

Goalkeepers	Fullbacks	Central defenders
Gordon Banks	Jimmy Armfield	Bobby Moore
Frank Swift	Ray Wilson	Neil Franklin
Peter Shilton	Don Howe	Billy Wright
	Roger Byrne	Rio Ferdinand
Wingers	Midfielders	Forwards
Stanley Matthews	Wilf Mannion	Tommy Lawton
Tom Finney	Bobby Charlton	Jimmy Greaves
John Barnes	Johnny Haynes	Gary Lineker
	Bryan Robson	Stan Mortensen
	Duncan Edwards
	Paul Gascoigne
On standby:  Ray Clemence, Stuart Pearce, Terry Butcher, Tony Adams, Ron Flowers, Jimmy Dickinson, Chris Waddle, Glenn Hoddle, Paul Ince, David Beckham, Martin Peters, Nat Lofthouse, Kevin Keegan; Tommy Taylor.

David Brooks' All-Time England World Cup Team
Selected in 2002

David  Brooks selected his all-time England World Cup team in his The All-Time World Cup (Parrs Wood Press, U.K., 2002).

Norman Giller's Post-War England Greats Team
Selected 2003

Norman Giller, long-time football journalist and author of the recent Billy Wright biography reviewed on this website as well as more than 60 other football books, kindly consented to pick his all-time England team for this page.  Norman adds comments explaining the results of what  he calls his "selection torture."

Norman Giller's comments:  

"May I first of all congratulate you on a website that is, by some distance, the finest England football base on the net. You can almost reach out and feel the warmth coming through for the history of the beautiful game. Well done to all of your contributors and those who slave at the keyboard to keep everything up to date.

"Having tortured myself, I would like to submit the following team for the all-time great England team selection (post-war, 4-2-4 formation) ...

"Peter Shilton - from Forest era, his physical presence giving him a fingertip edge over the more supple Banks.
Alf Ramsey - a little slow on the turn but measured and meticulous.
Neil Franklin - cultured centre-half ... his Colombian misadventure cost him 40 extra caps.
Bobby Moore - Mr. Dependable and the man who will be captain.
Ray Wilson - simply the best left-back of them all.
David Beckham - weeping as I put the man with the golden right boot an inch ahead of the two-footed maestro Johnny Haynes.
Duncan Edwards - a colossus whose thunder tackles will win the ball in midfield.
Stanley Matthews - a legend on the wing.
Jimmy Greaves - no finer goal scorer has stepped on the playing fields of England.
Tommy Lawton - The Headmaster ... with Artful Dodger Greavsie profiting from his physical challenges.
Tom Finney - Preston Plumber who could cause leaks in any defence.

"Alf Ramsey will manage the team, and Joe Mercer will be in charge of the after-match interviews!"

[More all-time teams to come]

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