British Football Best XIs (1863-1939)

Buchan probably never saw prime Steve Bloomer playing I guess (to refer to the comment about that), even though I think one or two Bloomer goals can be seen on the internet so were captured on film. Obviously there was no 'Match of the Day' in Buchan's early years!

 

I guess likewise Buchan indicates Len Shackleton in effect as "better with the ball" than George Holley (his Sunderland team-mate) but whether that converts to "better player" (considering also inconsistency in Shackleton he referred to specifically) is also hard to say. I noticed he'd said pleasing things about Holley in general lately anyway (on the forum and/or when looking into things when posting the updates on IceBlood's thread - there is definitely some overlap there with selections made by the likes of @peterhrt and inclusions in Xis posted on this thread anyway I noticed too), so surely thought him a great player also.

 

I'm not really sure whether Pemberton should be Pennington too (maybe not though)?

Sometimes when surnames can be mis-spelled/typed it's hard to be sure (or just when surnames are used rather than full names although I suppose with the mention of Lofthouse by one guy for example it is clear it will be the older-timer Blackburn winger referred to, not Nat Lofthouse, because of the era he had been referring to)...

 

Interesting to see this (considering also Meredith's words about Bloomer and Bobby Walker): from 1938 seemingly Meredith and Bobby Walker calling each other the top player in history (with a comparison between Bobby and Tommy Walker, albeit brief, by the person commenting in the article, not by Meredith):

Maybe it's one for the thread about players calling other players the best ever, albeit Meredith had decided on Bloomer over Bobby Walker (thinking both available just as inside right it seems) in his XI as shown.

 

There are pieces in which Tommy Walker himself was called a genius though, like this from 1936:

While in 1938 there is already talk of tributes to Stanley Matthews after his career is over:

 

I noticed this Man City XI from early 1982, picked by a fan who watched games in the 1930s (subs were Bobby Johnstone, Asa Hartford - in another article from 1997 there were some views about the best Man City player with Bell, Doherty and also Johnstone getting calls, in comparisons among those 4 and with Georgi Kinkladze):

 

I noticed this piece written by Bobby Moore: what "they say" about Ferenc Bene combining some of the trademark qualities of Hidegkuti, Puskas, Kocsis and Czibor (in a centre-forward role, or deep-lying centre forward I suppose - of course in the World Cup Florian Albert played that role and Bene was right winger):

 

The nazi Peco Bauwens heaping praise on the (perceived) brother people. Thus also Orth. What a surprise.

 

I noticed another comment seemingly by Billy Meredith (it says W.Meredith in the publication 'London Opinion', in a piece in the Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette on New Year's Eve in 1909).

The comment says the following:
"In English football the game is to go for goal by the most direct route. Players are not encouraged to show how they can wheel and waltz with the ball. Over the border the exact opposite is the case, and cleverness with the ball is the keynote of the game. Scottish crowds love to see artistic trickery, and accurate deft short passing. In a trickery competition the Scots would beat England to pieces. The English lad is told he must either get forward with the ball or part with it. He must not waste time. The Scottish youth is encouraged to dribble and wheel and toy with the ball, and the result is that he becomes wonderfully clever. That is why England has no Bobby Walkers and Scotland has no Steve Bloomers"

 

Interesting list. I find Madeley's selection interesting and have often found concurrent sources rating him significantly higher than his current reputation, which seems to be non-existent especially compared to his teammate and world cup winner Jack Charlton, who he is ahead of.

Madeley has also jumped off the screen to me when watch some recent Leeds games.

Carey and Blanchflower as the highest rated backs ahead of Moore (and Wright) is also interesting (excluding the 'mythical' Edwards), especially in 75 when Moore has had a full career and should be appreciated. May be there is a small club bias working against Moore and Wright in this type of vote (West Ham and Wolves vs Tottenham and Manchester United)?

 

The 'expert' selections they refer to are the ones I posted on the Interesting Best XI thread I think, here:
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/interesting-best-xi.325564/page-64#post-41856294