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The Greatest Players in British History

In order to qualify, a player must have been born in the British isles (including Ireland) or must have played in one of the leagues therein.

50 Ryan Giggs

Giggs is now the most decorated player in British league history with no fewer than 11 top flight winners' medals, 2 champions' league medals and a whole host of other European and domestic medals to his name. Beginning life in Utd's first team aged 17 as a lightning fast left winger with good delivery of crosses and finishing ability, he has become a more cultured football as he has aged and thus maintained his performance at a high level, despite his loss of pace. Ferguson once said, "the line between Ryan Giggs and genius is very thin." That is true enough. He's a very good footballer indeed.

For: Outstanding servant of Man Utd over the years and a superb winger

Against: Not blessed with great technique and misplaces a few passes

49 Patrick Vieira

A boisterous midfield player for Arsenal in the late 90s, Vieira epitomised the modern midfielder with his galloping gait, muscular approach to defensive work and ability on the ball. His dominant displays in midfield for Arsenal allowed players such as Bergkamp and Overmars to get on with what they did best - attacking - knowing Vieira was more than capable of controlling the middle of the park with his French partner, Manu Petit.

For: Powerful, domineering

Against: Didn't score a great deal but then that wasn't his job

48 Roger Hunt

A prolific striker under Shankly at Liverpool and a world cup winner with England, Hunt scored 286 goals for Liverpool, helping to transform them from second division strugglers to the champions of England.

For: Good in the air and on the ground

Against: Didn't manage to match his club goalscoring ratio with England

47 Paul Scholes

Laurent Blanc, world cup winner: "I tell everyone who asks me, Scholes is the best English player"

Marcello Lippi, world cup winner: "An all-round midfielder who possesses quality and character in abundance."

Edgar Davids: "I'm not the best, Paul Scholes is. We can all learn from Scholes."

Despite being highly regarded by those in the game, Scholes is often overlooked in 'greatest player' polls. In part, this is because Scholes is such a great team player, despite his abundant technical skill - but it's also because he rarely demonstrates flair on pitch, preferring to play it simply most of the time.

For: Ability, work rate, team work, passing ability

Against: Mediocre tackler, didn't always produce the form he was capable of for club or country during his best years

46 Frank Lampard Jr

While he was a very good rather than great youth player, Lampard has improved more than any other player over the past few years, adding strength, determination and goalscoring to his already well-honed passing abilities. The statistics demonstrate Lampard's outstanding play: he makes more passes than any other top flight player, scores around 20 goals a season from midfield and gets lots of assists.

For: Passing, goalscoring, physical presence

Against: Not a great tackler.

45 Brian Clough

Clough was oddly overlooked by England, despite having probably the best goals ratio of any striker in post-war history, averaging not far short of a goal a game throughout his career at Middlesbrough and Sunderland until a knee injury ended his career before his 30th birthday. Many believe he was only selected by England twice because his 'face didn't fit' and he was considered too volatile and surly by the England managers of the era.

For: unrivalled goalscoring ratio

Against: Played some of his football outside of the top flight

44 Tony Adams

While not the most skillful player in the world, Adams' leadership skills and ability to defend were top class. He was the backbone of both the George Graham side that won so much playing defensive, direct football and the more expansive late 90s Wenger side. Adams was the leader and lynchpin of probably the most effective club defense in British footballing history at Arsenal and was held in high regard as a captain by all the managers he played under.

For: leadership, all-round defensive game

Against: Not very technically accomplished, struggled with a drink problem early on

43 Denis Law

Law was a very prolific striker for Manchester United - for whom he scored over 170 goals - and Scotland. Agile, sharp and deadly in front of goal, he is regarded as one of United's best ever goalscorers.

For: finishing

Against: Couldn't score with his head

42 Dave McKay

McKay was a legendary half-back for Spurs, described by Brian Clough as "Spurs' greatest ever player" who was known for his fierce determination and considerable skill. When his career appeared to be drawing to a conclusion at Spurs after over 300 appearances, Clough signed him and made him his sweeper at Derby, who won the league title with McKay as skipper.

For: The heart of a lion and the skill of a... very good half-back

Against: 2 broken legs and counting...

41 Jurgen Klinsmann

A world class striker and one of Germany's finest ever footballers who played for Spurs in the early 90s. Despite spending only a few years in the premiership, he made a great impact with his all-round attacking play. Left Spurs in acrimonious circumstances before re-signing for them and helping them to safety a few years later. Hitherto famous for diving, his goal celebration for Spurs became 'the dive,' in which Klinsmann and his team mates run down the pitch and dive theatrically, laughing their heads off and lying in a collective heap on the ground. How Spurs fans laughed. Until he requested a transfer and buggered off abroad.

