It’s taken 64 years, but Wales are finally back. And as a business with its roots in Wales we’re more excited than ever. But it got us thinking of the Welsh legends of yesteryear. Where did these legends come from? And would they make our fictitious County level Football clubs?
To find out, we researched numerous professional players from around the country and asked Wales football fans on Reddit which of those players should be listed in each county’s ultimate 11.
Clwyd Rangers
We start with Clwyd Rangers who have a number of legendary players on their roster. The historical county of Clwyd includes Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham. Clwyd has a whole roster of talent notably that of Ian Rush, Mike England and Gary Speed. Here’s how fans voted:
Lineup
GK Neville Southall
LB Joey Jones
CB Kevin Ratcliffe
CB Mike England
RB Stuart Williams
LM Mickey Thomas
CM Gary Speed
RM Harry Wilson
ST Mark Hughes
ST Ian Rush
ST Roy Vernon
Notable Mentions
There was a real competition for places as a striker in Clwyd Rangers. Michael Owen – despite being born in Chester, Owen grew up in Flintshire and narrowly misses out to the prowess of Mark Hughes, Ian Rush and Roy Vernon. Ron Davies also narrowly misses out.
Others include: Neil Taylor, Tom Lawrence, Danny Ward, and Colin Green.
Gwynedd Athletic
The North West of Wales has really produced some major talent, most notably Wayne Hennessey who’s performance against Ukraine helped to solidify Wales’ place in the World Cup as well as “Wyn The Leap” Davies. Gwynedd Athletic is representative of the old principal county that included Anglesey.
Lineup
GK Wayne Hennessey
LB Gwyn Jones
CB Haydn Jones
CB Eifion Pritchard Jones
RB Tom Walley
CM Owain Tudur Jones
CM Danny Gossett
CM Eifion Williams
ST Wyn Davies
ST Malcolm Allen
ST Iwan Roberts
Notable Mentions
The region has produced some outstanding goalkeepers including Owain Fon Williams and Eddie Niedzwiecki but they miss out to the titan of Wayne Hennesey. Other notable mentions include Nathan Broadhead, Rob Davies and David Felgate.
Powys Football Club
Despite being the biggest county in Wales, Powys is sparsely populated. However it’s still produced a number of football stars. Most notable is Kevin Sheedy. Whilst Kevin Sheedy played for the Republic of Ireland he originates from Bullith Wells much like Nottingham Forests all time leading goal scorer; Grenville Morris who plays alongside the legend of Phil Woosnan upfront. Boaz Myhill was also included in the voting as he grew up on the border and was included in the lineup.
Lineup
GK Boaz Myhill
LWB Walter Evans
CB Ceaesar Jenkyns
CB George Latham
CB Thomas Chapman
RWB Walley Barnes
LM Kevin Sheedy
CM Carl Robinson
RM Syd Thomas
ST Grenville Morris
ST Phil Woosnan
Notable Mentions
Thomas Chapman, William Ernest Pryce Jones, Frank Hoddinott and Walter Watkins were a host of class strikers produced by the region as well as defender Ryan Sears and Goalkeeper John Smout who misses out to Myhill.
Dyfed United
The historic county of Dyfed has had numerous stars. Most notably is the Welsh Pirlo himself; Joe Allen who featured in Wales’ Euro 2016 campaign and will be heading to Qatar along with young prospect Rhys Norrington-Davies.
Lineup
GK Dai Davies
RB Mark Delaney
CB Stuart Jones
CB Byron Stevenson
LB Rhys-Norrington Davies
LM Gwion Edwards
CM Joe Allen
CM Emyr Huws
RM Simon Davies
CAM Josh Sheehan
CF Liam Cullen
Gwent Athletic
You shall not pass. The historic county of Gwent has proved to be a breeding ground for top quality defenders including Chris Gunter, Ollie Burton, James Collins and Danny Gabbidon, all protected by Peter Nicholas. Attackers would undoubtedly struggle to get past this team.
Lineup
GK Bert Gray
LWB Alf Day
CB James Collins
CB Danny Gabbidon
CB Alwyn “Ollie” Burton
RWB Chris Gunter
CDM Peter Nicholas
RCM Nigel Vaughn
LCM Paul Parry
ST Charlie ‘Cuthbert’ Phillips
ST Derrick Sullivan
Notable Mentions
Household names like Tony Pulis, Mark Kendall and Andy Dibble unfortunately missed out.
West Glamorgan
The historic county of West Glamorgan has produced some fine Welsh talent and includes locations like Neath and Swansea. The legendary John Charles which many dub the best Welsh player ever leads the front line with Ivor Allchurch and Dean Saunders alongside him for a forward line full of goals.
Lineup
GK Gary Sprake
LB Ben Davies
CB Mel Charles
CB Joe Rodon
RB Connor Roberts
CM Cliff Jones
CM Robbie James
CM Brian Flynn
ST John Charles
ST Ivor Allchurch
ST Dean Saunders
Notable Mentions
Jack Kelsey, Chris Coleman, John Hartson, Len Allchurch, Terry Medwin all unfortunately miss out.
Mid Glamorgan
Mid Glamorgan has it’s fair share of stars. Alf Sherwood the king of slide tackles leads the defensive line with Brian Law and Roy Paul. All protected by the tenacious Mark Pembridge. The team is equipped with the attacking flair of Aaron Ramsey as well as Gordon Davies upfront
Lineup
GK Dan Lewis
RB Alf Sherwood
CB Brian Law
CB Roy Paul
LM Jason Bowen
LM Charlie Jones
CAM Aaron Ramsey
CM Mark Pembridge
RM Dave Bowen
ST Jimmy Murphy
ST Billy Foulkes
ST Gordon Davies
Notable Mentions
Alan Curtis, Bryn Jones, Robert Earnshaw, and of course the man of the hour; Rob Page unfortunately miss out.
South Glamorgan
Another hub of exceptional talent is South Glamorgan which includes Barry, Cowbridge, Penarth and Llantwit Major. Home of the capital, South Glamorgan have a fierce lineup with Wales’ topman Gareth Bale as well as former managers Ryan Giggs and John Toshack.
Lineup
GK Len Evans
CB Fred Keenor
CB Phil Dwyer
CB Ben Cabango
CDM Terry Yorath
CDM Joe Ledley
RM John Mahoney
CAM Gareth Bale
LM Ryan Giggs
ST John Toshack
ST Craig Bellamy
RM John Mahoney
Notable Mentions
Italian international Giorgio Chinaglia grew up in Cardiff and misses out to Craig Bellamy and John Toshack. The young Rubin Colwill also misses out.