The Football League’s First Million-Pound Players
The first million-pound players seemed a distant prospect in the early years of professional football. Yet the history of the Football League’s transfer market was marked by fears of inflation, and clubs recklessly spending beyond their means. Trevor Francis – the Football League’s first million-pound player The first £1,000 transfer of Alf Common from Sunderland…
Winston DuBose: Foreign Players in the Football League Interview
Winston DuBose was a US national team goalkeeper, and the first American player to try his luck in the Football League in modern times. He spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and won an NASL Championship with Tulsa Roughnecks in 1983, earning 14 caps for his country between 1979 and 1985. …
Conclusion: Foreign Players in the Football League
This series on the history of foreign players in the Football League reaches its conclusion. Over 120 different nationalities have been represented in the Premier League, making it arguably the world’s most cosmopolitan league with global appeal – currently approximately two-thirds of the players are foreign, with an even higher percentage of overseas managers and owners. It’s…
Rest of the World: Foreign Players in the Football League
After looking at players from specific countries and regions, it is now time to cover the ‘rest of the world’. Over its long history, the Football League has seen sporadic arrivals from across the globe. While the bulk of imports have naturally come from Europe, and a number from the Americas, there have been representatives from…
North American Players in the Football League 1978-92 – Appendix
An overview of the North American footballers to have played in the Football League between 1978 and 1992. Canada Don Ferguson Born: 02.01.1963 Toronto Football League Career: Wrexham (1986) – 20 appearances International Career: Canada (1986-89) 3 caps * Craig Forrest Born: 20.09.1967 Coquitlam, British Columbia Football League Career: Ipswich Town (1985-97) – 263 appearances;…
North America: Foreign Players in the Football League
Historically, few North Americans ventured to the English league. During the 1920s there was a brief exodus in the other direction, in the boom years of the American Soccer League (ASL). Some returned after the ASL went into decline, having gained US nationality along the way. Most famously, Scottish-born Jim Brown was granted US citizenship…
Eastern European Players in the Football League 1988-92 – Appendix
An overview of the Eastern European footballers to have played in the Football League between 1988 and 1992. Czechoslovakia Luděk Mikloško Born: 09.12.1961 Prostějov Signed from: Banik Ostrava, February 1990 [£300,000] Football League Career: West Ham United (1990-98) – 318 appearances; QPR (1998-2001) – 57 appearances International Career: Czechoslovakia (1982-92) 40 caps; Czech Republic (1996-97)…
Eastern Europe: Foreign Players in the Football League
The fall of the Berlin Wall and changing regimes behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ of eastern Europe in the late 1980s gave new opportunities to footballers who had previously not been allowed to leave. Players from Poland and Yugoslavia had been the earlier exceptions, arriving in the Football League from the 1970s within strict age limits.…
Western Europe: Foreign Players in the Football League
As covered extensively, the bulk of players moving to the Football League post-1978 from Western Europe came from the Netherlands or Scandinavia and the Nordic nations. Other countries including the major footballing nations of France, (West) Germany, Italy and Spain were sparsely represented, with only rare exceptions. Most of the movement from the late 1970s…
Scandinavians in the Football League 1978-92 – Appendix
An overview of the Scandinavian and Nordic footballers who played in the Football League between 1978 and 1992. Denmark Kurt Bakholt Born: 12.08.1963 Odense Signed from: Vejle, January 1986 Football League Career: QPR (1986) – 1 appearance * Tommy Christensen Born: 20.07.1961 Hillerød Signed from: Elche (Spain), November 1985 Football League Career: Leicester City (1985)…
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