Away from England, Banks enjoyed a career largely at Leicester and Stoke, featuring in five major finals (winning two). But it is Banks’ personal successes that really stand out as the cherry on the world cup winner/best save in history cake.
Quite unbelievably, Banks won the FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year an incredible six consecutive years between 1966 and 1971 inclusive, while the IFFHS voted him the second greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century behind ‘the Black Spider’ Lev Yashin. Quite remarkable.
Unfortunately a car accident in 1972 cost him the sight in one of his eyes, somewhat prematurely ending his playing career. But his achievements are plain and clear to see, and Banks deservedly goes down as not simply one of England’s, but one of the world’s, greatest goalkeepers in history.
Did you know…? – Banks was one of only nine goalkeepers to be listed by Pelé in his FIFA 100.
Paul Gascoigne (1988-1998, 57 caps, 10 goals)
Arguably the greatest technical player to ever pull on a Three Lions shirt, Gascoigne was something different for England. English players are rarely suggested as possessing a technique that would be more suited to the beaches of Rio than Wembley, yet Gazza displayed a flair and finesse to his play that was, at times, truly magical. However, he wasn’t simply all skill with no end product; he had simply combined this natural genius to an already talented arsenal of attributes as a midfielder which, overall, created an international star.
Making his England debut in 1998, Gazza quickly became one of the team’s major stars, emphasised by his induction in the 1990 World Cup All-Star team. He also produced one of the nation’s most memorable goals, with a flick over the defender followed by a volley past the goalkeeper during Euro 1996 – against great rivals Scotland. But above all else, there is perhaps one moment that truly captivated the affection between Gazza, England and the fans.
Having earlier in the tournament received a yellow card, Gascoigne’s yellow against Germany during the 1990 World Cup semi final meant that, had England made it through to the final, he would’ve been ruled out. TV images of Gazza beginning to cry after realising this perfectly captured the passion of the star, and forever go down in history.
Despite failing to win anything at international level, Gazza did pick up several cup medals during his club career, along with the 87-88 PFA Young Player of the Year Award. Unfortunately, this is where I cut short Gazza’s glittering career.
The whole time I have been writing this, I have tried to keep it short as there is so much more to tell about Gascoigne than perhaps any other player on this list. While he was one of the most talented players on the pitch, Gazza has endured much turmoil off of it.
Originally, I would’ve stated infamous incidents as the dentist chair and the tractor contributing to his downfall, but it is actually his post career that is truly sad. In and out of rehab, every day is honestly a worry as to whether Gascoigne will soon be spread across all the newspapers for a tragic reason, having battled alcoholism and depression for a long time.
A modern legend of English football, an enigmatic character whose career was marred by such incidents (and a serious injury which couldn’t have helped) have allowed the memories of this great player begin to fade, overshadowed by his personal problems. We can only pray for him.
Did you know…? – Sir Alex Ferguson has previously stated that missing out on the signing of Gascoigne is one of his biggest regrets, arguing him as ‘the best player of his era’.
So there you have the first six players to be mentioned on this list. Now, before any of you jump the gun, there are plenty more to come! To be precise, I have written about 24 players in total, and thus will reveal them six at a time. So before you start shouting ‘why haven’t you included….?’ – I probably have!
I would just point out as well that these are in no particular order! It is incredibly difficult to choose between generations, so comparing two players (even if they are in the same position) is near impossible. Add to the equation that some English players may have performed more solidly throughout their club careers, while other’s made a much vaster impact on the international stage, and it leads to a ranking that is impossible to create. So these 24 players are simply those who I feel could be in with a shout, but whether they are the first or the last I write about, I really do not feel I can order them!
Keep a look out for Part II which will be on the way soon with six more English stars. In the meantime, please visit and like my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thefootballwriter) and drop me a tweet @bradpeterson22 @TFW_Official. Cheers!
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