For: Great all-round centre-forward with an international track-record and very successful Seria A career

Against: Didn't demonstrate much loyalty

40 Peter Schmeichel

The big Danish shot stopper was another key player in the successful 1990s Man Utd team. He had an unrivalled ability to make himself big in the goalmouth, had lightning reflexes and was able to throw the ball the full length of the field with unerring accuracy: indeed, he once scored a goal by throwing it into the opposition net in the Danish league.

For: The best keeper of the past two decades in Britain

Against: Positioning not as good as Shilton, Banks or Seaman's.

39 Colin Bell

Widely regarded as Manchester City's greatest ever player, Bell was a midfielder who was strong in the tackle, a very good goalscorer and had phenomenal athletic prowess. Malcolm Allison, the assistant manager at Man City - according to legend - would sit and watch him at Bury, moaning about him to the scouts from other clubs in order to put them off. As soon as Man City could afford him, they snapped him up.

For: a 1970s Roy Keane, only in blue

Against: Not a great passer of the ball

38 John Terry

Good in the air, excellent on the ground and a player who rarely makes a mistake, Terry is the key figure in the emergence of Chelsea as a top division force in the 21st century. While other players steal the headlines, Terry gets on with what he does best - heading, tackling, marking and snuffing out opposing forwards.

For: Born leader

Against: Earns silly money but almost joined Manchester City for more

37 Willie Miller

Miller was a fiercely combative centre-half for Aberdeen who helped them establish themselves as the dominant team in Scotland in early 1980s. His manager Alex Ferguson described him as "the best penalty box defender in the world" and he went on to captain his country as one of their best ever defenders, forming a great partnership with Alan Hansen.

For: Courageous and wiley centre-half

Against: Very little

36 Jackie Millburn

One of Newcastle's greatest ever players, Millburn managed a goal every two games but it was his hard work defensively that separated him from many other strikers. He tracked back and pressed, linking up play to create opportunities for his strike partners too. Spoken of in messianic terms by Newcastle fans, he was undoubtedly a great player.

For: the archetype of the modern striker

Against: Didn't score as many as some in the same era

35 Wilf Mannion

Mannion was a great player born in an era when footballing talent was not well rewarded. He lived in poverty for much of his life. As a player, he was blessed with a fine footballing brain and quicksilver feet. As Tom Finney said, "Wilf Mannion was a class-act, the inside-forward I rated as my perfect partner on the left-flank." He was an inside forward of some standing for England and Middlesbrough and Hulls' finest ever player.

For: A footballing brain with equally gifted feet attached

Against: Didn't win much

34 Wayne Rooney

Rooney has the potential to rival the finest players in the history of the British isles. He is blessed with great skill, determination and strength. Able to score spectacular goals and tap-ins, Rooney links up play well and causes opposing defenders all kinds of trouble. All he needs to do is add some more goals to his game and gain greater consistency.

For: England's most talented attacker of the 21st century

Against: Needs to score more on the pitch rather than with someone's grandmother off it

33 Ian Rush

Rush was Liverpool's top goalscoring striker during the 1980s and early 90s, going on to score 265 goals in his career. He had everything a striker needs: excellent movement, pace and the ability to score more often than he missed. Despite a failed spell at Juventus and a couple of injury-ravaged seasons, he remains one of the all-time great strikers.

For: Lethal striker

Against: He never made any efforts to remove the rat that resided on his top lip throughout the 1980s.

32 Gianfranco Zola

Dazzling, little player who lit up Chelsea for several seasons in the late 90s. He linked up play very well and entertained superbly. His technique and skill were matched only by his ability to score from dead ball situations.

For: Clever, creative forward

Against: Didn't score as often as a striker should and didn't defend as well as a midfielder ought to

31 Paul Gascoigne

Potentially one of the all time great footballers who unfortunately threw his career away due to a badly-timed challenge that wrecked his knee and years of alcohol abuse and over-eating. When Gazza wasn't eating all the pies and drinking himself to sleep at night, he was an occasionally majestic player with endless skill. While he was brilliant in his early days, he flattered to deceive more often than not after his injury and only produced flashes of what he was capable of. Those flashes, however, often won matches, as Scotland remember only too well from Euro 96.

For: Talent

Against: Waste of talent

30 Alan Ball

Specialised in mopping up in front of the defence and turning defence into attack with rapid, adroit passes and little bursts of pace, Ball was part of England's '66 triumph. He went on to sign for Everton and became one of their greatest ever players with his dominating midfield displays.

