London XI

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London XI
Londonxi.JPG
Founded1955
Dissolved1958
GroundVarious
Manager Joe Mears
League Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
1955–58 Runners-up

The London XI was a football team that represented the city of London in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Contents

The competition began in 1955, and the first tournament took three years to complete. The entrants were the major football team of each city which held a Trade Fair. Like many cities taking part, London had several strong teams; however, rules stated that there could only be a single team from each city. [1] Therefore, a representative team was created especially for the tournament, using the best players from the 11 Greater London-based Football League clubs. Membership of the team varied considerably between matches, and some 54 players took part in the team's eight-match campaign.

The London XI, managed by Chelsea chairman Joe Mears, reached the final of the cup, after coming top of a group that included special XI teams from Basel and Frankfurt, and then beating Lausanne Sports. London lost 8–2 on aggregate over two legs to FC Barcelona.

The London XI only competed in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Thereafter, London was represented in the competition by individual clubs who qualified.

A unified London side competed in friendly matches even earlier: a "London" team represented the FA in the historic 1866 London v Sheffield match, there were several challenges against the Glasgow FA during the 1880s, [2] and "London" lost 4-2 to Corinthians on 21 November 1903 in front of 1500, [3] described as Corinthians "had an easy task" in a 1904 Times article. [4] Two other matches have been referenced – an "annual match" versus Birmingham on 3 October 1910 and a match versus Paris on 18 December 1910. [5]

Teams and match details

Clubs represented

Group stage

Basel XI Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 0–5 Flag of England.svg London XI
  • Firmani Soccerball shade.svg35'
  • Holton Soccerball shade.svg37', 43', 74'
  • Hooper Soccerball shade.svg81' [lower-alpha 1]
St. Jakob Stadium , Basel
Team
Ron Reynolds (Tottenham), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Jim Fotheringham (Arsenal), Stan Willemse (Chelsea), Ken Armstrong (Chelsea), Derek Saunders (Chelsea), Harry Hooper (West Ham), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Eddie Firmani (Charlton), Billy Kiernan (Charlton).
Substitute: Brian Nicholas (QPR), on for Saunders 37′.
London XI Flag of England.svg 3–2 Flag of Germany.svg Frankfurt XI
  • Jezzard Soccerball shade.svg46', 76'
  • Robson Soccerball shade.svg60'
  • Pfaff Soccerball shade.svg25'
  • Kaufhold Soccerball shade.svg30'
Wembley Stadium , London
Team
Ted Ditchburn (Tottenham), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Stan Willemse (Chelsea), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Charlie Hurley (Millwall), Cyril Hammond (Charlton), Vic Groves (Orient), Bobby Robson (Fulham), Bedford Jezzard (Fulham), Roy Bentley (Chelsea), Charlie Mitten (Fulham).
London XI Flag of England.svg 1–0 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Basel XI
  • Robb Soccerball shade.svg87'
White Hart Lane , London
Team
Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), John Hewie (Charlton), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Stan Wicks (Chelsea), Ken Coote (Brentford), Jim Lewis (Chelsea), Derek Tapscott (Arsenal), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Bobby Cameron (QPR), George Robb (Tottenham).
Frankfurt XI Flag of Germany.svg 1–0 Flag of England.svg London XI
  • Preisendorfer Soccerball shade.svg72'
Waldstadion , Frankfurt am Main
Team
Ron Reynolds (Tottenham), John Bond (West Ham), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Ken Armstrong (Chelsea), Malcolm Allison (West Ham), Tony Marchi (Tottenham), Terry Medwin (Tottenham), Stuart Leary (Charlton), David Herd (Arsenal), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Billy Kiernan (Charlton).

