England players and where they're from

[numerista]

What follows is an ordered list of the most populous metro areas in England, along with the national team pool members born in each city or nearby. The listed populations are a bit low, since some places I considered nearby are not included in the official metro population (e.g. Beverley relative to Kingston-upon-Hull). In one or two cases (e.g. Welwyn relative to London), it wasn't clear whether to count a birthplace as "nearby," but most cases were pretty obvious.

A player is included if he appears in the national team pools on either soccerbase.com or fussballdaten.de.

1. London (pop 8.3 mil)
- F.Lampard (Romford)
- R.Ferdinand (Peckham)
- J.Cole (Islington)
- L.King (London)
- J.Terry (London)
- R.Green (Chertsey)
- S.Wright-Phillips (London)
- J.Defoe (Beckton)
- K.Richardson (Greenwich)
- L.Young (Harlow)
- D.James (Welwyn)
- S.Campbell (Newham)
- A.Cole (Stepney)
- D.Beckham (Leytonstone)

2. Birmingham (pop 2.3 mil)
- D.Vassell

3. Manchester (pop 2.2 mil)
- N.Butt (Manchester)
- G.Neville (Bury)
- P.Neville (Bury)
- P.Crouch (Macclesfield)
- P.Scholes (Salford)

4. Leeds/Bradford (pop 1.5 mil)
- A.Smith (Wakefield)

5. Newcastle (pop 0.9 mil)

6. Liverpool (pop 0.8 mill)
- J.Carragher (Bootle)
- M.Owen (Chester)
- W.Rooney (Liverpool)
- M.Warnock (Ormskirk)
- S.Gerrard (Whiston)

7. Nottingham (pop 0.7 mill)
- J.Jenas (Nottingham)

8. Sheffield (pop 0.6 mill)

9. Bristol (pop 0.6 mill)

10. Brighton (pop 0.5 mill)

--- outside top ten ---

#12. Leicester (pop 0.4 mill)
- C.Kirkland (Leicester)
- E.Heskey (Leicester)

#19. Southampton (pop 0.3 mill)
- W.Bridge (Southampton)

#20. Kingston upon Hull (pop 0.3 mill)
- P.Robinson (Beverley)

Not in top 25. Ipswich (pop 0.1 mill)
- K.Dyer (Ipswich)

Not in top 25. Cambridge (pop 0.1 mill)
- D.Bent (Cambridge)

Looking at the places that are well-represented and the ones that aren't, a person seems to have a better chance of playing for England if he is born near a successful club or clubs.

[ChaChaFut]

Looking at the places that are well-represented and the ones that aren't, a person seems to have a better chance of playing for England if he is born near a successful club or clubs.It seems to me that this would be applicable to many other nations.

Most successful clubs belong to richer, bigger cities (that are more populated). More population implies better odds.

Do you mean this seems to happen in England only?

[numerista]

Most successful clubs belong to richer, bigger cities (that are more populated). More population implies better odds.


My point is that something else appears to be happening beyond population or wealth. Ignoring London, Liverpool and Manchester combine for 10 out of 13 national teamers born in the top ten English cities (76.9%). Of those same cities, they combine for only 29.7% of the population.

That's a dramatic difference, and it's probably connected to the fact that each of those cities has a giant club, plus another one of England's biggest (Everton and Man City).

England -- in spite of being a country where soccer is incredibly wealthy -- seems to have a very uneven pattern of national team development. If Ipswich and Southampton didn't have unusually good clubs for cities their size, it seems likely that Wayne Bridge and Kieron Dyer wouldn't be where they are now.

[numerista]

Adding players from the soccerbase 1998-99 England pool (the earliest one they have) ...
* 98-99
- 2005

With the exception of goalkeepers, who seem to come from out-of-the-way places, the original pattern seems to have been reinforced. Many players hail from London, Manchester, and Liverpool, as well as smaller cities whose clubs are strong relative to their population. This pattern seems even stronger for the international veterans who are listed in both pools. They break down as follows:

London 4
Manchester 4
Liverpool 2
Leicester 1
Ipswich 1

---
1. London (pop 8.3 mil)
*- F.Lampard (Romford)
*- R.Ferdinand (Peckham)
- J.Cole (Islington)
- L.King (London)
- J.Terry (London)
- R.Green (Chertsey)
- S.Wright-Phillips (London)
- J.Defoe (Beckton)
- K.Richardson (Greenwich)
- L.Young (Harlow)
- D.James (Welwyn)
*- S.Campbell (Newham)
- Ash.Cole (Stepney)
*- D.Beckham (Leytonstone)
* T.Adams (Romford)
* P.Ince (Ilford)
* R.Lee (West Ham)
* P.Merson (Harlesden)
* R.Parlour (Romford)
* T.Sheringham (Highams Park)
* T.Sherwood (St. Albans)
* G.Southgate (Watford)
* I.Walker (Watford)
* I.Wright (Woolwich)