For: Big talent

Against: Little frame

29 Glenn Hoddle

England's finest ever passer of the ball, both short range and long range. Blessed with incredible vision and touch, Hoddle was the darling of the Spurs fans before moving on to Monaco, where he was dubbed' 'Le God.' Criminally overlooked for England at times, despite being one of our finest midfielders throughout the 1980s.

For: The ultimate playmaker

Against: His tackling, or lack thereof

28 Peter Beardsley

Beardsley was occasionally overlooked for both club and country but is undoubtedly one of the most talented withdrawn attackers this country has ever produced. He made a slow start before dazzling the Newcastle fans with his sublime dribbling, deft passing and never-say-die attitude before big money moves to Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle. One season for Newcastle, he provided more than 20 assists, scoring 20 himself.

For: Had flair and skill but worked as hard as anyone

Against: Lacked physical presence and occasionally viewed as a luxury player

27 Bryan Robson

Busy midfielder who was greater than the sum of his parts. He did everything well and worked his socks off for the side, captaining both club and country.

For: unselfish, strong midfielder

Against: Arguably the worst manager in the history of football

26 Kevin Keegan

Keegan was a livewire striker for Liverpool in the 1970s, known for buzzing around the box and being sharp as a box of tacs. He worked tirelessly, competed in the air and on the ground and scored plenty of goals for Liverpool and other clubs, including Hamburg.

For: Competitive, effective and prolific striker

Against: "I would love it if..."

25 Alan Shearer

One of the world's leading strikers before being robbed of his pace by a series of serious knee injuries, Shearer was probably the most feared top flight striker throughout most of the 1990s for Blackburn and Newcastle. Lethal in the box, excellent in the air and utterly reliable, his finest period came in his first two seasons for Blackburn when his pace made him difficult to stop, combined with his strength, determination and guile.

For: The complete English-style centre-forward

Against: Remained a very good striker after his injuries but lost his edge

24 Phil Neal

Neal was one of the greatest right backs of all time, amassing over 700 league games and eight league titles for Liverpool in a distinguished career. He was hugely dependable, did all the simple things well and managed to keep at bay some of the world best left wingers as Liverpool marched to European glory. Hugely competent.

For: Unspectacular

Against: Unspectacular

23 Tom Finney

Finney was a great right winger in the era of Stanley Matthews. He played for Preston North End, becoming a giant of the game, renowned for his easy control and dazzling changes of pace as he flew past full-backs. While Matthews may have been the more skillful player, Finney was more versatile, able to play right wing or left wing and occasionally playing in the centre. Bill Shankly, declared, "Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age ... even if he had been wearing an overcoat."

For: Skill, versatility, crossing

Against: Always came second to Matthews

22 Peter Shilton

Shilton was a great keeper in his day Though he came up against English keepers of the calibre of Banks and Clemence in the competition for England caps, he still managed to win 125 caps, playing in the world cup semi-finals at age 40. Signed by Nottingham Forest for a record fee for a keeper, he went on to guard their impenetrable goal during the season in which they won the league title and later moved on to Southampton.

For: Great reflexes and worked hard to develop his skills as a keeper, improving year on year, A model pro

Against: Wasn't as tall as some keepers

21 Dennis Bergkamp

Bergkamp is probably Arsenal's most technically accomplished player of all time. With beautiful control and delicacy of touch, calmness under pressure and an eye for the spectacular, Bergkamp lit up Highbury in the early days of Wenger's reign, providing goals first for Ian Wright and later for Thierry Henry. He was a forward in the tradition of the Netherlands: skillful but not brutal. He rarely won much in the air, flattened anyone or got stuck in defending. However, as a forward, he was majestic on his day.

For: Great footballing forward

Against: Not a physical or ariel threat, lacked a yard of pace

20 Billy Bremner

Bremner was a courageous and aggressive midfield dynamo for Leeds United during their period of dominance in the 1970s. His ubiquitious industry all over the pitch, combined with his talent as a passer and tackler, have made him arguably Leeds' greatest ever player.

For: tough, talented midfielder

Against: Some would say he was a bit aggressive

19 Cristiano Ronaldo

Any player who manages to score 40 goals as a winger and fires his team to champions' league success is deserving of his place in the top 20. Ronaldo did both of these things and entertained Old Trafford with some electric displays down the right flank. He improved immeasurably during his spell at Man Utd, where he was initially disappointing due to a lack of end product. Over time, his passing, heading, crossing, dead balls and especially his finishing grew to match his immense skill and dribbling ability. After three years of consistently humiliating full backs in the premiership, he moved on to Real Madrid.