Semi-finals

Lausanne XI Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 2–1 Flag of England.svg London XI
  • Vonlanden Soccerball shade.svg6', 74'
  • Haverty Soccerball shade.svg70'
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise , Lausanne
Team
Ted Ditchburn (Tottenham), Stan Charlton (Arsenal), Dennis Evans (Arsenal), Brian Nicholas (Chelsea), Jim Fotheringham (Arsenal), Phil McKnight (Orient), Peter Berry (Crystal Palace), Geoff Truett (Crystal Palace), Les Stubbs (Chelsea), Phil Woosnam (Orient), Joe Haverty (Arsenal).
London XI Flag of England.svg 2–0 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Lausanne XI
  • Greaves Soccerball shade.svg10'
  • Holton Soccerball shade.svg76'
Highbury , London
Team
Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Stan Charlton (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Ken Coote (Brentford), Bill Dodgin (Arsenal), Derek Saunders (Chelsea), Roy Dwight (Fulham), Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Billy Kiernan (Charlton).

London XI won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

First leg

London XI Flag of England.svg 2–2 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona XI
  • Greaves Soccerball shade.svg10'
  • Langley Soccerball shade.svg88' (p)
  • Martínez Soccerball shade.svg7'
  • Tejada Soccerball shade.svg35'

Team: Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Jim Langley (Fulham), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Maurice Norman (Tottenham), Ken Coote (Brentford), Vic Groves (Arsenal), Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea), Bobby Smith (Tottenham), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), George Robb (Tottenham).

Second leg

Barcelona XI Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg 6–0 Flag of England.svg London XI
  • Suárez Soccerball shade.svg6', 8'
  • Martínez Soccerball shade.svg42'
  • Evaristo Soccerball shade.svg52', 75'
  • Vergés Soccerball shade.svg63'

Team: Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), George Wright (Orient), Noel Cantwell (West Ham), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Ken Brown (West Ham), Dave Bowen (Arsenal), Terry Medwin (Tottenham), Vic Groves (Arsenal), Bobby Smith (Tottenham), Jimmy Bloomfield (Arsenal), Jim Lewis (Chelsea).

Barcelona XI won 8–2 on aggregate.

London v Glasgow

#DateVenueAtt.ScoreLondon goalscorersRef.
120 January 1883 Hampden (I) (A)5,000 [9] [10]
215 December 1883 The Oval (H)3,500 [9] [11]
320 December 1884 Hampden (II) (A)5,000 [9] [12]
45 December 1885The Oval (H)2,000 [9]
527 November 1886Hampden (II) (A)4,000 [9]
63 March 1888The Oval (H) Tinsley Lindley
J. Burns (2)		 [9] [13]
723 March 1889Hampden (II) (A)scrimmage [9] [14]
825 January 1890The Oval (H) [9]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources give the final goal to Eddie Firmani. [7] [8]

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References

  1. ↑ Dart, James (1 June 2005). "Are Liverpool the worst European champions ever?". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ Representative Matches, Scottish Football Historical Archive (archive version, 2018)
  3. ↑ Cavallini, Rob (2007). Play Up Corinth: A History of The Corinthian Football Club. p. 242. ISBN   978-0-7524-4479-6.
  4. ↑ The Times (1904). "Corinthians vs Manchester United". "James Owen of Penrhos and his descendants" ancestry website. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. ↑ White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 96. ISBN   0951526200.
  6. ↑ EC 1 & Fairs Cup 1595-1960. International Federation of Football History & Statistics. pp. 158–171.
  7. ↑ Zea, Anthony; Haisma, Marcel (2 October 2009). "Fairs' Cup 1955-58". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  8. ↑ Almanacco Totale del Calcio Europeo 1958. pp. 31–32. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Representative Matches". Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "FOOTBALL". Glasgow Herald . 22 January 1883. (via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "FOOTBALL". GlaSgow Herald. 17 December 1883. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ↑ "FOOTBALL". Glasgow Herald. 22 December 1884. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ "LONDON V GLASGOW 3–0 (INTER CITY: MARCH 3, 1888)". PlayupLiverpool.com. 3 March 1888. Retrieved 6 July 2021. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ↑ "GLASGOW V LONDON 5–1 (INTER CITY: MARCH 23, 1889)". PlayupLiverpool.com. 23 March 1889. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
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