Great Britain all time XI

With the Olympics fast approaching and Great Britain forming a football (soccer) team specifically for the London games, I thought it would be fun to look at not who will be in the starting 11 this summer but who would make the greatest ever line-up of players from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I wanted to incorporate at least 2 players from each country to make a fair and ballanced team in a traditional 4-4-2 formation

Goalkeeper
When looking at the greatest goalkeeprs from each nation, it's sometimes hard to narrow it down to one, while Wales have the stand out Neveille Southall and Northern Ireland have the one and only Pat Jennings, Scotland have Andy Goram while England have Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton (Shilton was capped 125 times, his dentist must of been able to retire early). Each of these has a claim to be considered the greatest British 'keeper but ultimately I have gone with Gordon Banks, his saves helped England to win the World Cup in 1966, 'that save' against Pele in particular stands out.

Right Back
In this position I considered Scotland's Danny McGrain, Jimmy Nicholl for Northern Ireland and England's Emlyn Hughes but ultimately and maybe controversially, I have opted for Gary Neville, the reason is that he won 85 caps and played at a high level of consistency, he gave support to whoever was on the right of midfield and was able there in defence to block any attacks coming at him

Left Back



Enlgand's Ashley Cole is similar to Gary Neville in reasons why he should be selected, it's only a matter of time until he reaches the 100 cap mark. Dave Mackay from Scotland was a model defender who George Best said was 'the hardest defender i ever played against'. Wales have Gareth Bale, just starting to find his feet and beginning his career and previously Joey Jones who amassed 72 appearances but ultimately i have gone with Mal Donaghy. The Luton Town defender finished with 91 games for Northern Ireland and similar to Gary Neville, had a level of consistency and support to drive his team.

Centre Backs
It isn't hard to pick the two players that would play at the centre of defence, it's more difficult to decide which one would be captain, there are MANY names that could be considered for this postition but the best ever Welsh player is generally considered to be John Charles and for England it's Bobby Moore so i have gone for them at centre back, not many forwards past or present would get much of an oppurtunity against these two.


Right Midfield
This was possibly the easiest position to fill, Wales' Cliff Jones was good, Stanley Matthews was better but George....Best. Northern Ireland's George Best was arguably the most naturally gifted and skilful player of all time in the whole world, not just Great Britain, oddly he only played 37 games for his country (Emile Heskey somehow played 62 games for England!) though he scored 9 goals, an average of almost 1 in 4 games, not bad for a winger. In his prime Best was tremendously skilled,  an innovative footballer. Unsurpassed on dribble and penetration, would often pass off the score after rather than take the goal himself. He was one of a few players with virtually ambidextrous ball control with both feet. David Beckham played 115 times for England, the most capped outfield player for any of the Great Britian sides, yet he doesn't compare to the Best


Left Midfielder
England's John Barnes won 79 caps and played in a side that reached the World Cup semi-finals, while Scotland's Billy Liddell played 28 times for the Scots and twice played for a Great Britain XI against Europe in 1947 and 1955 but one man stands above all others in this position, Ryan Giggs. The most decorated player in the history of English football, Ryan Giggs has been a mainstay of Manchester United's highly successful era under Sir Alex Ferguson. He holds a plethora of records in both English and European football.With United, Giggs has won ten league titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and two Champions Leagues. He also played 64 times for Wales yet like George Best, never played in a major international tournament. He is being strongly linked with playing in this summer's Olympic games, he could be like a Big Brother to the younger players.

Central Midfield 
These two positions were always going to be controversial to fill as so many players would be overlooked, England's Captain Marvel Bryan Robson and Paul Gascoigne, Wales' Gary Speed, Scotland's Graham Souness but ultimately I have gone for two players who always consistently played to a high level and would drive the team forward. Scotland's Billy Bremner would rival Bobby Moore and John Charles for the captaincy, when the team loses possesion he'll be there to win it back, and play the ball forward. Equally Northern Ireland's Danny Blanchflower would control the game alongside Bremner, tackling back and playing the ball past the opposition.


Attackers
This is the easiest position of all to select by selecting the two highest scorer's across the four nations....or is it. First pick is simple, the leading international scorer in British history is Sir Bobby Charlton, England's all time leading goalscorer netted 49 times in 106 games and his goals led England to the World Cup final in 1966. Second is harder, two Scot's, Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool fans have always thought of Kenny Dalglish as one of their own, that feeling must be even stronger now he's unemployed) scored 30 goals each, though Law did this in just 55 games, I will select Dalglish as he caused teams more problems and his trophy haul at Liverpool shows the quality he had for club and country.


So there it is, selecting players from all 4 nations is never an easy feat though comparing the skills and qualities of players across generations is always going to be an eternal debate, feel free to comment with any suggestions for who you'd pick or with my team who you wouldn't pick. In total the aforementioned 11 players amassed 814 appearances and 122 goals between them, they would be tough to beat.