For: The best goalscoring winger of all time

Against: Sometimes over-complicates things and fails to do the basics well

18 Billy Wright

A great defender for Wolves and England and a natural leader, he played for England 105 times. Walter Winterbottom, the England manager, said of him, ‘Billy had a heart of oak and was the most reliable of men.' He was also a footballer of the year. His main gift was for tackling, which he turned into an art form and rarely played anything other than a very simple, effective pass to the more creative players in front of him.

For: Magnificent captain and defender

Against: He married one of the Beverley sisters, becoming a celebrity and paving the way for future 'stars,' such as Cashley Cole and David Peckham

17 Gary Lineker

A master finisher who had an almost clairvoyant ability to know exactly where to be in the box at any given time. His talent as a penalty box striker helped Everton to title success, before successful spells at Barcelona, Tottenham and Grampus Eight in Japan. He was golden boot winner in the 1986 world cup and showed he was still among the world's best in 1990. Probably third only to Dixie Dean and Jimmy Greaves as a penalty box striker.

For: Pace, movement, finishing

Against: His arthritic toe

16 Alan Hansen

Hansen was another great signing for Liverpool during the '70s on the cheap. He matured into a fine defender and superb passer of the ball, frequently coming into midfield and creating opportunities for turning defence into attack. His comfort on the ball and organisational abilities made him outstanding and something of an archetype for the modern centre-half, able to retain possession as well as head, tackle and impose himself.

For: Cultured centre-half

Against: Not as physically strong as some other defenders but made up for that with his anticipation and intelligence

15 Thierry Henry

Henry was bought from Juventus, having been misused as a winger for a few years and was restored to his striking role by Arsene Wenger to great effect. Henry was part the Arsenal side that managed to go through a season unbeaten and his exquisite finishing was a key reason for their success: able to tap them in, dribble past his man or score from outside the box, Henry was probably Arsenal's greatest ever player.

For: World class striker

Against: Didn't pose much of an ariel threat

14 Danny Blanchflower

Blanchflower is regarded by many Spurs fans as their greatest ever player. He was their captain under Bill Nicholson as a part of the brilliant 'push and run' side that won their opening eleven games on the trot and went on to win the double. He was known as a hard working, inspiring player and a great passer of the ball.

For: Passing, endeavor, leadership

Against: The fact he was a defender and Northern Irish meant he wasn't as well known as he should have beem

13 John Charles

Charles was one of the few great players who was great in two positions: he played both centre back and striker at the highest level for Leeds United, Wales and Juventus. He fired Juventus to the league title with a great goals haul in Serie A and is Britain's most successful player to play abroad. He is regarded so well at Juventus that in a poll, he was voted greatest ever foreigner at Juventus, ahead of Maradona, Zidane and Platini. His career tailed off after he returned to England and he suffered with a few recurrent injuries.

For: A great footballer in two positions

Against: Suffered with injuries

12 Eric Cantona

Cantona was signed by Man Utd for just £1.2 million and promply inspired them to 4 titles in 5 years. The only time they didn't win the league was when he was sitting at home 'redefining his relationship with the football' and spouting poetry about sardines following his drop-kick aimed at an opposition supporter. Cantona was elegance personified with his classy touch and ability to do the unexpected. As well as creating a lot of goals, he became a reliable goalscorer, knocking in a lot with his head. An all time legend at Old Trafford.

For: Great all round centre forward

Against: He never quite performed for France or in Europe for Man Utd.

11 Steven Gerrard

Gerrard has been unfortunate to play for Liverpool during their worst period in terms of success for 40 years but he has lit up Anfield over the past decade with displays of tireless hard work, intelligence and great all-round ability. Voted recently as the second greatest Liverpool player of all time, Gerrard frequently scores 15-20 goals a season from midfield and can play in the centre, on the right or as a withdrawn attacker.

For: Captain fantastic who plays the game the right way and plays it very well

Against: If you happen to see him in a club, don't tell him he can't pick the songs...

10 Duncan Edwards

He became a legend when the Munich air disaster tragically robbed England of potentially one of its finest ever talents. Edwards was a total footballer, able to pass, tackle, score, create opportunities for others and take games by the scruff of the neck. In his teenage years (he made his debut under Matt Busby for Man Utd aged just 16), he was already widely regarded as one of England's finest footballers.

