Stuart Pearce picks his #One2Eleven on The Fantasy Football Club
Saturday 24 October 2015 07:42, UK
Former Nottingham Forest and England defender Stuart Pearce picks his #One2Eleven on The Fantasy Football Club.
Pearce made more than 700 league appearances over a 24-year playing career, including 401 league appearances for Nottingham Forest between 1985 and 1997.
For England, the left-back earned 78 caps and famously featured under Sir Bobby Robson at Italia '90 and under Terry Venables at Euro '96 on home soil.
As a manager, he led England's Under-21 team to the final of the 2011 UEFA Under-21 Championship, and Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.
The 53-year-old also played for Coventry City, Newcastle, West Ham and Manchester City after starting his career at Wealdstone - so he's got plenty of quality players to choose from in his #One2Eleven!
He's gone for a 3-5-2 formation, with wing-backs and a number 10 in the hole, so read on to find out who made the cut…
GOALKEEPER: Peter Shilton
Quite incredible - his clean sheet record for England, his caps. He would walk in the dressing room before every game, "Gaffer, I've got 102 caps," then the next game, 'Gaffer, I've got 103 caps" - so he let you know about how good he was. But he was outstanding, he demanded perfection.
RIGHT-WING BACK: Gary Neville
Fantastically consistent for club and country - he played a hell of a lot of games for both. He could play wing back, or drop in as one of your three central defenders.
CENTRE-BACK: Des Walker
The most consistent player I've ever worked with. He was incredible, especially around Italia '90. Very few players get a move to Italy - when the Italians come knocking for you in your pomp, you're a good player.
CENTRE-BACK: Tony Adams
Before every game at Euro '96, this guy was sat on the treatment table getting injections in his knees to play. A proper captain. Butcher was, Adams was too. A great captain, and a funny guy. He stands for everything a captain should be in my eyes.
CENTRE-BACK: Terry Butcher
He was an absolute colossus of a man. He had a wand of a left foot, he was a great leader and a funny fella too. Always reminded me of Tommy Cooper for some reason. I remember Bobby Robson used to look over to him and say, "Butcher, you idiot."
LEFT-WING BACK: John Barnes
Not an out-and-out wing-back, but for what he did for England and Liverpool, he's in the team. He was just outstanding. There's very few players that can make an impact by carrying teams on their own. Thierry Henry could do it, maybe Alan Shearer could do it at Blackburn. John Barnes could do it at Liverpool. The goal he got in 1984 for England was just sensational.
CENTRE MIDFIELD: Bryan Robson
I got in the England squad and it was almost like hero worship with this fella. He carried England in the '80s in my opinion. He could run further than anyone, he was the best player, he was all-action. The one commodity he had - he was unselfish. He put the rest of the group before himself - that's the sign of a great player.
CENTRE MIDFIELD: Paul Gascoigne
The crackerjack of British football. The most talented individual I've played alongside. Even when he got into the England side, he was not fazed by anyone he played against. He had a real arrogance on the pitch, and loved football. Mad as a March Hare, and brilliant to have around the squad. The reason why England haven't gone to semi-finals and beyond recently is we haven't had another Gascoigne.
NUMBER 10 ROLE: Ali Benarbia
Incredible. He came and joined us in my last season at Manchester City. He came from Monaco, he might have been 32. He came into our football club and set us alight. A hard Algerian player, tough and he could find a pass. Absolutely sensational in everything he did. The last game I played, I was 40, we had won the league, I was on 99 career goals, and he said he'd get me one. The game went well, we were 4-1 up, Ali went into the box, flicked the ball up into the defender's hand. He picked the ball up, ran over to the penalty spot, put it down, and by the time he'd done that, the referee had given a penalty! But I took the penalty and missed!
CENTRE FORWARD: Gary Lineker
Underpinned the 1990 England side. You can't win anything without strikers like Lineker. Him and Shearer were the worst trainers you've ever seen, though. Neither of them liked to run around at training, they just waited for Saturday, and scored time and time again.
CENTRE FORWARD: Alan Shearer
Outstanding. To score the goals he did at club and country level. Dispatched finishes like you'd never believe.
Watch Pearce pick his #One2Eleven here.
You can see the Manchester derby live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 2pm on Sunday.
