English Football
The modern global game of Football was first codified in 1863 in London. The impetus for this was to unify English public school and university football games. There is evidence for refereed, team football games being played in English schools since at least 1581. An account of an exclusively kicking football game from Nottinghamshire in the fifteenth century bears similarity to association football. England can boast the earliest ever documented use of the English word "football" (1409) and the earliest reference to the sport in French (1314). The modern passing game is believed to have been innovated in London and England is home to the oldest football clubs in the world (dating from at least 1857), the world's oldest competition (the FA cup founded in 1871) and the first ever association football league (1888). For these reasons England is considered the home of the game of football.

The Best Players in English Football

Bobby Moore
Being born in 1961 I am a little too young to remember Bobby in his heyday. His positioning, reading of the game and use of the ball was second to none in the history of our football. Pele described him as his hardest opponent and you can't argue with his inclusion on the list.

George Best
George was a mercurial genius. He would beat a defender and then stop to allow him to get back so that he could beat him again. It doesn't bear thinking about how good he would have been without the drink, drugs, and fags.

Paul Gascoigne
Another wayward star like Bestie. There really is a thin dividing line between genius and madness. Gascoigne was the finest midfielder Britain has seen for many years. With a drop of the shoulder he would leave opponents for dead even without possessing blistering pace. His range of passing was phenomenal and he scored spectacular goals.

John Barnes
Digger Barnes never really produced the goods for England other than that one wonder goal in Brazil. His ability to beat a player and deliver an inch perfect cross was shown to perfection in the world cup quarter final against Argentina in 1986, when he nearly rescued the game for us.

Denis Law
227 goals in 485 appearances for five clubs and 30 international goals for a poor Scotland side in 55 internationals. The Watford keeper Micky Walker was interviewed afterward and he said that every time he got the ball he looked up and Law was standing right in front oh him.

Ryan Giggs
Giggsy has made over five hundred appearances for Manchester United in a career going back to 1990. He has scored one hundred goals and has reinvented himself from being a flying winger, to a cultured midfield player, to a lively striker, and now an effective hard working wide player again.

Gordan Banks
Gordan was the best goalkeeper ever. Fact. He rarely made spectacular saves because his expert positioning was such that he didn't have to. Nobody will ever forget the save from Pele's header in 1970, and we all believe that if he had stayed fit for the quarter final that year, England would be two times world cup winners.

Gary Lineker
Squeaky clean Gary was never booked. He scored an astonishing 244 goals in 462 games for five clubs including the great Barcelona. In international football he scored 48 goals in 80 games, making him the second highest scorer ever, behind Bobby Charlton. He won the golden boot at the World cup in 1986 and scored the goal that nearly took us to the final in 1990.