For: He had everything

Against: Except time

9 Jimmy Greaves

He scored 100 league goals before he was 21, managed a strike rate of considerably better than one goal every two games throughout his career and scored 44 goals in just 57 games for England. He had great touch and skill, excellent movement and that unerring knack of being in the right place at the right time. Top scorer in the league over and over again.

For: One of the finest finishers of all time.

Against: His column in 'the Sun,' which consists of moaning about foreigners/diving and pointing out that the strikers in the premiership these days are not quite as good as he used to be.

8 Stanley Matthews

He was described by Pele as 'the man who taught us how football should be played' and by Brian Clough as 'a god.' Matthews played competitively until he was 55 abroad and managed 54 appearances for England and 709 British league appearances. He was known as 'the wizard of the dribble' and was one of the most gifted wingers Britain has ever produced. Although he was a genius on his day, he was known to be inconsistent and didn't defend very much, if at all.

For: Longevity and wonderful dribbling skills

Against: Put more effort into the post-match handshakes than defending his own team's goal

7 Gordon Banks

England's greatest ever goalkeeper is most famous for his extraordinary save from Pele. He had agility, ariel presence and amazing reflexes, as that save demonstrates. He also had a world cup winners' medal. Voted the second greatest keeper who ever lived, Behind Yashin.

For: Greatest English keeper

Against: That car crash

6 'Dixie' Dean

Dean is the all-time top scorer in English league history with 377 goals, including 60 in one season alone. He scored 1/4 to 1/3 of his goals with his head, including one header from just beyond the half-way line. After signing from Tranmere for £3 000, Dean made his name in Everton folklore as Britain's greatest ever scorer of goals.

For: Goals, goals, goals

Against: Being reputedly the most brilliant and powerful headers of the ball probably took its toll on his conversational skills

5 Roy Keane

Keane was the driving force behind Manchester United's dominance throughout the 1990s with his all-action displayers, driving the side forward with his passing and leadership and stopping allcomers with his aggression and strength in the tackle. His box-to-box running was - at times - so good that Man Utd may as well have had 12 players on the park.

For: The complete midfielder

Against: While it was nice having 12 players on the park, fairly often with Keane in the starting line-up, United were down to 10 men pretty soon. He lost some of his pace and energy after a serious injury and was sold by Fergie after blasting half of the team in a MUTV interview.

4 Bobby Charlton

Charlton won everything in his playing career: league titles, a European cup and the world cup. He was a hard-working, technically accomplished attacking midfielder who until recently was also England's record all-time goalscorer. Charlton did everything well, passing, finishing, tackling back and - most of all - winning.

For: Complete attacking midfielder

Against: His haircut inspired a generation of balding pensioners

3 Bobby Moore

One of the greatest defenders of all time. Read the game superbly, tackled with pin-point accuracy and had all the qualities of the perfect centre-half. He was England's world cup-winning captain in his early 20s and proved over and over again that he was the best in the business at stopping forwards in their tracks.

For: World cup-winning captain and 'the best defender in the world' according to Pele.

Against: Didn't win much at club level.

2 Kenny Dalglish

Dalglish made his name as a great striker in Scotland for Celtic before moving to Liverpool for a record fee. At Liverpool, he proved he was worth every penny. Despite the lack of a yard of pace, he was almost 'impossible to tackle' as David O'Leary once memorably commented because he crouched over the ball, stuck his elbows out and bashed over anyone who came too close. He combined great touch and skill with agility, bravey and supreme vision. He seemed know where everyone was at all times, finding the perfect pass in every situation and conjuring up something out of nothing. One of the few strikers who could create and score with equal brilliance. Souness said he was 'better than Maradona.' Best said he was 'on a par with Di Stefano.' Paisley simply said he was 'the best.'

For: The best player in the best club side in the world in the late 70s and early 80s.

Against: Lacked a yard of pace, didn't score as regularly in his later years.

1 George Best

Quite simply the greatest. He was unplayable at his very best, dancing his way through defenders down the left flank and through the centre. His feet moved so quickly, clips of Best make modern stars like Ronaldo and Giggs look positively clumsy. He could send a defender the wrong may with a drop of the shoulder before delivering a killer cross; he could take on six men and score; or he could deliver beautifully weighted passes with aplomb. Unfortunately, Best was on a different wavelength to some teammates, who would stand, gasping at his skill rather than anticipating the pass. He was that good. He was almost too good.

For: the greatest player ever, according to Pele

Against: At his peak, the perfect winger. Unfortunately, later in his career 93% of his body mass was champagne - and he never paid for a drink.