2. Birmingham (pop 2.3 mil)
- D.Vassell (Birmingham)
* L.Hendrie (Birmingham)

3. Manchester (pop 2.2 mil)
*- N.Butt (Manchester)
*- G.Neville (Bury)
*- P.Neville (Bury)
- P.Crouch (Macclesfield)
*- P.Scholes (Salford)
* W.Brown (Manchester)
* L.Dixon (Manchester)
* A.Hinchcliffe (Manchester)
* J.Wilcox (Bolton)

4. Leeds/Bradford (pop 1.5 mil)
- A.Smith (Wakefield)
* D.Batty (Leeds)

5. Newcastle (pop 0.9 mil)
* M.Gray (Sunderland)
* A.Shearer (Newcastle)

6. Liverpool (pop 0.8 mill)
*- J.Carragher (Bootle)
*- M.Owen (Chester)
- W.Rooney (Liverpool)
- M.Warnock (Ormskirk)
- S.Gerrard (Whiston)
* M.Ball (Liverpool)
* R.Fowler (Toxteth)
* F.Jeffers (Liverpool)
* S.McManaman (Liverpool)

7. Nottingham (pop 0.7 mill)
- J.Jenas (Nottingham)
* An.Cole (Nottingham)

8. Sheffield (pop 0.6 mill)
* D.Seaman (Rotherham)

9. Bristol (pop 0.6 mill)

10. Brighton (pop 0.5 mill)

11. Portsmouth (pop 0.5 mill)

12. Leicester (pop 0.5 mill)
- C.Kirkland (Leicester)
*- E.Heskey (Leicester)
* D.Dublin

13. Bournemouth (pop 0.4 mill)
* J.Redknapp (Barton-on-Sea)

14. Reading (0.4 mill)

15. Middlesbrough (pop 0.4 mill)
* J.Woodgate (Middlesbrough)

--- outside top 15 ---

#19. Southampton (pop 0.3 mill)
- W.Bridge (Southampton)
* D.Anderton (Southampton)

#20. Kingston upon Hull (pop 0.3 mill)
- P.Robinson (Beverley)

#25 Luton (pop 0.2 mill)
* K.Phillips (Hitchin)

Not in top 25. Oxford (pop 0.1 mill)
* Keown (Oxford)

Not in top 25. Ipswich (pop 0.1 mill)
*- K.Dyer (Ipswich)

Not in top 25. Cambridge (pop 0.1 mill)
- D.Bent (Cambridge, I think, but Wikipedia says London)

Not in top 25. Jersey (pop 0.1 mill)
* Le Saux (Jersey)

Not in top 25. St. Austell (pop 20 K)
* N.Martyn (St. Austell)

[scoachd1]

With the exception of goalkeepers, who seem to come from out-of-the-way places, the original pattern seems to have been reinforced. Many players hail from London, Manchester, and Liverpool, as well as smaller cities whose clubs are strong relative to their population. This pattern seems even stronger for the international veterans who are listed in both pools. They break down as follows:


Could it be that talented kids from out of the way places moved near big clubs when they got older? Maybe moved in with Uncle Charles so they could get training near a top youth team rather than travel long distances or play with a lessor local team? In many cases, lists like these tend to include the last place someone was from, not where they spent most of their time.

[numerista]

Could it be that talented kids from out of the way places moved near big clubs when they got older? ... In many cases, lists like these tend to include the last place someone was from, not where they spent most of their time.

It's impossible to be sure, but I expect that these birthplaces are pretty reliable. They come from soccerbase.com, who presumably got the info directly from The FA. In several cases, I looked up player biographies on other sites, and they validated what soccerbase had said. To give an example that soccerbase got right, Martin Keown moved to London but was born in Oxford.

Wikipedia, by contrast, doesn't seem to be as reliable. They list Darren Bent as having been born in London, but this contradicts what The FA says...
http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Players/Postings/2005/09/DarrenBent_PlayerProfile

(If I'd known about the FA's listings, I would've used them from the start.)

[scoachd1]

It's impossible to be sure, but I expect that these birthplaces are pretty reliable.

My mistake - I didn't read carefully enough and mentally substituted home town since that is what is often listed. That is pretty interesting.

[Elninho]

Perhaps true of England, yet... I tried the same for every German-born player capped by Germany since 2002. Strangely, fewer than half of them were born within 30 miles of a current 1.Bundesliga or 2.Bundesliga club.

[numerista]

Perhaps true of England, yet... I tried the same for every German-born player capped by Germany since 2002. Strangely, fewer than half of them were born within 30 miles of a current 1.Bundesliga or 2.Bundesliga club.

And as I recall, Klinsy came from Goppingen, which isn't near any big clubs, either. Incidentally, I'd be grateful if you could post this info when you get the chance.

BTW, I haven't finished looking them up yet, but England's 1982 and 1990 World Cup squads do seem to have more players from smaller towns.