by Catherine Lear

Created on: May 16, 2010   Last Updated: May 18, 2010

To be truly great you have to have done something special in your field of play. Until you have done this special thing then you cannot call your self-special. England has had some very good soccer players over the years. However, can we call them great?

We only seem to remember the soccer players that are playing to day or soccer players from a few years ago. We forget that we have played soccer in England for over one hundred years or more, and over those years, English soccer has thrown many truly great soccer players in to the equation.

William Ralph Dean, born on the 22nd January 1907-1st March 1980 better known as Dixie dean played for Everton football club for most of his career and still holds the English Record for scoring the most goals for a club with 383 goals in 433 appearances, he played 16 times for England scoring 18 goals those included two hat tricks. He was never booked or sent of in the whole of the time that he played football not a bad record by any means in a time when the treatment for players with the ability of Dixie Dean was for them to be hacked down at every opportunity. Truly, we can call this man one of the greatest soccer players of all time in England.

Sir Stanley Mathews born 1st February 1915-23rd February 2000 is an another English soccer player that we can call great. He is the only Soccer player to be knighted while still playing Football, not for nothing was he called the wizard of dribble, he started his playing career with Stoke City Football club and ended his playing career with Stoke City Football club, with a stint with Blackpool Football club in between, it was with Blackpool that he won many of his honours with England and who can forget the 1952 Football cup final that become known through out the Football world has the Stanley Mathews final.

Blackpool were losing 3-1 at half time to Bolton, then at the start of the second half Mathews started to work his magic and by the end of the game they had levelled the score, then deep into stoppage time Mathews picked up the ball and dribbled down the wing with the ball glued to his feet, he looked up and crossed the ball and the rest his history 3-4 for Blackpool. However this was not the end of Mathews playing days he went back to Stoke City in 1961 and went on to play for them until a knee injury forced him to retire from Football at the ripe old age of 50. How many of today's soccer players with all the facilities that they have to get them back to fitness will

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